<< Chapter 6 (Part 1)
As I made my way out, I discovered the giants were still preoccupied with the gaping crater where their weapon of mass destruction used to reside. The grounds were desolate — I didn’t know where the other prisoners were kept and, at this point, I cared very little about that knowledge.
I rushed inside the fortress where Ayesa was being kept and sprung her out of her holding cell. Panting heavily, I grabbed her by her hand and instructed her to bring her golden bow and a couple of arrows for the journey.
"Where are we going?" she asked, confused.
"Freedom."
We made our way to the opposite side of the prison compound, pass the giant Jenmu’s white-painted fortress. The distance we ran span about twice as much to get back to where we were. Normally, I wouldn’t venture this far but seeing as the giants were preoccupied at the other side of the compound, this was our best possible escape route.
"N-Not so fast," Ayesa pleaded, tugging back at my hand. Her hand felt cold and clammy to the touch. “W-We have to be … We have to be careful around here.”
We stopped to take a breather. She was almost out of breath but I wasn’t unfamiliar with her worry. Rumors have fluttered around the prison compound about a gigantic monstrous creature the giants unleashed upon wayward prisoners who refused to comply. Even as we stood silently, I could hear faint metallic clanking from a distance.
"That’s the very reason we can’t stop!" I explained to her. “Unless you want to be something’s dinner, I advise you to get to stepping.”
"I think I dropped an arrow near the front of Jenmu's."
"Forget that! We wouldn’t have any use for it after the giants catch us trying to escape."
"Ledd, let’s go back. I have a very bad feeling about this."
"We have to take feelings out of this. This is a rare opportunity afforded to us. Think of all the times we had the chance to escape in the past. I don’t know when we will get this kind of opening again. We have to seize this now!"
I released my grip as soon as we neared the edge of the compound. The rusty, makeshift, metal door had been left wide open, with no guard keeping watch. I surveyed the surroundings looking for signs of opposition, but found none.
"Well, what do you know," I exclaimed, grinning. “Come on, Ayesa.”
"L-Ledd, let’s go b-back."
"Back? Right when we’re on the verge of freedom?"
"I don’t think we should be out this far."
"Out this far? We should be out farther! This prison compound … This place is not our home. Are you scared you won’t be able to make it back to where you came from?"
Ayesa kept fidgeting and scratching, as if she had a nervous tick. I felt her anxiety permeating from deep inside her.
"Look, I could’ve gone alone. Heck, I could’ve taken other prisoners with me but I chose you because you had my back when we scuffled with Teten. Rest assured that I will accompany you on your journey home before we part ways. I’m going to have your back for the rest of our lives, I promise you."
She remained uneasy; my words fell on nervous ears. Ayesa looked back as if regretting ever tagging along.
"Ledd, we shouldn’t be out here," she reiterated. “It’s dangerous here.”
"What are you talking about? Did you forget how strong my power was back there? With my viento and your archery skills, we could fend off any attackers that come our way. We just need to work together, comprender?"
Ayesa took one step back. Her eyebrows furrowed as she clenched her fists. She took two steps back — scratching the back of her neck incessantly. I figured right then and there that this was beginning to look like a lost cause.
I began to make my way out of the prison compound; I didn’t let my captors get in the way of my escape, and I wasn’t about to let a fellow captive do the same thing for them.
She wrapped her arms around me and cautioned me from taking any step further. Ayesa held on tightly, shivering where she stood.
"Look," I told her. “I’m not going to let you prevent my escape. I’m going to do this, with or without you.”
"Invisible wall!" she screamed. “Whew! You almost got electrified, good thing I saved you. Now, let’s go back.”
Invisible wall? I didn’t feel any treachery afoot, probably a mere consequence of her reconditioning.
"There’s no invisible wall. Quit fooling around and let’s go."
She waved her hands in the air and was seemingly electrocuted. I caught her just in time as she was dropping to the ground. Could what she had been saying the truth? Was there an invisible wall that I wasn’t aware about? How is it that she was able to see it and I couldn’t?
"Are you alright?" I asked worriedly.
She sprung up seemingly rejuvenated and urged me to return to our respective fortresses.
I waved my left hand at the spot where she was inflicted harm, but I didn’t get the same shock. Was I invulnerable or was she just susceptible to the supposed invisible fence? Did Mawmah or Nehney set up the trap specifically for her? If that was the case, we had to find another way out. I nodded and agreed to find an alternate route.
Ayesa smiled and started to walk back to where we came from. She flicked her bow up and carried it on her shoulder, holding the remaining arrows with her right hand.
I double-backed and tried to test the invisible wall once again. An alternate route would be too far away. We’ve been gone for too long that the giants might have already noticed our absence and were in the process of scouring the grounds for us.
She turned around and noticed that I stopped following. Ayesa had a worried look plastered on her face. Was she stalling? If she knew she wouldn’t be able to escape through this route, why would she have agreed to walk this far?
"Ledd?" she asked nervously, shakily clutching her weapon. Ayesa looked almost irked, as if she couldn’t put her exasperation to words. “What are you doing? Quit fooling around, they might be looking for us.”
Looking for us? She went along holding on to that assumption all along? I couldn’t wrap my brain around it, but there was something wrong with what was happening.
I stepped forward, beyond the reach of the supposed invisible fence. Uninjured, I looked back at Ayesa and held up my hands.
She inched closer but her feet seemed to weigh heavy, as if something was pulling her back. Could her reconditioning be advanced after all? There was neither any way nor time to test it.
"How come I wasn’t electrocuted?" I asked, hopping in and out of the boundary. I looked at her with growing disdain — each minute we spent arguing how to escape is another minute the giants could be coming closer. “What if I … What if I looked around the outside of the walls to see whether I could find an alternate escape route for you to pass through?”
"Ledd, come on," she croaked, scratching the top of her head. “Let’s go back.”
"Go back? Back where? Back to captivity? I’m offering you a way to go back to where you came from. Free from this … this prison."
A grumbling sound echoed from the outside. The metallic hiss seemed to draw closer and closer every second we spent standing idly by. Sweat trickled down my face and back as I awaited Ayesa’s decision.
"The more time we spend just standing here, the more chance we get caught by those giants," I reminded her. I wanted to take her with me, not because of a deep-seated friendship or the promise I made her earlier, but because it’s a harsh world out there and having an ally increases my chance of survival — if I could, I would have sprung all of the prisoners out of here.
Ayesa kept looking back, taking small, but subtle, steps away from me and our escape route. She bared her teeth, almost gnashing, and looked at me seemingly conflicted.
Doubt crept in and I couldn’t help but resign to the fact that this may be where we part ways. I owed her for the earlier victory but I didn’t owe her my freedom, much less my life.
We looked at each other with an unspoken accord. I flashed her a tight smile, turned my back and started my journey home. There were no farewells, only an unspoken promise of a future reunion.
<< Chapter 6 (Part 1)
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