Chapter 6 The Prison Break

A guard came by twice a day. I was afforded food and a small cup of water. My guess was, to appease my hunger and thus, my potential anger. I was given a bucket that was emptied twice a week. The three cellmates I had, have since passed. I have two new ones at the moment and one is on the brink of death.

Its been about five months since I was brought here. My weight has dropped drastically. I'm almost emaciated, but I still feel fine. I heard from the guard, that I would get a new cellmate today. I was not interested at the time but when I saw who it was...

"You can not do this to me! I am a high-class aristocrat! Who do you think you are!?"

I recognized his sniveling voice. It was Rahmik Lethroh. He continued his bellowing even after his cage reached its hanging destination. He was too busy yelling at the guards to notice my presence.

"Well, well. Welcome... to my humble abode."

I could tell he recognized my voice. He stopped yelling and took a moment before he looked in my direction. Oh boy! That was that the scowl of a lifetime.

"You..."

He probably blames me for being here.

"This is all because of you!"

Yup.

"Ever since you came to my home. You destroyed it and stole my slave out from under my feet. Its been nothing but hell!"

I gave him a smirk.

"I seem to recall you were at odds with the guards when I first showed up. It gave the impression that you were already in a heap of trouble before I arrived."

"I was framed! I had to kill my wife and make it look like I was framed for that too! This is all because you had to come to MY house!"

I wanted to laugh at his deplorable admission of guilt but at the same time...

"That is... unfortunate. Honestly, I got an uncomfortable feeling from your wife, but I never felt she deserved death. It seemed to me that you were the only person she cared for. Admitting your hand in her death makes me feel nothing for you. I don't mean that my opinion is unchanged, It's the opposite. I very much disliked you. The fact that I now feel nothing for you, means that I will feel no happiness or sorrow when you die. You are simply a stone that caused a wake in my life. You have already sunk to the bottom and the ripples in my water are already dyeing down. When those ripples hit the edge of Lake, you will be forgotten."

He threw more insults at me and yelled some more. I Ignored him from that point on. A few days later, another prisoner was brought in.

This time was different. There were no words exchanged by the guards or the prisoner. They must have been sedated before they were brought here. The chain of the hanging cage directly next to my cell began to lower.

It hit the ground with a loud bang. The door opened and I heard the body of the prisoner land roughly. The door was closed again and began to rise. When It reached the peak of its height it was roughly three feet lower than mine. Maybe three or four feet away from me.

I could see the prisoner quite well. It looked like a panther. There were faded red colors on the fur. Tribal markings? The torso of the beast looked a bit slender for a large cat like that. The tail looked like something was off, but I couldn't quite make it out through the two cages. Why put a large animal in one of these cells?

At that moment, the guard who delivered food came walking by. They carried a spear with a hook on it. They use the hook to attach a tray with a handle onto the end and raise it up to me. I can take what food I can carry but not the tray. I took a few extra biscuits and fruits off the tray. I laid back and rested the food that I didn't eat, on my stomach.

After a few hours, I heard sounds from below. The chain next to me began to shake a little. I roused myself up from my resting position to get a better look. The large cat-like creature was awake now, testing the strength of the cage in various locations.

"Here, kitty kitty. I got something for ya."

I was getting ready to throw down some food for my own amusement when the unexpected happened.

"I am no house pet! Dumb elf! Aren't you? When I get out of here, I'll eat you! Won't I?"

I froze quite thoroughly. The voice was that of a young girl in their early twenties.

"Sorry, I had no idea you could speak. Also, I'm a human."

She stared right at me.

"A human? In an elf prison? That's a bit unusual. Isn't it?"

"Ah, yeah my situation has unusual, written all over it. The guard who passes out food has gone by already. Were you hungry? I picked up extra food if you want some."

She tilted her head to the side.

"A thoughtful human. Isn't he?"

She sat down and looked as though she wanted to say something more when I heard a large growl. She looked surprised.

"Did you just growl at me?"

"Ah, that... I did, but... It wasn't..."

If a panther could look embarrassed, this is probably what it would look like.

"Haha, I'm just teasing you."

Another small earthquake shook the area but, I thought nothing of it.

"What was that, just now?"

The large cat was shivering against the edge of her, still swaying cage. I could also hear Mik complaining in the background, but I was still ignoring him.

"It's ok, that was just an earthquake. Nothing special."

"I have a couple of biscuits and some fruit."

She got over the earthquake quickly and stood up on her hind legs with her front paws higher up on the cage.

"Oh yes, please! I was captured by the elves when I was foraging for food. I haven't eaten in a while. I haven't?"

That's cute, she changed her tune real quick. I threw down the biscuits and what I would call an apple, but it tastes a bit different. The apple almost missed. She reached out and caught it on one of her claws.

"Oh! Nice catch!"

"No thanks to you, human. No, right?"

She happily ate the food I gave her. I said it was for my amusement before but, I'm still not sure why I took more food in the first place. Intuition?

"Thank you for the food, human. Thanks, right? What should I call you?"

" You can call me, Lake. I'm guessing you wouldn't like me to call you kitty. What is your name?"

