<< Chapter 5 (Part 1)
She taught me again, slowly and with a knowing tone. This time around, I tried to absorb as much as I can. I digested every word as diligently as I can. My error lay on my poor regard for instructions. If we were ever going to learn to work together, we better start learning how to communicate better.
Ayesa had a distinct disadvantage. Much like Teten, her re-education has caused her to become well-versed in the giants’ native tongue. Even though I understood most of what the giants spoke, the way I spoke was still incomprehensible to them. We need to find a way to communicate without letting the giants, or even Teten, for that matter, become aware of what we were talking about.
I had suspected Teten of giving in to her reconditioning and allying herself with the giants for quite some time. That claim remains to be unproven but her recent actions have caused me to question her allegiance. How she’d be at Dadier and Mamie’s beck and call, how she’d follow their instructions without question. There was a fine line between concealing your true motives and overtly doing as you’re told — I fear she now identified with the latter. Whatever it is, I didn’t want to risk anything by digging deeper.
Leaning in closer, I snuck in chatter about hatching an escape plan in between the archery lesson. I didn’t know if Ayesa was just pretending to not listen so as not to attract any unwanted attention or if she simply didn’t understand a thing I was saying. Maybe I spoke too softly or too quickly.
"Do you understand?" I inquired.
She nodded, smiling, and hopped excitedly to the wall. "Here! Aim here. Okay, Ledd?"
Just like before, I struck a stiff pose, extended my left hand, avoided bending my wrist and closed my left eye. Feeling a little more nervous, I bit my lower lip as I drew back on the bow — the red tip of the arrow the only thing in my sight. The blurred target started to gain focus, as I aligned my sight. I felt beads of sweat trickle down the side of my face. Inhale, exhale. I released my grip, almost pushing the arrow forward.
It didn’t hit the wall as I had hoped but at least it gained some distance. Ayesa fetched the errant ammunition and brought it back to me, urging me to try again.
I couldn’t believe we were getting away with this — practicing just beyond the giants’ sight. It was beyond me! Maybe they thought that our practicing was just a harmless distraction, maybe they thought the force of the arrows wouldn’t stand a chance against their thick hide. One thing’s for sure: they were underestimating us.
Every rule has its twilight. If they thought their victory was a perpetual parade, they were sorely mistaken. Just as they rose during the height of the Great War, so too shall they fall when a collective uprising would overwhelm them.
I felt a resurgence of hope with every fling of the arrow. Every time I tried to unsuccessfully shoot my target but still gain significant improvement, the more I felt energized. Though, it could be that whatever the giants fed me earlier was simply wearing off.
"Go, Ledd!" Ayesa belted, as she looked on while she sparred with Teten.
I hadn’t noticed what they had been doing for quite some time, as I’ve been preoccupied with improving my skill.
Teten snatched the bow, and shot the wall with the same, if not stronger, intensity than Ayesa. A louder thud echoed, but the giants didn’t seem to pay any mind. It added credence to my hypothesis about Teten being a spy.
I leered at her and grabbed the bow from her grasp. She put up a bit of resistance but eventually released her grip. I turned away from her, and she instead jounced towards the conversing giants.
They were too far away for me to understand what they were talking about. My gut told me that I should snoop around but I didn’t want to waste this opportunity to engage in weapons training without being interrupted by those fiends.
I closed my eyes and concentrated on the target. The sudden resurgence of hope coincided with a feeling of my viento slowly recharging. I wasn’t sure, but for a second I felt the wind coursing through my veins. Smoke emanated from inside my body and I felt lighter than I had for years.
Concentrating my perceived viento on the loaded arrow, I aimed it at the wall, assumed my stance and released my grip. In that moment, I felt it fly from the golden bow and into the wall.
THUNK! A thud louder than Ayesa’s and Teten’s combined resonated throughout the fortress, and dare I say the entire prison compound. I looked around to discover that nobody witnessed the momentous feat. The giants remained conversing with Teten by their side while Ayesa was tossing around a spherical object outside in the prison grounds. It was like a huge tree that got cut down in the middle of a dense forest, with no one to hear it for miles. The arrow that was wedged deeper than before was the only proof.
"Did you see that?" I shouted, but Ayesa was too far away to hear. I tried to call her attention several times, but to no avail.
I threw the bow back into Ayesa’s storage and ran toward her, as fast as I could. If I gained enough momentum and viento, I might be able to fly without the giants guarding my path. As soon as I cleared the fortress’ doorway, I launched myself up in the air, but instead of flying gracefully, I landed on my knees. I couldn’t tell how long or how high I levitated, but I knew right then and there that the inhibitors that these damn giants have placed in me were wearing off.
"Oh no!" Mamie shouted. “Ledd, what happened?”
The giant lifted me up and carried me back inside the middle fortress. She doused my knees with running water and tended the wound I sustained from my unsuccessful flight attempt.
Surprisingly, the giants were wary of their prisoners sustaining injuries. I had noticed that for quite some time but did not give much thought to it. What could they be preparing us for that we needed to be in top physical form? A gladiatorial contest of some sort that pits us against rival prison camps? Interesante.
Mamie released me as soon as she was done cleaning me up and tasked Teten to keep watch on me. A prisoner tasked with watching a fellow prisoner — if that didn’t warrant any more suspicion, I didn’t know what would.
Teten held on to me every time I walked faster than she did. She kept a watchful eye and always redirected me to whatever invisible bounds she set.
"Traitor," I whispered, soft enough so that she couldn’t hear.
It was as if she began to show signs of turning into one of … them. I feared for my future. I feared for all of the prisoner’s futures. But, most of all … I feared for my future.
