Escape
1882 Words
“What do you want with me?” I asked the suspicious man.
“I want your meal. That is all I ask,” he answered.
“Fine, you can have it,” I handed over a bowl full of indiscernible mush.
“Do not spill an ounce of it. I don’t want to wrestle with the mice feasting from the dead body between us.”
“Is that what I smell? What the heck is happening here, man?”
“I am lost as you are. But just a moment ago, I heard a female voice screaming. It sounded like she was being dragged in another room not far from here,” he explained between bites.
“Why should I care?”
“She screamed Kun or something.”
“Oh my goodness, it must be Girly! You have to tell me how to get out of this cell, man.”
“Okay, here is the plan. Pour some of this ‘food’ to the chains that bind you.”
“Give that to me,” I poured some of the mush to the chains, “Nothing’s happening. What do I now?”
“They just need a little incentive. Pour some of your blood on it.”
“Oh hell, no. I ain’t wasting my blood on this.”
“You are running out of time. Nibble a little skin on your finger and let it drip. Then quickly cover your wound with cloth. You don’t want to end up like our friend here, do you?”
“I guess I have no choice.”
My hands were shaking, and my mind pulsed like it wanted to come out. Suddenly, I heard Girly’s voice call out to me. I breathed in deeply and calmed my nerves. I put a finger to my mouth, then ripped it open. I bit my other hand as I poured my blood.
The rats became silent for a moment. Then I felt something move up the chains. I quickly ripped my shirt then wrapped the torn piece on my finger. The metal clanked noisily as they nibbled on it. Finally, the chains dropped, and the mice fled.
I scrambled towards the door, but it was locked.
“Dang it, now what am I supposed to do?” I flopped to the floor.
“I was trying to call you, but you were too busy watching the mice,” he said in a low voice.
“Why are you whispering?”
“They might get to me if I shout out to you.”
“Who do you mean by ‘they’?”
“Do you remember the mice earlier?”
“Yeah…?”
“A few days ago, this man here shouted and cursed at the guards. Suddenly, one of the mice jumped into his mouth and he could not scream anymore. He could not even mutter any sound after that.”
“What do you suggest I do?”
“Come here.”
“Okay,” I lifted my chains as I approached him.
“Smear this man’s blood to the door’s hinges. Add some of his meat as an incentive.”
“I don’t think I can do that. This is just too much.”
“Do you want to rot in here? You are good as dead before you even try anything.”
“I don’t want that.”
“Then do as I say. Search the man’s pockets, he might have something to cut with.”
I breathed a couple of times before reaching for his pockets. I found an army knife in hidden in his jacket, “Got it.”
“The body wouldn’t cut itself, you know. Get working.”
I felt the knife cut deep into the skin until the bone got in the way. I didn’t look and just pressed the blade deeper. Then I placed them on the hinges. I gathered his blood using the food bowl and poured it on the meat. Squeaking noises came out of nowhere and nibbled on them.
Slowly, the door creaked and more and more gathered on the mini feast I prepared. Finally, the door gave way, and the mice fled to the open space. I silently inched back to talk to the man.
“Thank you, but why are you helping me?”
“I have a son who would have been your age yesterday. There was nothing I could do when the monsters invaded our kingdom.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“It’s fine. You must go and save your friend.”
“I won’t forget this old man.”
“Good luck, boy,” I felt him smile.
I went out of the door and looked for Girly. I whispered to her in every cell until I heard her sneeze. I rushed to the sound. My soul got lifted when I finally saw her.
“Girly, thank goodness I found you. Are you alright?” I asked in a low voice.
“Yeah Kun, I’m fine. I heard a loud crash. What was going on back there?” Her voice was hushed.
“I got out, that’s what happened. Now, I have to get you out, too.”
“How? Do you have a key?”
“Even better. Do you see the hinges?”
“Yeah… they are on your right.”
“Good. Step back for a moment.”
“Where are you going?”
“I will be back.”
Then a guard saw me. He was wearing a fatigued royal armor with the crest of twin serpents. He seemed out of himself as he chased after me. I ran back to my cell and hid there. This would have been easier if I had my bombs with me.
“Come out of there, little mouse. My canon blaster has a surprise for you,” he waved his long-nosed gun.
As he set foot inside the cell, I splattered him with the dead man’s remains. I felt sorry for the guy but I hope he understands, he is doing it for the right cause. Anyway, I stabbed his leg with the army knife and he winced. Moments later, a large number of mice swarmed the area.
“W-What do you want? G-get back! Aaaahhhh!!!” He screamed as they lunged at him, killing him instantly.
“Well, that has been taken care of. Thanks man, I hope you aren’t mad. See ya,” I said to the silent body.
I threw the knife to the fallen door, which made a loud banging sound. The mice cleared the scene for a moment, enough for me to grab the prison keys. I unlocked the chains on my feet before unlocking Girly’s door. I freed her from her bounds, then grabbed her hand.