"My name? Mine? Its been a while since I've been asked my name by someone outside of my tribe."

She didn't say anything for a bit. Did she forget her name?

"I have decided. I have? My full name is forbidden to outsiders. Isn't it? But, my kind have never been seen again, once they are captured by the elves. I may die here."

She took a breath.

"You may call me Meryt-Neith. Everyone else calls me Mery. They do?"

"I see. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mery."

Her eyes looked almost disappointed.

"Why do the elves seem to hate your people so much? I recall a guard mentioning something about black cats being annoying when I first arrived with the elves."

She huffed in anger.

"These elves think the forest is theirs. Don't they? My kind was here long before them. We were here before the trolls even. And yet we are treated as the invaders. We are? The trolls would hunt us for food. The elves resented us for hunting 'their' prey. The humans were the worst. They hunted us for sport. Gutting us and stuffing our bodies for display. I will admit, I was not born yet when the humans did that. Now your kind is a rarity. Aren't they?"

She has a weird way of talking, but I like hearing her voice.

"Well, I can promise you that I will never try to stuff you or anyone of your kind. I'm not like the humans that you are used to."

"I can tell when one of your kind lies. I can? Lucky for you. It's not like you could do anything to me while we are in there anyways. You can't?"

I saw her swipe her tail back and forth a few times. This gave me a better look at what I couldn't see before.

"Is your tail split near the end?"

"It is. Is it? It's a mark of royalty. It is?"

I was surprised, I would not have guessed.

"So, are you a Queen?"

Mary looked at me with a fire in her eyes.

"I am not so old, Lake! I do not like you so much anymore. I don't? For your information, I am a Princess."

She paused.

"And... I happened to be betrothed only just today."

I grabbed the bar of my cage and pulled myself closer.

"Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that. He must be looking franticly for you."

On that sour note, she lay down and stopped talking for the remainder of the day. The next day Mery and I talked here and there. I took note of the fact that the guard that brought food, never brought any for her, only water. I shared my food with her again that day, both times. The following day, they only brought food enough for me once. I shared my food with her still. They brought even less food the following day.

At that point, I was just giving her all the food on my tray when the guard was not looking. Even she was losing weight now. A large cat, like her, would need more intake than me and I've been hardly getting enough for me. If can survive a spear through the heart, I think I can also survive starvation.

Once, when I would normally be asleep, I was wide awake and heard footsteps. I then heard whispering. A guard was talking to Mik. I glanced over as best I could with minimal movement. I saw the guard pass some food over to Mik. I think he was ratting us out, about me sharing food.

At this rate, they may stop bringing food to us all together, at least until she dies of starvation. This situation is aggravating. Exactly the reason I did not want to make friends in here.

I yawned and pretended to wake up noisily.

"Hey, guard!"

I banged on the bars.

"You know, I don't ask for much. Can you get me a big cup of water?"

The guard looked up at me.

"Why would I do that?"

"You know who I am, don't you? Do you really want to piss me off?"

The guard grunted, shrugged and walked away. A few minutes later, he was back with several small cups of water.

"This is the best I can do. I also can't let you hold onto any of the cups, so drink what you will now or not at all."

I happily drank all the water I could. Later, I had to pee really badly for the first time in a long while. My bucket was mostly empty and I didn't plan on filling it today.

I stood up. I was facing toward Mik's cage, which was just across the catwalk. He was almost at catwalk level. I should be able to make the target.

I pulled down my pants and took aim. He must have been dreaming about something nice. He looked happy for a bit as he was getting rained on.

Then he woke up.

"Uh, what? What the?! HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DO... STOP!"

Got some in his mouth. I let an evil grin escape. I finished my mission of revenge and pulled up my pants.

"Vulgar."

I heard from below me. I whispered to Mery as best I could through Mik's yelling.

"Sorry but, I think he ratted us out on the food sharing."

She looked over at him.

"That's okay, then."

Her usual speech pattern was no longer present. She must be weak from hunger. As I predicted, the food stopped coming. As she got weaker over the next two days, I got more and more anxious. She stopped talking.

I was ready to try letting my rage out, but I never forgot about Sophie. Someone would die no matter what I do. This felt like one of those shitty, no-win situations. The feeling is...

Footsteps?

An unusual hour for a guard. This was not one of the normal guards, he was tall. He grabbed a torch off of the wall by the entrance to the catwalk. He drew closer. I realized it was not a he but a she.

Wait.

"Estheria?"

She walked right up to me and handed me several handfuls of food.

"Tonight, you may have your opportunity to escape. Eat up to gain strength."

I grabbed her hand.

"But, Sophie! If I leave, she .."

"What about Sophie? She has been with me the entire time."

I squeezed her hand.

"The Elders said they would find her and keep her prisoner. She was going to be executed if I defied my imprisonment or used my power."

She pulled her hand away and gave me a sly smile.

"They never found her. I have a friend in the troll village of Juiyo. She is being cared for there. Go there if you want her back."

