Silk Spider Web

Betrayal

Warm liquid irregularly drips onto my battered face, the metallic stench of blood hangs heavily in the air giving me nausea. Vivid colours dance before my aching eyes, confusing me and blurring my vision. As I slowly regain my consciousness, I am aware of a searing pain emanating from just above my left ear. With my vision still impaired, I attempt to reach out a trembling hand to feel the substance and source of my pain, discovering instead that they have been bound tighter than ever, the metal grinding into my torn skin, exposing my bone. The throbbing pain I am experiencing from my below tells me that my ankles are in the same position, tied up and chained to the hard surface behind me.

Letting out a groan, I weakly open my chapped lips, gently tasting the warm liquid dripping down onto my face, tasting metal and realizing that it is blood. The fatal blow I had received back standing, enraged, surrounded by the land of the demons, had not yet stopped bleeding. Had I gone insane in this sick twisted reality? What sickened me was worse than the disgust any white demon could inflict upon my tormented being. What disconcerted and disturbed me the most, was the gnawing pang of recognition I experienced when encountering the underside of the wooden bat.

I had barely gotten over the betrayal I had experienced with the wooden bat, which had been similar to the one which had inflicted the blow to my head, yet had at the same time had been oh so very different. The same applied to the two bearers of the wooden bats. Both originating from the same tribe in Harmonie, the two were similar, however the similarities had stopped there.  For the bearer of the second bat had been none other than my deranged 19 year old brother who I had not seen since he disappeared into the wild around the time of my fathers death, leaving me to deal with the burden and to support the rest of the family.

Depressing my mother so much, my younger brother and I feared it would only be a matter of time before she too would be taken from us.  I was so absorbed in dwelling over these thoughts, I did not notice the approaching men who roughly pulled me to my feet, three were holding onto me whilst I could feel another, unfastening the chains from the wall.  Showing no resistance, I shuffled forward, following the direction in which I was being pushed.  As I stumbled forward, I became more aware of my surroundings. 

 I discovered that I was in a vast, dimly lit, white walled area.  Huddled up in the four corners of the area, were some of my fellow people. Searching for the others, I shifted my focus back to where I was forcibly being steered.  The sight which I was confronted by disgusted me.  Placed in the center of the area, were various different obstacles and weights. Wielding the various different weights were the rest of my people.

A mixture of confusion and anger pulsed through my veins, most of my people, were still fatigued from the terrible journey, they needed sustenance and rest, yet instead this is the treatment they received instead. Simply Barbaric. Out of the corner of my blurred peripheral vision,  I could just about make out the puny figures of the whites standing against the walls opposite my people. It seemed as if they were assessing or judging something, perhaps even judging the strengths of my people? A middle aged man from a neighboring village, had just collapsed after throwing his fifth weight, which landed a short distance from where I currently stood.

Wearing irritated and arrogant expressions on their faces, two of the white men, ran forward gripping the exhausted man from under his armpits and dragged him back to join my people. Angrily, I clenched my bound fists, behind my back. Roughly, was shoved into the area where the middle aged man had been standing just moments ago. I smirked, as my five captors nervously shuffled back to stand next to the judges, fear and desperation evident on their faces. In the minutes  that followed, I defiantly stared at the aggravated judges, refusing to touch the weights placed at my feet. After at least 5 minutes had passed, one of the puny white men, timidly ventured forward and beckoned to the weights.

Raising my eyebrows I took two strides forward, sending the man scurrying backwards against the wall. Grinning, I began to chuckle at the idiocy of the obviously distressed men. However, my delight disappeared as I saw the biggest white man beckon to the left corner of the area, from which the dark figure of my 19 year old brother emerged. Devoid of any emotion, he marched forwards until his feet were directly planted in front of me. Addressing me in a deep drawl, he growled, “ if you had any sense, you would do well to listen to what these men have to say. Because I assure you if you don’t you’re future will be unbearable”. 

 I stared into the alien yet familiar eyes and spat out “What about mother? Why did you just leave us when father died? Look at yourself? What have you become?” for a second, I saw a flicker of pity and understanding in his brown eyes, but it was quickly replaced by hate and anger. “ That is none of your business” With that he stalked away and joined the confused judge wearing a bemused smirk on his alien face. Wishing to wipe off the arrogant smirk off his traitorous face I seized the heaviest weight I could carry, mustering all of my strength I flung it at him. With frightened cries, the white men dashed to the sides, but my brother was too late. Hitting him square in the face, he crumpled against the wall, unconscious in a pool of growing blood. Seizing another weight I aimed for his chest but was restrained by many hands, a second later I felt the familiar splitting pain, as the impact of the bat swung hard agaist my head knocking me unconscious yet again.