Survival

Alaric

You can see it in her eyes, how upset she is, I know because it’s how I felt when I discovered Myra’s true identity. I have no idea where they have taken Caleb and no idea why. I still don’t understand why they want me dead in the first place. She is walking ahead of me, her blonde hair swaying with each step, she stops and turns around.

“I think we should hunt and find somewhere to sleep” she says walking backwards. I nod and set up a snare, we climb a tree and wait in silence, we shoot a few rabbits and start a fire near a small cave we found and cook the rabbits. I take a leg and eat the meat. We sit on opposite sides of the fire eating rabbit meat.

“I don’t think we will find him” I say honestly, they could be anywhere.

“We will, I know we will” she says standing up and coming over to sit next to me.

“It’s going to be okay, we are going to find him”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, I really do think so” she says putting her arm around my shoulder. We put out the fire until there are just some embers left, glowing in the darkness. We go into the cave and Skyrah lays down on the hard floor, I lay behind her and pull my blanket over me.

“I feel like I’ve known you for a long time Skyrah” I say rolling onto my back.

“Maybe we knew each other in another life” she says, her voice light and airy.

“Maybe” I say and slip into the darkness as I fall asleep. I’m woken by strong hands gripping my arms, pulling me to my feet. Skyrah screams as she is hauled out by men in masks, she writhes around in their arms, struggling to get free. I kick the man that’s holding me in the knee and he buckles, his grip loosening for just a moment but it’s enough for me to escape, I pick up my bow and shoot one of the guys holding Skyrah, he collapses. Skyrah screams something but the other guy clamps his hand over her mouth muffling her cry. I’m suddenly grabbed from behind and the guy punches me, my muscles go limp and my vision is crowded with black spots. Every time I manage to open my eyes I see Skye’s face blotchy, stained with tears eyes filled with fear. I don’t remember much about the journey, I passed out. I woke up in a cell, black metal bars on all the sides except for the back wall which is made from concrete. I look around, a thin blanket is beneath me and a metal chair sits in the corner, I look to the cells surrounding mine. Skyrah is in one sitting in the corner, her legs tucked up her chest, she stares blankly at the bars.

“Skye” I say and rush to the side of my cell, she does the same when she sees me, I put my arm through the bar and take her hand.

“We are going to get out of here, I promise Skye, I promise” I say looking into her terrified eyes.

“The people that were after you, it’s them, they’re going to kill us Rick” she says as more tears roll down her face.

“I’m not going to let that happen” I say placing my other hand on her face.

“He’s awake” some guy shouts up some stairs, he walks over unlocks the cell and pulls me away from Skyrah.

“Rick” she screams.

“I’m coming back for you” I shout as I get dragged up the stairs. I grunt as I struggle to escape, I’m taken into a large hall. It has a plain wooden floor and plain walls, a few windows dotted near the ceiling allowing a little light in, but it doesn’t travel very far down, the room is filled with candles here and there. I see a man and a woman and a small boy on their knees in the centre of the room, a man forces a young girl into the room. Hanna and Caleb. I walk forward and am forced down onto my knees. I look over at the man and woman and a million emotions flow through my body as I realise it is my mother and father. Seven people sit in a row on a low stage, they are behind a table. Lots of large men are milling around the room, not paying much attention to the five people on their knees in the middle of the room, like it happens every day.