"How could you turn against us?" I asked her, this time loud enough for her to hear. “I mean, it’s not like we all have a shared history, but at least we have a common enemy.”
My inquiry was met with silence and slight evasiveness. I didn’t really care about the reasons, I just wanted her to reconsider her allegiance. The crisp, chilly air complemented the treatment I was given. Silence was enough of an answer but I continued to press on.
"What did they offer you to make you turn?" I continued. Thinking maybe her decisions were artificially misguided, I resolved to alter my line of questioning. “Tell me about your past. Surely there are wonderful stories you can relate to me and Ayesa.”
Teten strode past and grabbed the spheroid from Ayesa. She held the spheroid high above her head and dared our curly-haired companion to try to snatch it back. Ayesa groaned as she tried to reach for it, but to no avail.
"Give it back!" she begged Teten, but her cries were only met with mockery.
Teten stood about twice as tall as Ayesa, while Ayesa stood about as tall as I did. Although Teten was unusually lanky, it wasn’t an uncommon sight. Some people in my village grew about as tall, if not taller, than her. Over the years that I’ve gotten to know her, she had grown quite significantly. If attitude readjustment was part of her re-education, then it isn’t all that far-fetched that these giants are turning her into one of them.
Am I being turned into one of them? Are we all being turned? It gave me chills just thinking about it. I had to act fast. If I wanted to escape, I had to escape today.
I jumped on Teten and tried to knock her down. She stood her ground but dropped the spheroid. Ayesa scrambled towards it and successfully took hold of it.
"Let go, Ledd!" the would-be traitor pleaded, trying to loosen my grip on her garment. “I’m gonna tell Mamie. You’ll be sorry.”
"Here, Ledd," Ayesa called out. “Get it!”
She threw the spheroid right at me with a force a bullet would be envious of. Just as I was about to seize control, Teten intercepted it and ran away with it. Mierda!
What was in this spheroid that was so coveted? Was it a source of power that I did not know about? It was tinged with what seemed like rust and made a high-pitched ringing sound whenever it bounced off the ground. It was unlike anything I’ve seen before. How Ayesa stumbled upon it was a mystery all to itself. Was it a weapon? Was it something the giants regarded highly? Whatever it was, I felt a surge of … of … power that I just couldn’t explain. I had to have it.
Without any discussion, we circled around Teten, in an attempt to cut off her escape route. I could feel the wind against my skin as I ran wildly across the prison ground.
The other prisoners looked on, seemingly perplexed. It looked as if they wanted to join in the skirmish but weren’t quite sure if they wanted to face the consequences of getting involved.
Ayesa giggled, almost diabolically. Her hair fluttered in the wind as she gave chase. Sweat trickled down her tunic but it didn’t seem to bother her.
Teten passed her the spheroid, perhaps as a sign of surrender. Two against one wasn’t all that fair, and I didn’t blame her if she felt intimidated going toe-to-toe with seasoned warriors. Just as I was about to lift my arms up to signal victory, Ayesa fumbled the spheroid and Teten regained possession. I swooped in just in time to snatch it but I couldn’t maintain a firm grip.
This energetic back-and-forth continued for quite some time. I managed to graze the spheroid from time-to-time but just couldn’t get a good handle on it. My viento felt as if it became recharged with every exchange. Soon enough, our lack of coordination proved to be our undoing as we bumped into each other routinely. I tried to settle things down so that we can formulate some semblance of a plan, but Ayesa would have none of it.
I felt both of them pant more and more as the skirmish went on, it would only be a matter of time until I gain sole possession of the spheroid. Admittedly, I was a little fatigued myself, but I couldn’t let them know.
"Ledd!" Ayesa shouted, almost out of breath while holding the spheroid. In that moment, I swear I noticed it glowing. I haven’t had the chance to ask her about how she acquired it, but I knew I had to have it.
From out of nowhere, Teten snuck up on her and flattened her on the ground. Ayesa lay unconscious for a second and, when she came to, started to wail. Teten postponed her victory celebration and went by her side to assess if there were any injuries. Ayesa sprung up, snatched the ball and ran towards me.
She was only feigning her agony! Clever girl!
Ayesa strode past and handed me the ball. I glared at Teten from a distance, just as she was coming at me. Ayesa patted me in the back and advised me to run. Who was I to reject such sound counsel?
I ducked as I scurried past the traitor and made it all the way to the shaded portion of the prison ground, right near the middle of the fortress I was being kept in and where Ayesa was held. Gripping on the spheroid, I concentrated all of my strength — all of my accumulated viento — into it.
"Gah!" I roared as I raised the charged spheroid above my head. With the same principles with which I successfully shot the arrow to the wall earlier, I aimed the would-be projectile at Teten and launched it her way.
I dropped to the ground, eyes half-open, exhausted by the assault. The next thing I heard was a loud clang from a distance. Unfortunately, Teten evaded my attack slightly, if not entirely, still standing despite everything. Ayesa held her hands against her ears, shut her eyes and bared her teeth. All the other prisoners were aghast from the fallout. The entire compound was left shaking from its wake.
I wanted to say that I couldn’t take full responsibility for the blast, but I would be lying. The wind swept through the grounds, taking with it everyone’s gasps. I picked myself up and puffed out my chest.
The giants rushed out from their fortresses, probably startled by the intense surge of power that reverberated throughout the prison compound. Teten, Ayesa and I walked slowly side-by-side toward where I threw the charged spheroid. The sight of a gigantic, gaping chasm was the only thing that welcomed us when we arrived. The outcome shocked me but I wanted to portray an air of confidence. My powers were coming back and I wanted to take everyone by surprise.
"Anyone else want a piece of me?"
<< Chapter 5 (Part 1)
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