Cruelty to Angels Contest (for SozokuReed)
By Turlok

Chains of Body and Mind


A cold damp cell, small and dirty. A single girl is chained to the wall. How long has she been here? Hours? Days? She can’t remember. The only thing that breaks the silent monotony are the screams of tortured creatures echoing faintly through the halls.

Motionless she hangs there, unable to sleep, but at the same time unable to stay awake, constantly drifting through a nightmarish daydream. Rats scurry between her bare feet, brushing against her legs while they nibble on silky white feathers lying on the ground, inspecting them to carry them away into their nest. The feathers come from a pair of beautiful wings that sprout from the girl. The chains are wrapped around them, chaffing and plucking feathers whenever they move.



“Bahh! Water! Stinking, foul water.” I rear up from unconsciousness. I’m jerked around from someone, but my mind is so foggy it takes a while to clear and as it does the pain floods back into my body. The pain drives tears to my eyes. I want to hold them back. I don’t want them to see how far they have broken me, but I can’t.
“Aww. Look at that perky little angel. All crying and weeping and feeling sorry for herself. What is it with you girls and the innocent white? You don’t look so innocent no more. Your clothes all wet and clingy. I wonder what would happen, if I’d leave my grunts with you? Would you then be willing to talk?”
I blink the tears away. I can feel myself blushing at his words. I want to hide and cover up, but the chains are too tight. My captor laughs at my futile attempts. He loves to see me in pain.
“Always so predictable. If it weren’t for your cute face you’d bore me to death.”
I’m furious. His foul tongue poisons my mind with every word he speaks. He knows exactly what to say to make furious. I push against the chains, trying to get free, trying to lunge at him and tear him apart with my bare hands. It’s no use.
He lowers his face to mine speaking softly in my ear ” Now see what you have done. You ripped your beautiful dress. I’d be careful when you move, or I will have to think you want to loose it.” *spit* My spit runs down his face. There is only a glimpse of anger in his eyes. As he steps back he is again in complete control of himself.
“Well you still have some spirit left in you. We will see for how long that lasts.” He meticulously cleans his face with a heavily perfumed handkerchief.
“But that has to wait. For now you will gain some company. Guards! Bring him in.”
The guards look so horrid they can barely be called human, but that is not what captures my eyes. They drag an unconscious man between them. His body is covered in blood and scars, but many of the scars are old and healed, and the blood is not entirely from him. They chain him to the wall, and his black tangled hair obscures his face as he hangs there. Even as he does he is bigger than my captor.
“You think this is a good idea boss?”
“Yes, she shall know there is no way someone can sneak in here and rescue her. She will know there is no hope. And never again question my commands or you shall join them!”   
“You are the boss, boss.”
They leave. They aren’t even looking back as the door falls shut and is locked. The darkness grows while the faint glimmer of light from the door vanishes until no light is left and all there is, is pain and my thoughts of what is out there. But this time I know that there is someone else here.
I wait. I count the screams as I find nothing else to measure time.
“Mhmm. Are we there yet?”
“Wake up! Wake up!”
“Uhhh. What a lovely voice you have.”
I almost choke while trying to speak. My throat is coarse and it has been a long time since anything else than a growl or a sob has escaped it.
“Hello Laurel. Nice to meet you.”
“Please don’t tell me that you are here to rescue me.”
“Yup, came all the way here just to hear your voice.”
“It is hopeless. No one will escape. No one can help. I will be here forever.”
“Now that’s not true, he is bound to get us to a bigger cell when he needs the space, so we won’t be stuck looking at the same wall for all the time. Although I can’t see it right now.”
“How can you say that?! We are doomed! How can you be so calm about that?!”
“Will it help if I scream and panic? Besides this is not the worst situation I have ever been in.  But please, let me introduce myself. Name’s Arg. Run Arg. Professional Barbarian and saviour of Damsels in distress.”
“Well mister barbarian. Please pray tell, what more hopeless situation have you been in?”