“We have to get out of here before his friends check on him,” I urged her.
“But where do we go? Where is my weapon?” She looked around.
“We have no time for that. We have to run.”
“What happened back there? I heard someone scream.”
“I already took care of that. Are there any more questions?”
“Nope.”
“Then be quiet and help me look for an exit.”
“I wish Keita was here with me now.”
“What does that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing, forget that I mentioned him.”
I shrugged it off. The man’s words occupied my mind before I left him there. I should have taken him with me. Then my vision became cloudy.
“Are you crying, Kun?”
“No, I am just tired. I haven’t gotten any sleep for some time now.”
“Oh… is that so? Well, you can tell me about it.”
“Nope, just tired.”
“Okay, but if you need to—“
“I said that I’m just tired. Enough, okay?” I interrupted her.
She only nodded. Now, my superego is nagging me for doing that.
“Look, I’m sorry, but I really am just tired,” I exhaled.
“I understand.”
“Thank you.”
I heard the guards rush to the scene. Suddenly, I heard a few rounds of shots and then silence. High-pitched squeaks followed soon after. Then silence took place.
“What was that?” Girly asked.
“Just keep running. You don’t want to know what happened back there,” I warned her.
Then, a familiar growl sounded in the distance.
“Grumpy, is that you?” Girly called out.
“Shh… they might get to us,” I muffled her mouth.
“You mean those things that we just heard?”
“Yeah…” I winced at the memory.
Finally, we are out of the prison block. Stairs awaited us at the very end of the area. Grumpy kept on calling to us, which led us to the surface. I was happy to have seen the surface again. I dropped to the floor to catch my breath.
Girly sat beside me. She hummed a low, unfamiliar tune while we leaned against the floor .
“What is that sound?” I asked her.
“Grumpy has been calling out to us,” she replied.
“No, not that, silly. I was referring to the sound that you just made.”
“Oh, that. It was a song my mother used to sing to me. It helps me calm down.”
“I like it. Could you sing it for me, please?”
“Okay.”
Her song drowned the horrors of the castle. It was almost a distant nightmare. I felt my eyelids become heavy until they completely closed.
In my dream, I saw my family again. We were dining around a small table. It was dinnertime and my father was late. He texted my mom and told her to start dinner without him. I asked my mom why and she told me he will be working more hours.
After dinner, I waited and waited for him until my eyes could not take it anymore. The next morning, I received the news. My father did not make it because he was staying with someone last night. It made me so furious that I went back to sleep.
As I slept, I felt someone nudging me. I rolled over to the side to get more sleep, but it was persistent. I rolled and rolled, but it never gave up. The persistence got to me, so I opened my eyes.
“What is it?” I roared in irritation.
“It’s time to go Kun, you have been out for hours,” she urged me.
“Huh? It wasn’t a dream?” I scratched my head.
“Do you think I’m joking?” She finely pinched my cheek.
“Ow, that hurts.”
“Enough of this, let’s go save Grumpy and Vampire.”
“Okay.”
We followed the sound Grumpy made. He was howling. We were at the hallway full of portraits of the Royal Family. A thick maroon carpet directed our path to another room. It stopped in front of a marble green door.
Inside it was Vampire hanged upside down on the ceiling. Fabrics from the walls met at the center where it pinned Vampire. His face was paler than before. I called out to him.
“Is that you guys?” He groggily asked.
“What happened to you, Vampire? How did you end up there?” I kept shouting.
“I don’t know. When I entered the castle doors, I simply fainted. That is all I could remember.”
“Can you reach your feet?” Girly suggested.
“I feel so weak. I don’t think I can move an inch.”
“You have to try, Vampire. Don’t wimp out on me,” I encouraged him.
“Okay, here goes nothing,” he tried. “I just can’t, my head feels like it would explode if I move.”
“You useless wimp of darkness, I thought Vampires were supposed to be scary.”
“Well, why don’t you make yourselves useful and cut me free?”
“We would if we only have our weapons with us,” Girly explained.
“Great, my rescuers are just as useless.”
“Don’t feel bad. Here, grab this knife and try again,” I threw the knife, and it almost stabbed his feet.
“Oh, come on. Nice throwing, Kun.”
“Good luck.”
“Shh… someone is coming. Hide!” Girly exclaimed.
She pulled me into the wardrobe. I have never felt fear of closed spaces before, but with Girly, it was made possible. Her chest was as deadly as her missiles. They were squeezing the life out of me.
“Be quiet, Kun,” she softly whispered.
“Easy for you to say. Are these made out of granite or something?” I whispered back.
We peered through the keyhole and saw a man wearing a dark green cloak. He raised his hands up and Vampire wailed in pain. The fabric glowed with him.
“Vampire!” I gasped.
“Kun, wait, no!”
“I have to help that weakling. He will be super useless if he dies.”
“Still, now is not the time,” Girly pulled me back.
- Writer
