My Big Furry Alien Satyr

2. Pria

2 PRIA

I was living a nightmare, but I knew I was wide awake. The noise and smells around me were real. The cool draught pressing against my bare skin was real. The fear I battled was worse than any night terror.

When my small metal cell had started shaking as if racked by an earthquake, I’d felt hope for the first time in weeks. Maybe one of the walls would collapse, giving me a chance of escape. Or the rubble would bury me, ending my miserable life. After at least a month in my dark prison, hope was a ray of light that gave me the energy to stand and face whatever was about to happen.

The walls and ceiling had indeed disappeared, pulling away to the sides until only the floor was left. I’d watched open-mouthed as an invisible giant dismantled my cell. Bright lights glared from all around me, making it impossible to see what lay beyond the metal square I stood on. My knees threatened to give in, but I grit my teeth and stared into the light. I’d survived weeks of starvation, sensory deprivation and t*****e. I wouldn’t give my unseen captors the satisfaction of seeing me crumble now.

A loud voice boomed from all around me, making guttural sounds that didn’t sound like any language I was familiar with. He – if it was a male – sounded excited.

I fought the urge to cover my nakedness and forced myself to stand up straight. I raised my chin defiantly and waited for whatever cruel t*****e they had in store for me.

The voice continued grunting enthusiastically, followed by occasional jeers and claps from what sounded like a large crowd. Was I surrounded by people or was this just a sound effect to scare me? By now, I’d learned not to trust my senses. My captors had proven that they could mess with my perception. Once, I’d woken up to a foot of water in my cell, rising fast until it had reached my neck. A moment later, it had vanished, leaving me completely dry, as if there hadn’t been any water at all. They loved messing with me. Were they testing my reactions or did they just like seeing me suffer?

They loved to hurt me. I’d survived more pain than I thought I could endure. They’d humiliated me, shaved off my hair, taken away my clothes. But for some reason, they hadn’t broken me. I was still in there, in this n***d, defenseless body. They hadn’t broken me and they wouldn’t succeed today.

The floor started shaking again. I lifted my arms to keep my balance. I half expected the floor to dissolve beneath me, but instead it moved downwards, propelled by invisible forces. It felt like standing in a lift, a lift that accelerated so much that I stumbled to my knees. The forces of gravity pushed me onto the floor until I was flattened against the cold surface. A heavy weight pressed against me, so strong that it would squash me any moment... And still the bright lights blinded me from all sides, hiding my surroundings. I squeezed my eyes shut and focused on breathing. My ribs ached as the pressure intensified, everything hurt. Something wet touched my lip; blood running from my nose. Stars flashed in front of my closed eyes before I succumbed to the darkness.

* * *

The gentle melody of birdsong woke me, a lullaby of sorts. The birds were singing peacefully, not alarmed by my presence. I blinked open my eyes, expecting blue sky, but above me was a sea of purple. Huge trees with bark the colour of ripe plum grew so high that I couldn't see the sky past their foliage. Their leaves were shades of violet, wine, mauve, with flashes of bright magenta closer to the ground. I'd never seen anything like it. Where the tree trunks met the earth, they were as wide as a bus, some even bigger.

I sat up slowly, rubbing my eyes. By now, I was used to the unexpected. I'd come to understand that I may no longer be on Earth, among humans. It had taken me weeks to even consider it, but now, sitting beneath purple trees and listening to unfamiliar, exotic birdsong solidified the truth: I was on an alien planet.

I breathed in deep. The air smelled strange, but not unpleasant. Floral yet spicy, with hints of cardamom and cumin. The air was heavy with moisture and for a moment, I was transported back into my nan's kitchen, a huge pot of curry on the stove, her kind eyes smiling down at me. A new call disrupted the birds' melody and I was ripped from the memory. Another bird, or maybe a small animal, sounding panicked. The birds picked up the alarm, their song turning into a wild cacophony.

There was no time to get my bearings. I didn't know where I was, or why I was here, but instinct told me to run. Whatever the birds were warning of could be dangerous. Maybe one of the beings who'd tortured me. I doubted they'd set me free simply to recapture me immediately, but I wouldn't take any chances.

I scrambled up and searched for a path through the purple forest. The undergrowth was thick with roots, branches and dead leaves. Above me, birds were lifting from the trees and all flew into the same direction. The best option would be to follow them. They knew what they were fleeing from. Until I found out what threats were lurking in this strange world, I'd use them as my guides.

My bare feet ached after only a few steps on the rough ground. In my cell, it hadn't mattered much that they'd taken my shoes and clothes, but right now I would have given anything for some boots. Fear drove me on, even when cuts covered my feet and legs. I had to get away. I couldn't run, the thicket was too dense for that, but I walked as fast as I could, bending branches out of the way and climbing over slippery roots. And still, the birds were calling out the alarm.

I kept listening for the sounds of predators, a roar maybe, or a crushing of branches and leaves, but the only thing I could hear were the panicked birds. Maybe I was overreacting, but primal instinct drove me on. I hadn't survived weeks of confinement and t*****e only to be eaten by an alien beast now.

The soles of my feet were wet with blood and mud. I wouldn't be able to keep going for much longer. I was no longer as physically fit as I had been before I'd woken up in my cell. I'd tried my best to do my daily yoga exercises, but on some days, I'd been in too much pain to get off my bed. I didn't remember most of what they'd done to me, only that it hurt and that it sapped all my strength. Back home, running for half an hour wouldn't have been a problem for me. Now, even walking quickly through the thick undergrowth was making me wheeze. All I wanted was to sit down and rest, but the birds were still flying away from the direction I'd been coming from. Something was out there. Something dangerous.

I got slower and slower, but I kept stumbling along, ignoring the agony in my feet and the ache in my lungs. If the predator liked human blood, it would be able to follow me easily. I was leaving a b****y trail on the ground, but it couldn't be helped. A root caught around my ankle and I tripped, falling face down onto the decaying purple leaves that covered the muddy ground. Exhausted, I just lay there for a moment, too tired to get back on my feet. Suddenly, the noise around me stopped. The birds no longer sang. They no longer flew, their wings rustling the leaves. There was a just a dead, menacing silence.

As quietly as I could, I rolled onto my back to look up at the trees. It was incredible just how high they reached. They seemed to grow all the way into the clouds like mountains.

A shadow moved high above me, something huge. It didn't make a sound. With the size of it, there should have been some sort of noise, even just the creaking of branches, but it was eerily silent. The beast was a black shadow on six spindly legs that wrapped around tree trunks as it made its way through the forest. It had to be at least fifty metres above me, but it was so large that it wouldn't take it long to reach the ground. It reminded me of a crab, but nimbler and far more evil. This beast was stalking prey, following a scent or trace. As it passed over me, its shadow blocked out all light. I shivered from fear and cold. For a tiny moment, it stilled when it was right above me, as if it had noticed my presence, but then it continued moving through the trees. I didn't dare to breathe, let alone move. I stayed on the ground for a few more minutes, praying that the danger had passed. Only when a solitary bird started picking up its song again did I slowly sit up. My vision blurred for a moment. When had I last eaten something?

I had to find food, water and shelter. I didn't know why I was here or for how long they'd let me run free, but I had to plan for every eventuality. In normal life, I liked to take things as they came, trusting for everything to turn out well in the end, but this wasn't a normal situation. This was survival.