Chapter 15
While she was thinking both boys moved away, clearly uncomfortable by the silence made by their lack of conversation. It was with a deep sigh that she stood up and went over to where the twins had built a roaring fire to set up her bedroll. At least she could look into the flames and forget what she was doing and relax. Perhaps she could laugh at a few of Leo’s jokes or tell them all about the first time she had tried chocolate. However as she lay down on her bedroll thoughts of sleep invaded her mind and she willed herself into a peaceful slumber.
Leo woke her several hours later and she got up and got ready, not speaking to anyone. She felt, hurt, angry, confused and generally muddled up. Koran didn’t hate her. Mik loved someone else. It was all too much for her. She walked in total silence, and even the boys had not much to say anymore.
She was so lost in her mind that she didn’t see the environment changing around her. The trees were getting taller and further apart. The others didn’t take much notice either; they had been wandering around in a forest for far too long to care anymore.
The group walked slightly spread out, but still close enough to reach out and touch each other. They had just walked beneath a large fir when the ground shifted beneath them. Kiayani gave a scream as they fell about eight feet into a pit below them. The others gave a little shout each, a cry of surprise. With a heavy thud they hit they hit the hard dirt ground. Kiayani landed on a tree branch and she cried out in pain.
“Ouch…” she said, her eyes watering.
She looked over at the others who were still frozen with shock.
“My arm,” Leo moaned. He moved his right arm gingerly.
Koran stood up slowly, using a tree branch as support, “is everyone all right?”
The twins both stood up looking unreasonably scratched. Mik was looking up and around.
“We fell into a pitfall trap,” he said touching the dirt wall.
Kiayani pulled herself up, dusting the dirt off of herself.
“How do we get out?” she asked Koran.
He was examining the branches which had been used to cover the trap.
“We can try making a ladder,” he said calmly.
“That might be our only chance,” said Mik looking at Koran.
The twins heavied the branch that trapped Leo’s leg and attempted to stand it upright. Their biggest problem was the fact that the hole was only about five feet across. There wasn’t much room to manoeuvre. Kiayani watched as the boys used their knives to strip the branches of their leaves and cut groves for rungs to sit in. She just tried to stay out of their way. When they had constructed half a ladder Mik called Kiayani over.
“Hey Kiayani can I borrow you for a second?”
She nodded and made her may across the uneven dirt floor towards them.
“Can you put your weight on the first rung please?” he asked.
“Okay,” she said placing her foot on the branch.
She put a bit more pressure on it and with a large crack it snapped beneath her foot. She jumped back in shock.
Koran collapsed onto the ground, shaking his head as he did so.
“It’s no use,” he said, sounding defeated, “We will just have to wait and see what is going to happen.”
Kiayani didn’t understand what he meant, “What do you mean wait?” she asked.
He looked up at her and answered her question in a monotone, “this is a trap Kiayani. Traps are made by people. Whoever made this pitfall will come around soon enough to check it.”
“Oh,” she mouthed, following his suit and sitting down.
The more she thought about what he said the more it made sense. She then realised that this wasn’t the first time she had been stuck in a position like this. She could clearly remember the day she chose to leave her carriage and wander through the wood. She was shocked at how long ago that was.
Mik was pacing and Leo was looking through his pack for something. Rute and Yulan were conversing in whispers and Kiayani wondered what they were talking about but didn’t dare ask them.
Kiayani had no idea how long they sat there in the dark just waiting for the layers of the pitfall to come around and pull them out. She had no idea what would happen to them once they were rescued. Hopefully they would be friendly and would let them go on their merry way, but, she doubted it.
Eventually she ended up laying down, using her arms as a pillow and drifted into sleep. She had given up watching Mik pace as it was just making her feel dizzy.
She awoke to the sounds of shouting voices and a sudden feeling of claustrophobia. One of the boys, who she thought was probably Mik, had the back of their head only inches away from her face. She sat up feeling very disorientated. Kiayani looked around at the hole which they all lay in. the others were stirring and Koran was starring up out of the hole, his brow furrowed in worry. He saw Kiayani look at him and he placed a finger to his lips. The yelling voices were speaking in some unknown tongue and Kiayani couldn’t understand a single word that they were saying. What disturbed her the most was the fact that she couldn’t see them. She could see the beams of the flashlight that they swung around with ease.
All of a sudden Mik sat upright, finding his face almost touching Kiayani’s. He pulled away almost as quickly. Kiayani’s cheeks burned red as her heart skipped a beat. He looked at Koran and mouthed something. Koran nodded in return and went back to trying to have a look at the men approaching them. The twins and Leo both came around very quickly without making a sound.
