Chapter
11
Kevin’s point of view
Days turned to weeks. Flyer, Monsoon, and even Grapper came with
others to explain about their cultures and where their worlds and planets were.
Grapper was the easiest of the three ringleaders to convince by the looks of
things. Rembrandt made a few short trips to see me, but Skyir stayed away
completely. Until, yesterday, that is. All three of the leaders had finally
agreed to let me join, in the odd circumstances.
It was about two months since my capture now. I had been doing some
independent research into possible escape routes, but due to previous failed
attempts, the security seemed flawless, taking all situations into account.
Knartop was a cruel and cowardly head guard, but was no fool.
I lay down on my bunk, tired of slavery, tired of discrimination
from most of the slaves, tired of loneliness.
I rolled over onto my side. I was part of the resistance now; they
called themselves the Dragon Faction. It made sense. Flyer had told me that, in
a time when all three of the races co-existed peacefully, their leader and
greatest warrior who had united the clans of all races resembled a dragon. His
name was Zakkar Draconis, and the name was taken up as the title given to the
greatest warrior of the three races over the generations. Centuries later, wars
broke out among different clans, and each clan had its own head warrior, but
there was no longer a single head warrior as the clans all disagreed about it.
The name of Zakkar Draconis was now just part of their history.
It was like hope had died long ago, with Zakkar Draconis’ name.
While a few still resisted, and planned to escape, I saw no way to get out of
here without being killed first. I was stuck…. We were all stuck.
No way out. No way home.
I sighed heavily as tears formed in my eyes, but I felt too blue
and depressed to be bothered with holding them back.
I missed the guys and Kristin more than ever. It seemed likely
that I’d never see them again. If I tried to break out, who knows what might
happen to me? Anubis had told me that I couldn’t die unless my energy ran out.
The only way I had discovered that drained energy was if I used it up. But I
was stuck with this damned armband now. I had no idea what it allowed and
disallowed me to do. For all I knew, it could be a device that allowed me to
die. I had suspicions that bleeding in this physical form actually drained me
too, but I wasn’t sure. I didn’t even know what
I was anymore!
It was all too confusing.
“Kevin, are you hurt?” Flyer quizzed with concern, fluttering down
to sit on my arm.
I nodded, tears still visible, as I didn’t want to speak with a
shaky voice to Flyer. He was nervous enough already without him thinking I’d
lost my strength to fight.
“What happened this time? Not another cave in?” he asked
worriedly.
“No, Flyer,” I changed my mind and spoke. It would be selfish to
take any of this out on him. “Not that kind of pain…..”
“Oh, you’re hurt inside,” he realised and I nodded again.
“Please, talk to me,” I begged.
“About what, Kevin?”
“Anything. Say something to take my mind off the pain.”
He gave a short, nervous chuckle, “I.. I’m not much of a talker.”
“Tell me a bit more about yourself,” I persisted, trying to get
something to concentrate on.
He touched his long, thin snout with his wingtip, as Valedrons’ do
when they are thinking. After a brief pause, he replied: “There’s not much to
tell; there’s just me and the mine!”
He shifted nervously. “What about you, Kevin? Any family?”
“Not gonna see them again…..” I muttered. I really believed that:
I thought there was no way out.
“Don’t be so upset, Kevin.” Flyer soothed, trying to comfort me,
“We all lost family and friends. You can learn to live with it.”
“Flyer, I can’t stand being so isolated from them. And Dad…….” I
trailed off sorrowfully. “I never realise how much I wish he was still here.”
“Your father?” Flyer quizzed. “Where is he now?”
I vainly tried to hold back fresh tears, “Dead. Over ten years
ago.”
“Years? That’s a long time, right?”
“10 years are about 3650 suns,” I explained. “And my family, I had
to leave them behind to come here. I doubt I’ll ever see them again now. Don’t
get me wrong, some of you guys here are honest and true, but it’s not like
family.”
Flyer sniffed emotionally, “Oh, Kevin, I don’t have a real family
either!” He buried his head into my arm like a small child. “My parents and me
were brought here before I was old enough to remember, when I was a little
fledgling. I grew up here. My mother and father died long ago. I just was
forced to stay here with Old Quinn and Monsoon.”
I gave him a hug, but was careful not to crush him.
I told him about the other four guys, Kristin, and what life I
lived before I was murdered, as well as my own death. He listened, sometimes
with keen interest, others with horror.
“A strange tale, friend.” He stated. “You have more reason to
escape than me. You have much to go home to.”
I suddenly realised how bad he must have been feeling. “If you
escape, where will you go?”
“Nowhere. I have nowhere to go. This,” he gestured to the mine
around us, “is all I’ve known!”
As I had suspected…….. he couldn’t stay in this hellhole, but
where would he go if he left? It was a vicious trap he had fallen into.
“Stick with me, buddy. I’ll not let you be left alone out there,
……. if we even do get out there.”
He looked at me with surprise, “You’d… really let me come with
you?”
“Do you think I’d leave you to die out here?” I half-smiled at his
simplicity. “Come home with me.”
He growled happily. I looked down, though. I had convinced myself
that we’d never escape. I was just telling a white lie; I was lying to keep his
spirits up in the dump we had to endure for the rest of our lives.
That speech I’d given them at the resistance meeting now seemed a
pathetic load of rubbish.
To vent my anger, I looked at the armband and hit it off the stone
floor. “Stupid piece of junk! I’d be a lot more helpful if I didn’t have this to worry about!”
The armband remained intact, with no dents or scratches to account
for. It was hopeless.
Flyer opened his mouth to comfort me more, when Dommur hurried up
to us.
“Cave-in, friends!” he declared, out of breath.
I shot up, sending Flyer sprawling awkwardly. “Where?”
“No need to help, Kevin. We’ve already sorted it. But…..” he
looked sadly at me. “Dat last one. We lost three, including Shade.”
“Shade? Wasn’t he Monsoon’s…….?” I began.
“Brother. Monsoon’s brother, yes. We’ll be missin’ dat lil’
fella.”
He shifted nervously. He obviously wasn’t used to doing this.
“I’ll leave you alone, guys.”
I sat down heavily. I was beginning to meet new creatures here,
but that meant there was more chance of someone I knew being killed. I knew
Shade. Monsoon had introduced me to his little brother not long ago. The
winners of the war had already made them slaves, wasn’t that enough? Did they
have to make them work in a collapsing ruin? We’d lost countless to cave-ins.
Tear brimmed in my eyes. Flyer landed on my shoulder and wrapped my head in his
right wing to comfort me.
“Calm down, big guy.” He sniffed, upset himself. “We’ll all stick
together!”
“We’ve got to get out of
here, Flyer!” I sobbed despairingly. “And we have to do it soon.”
***
