Chapter 50Fast Forward 5 - Bright Future

Back to being surrounded.

And I was, they had me. My clothes were torn to pieces, my skin haunted by multiple cuts and my right hand wounded very badly. Worst of all, I thought, was that they stayed quiet. Just staring at me, smiling slightly but not laughing. I looked from one of the other, trying to keep them all in view as best I could. But I knew I had lost. They had me.

Kryss stepped forward. "It's about time you pay the price." His voice echoing on the cold walls.

"What did I ever do to you?" I tried to sound confident. And of course blatantly ignoring all of the times I hurt him in self defense. But that's what it was, self defense.

"You're in our way, in my way. If you are gone she will soon forget you and join us. She'll never join us as long as you defy us, unless of course you are to join us?" His voice almost mocking me.

"I'll never join you. I'm not a monster, I'm not a killer!" It was the thing I held most dear, despite all I had done.

"It is time."

Kryss walked slowly toward me and picked me up. I wanted to resist, wanted to fight them, fight him, but the cause was lost. It was too small here to escape and any move to one would just have the rest jump me. At least now they didn't all touch me. He looked around to the others and nodded, making some of them disappear into the distance, ahead it seemed. I knew dawn would soon come and had a vague feeling what they were planning. I just hoped I was wrong.

He carried me, like the little child I was, through the darker parts of town. We seemed to head toward the outer industrial area's. Old machineries, empty buildings and high crumbling melting chimneys. It was almost surreal, the light of the coming dawn started to make them beautiful silhouettes against the grey sky. Like fallen castles from a modern age.

They walked to an old power-plant with those large chimneys and took me inside. Their footsteps echoed in the hollow space as we went deeper and deeper into the forbidden power-plant. He threw me in a room below them with a high chimney rising above. It's smooth walls only served to enhance the nagging feeling of premonition. The door closed with a sharp metal clang echoing through the space together with their laughter outside.

Despite this place being old it was still very smooth. It wouldn't be possible to climb here and...

I punched the side wall with my good hand. Ouch.

Partly out of anger, partly to check if the walls were old enough to break. But the walls were too thick. I sagged as the first rage had passed. I had no idea what to do. From somewhere came a distinct feeling Afentis or Khuna would not come to save me, if they even knew where I was. This was boding very badly for me.

I tried to jump up but didn't get any grip, sliding down just as easily as jumping up. Much too high. I hoped my fingers would at least find some crevice or anything to hold on to. But nothing, it was smooth. Very smooth. I jumped again, not wishing to give up. But I slid down again, my fingers chafing on the hard walls. I wanted grip so much.

Standing in the center and looking up to judge the height of the chimney I thought I might make it. I hunched and concentrated, focussing all my strength in a single jump. I set off and closed my eyes for a second as I felt the air rush by. I slowed down and opened my eyes again and was shocked.

I wasn't even half-way when I reached the apex of my jump. And the pipe was much too wide for me to climb any other way then using the wall directly. I guess it was a blessing I could keep my balance nowadays as I fell down again. I landed reasonably straight and managed to hurt my feet only a little.

What could I do? I clawed the stone wall but my nails did nearly nothing on them. The door was closed and probably blocked on the other side. I banged on it, seeing blood left on the door from my fists. The wounds weren't open as such, but hammering them on the metal wasn't helping. The echoes of it reverberated all through the room and the chimney, almost deafening.

The floor, I could at least try and dig me in. But the floor was washed clean, two drains on both sides of the room too small to even get my arm through properly. I looked around trying to find at least another thing to do, to escape somehow. Something, anything! I ran around again, checking everything over and over again until I could no more, the sleep slowing me down, tiring me.

With all options gone and my body about to collapse I felt I had no other choice and just crawled into the curve of the room, hoping to at least get some shelter from the coming sun. I felt terrible, my body and mind broken. What was I to do. I didn't know anymore. I just didn't know.

All alone and lost.

Waiting for the sun.