Free Fall - Into Other Worlds

Chapter 13 - The Forest Clan (Part 3)

When Eron's eyes slowly fluttered open he could see nothing, as if his eyes were still closed.

"Ughh!" he groaned in pain when he tried to move. Well I'm alive at least, he thought as he moved his hand to the bandages wrapped around his waist. He attempted to sit up, but his head hit against something preventing him from doing so. Feeling around blindly, Eron soon came to realise he was trapped within a box. He wasn't dead, so surely it wasn't a coffin. But why would they put him in a box? And one without any holes for that matter, he thought, for no light was leaking in from the outside. No wonder the air was so stuffy. But hold on, how long had he been in there for? The box wasn't that big and he would run out of oxygen faster now that he was awake. Are they trying to kill me after bothering to save me? Or are they just stupid? Wondered Eron as he felt around the edges of the smooth walls encasing him.

He could vaguely recall the moments he'd drifted into consciousness while being treated for his wound. The scowl of the old woman chief as she'd loomed over him was quite clear in his memory, but everything else was fuzzy. Eron couldn't hear anyone moving or talking nearby his dark prison, so did that mean no one was guarding him? He tried kicking at the wall by his feet, but the movement sent a sharp pain rocketing through him. Although he'd been careful not to cut anything too important when he'd stabbed himself, he couldn't avoid causing some damage or there wouldn't have been enough blood loss to pass out. Eron tried to raise his knees up to his stomach to try and force the top open, but instead it reopened his wound, causing blood to start seeping through the bandages.

This situation was worse than any he could have predicted. He realised his breathing had gotten heavier due to the pain, and that would mean faster oxygen consumption. Wait, thought Eron, as something dawned on him. Oxygen, I can make oxygen.

Eron began urgently searching his person without care for the pain he was in. They had taken all his weapons and his belt, but they hadn't fully checked his clothes. Feeling something small and hard between his fingers at the bottom of his trouser pocket made him relieved. He squeezed the seed tightly between his fingers, for if he dropped it he wouldn't be able to find it again easily. Once he'd placed the seed safely between the palms of his hands, he began to focus on growing it into a seedling. In the lightless space there was no telling what kind of plant was growing, but it didn't really matter, for all plants created oxygen. Although it would take quite a bit of his energy to use magic and replace the sun's job, the now full-leaved plant would at least save him from imminent suffocation and buy him some time.

Just as Eron laid his head back and closed his eyes to try and block out the pain, he heard a sudden scratching. It was faint at first, and as it fell quiet once more Eron wondered if he'd misheard. But then he heard it again, the sound of little sharp claws scratching away at the corner of the box by his head. He tapped the wall beside him lightly and the scratching stopped. Eron wondered if the smell of his blood had attracted rodents. Though just seconds after he'd tapped the side the scratching began once more, and it seemed to be clawing away even faster. Eron closed his eyes and listened carefully. It seemed whatever was outside was not only scratching with its claws, but was gnawing away at the wood with its teeth. It seemed desperate to break in. Then he heard a familiar frustrated chattering noise and a realisation hit him.

"Chai?" Eron called out softly. The scratching stopped and a quiet bark answered him. Hearing this brought tears spilling from Eron's eyes. He'd thought his companion had already abandoned him, but it turns out he had never left.

Chai had followed the humans across into the deep forest, but had chosen to wait until the following morning to cross the river, as he wasn't a nocturnal creature. He also couldn't stand the scent of human magic, and even Eron had smelt of it from using the mage's talisman. So even after catching up to them, Chai had followed along from high up in the trees. He'd snuck into the village to stay close to Eron, and had seen them put his human friend into a box. Chai was a small yet intelligent creature, and so once it was safe he'd decided to help by weakening an edge of the wooden cage encasing his friend. It took time and Chai's perseverance, but eventually his small sharp teeth and claws made it through the thick wooden edge. Faint light and cool air flooded in through the crack Chai had made in the corner. Though the light was soon blocked again as a little shiny eye peered through, and then a little nose sniffing heavily.