The tension in the air was incredible. The girl could feel its pressure coming down on her ears and her heart. What was going to happen to them? The shouting paused for a moment and then a beam of bright light was cast down upon them. Instinctively Kiayani raised her arm to shield her eyes and she saw Mik move closer to her out of the corner of her eye. The light was gone mere seconds after it was shone. Instead a set of faces appeared over the edge of the hole and the jabbering and yelling continued. Then with some nodding of heads they withdrew again and pushed a ladder down. Before any of them could move towards it a man made his way down, a knife clutched firmly in his hand. When he reached the bottom he turned to face them.
“You are to come with us,” his accent was very strong, “do not struggle or girl get hurt.”
He looked around at the boys seriously and then smiled a menacing grin at Kiayani. She felt her stomach drop as fear flooded through her. What might they do to her? Mik moved even closer to her, as if he was ready to throw off any unwanted attacks. The thought made her head spin but she tried to keep it level, she needed to stay focused.
“Drop your weapons,” he said.
Kiayani watched as the boys unsheathed their knives and the twins their slings, flinging them onto the ground at the man’s feet. He scooped them up and retreated back up the ladder. Once at the top he motioned them up with a wave of his hand. Koran stood first and moved before anyone could get to the ladder. Before he climbed the first rung he whispered, “Sorry.”
The others followed him, Kiayani going up second last with Mik going up behind her. As she raised her head at the top she could see how many of them there were. There was at least twenty men. They were all dressed in fine furs and had swords at their belts. As soon as she climbed onto the solid ground a pair of hands grabbed her own and bound them behind her back. She felt so helpless as they then tossed her towards the others who also had their hands bound. She fell against Koran’s chest and he helped her to stand. Blood was pounding in her ears.
Then what happened next made her feel like she had been gently nudged as they practically threw Mik at hers and those boy’s feet.
“Mik,” she said, kneeling down awkwardly due to the fact her hands were bound together at her back.
He gave a slight moan and tried to sit up, “Kiayani,” he whispered, “leave me, and stand by the others.”
“No,” she whispered back, she wanted to help him.
“Listen to me,” he said looking in her eyes, “they’ve taken me for the leader. If we look too involved then I’m afraid that they will hurt you.”
She had tears streaming down her face as she stood up clumsily and went to stand beside Leo. She bowed her head, too afraid to keep looking on. Coward she told herself. There was a heavy thud that sounded like a kick and another groan from Mik. There was lots of laughter then coming from the men in furs. They definitely weren’t going to ‘let them go on their way’. No, these men had a plan in store for them, and by the looks of their faces, Kiayani could tell that it was only going to get worse.
The men herded them in one direction and Kiayani soon found out how difficult it was to walk with one’s hands bound. Koran and the others remained silent as they did not want to provoke the men. For how long they walked she had no idea only that her head was hammering the whole time. She quickly realised that they were in this state because of her. It was the threat on her that stopped them escaping and disappearing into the woods. She wanted to tell them to run, to leave her. It was the least that she could for them.
They soon walked into a camp made up of wooden huts sitting on the ground. Kiayani was pulled from the boys by the man who had talked to them in their language. Mik made a move to step in front of her and block him but the man just pushed him aside laughing.
“Let her stay with us,” he pleaded and Kiayani could see the fear in his eyes.
She didn’t struggle as she didn’t want to cause any more trouble. The man laughed as he took her away. She looked down at the ground as she walked, not wanting to look back at the boys. However out of the corner of her eyes she could see another group of men carrying their packs away to another hut. She committed it to memory. If they were to escape they would need their bags.
Kiayani was taken to a hut in the centre of the camp. The ropes were cut away from her hands and the man turned to her.
“You will do as you are told. If you try run away we will hurt your friends,” he said slowly.
She nodded that she understood, amazed at her luck. She might be able to help them now.
“What are you going to do to them?” she asked nervously.
He looked at her, processing what she had said before speaking, “Do not know but probably will sell as slaves.”
Kiayani swallowed but did not reply.
“You stay here,” he said walking out of the hut and shutting the door on Kiayani. She sank to the floor tears flowing from her eyes. She had no idea what she should do, she felt so lost. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them trying to control her breathing. The floor beneath her was made of wooden planks like the rest of the hut. It was nowhere as comfortable or homely as the boy’s tree houses.
She lifted her head and had a look at the furnishings in the one roomed hut. There was a bed pushed up against the far wall and by the door was a table and a chair. On the table sat a lone lantern which was the only thing providing light. She watched it flicker sadly. It had the power to keep on going when she didn’t. She envied the light because even though it was contained within glass windows it was freer than she could ever be.
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