Escape!
828 Words
Yolen climbed down the hole and waited for the others to follow. It was a narrow tunnel with enough room for a single person to pass through at a time. They could only follow Yolen in a straight line.
Zill’s ears pricked up again, he could hear more voices upstairs.
“What’s taking him so long?”
“We should go and have a look.”
“Jake, hurry up! More warlocks are coming downstairs!” the little gnome cried in panic.
“You guys go. I will have to carry her.” Jake bent down and wrapped his arms around the girl. “Hold on to my shoulder. We are getting out of here.”
The girl just kept staring blankly at the ground. It was as if the words hadn’t yet registered in her mind.
“Please, come with us! They will torture you to death if you stay here!” he kept pleading her.
“I don’t wish to live,” she replied with tears running down her scared little face. “The nightmares just don’t stop. I can’t take this anymore. Kill me, please.”
“I don’t know what you have gone through but I want you to know that they will pay for their crimes!”
“It doesn’t matter. It won’t stop the pain. Only death can save me.”
The heavy footsteps were getting closer now. Even Jake could hear the shuffling of boots on the staircase.
“They are coming downstairs! Are you sure this is what you want?”
“Yes, I want to die. Thank you for trying to save me.”
Jake’s eyes glared up with pain and he looked straight into her shrunken pupils. “Don’t you want to go back to your own world? Don’t you have any friends or family?”
Suddenly, the blank expression in her dewy eyes was suddenly replaced by an ardent spark which lit her pale and youthful face. “Family...” she repeated, trying to remember something important.
After a moment’s hesitation, she curled her slender arms around Jake’s shoulders and clung tightly to him. Jake picked her off the ground and jumped into the hole just in the nick of time. The warlocks had made their way downstairs.
“Why is it so dark in here?”
“Where the hell are the guards?”
They could clearly hear the disgruntled voices upstairs as they made their way across the narrow tunnel.
Carrying the girl in his arms, Jake trudged through the gloomy darkness. Yolen’s lantern barely lit up the way ahead as it cast fleeting shadows on the crumbling walls.
“This tunnel will collapse at any moment. We need to walk faster!” cried Yolen.
Zill quickened his pace, leaving Jake far behind. Jake breathed heavily; as he struggled under the weight of the girl he was carrying. Back in his own world the only heavy lifting he did was carrying the grocery bags back to his apartment. No matter how arduous the task seemed, he was determined not to give up. He had to get her out of that hell hole at any cost!
Meanwhile, the warlock Elementalists above had found the bodies of the dead Vanguards.
“The prisoner has escaped through a tunnel! She couldn’t have done it alone. There must have been armed accomplices who helped her,” said a hoary old voice.
“We should call for backup. If they managed to kill the Vanguards so easily, we need to be cautious,” replied a younger voice.
The warlock Elementalists were shocked at the sight of the corpses struck by arrows. They knew that only the elves used bows in combat but this was too bold a move even for an elven Royal. Before this day, no being had ever dared to break into the warlock college and free the captives. One of the Elementalists cast an illumination spell and started searching for clues while the younger one ran upstairs to raise an alarm.
Soon, the whole warlock college was abuzz with shouts and frenzied cries. The Vanguards in the village were alerted immediately and one of the patrolling sentries was ordered to notify the elite troops in Drakenmoor. A couple of young Vanguards were sent downstairs to track the perpetrators. They jumped inside the tunnel, with flaming swords in hand.
Yolen was almost near the tunnel’s exit when he heard the sound of heavy footsteps behind them. He climbed out of the tunnel as quickly as possible and extended his hand to Zill. Jake was still trailing far behind; his strength was almost entirely drained by now.
“I will walk...You don’t need to carry me,” urged Emily.
“Okay, I will hold your hand. Follow me.” Jake gently lowered her feet on the ground. Holding her hand tightly in his, Jake led the way. Loose rocks and soil rained down from the tunnel’s ceiling, as the pair ran towards the exit.
They barely managed to climb out of the hole on the other side as the tunnel caved in behind them, crushing the Vanguards to death. It was a close call but they were all still in one piece. However, they were still not out danger. The patrolling Vanguards were now searching the road for signs of the intruders.
- Writer
