The kingdom of Steven

Escape

Steven opened his eyes. They had bound him and dragged him with a sack on his head. He looked around. The terrain here was different. There was less trees. Little houses made of brick surrounded with small fences were scattered around. It was a village.

He couldn't move. They had bound him to a tree with a thick rope and his arms were behind him. He tried making eye contact with the people walking around. There were women staring at him as they walked by as he was the only fully dressed person there. When they made eye contact they looked away immediately and walked away hastily.

A small boy walked towards him but he was warded off by an old man who looked at Steven with what appeared to be disgust. Steven looked around it. It was odd. No one was guarding him. He had to seize the opportunity. He dragged his arms as low as he could and picked up what he presumed was the sharpest rock there.

He went to work straightaway cutting the rope with the rock. He had to do it at intervals as his arm kept giving way and becoming weak with each passing second. After what seemed like an eternity he broke free. He had to come up with a plan to avoid getting caught again. It hit him faster than he expected. It was risky. He knew what he had to do.

After about a good thirty minutes a man walked to the spot where Steven had been held captive. He yelled and ran and came back later with other men who looked equally frustrated. Steven had to observe them carefully. He held his breath from his viewpoint. They all yelled and pointed in one direction while two or three others pointed in a different direction. A mutual decision to go in the earlier pointed direction was taken by the men.

After he was sure they had all left Steven jumped out from the tree. He had climbed up the same tree they had bound him to. He smiled and looked around. The danger was not over yet. The village seemed to go on for miles and the news of his captive would have already reached many villagers. He needed camouflage. He looked around and tip-toed into the nearest house.

It seemed empty. He went ahead and ripped off his shirt. He looked around and found black pants identical to the ones the men wore. He put it on and a cauldron in the corner caught his eye.

'Perfect' he thought. He scraped off the burnt bits of the pot and rubbed it on his skin. It didn't exactly give him the tanned appearance he wanted but it was something. 

Just as he was about to head out he bumped into a girl. She had dark skin, long curls and was wearing something that looked like the ropes he was bound with. He gestured her to be quiet and walked out. He looked over to see if she was going to yell or draw attention to him but she didn't. 

Finally, Steven reached what he presumed was the outskirts of the village. Suddenly he heard something behind him. He went into his defensive pose and grabbed the nearest stick and pointed it at the direction of the sound he heard earlier. It was the same girl. 'f**k off' he gestured. She didn't move. She was alone and hadn't brought anyone along or alerted anyone. 'She probably wants to escape too' he thought. 

He then gestured her to come along and took a step to the right. He felt her arm tug him back. She gestured something that Steven was sure meant the direction he was taking was not a good idea. He nodded towards the other direction and she smiled. "Well let's go that way then" he said walking to the left. She silently followed.