Blood Moon

Chapter 19 - Condemned

 Chapter 19

 Condemned

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Leira’s POV

   Father had finally got his wish, I am out of his life, I am condemned. I'm not surprised, really I know he has been planning this for a long time. Maybe he has always known what I could do as he never thought about it near me.   

  Maybe I should have monitored his thoughts more closely before this cursed moon cycle started but I never had the energy to listen to my Fathers thoughts for long. Half the time I was hurt and offend by what he thought of me, the other half I was bored brainless. The man thinks like a politician, snore.

  I can’t tell if I am in shock or not? I just find myself wishing I felt something about what has happened.

  Don't get me wrong this is exactly what I wanted, what I planned for, and what Ariel saw as partially working.  

  I just think I should feel... something other then this void? Maybe it was normal?  

 Oh well, this self-assessment is boring and not getting us anywhere fast.  

  Now that I have been condemned I have been moved in with the others. They have us stashed in one of the old storage chambers.

   It's cold.

The floor is covered by Junmpa rushes soften the floor preventing dust, but itches like HELL! I wish I could move enough to scratch, but feeling hasn't returned to my fingers yet.  

   Aaaah! This is going to drive me nuts! Focus Leira, focus, you can always get it later.

  Ok, turning my head as much as possible I gauze around the room trying to distract my self. I see the carved rose coloured walls of the chamber. The flurelite lamp suspended from the ceiling is just starting to loose it's charge.

   I wondered ideally if someone would come to change it or if they would leave us in darkness.

   Five condemned bodies lay frozen on the floor like mine. Neglected and living in their own private nightmare.

   Damn it the itch now has a friend!

   Help.

   I try to wiggle but my body still won't respond. Who ever thought up Junmpa floors should be made to wear a shirt made out of this stuff!

   The smell in the room was ... Well to put it nicely - noxious. The over powering stench of body odor and feces is eye watering. This was the guard’s revenge, they have been ordered not to hurt us; each prisoner is to be checked before execution to ensure orders have been followed. But this kind of torture leaves no mark.

   Tired of my own spiraling depressive thoughts I decided to reach out to the others in the room.

   I started with Jared. I could never read him before but he knows what I can do so is less likely to freak out.

  His head is full of pictures of Ariel, lots of different images in different places. Sound of her voice as she tries each day to come and see him. And how they last parted played them most of all.

  ‘Helloooo…. Hello Jared can you hear me?’

  Jared grunts in the corner as I hear ‘Damn it, I can’t answer’ followed by some interesting choice of words.

  Well that answered that question.

   ‘Hello, Jarad? Mind reader remember? Oh and I don’t think that is physically possible. But I’m willing to give it a good do. How about I hold him down, and you use the Galvous bush.’

   ‘Ok, maybe later. So mind reader why can’t I move?”

   ‘You’ve been bitten by a Kassalik their venom is a paralytic. One bite will knock a grown man down for two days.’

   ‘Why do I feel that there should be a but somewhere in that sentence?’

    ‘But Kachiri thought it would be a good idea if I was to build up a tolerance for it, as I liked to play with strange Kassalik’s as a child.’

    ‘Well good, how long until you can move?’

      I scanned by body looking for any weakening. I could start to feel some tingling in my fingers and toes. This meant the burning will begin soon. When the poison is allowed to pass naturally through the body there is no pain. But as my body is processing the poison faster it leaves a trail of fire behind. ‘About a hour.’

    ‘Good but how are we going to escape? You could carry me, but what of the guards?’

    ‘Jared.’

    ‘I suppose if she pointed me in the right direction I could knock them…’

    ‘Jared.’

   ‘… out first then she could carry me. But then there are the people outside. We…’

   ‘Jaaarrrreeeeeddd’

   ‘… would be spotted right away and just dragged back her-’

   ‘JARED!’ I mind screamed.

   His thoughts suddenly go blank almost like there was a floating question mark in his head.

   ‘Are you done now? Finished having you mental brake down now? Ready to return to the land of sanity yet?’

   ‘Sorry.’

   ‘Ok, well firstly welcome, so glad you can join us… and now moving on. Do you really think that between Ariel and I, we would not have seen this coming or planned for it?’

   ‘No, so ummm… What’s the plan? Wait how Ariel? Is she ok? Will she be condemned too? When can I see her?’

   ‘Right, calm down. Blood Moon night, No she won’t, Yes, Worried, Not until everyone is listening’

  ‘Wait. What was that?’

   ‘The bite really has made you slow hasn’t it? Your answers in reverse order. No I will not repeat anything. Learn to pay attention.’

   ‘The bite obviously makes you bitchy.’

   The pain has been spreading. I can now feel up to me knees and elbows. ‘Ok then I will give you a choice. You can put up with the attitude or I give in to the pain and mind scream so load that I turn you brain to jelly. Pick.’

  ‘Bitch? Jelly? Bitch? Jelly? Ask me again later.’

    Smartass. 

   ‘I’m going to ignore you and talk to someone else now. Scream if you need anything.’

  ‘Sofi? Hey, Sofi honey, we need to talk…’