Legend of the River Serpent

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Hoshi

I was awakened by the glare of the last bright rays of sunlight, or it could have been the bouncing from the wagon.  As I woke, I discovered that I was tied and gagged.  I groaned, and tried to sit up.  I got high enough to see over the edge of the wood.  A feeling came over me I had never felt.

I had been kidnapped.

I heard my name, and glanced up.  Riku!  I slid over, trying to get closer.  Riku was tied also, but only his hands.  I reached up, and with my fingers, pulled my gag down.  Riku had tears stained on his dirty face, I moved closer, trying to comfort him.

“Where is Mother?”  I asked.

Riku shrugged, and leaned against me.  “Did they hurt you?”  I asked.

Riku nodded, and pulled his arm up.  A cut ran down his arm, not to deep, but blood coated his arm, and part of his sleeve.  I glanced over at the bandits, they were paying no attention to us.  They were laughing and talking amongst themselves, they had about twenty other captives, most of them walking.  I recognized some from the village; a few looked over at us, but then dropped their gaze downward.

I raised my bound wrist to my mouth, and tried to loosen the rope.  I stopped as one of the bandits spoke.

“She’s awake!”

“She can walk then!”  The one with the scarred face said.

The bandit reached over to grab me, but I jerked away, and slid out the back.  The bandit grunted, not seeming to care.  But stayed close, as I walked along said the cart by Riku.   

The bandits kept up a brisk walk until sunset, as the sun started to slink down over the horizon, the bandits stopped to camp for the night.  They parked the cart across from where they tied the horses, and sat us all down beside it. 

As one of the guards checked our ropes, I overheard a couple bandits talking as they gathered fire wood a little ways from us. 

“When are the others going to arrive?”  One asked.

“Should be soon,” the other replied.  “That’s what Katashi said.”

The two walked off, so I couldn’t hear the rest of their conversation.  When the bandits were out of ear shot, I turned to one of the other prisoners.

“Are there others?” I asked in a whisper.

The prisoner, a woman a few years older than me, turned her head slightly to face me.   “This is only about half of the bandits,” she said.  She nodded over to the scar faced man.  “That is Katashi, he’s the bandit leader.  The group splits into two, and after a raid, met up again.”

“How long have you been with them?”  I asked.

“My village was attacked two days before yours.”

We stopped talking as a bandit wandered close.    He glared at us suspiciously, then took a guarding position a few feet away. 

“How is your arm?”  I asked, turning to Riku.

“It hurts,” he whispered. 

After a while the bandits started to relax, and didn’t pay too much attention to us.  I started working on my ropes, trying to loosen them again.   A guard walked over to check on us, and I leaned back against the cart. 

As the night wore on, the bandits started to settle down.  I struggled to stay awake, keeping an eye on Riku.   While the bandits sleep, the two guards crouched beside the fire.