With that said, she turned around and walked back to the exit. She replaced the torch and disappeared around the corner of the doorway. My next thought was Mery. I threw a few crumbs at her to wake her up. She began to stir and looked up at me.

"Wha.."

"Sshhhh."

She saw what I had in my hand. I threw her some food. After she ate some, I gave her the rest.

"Ehr!"

She sounded like she was in pain. I watched her spit something out. It clanged metal on metal at the bottom of the cage. It fell through.

"What was that in the food?"

I facepalmed myself. That must have been the key to my cage. My 'chance' to escape.

"She could have told me..."

I whispered under my breath. I was afraid the key would make a ton of noise and attract a guard. It must have fallen straight into a gap between stones. I only heard a small chink when it landed.

Now I don't know what to do. Although I don't have to worry about Sophie for the time being.

I still haven't had much practice with my power, so I don't know if I'll lose control by using it. People could get hurt and that's not what I want to do.

Maybe an hour after Estheria left, I heard whispering. I almost didn't see them. There were two panthers. One was making an attempt at the lock on Mery's cage. The other must have been the lookout. The lookout happened to notice my observation of them. It took a fierce stance like it was ready to pounce at me.

"Don't!"

The lookout looked at Mery.

"He gave me food. I am alive because of him. I am!"

She was obviously feeling better because of the food I gave her earlier. The lookout went back to their original position. Mery's lock was open soon enough.

"Good luck, Stay safe."

I whispered to them. It looked like Mery whispered something to one of them. I heard a,

"No."

They left in darkness. I was glad that someone came for her. I hope they get out alright. I'm still stuck here.

I let out a large sigh.

Shaking? A small earthquake?

Another? Aftershocks?

This is too rhythmic. This is being caused by something. Mik woke up.

"Are you... Are you using your powers? Are you going to destroy our city?!"

He sounded scared and resentful at the same time.

"It's not me. There is something going on above."

Our cages were gently rocking now.

"Yeah, I am sure... I know this is your doing. You hate me because you are jealous of my ability to rule over a slave properly. All you can do is lose the slave you stole from me. Why did you have to come to my house? My life was perfect!"

"Yeah, getting to abuse a girl and killing your wife is reeeal great. Scumbag."

"I could do whatever I wanted to her. She was MY slave! I DID do whatever I wanted to her. I made her scream some nights. I'm sure she will miss those times with me."

He finished with an evil-sounding chuckle.

He felt safe from me while behind bars.

...

The sound of metal being crushed in my hands echoed throughout the prison.

I pulled the bars in my hands in opposite directions like I was pressing aside hanging beads in a doorway. I jumped down to the catwalk.

He let out a yelp and started screaming for the guards. His hanging cage was still gently swaying from whatever commotion was going on above. I slowly paced over. Five steps and I was there.

He was cowering in the corner still crying for help. I gently placed a hand over two of the sturdier bars on the cage he was in. I squeezed just enough to press the two bars together.

I took one big step back, straightening out my arm without letting go. I tensed my arm muscles beginning to pull with all my strength and speed I could muster. The cage was free of the chain in one instant and flattened against the far wall in another.

Mik's corpse was mangled beyond comprehension. His flesh was between the bars of the flattened cage, now stuck in the wall.

I felt nothing for him, as I said before. I merely righted a wrong.

I felt the tense nature of seething anger.

I calmly took a breath.

In, out.

In, out.

"Release the anger."

I told myself.

I felt much calmer. The area was still devoid of guards. Whatever was going on outside was enough of a distraction to call away the prison guards.

I followed the exit that the panthers took. Through the doorway and to the right. From there, I was lost. I wandered for about ten minutes. The sounds above never stopped. I found a long hallway with an open door at the end. There were stairs going up in a zig-zag pattern. I followed them up. At the top was another long hallway with a double-wide, open doorway as well as more stairs at the end.

Before I could get to the next set of stairs, two panthers jumped out in front of me. They both had tribal paint on them as well as some jewelry around their faces and ears. One was visibly older with some grey in the face and tail. Before I could say anything, the older one pounced at me. I stepped back and pulled my left hand over to my right side.

When the pouncing panther got close, I backhanded it.

It slammed into the wall with an incredible force.

It was dead.

I looked at the other panther. It raised its rear end and lowered its head toward me as if to bow to me.

"I know my place, you are stronger. Spare me and I shall follow you to the ends of the earth."

The first male panther I've met. Not that I have met many.

"As long as you don't attack me, I will have no problems with you."

"I am at your service. Forevermore, Master."

"Do you know a way out? I was a prisoner here and I never learned the layout."

The panther turned around and looked back at me.

"Follow me, Master."

He went up the stairs that I was headed for in the first place. At least I know it's the right path now. I did not feel anger when I hit that older panther. Was that a residual strength from earlier? I grabbed the stair railing and gave it a squeeze. It crushed like cloth in my grip.

"Is something wrong, master?"

"No. Continue."

We took a few more turns after the top of the staircase. We found the exit to the city streets. I heard the cries of elves and lumbering thuds from unknown sources.

When I got out, I saw what the commotion was.

Giants.

Giants were attacking the elf city.