Chapter Six - Run

Karina took a deep breath, waking from a sleep that she wished had been more restful; one that only came because her body could take no more. She shivered and drew in more tightly to herself. She was already wrapped in herself when she awoke, but the cold only served to tighten her hold. It was cold in the prison. She wore only a drape around her waist and a tight wrap around her chest. The rest of her garments had been taken from her, none too respectfully.

Karina sat up, leaning against the wall behind her, drawing her knees to her chest, and planting her forehead on top of them. How had she ended up here? She hadn’t even remembered being separated from Adric and Gaden. She could only assume they were also captured because if they had been capable of fighting off her captor, they would have done so, and if not, that meant they were either imprisoned or… she shook her head, not permitting the thought to form in her mind. And then the groan of metal hinges rang throughout the room. She looked up in time to see a tray and a goblet placed on the floor before the door slammed shut again.

“You have ten minutes.” A raspy voice commanded. Karina scurried to her feet and grabbed for the tray eagerly. It had been two days since her last meal, and when they said ten minutes, they meant it. She had refused to eat back then, thinking of a protest. It didn’t seem to bother them, because ten minutes later, they opened the door, took the tray without a word, and she hadn’t seen them since.

She snatched the tray and looked down at her meal. It was better than she had hoped for, but nothing more than the essentials. A slice of bread, cheese, and a few slices of tomato. She assumed the goblet carried water. It was flavorless and room temperature. It took her no more than two minutes to finish it, and the guard returned to collect her tray.

“Wait,” she said instinctively. The guard did so. She hesitated, surprised he had listened.

“Speak up girl, or I’m leaving,” he barked. Looking for the right words, she fumbled.

“Please, I – I haven’t relieved myself in hours.” She trailed off, ashamed. Indeed, she had been surprised they had provided any kind of humane method of relief at all. Prisons did not simply supply those luxuries of life for their prisoners. To her horror, the guard simply grinned, and he slammed the door in her face.

She felt her eyes tear up. She wanted to go home. Returning to the fetal position, she put her head in her knees and felt her face moisten with tears, and then the door swung open again. She looked up. The guard had entered her cell. It was only now she noticed that his face was entirely obscured by his metal helm. He wore gloves that covered his hands, and his mail-type armor covered the remaining skin. Was he hiding something? He walked forward, placed a metal bucket on the floor in the center of the room and said defiantly,

“Do it here.” She sat there, not sure what was going on. “You can do it here, or I’ll take the bucket and you can do it on the floor!” He warned. Repulsed, she stood, knowing he could only mean one thing. She would have refused, but the circumstances permitted her no leverage whatsoever. Slowly, she stood, attempting to walk to the bucket with as much dignity as she could muster. She knelt to pick up the bucket, then she positioned it between her legs as delicately as she could.

“No!” the guard kicked the bucket from her hands and it landed on the floor. “Leave it on the floor.” Karina swallowed hard, knowing he wanted to see her as disgraced as she could be. She would not express the disgrace she felt. She would make the best of the situation. She knelt down, stood the bucket upright, and then she turned her back to him. It had been so long since her last relief that the stress of the moment did not even interfere with her bodily function. But, just as she had begun, the man behind her, no doubt in an attempt to humiliate her further, placed his foot squarely on her back and shoved her onto the floor. She gasped in surprise as she soiled herself, and the guard laughed unashamed as she finally lost her composure and began to break down in tears. She had been abused, violated, and starved. She did not know what to do or when it would end.

And then the door banged open yet again. A roar of anger echoed throughout the room, and the guard immediately stopped laughing. She looked at the one who had entered the room, not knowing who he was, but knowing he must be an authoritarian of some kind, surely. He stood with such poise, such command, there could be no doubt. This man did not conceal his physical attributes behind layers of armor. This man did not, in fact, wear any armor at all. He wore a cloak that covered his shoulders and nearly brushed the floor at his feet.

“What have I told you?” The newcomer said in punctuated accent.

“Sir, I…”

“Did you do this?” he asked the guard, not indicating what he meant, but Karina knew he could only mean one thing.

“I…” The guard mumbled.

“Did he do this to you?” This time he directed the question at her. She did not know what to say. But then decided just to tell the truth. What more did she have to lose?

“He did it,” she said simply. He turned to the guard; anger etched every part of his face.

“Sir, please…”

“You’re a disgrace,” he said to the guard. Then he whipped out a blue staff. The guard raised his hands, panic in his face.

“Please, no… NO!” He yelled in anguish as the room lit up, blindingly. His cry ricocheted off the walls like a shriek of agony, and then as the room darkened, it too fell silent, a smoking heap that once was the prison guard lay in the corner. The other man walked toward Karina. Instinctively, she crab-walked backward, away from the man.

“It’s okay, my dear,” he said tenderly.

“Who are you? What happened to the guard?”

“He is dealt with. He won’t be bothering you again.”

“What does that mean?” She asked, still panicking.

“Listen to me,” he said, stowing the staff in a satchel around his back. At the same time, he pulled a set of folded clothes from a bag. She recognized them as the clothes she had been wearing before her abduction. He placed the clothes on the floor beside her and knelt down to her level.

“You can’t stay here,” he said in a whisper. She said nothing. He reached out and stroked the side of her face with the back of his hand. She recoiled, beginning to tremble. Then he ran his fingers through her hair. “If only we had more time,” he sighed, longingly.

“Who are you?” She asked, her voice shaking.

“I would have you, you know? And you would be my queen,” he said, not answering her question. Instinctively, she closed her knees as tightly as she could, not giving it a second thought. She swallowed hard. Her heart pounded so hard, she felt it would tear through her chest. And then she felt his hand on her shoulder. “Listen to me,” he said again. “I can get you out of here, but you have to be willing to run. You have to run, and you can’t stop. You will want to stop. You’re starved, you’re tired, you’re distressed, but you must not stop.” She stared into his eyes, unbelieving.

“I don’t understand,” she said, and again, he ignored her.

“You must run south. Run south until you find help. Do not stop. Do you understand?” She began nodding frantically, taken by his hypnotic words.

“I understand,” she answered.

“If you stop, they will catch you. They will violate you, every one of them, and then they will kill you.”

“Who will catch me?” She asked him. Again, he ignored her.

“Take these. You have less than one minute to put them on, and then you run. The exit is just outside this door. You understand? I have to send them. If you stop, they will catch you. Run. Run hard.”

“You have to send who?” She asked, but he had already stood and left the room. She sat there, frozen. And then remembering his promise that she had less than one minute, she began pulling the garments on, not bothering even to remove the old ones. She took a deep breath, stood up, gritted her teeth, and she ran. She turned left, following the light, and just as he had promised her, the exit was left open. Not stopping to consider anything, she bolted. The sun slapped her in the face unforgivingly, and she took a deep breath of fresh air. And then she heard the pounding and the ghastly wailing of her pursuer.

Run. She heard the voice of her savior in her head. Run.