These Chains
1224 Words
James screamed as the chains hit across his back again. He was chained to a wall inside what appeared to be a prison cell. He had never seen these types of chains before. The chains held his wrists twisted outward above his head, and there was a collar around his neck that was linked to chains around his ankles that were attacked to the floor. He was in pain but tried not to show his agony.
On James’s right side was Dalton and on his left was Dylan. They were restrained in the same manner. James tried to speak to them through the mind-link but didn’t reach anyone. He tried to talk to Duke and Jay, but there was still only silence. He couldn’t even feel his wolves with him anymore. This scared and amazed him at the same time.
Dylan screamed out in agony, “Why are you doing this to us?”
Alpha Andrew just laughed, “You really are as stupid as the wolves that live in this pack. Except that we have control over them. They submit to our every wish.”
“What do you mean, the wolves? What are you? Who are you?” James questioned.
“I’ve already said too much. Anna is going to kill me. I am not supposed to talk to you,” Andrew said toyingly. “Keep your mouths shut before you feel the wrath of the chains again.” Andrew walked out of the prison.
“What does he mean?” Dalton asked.
James shook his head as he inspected the binding that kept them prisoner, “I don’t know. What are these chains made of? I do not think I have ever felt anything like them.”
“I was wondering the same thing,” Dylan stated. “In all of my studies of wolf weakening materials, I have never come across anything like this.”
Dalton let out a breath, “I did, once. We were out hunting for deer when we came across a harpy village. They were very open and understanding about us hunting. They were friendly but showed us some things that we should have told you when we arrived back to the pack. These chains hold many different materials gathered to weaken us. The head harpy from that village Gina told us that they had saved some wolves that were being held hostage by another village. She wouldn’t tell us all the details but told us that these could kill our wolves if held captive for more than a month. They would make it where we couldn’t communicate through our mind-link and our wolves would seem like they had vanished.”
“How long has it been since this hunting trip?” James wondered.
“It was about three years ago,” Dalton almost whispered. “We didn’t think that it was important at the time. Alpha Jackson wasn’t himself and when we tried to talk to him the Luna cut us off, so we just let it go.”
James sighed, “That’s understandable. Merlia did a lot of damage to our pack before she was killed. Do you remember anything else that they told you about the bindings?”
“They contain a combination of wolfbane, silver, and…and” Dalton paused. “I can’t remember any other ingredients. I am sorry.”
Dylan smiled, “No, don’t worry about it. If it contains things to weaken our wolves, we can’t fight with wolves. We can use our other powers. James, see if you can call upon your power of the earth and break the chains.”
James shook his head, “I have never used my powers without my wolves present. I don’t know if it is possible.” James closed his eyes and focused on the earth beneath their feet. The ground began to shake slightly as the vines began to grow, wrapping around the shackles on his ankles. James was very careful to control the vines and ensure that they didn’t cause him or his companions any pain.
The chains broke and turned to dust with the strength of the vines. At James’s demands, the vines moved, breaking every chain and freeing them. Exhausted from being chained and beaten, they all fell to the ground to catch their breaths/
“Harpies,” James whispered. “But not all of them. Andrew can’t be a harpy because they are only female. Right?”
Dylan shook his head, “They are male harpies, but they are the lowest of the low. I don’t know why Anna would put one in charge of keeping us prisoners. They usually only create offspring.”
“The village that we visited, treated the males as slaves. They did all the dirty work,” Dalton added.
James, Dylan, and Dalton decided to slowly move towards the entrance and see if there were any guards. James had been careful when calling upon his earth powers to only be inside the room where they were, they gave them hope at escaping. Dalton and Dylan were prepared to use their powers to get past any guards.
James called upon his air powers and had a huge gust of wind blow around the prison so that he could count how many guards there were. “There is only one guard outside. A child as far as I can tell,” James whispered.
Dalton shook his head, “If they are harpies, they may be flying up higher. There can’t be just one child standing guard. Unless they doubted that we could escape those bindings.”
“If what you were informed is true, it is possible that they didn’t expect us to be able to use any powers to escape. I just don’t understand why harpies would take over an elemental pack,” Dylan said.
James nodded, “We have to figure out why and how they were able to do it. Was this pack unprepared for the dangers of our enemies? How long have the harpies been in control? I have so many questions and no way to get answers.”
“All the answers are available we just have to figure out how to get the harpies to trust us,” Dylan stated. “Do you think that Sadie, Skylar, Jerrica, and Abby are safe?”
Dalton shook his head, “I have been wondering the same thing. I still can’t get the mind-link to work so I can’t contact Abby to see if she is safe.”
“I can’t get mine to work either. I just want to return to my wife’s side,” James stated.
Dylan shook his head, “How long have we been here? I know at one point we were all passed out. Was it mere hours or was it days?”
“I don’t know but we need to get out of here before they come back,” James states firmly.
James sends another huge gush of wind around the prison and up into the trees as high as he can. “There aren’t any signs of anyone for a mile around or in the trees. I still only feel the presence of the child outside. Something is strange about the child though, I can’t quite put my finger on it,” James said.
- Writer