“I have been thrown into a pitch black prison and wasn’t conscious to memorize the way in through the maze. Besides I kind of wait for a little ray of hope to light the situation so that I can see that nice tear stained blouse of yours again.”
“YOU PERVERT! Stay away from me!”
“Don’t worry, I will stay on my side as if I were chained to the wall.”
“….”
For a long time neither of us says anything. The rats begin to scurry around again and the silence grows more and more unbearable.
“What kind of name is Arg anyway? Doesn’t sound very heroic.”
“It isn’t. It’s barbarian after all. In our clan we are named for the first thing the mother hears when stepping out of the tent with the baby. When my dad saw me he screamed “Arg! It’s hideous”. And so I came to be called Arg.”
“That’s horrible. I don’t know what I’d do with a name like that.”
“It’s not that bad actually. Most of us have to live with a name like ‘It’s a girl’ or ‘Can I hold him?’. It’s never a good idea of having ignorant relatives around at such occasions.”
“And what does Run stay for?”
“Nothing special. We get our second name for what we can do best. We came up with it when there were so many ‘Can I Hold Him’ that we ran out of numbers for them.”
“So you are good at”
“Running.”
“Look, I’m sorry to have yelled at you. I‘m just so tired.”
“Don’t be. I’m going to give you another reason to yell soon. In planning our escape and I have to know. Have you tried using your womanly charm?”
“What are you implying? That I give myself to those, those things so that you might escape! You have to be out of your mind. They may have broken my body but not my spirit. I will never play a part in such a plan!”
“Stop screaming! I think I heard someone coming.”
Surprised at his harsh tone I do as he says. He is right. Footsteps approach our cell, and before long the shimmer of light comes from the door. As I still wonder how he could hear the steps even while I shouted at him the door is flung open. I expected my captor to pay us a visit but instead a rather small and unremarkable man enters.
“Hello you two. I trust you are uncomfortable.”
“Yes, pleasurably uncomfortable.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Wait what did you say?”
“Well, I’ve been strung up quite often and I have to say this is one good job you did.”
“Ah yes. A good job. Yes. For a moment I thought I heard something different.”
“I meant what you heard.”
“Really! I mean how ? I mean that’s not . I . . . “
“I know what you mean, but if you think about it it’s not really that strange. I get paid to take a beating. To rush in head first. One might believe it’s the rush of adrenaline, the fame, the money that keeps you going in for more, but at some point I realised there was something more. And as I realised why I felt attracted to a life like this the friends and comrades start to leave. Deeming you a sick twisted being.”
“That’s, that’s horrible. I mean I’m sorry to hear that.”
“And there you are all alone. But you can’t stop. You always seek the next thrill. . . “
I can’t believe my ears. Right in front of me that hulk of a man starts flirting with one of the henchmen. And it seems as if his words don’t fall on deaf ears either. It’s like I’m not here. He already starts to unchain him from the wall. The door guards come in and take him away. I can’t believe my eyes as I look into the henchmen’s face. He undresses him with the same lusting gaze the brutes give me every time they come in. Without even so much as looking at me he leaves and locks the door. The light vanishes and the footsteps grow silent. I’m alone again. The silent darkness has me again. Maybe I should try looking more alluring. I could try talking dirty. I could try if that man hadn’t taken my opportunity away! I could be somewhere warm, somewhere with light, I wouldn’t be alone if not for him!
What am I thinking! Have they finally broken me? I can almost feel the shadows creeping up to me. I can feel how I’m slowly turning mad.
No! I will not give in. Stay focused. Someone will save you and all will be ok.
Like a mantra I say those words over and over again until I pass out.

*Clank*. I’m awake again. How long was I passed out? I feel horrible, it couldn’t have been that long, but I hear steps. They get closer to where the thugs keep watch. A door is burst in. A shout, and something wooden, probably a chair, is broken. A shout and a muffled scream of pain *Aaarrrg* Someone stands up. The steps come closer and bring light. The door is unlocked it swings open
“You know, I always wonder how they know my name.”
I almost can’t believe my eyes. Before me I see the outlines of Arg as they are illuminated by a lantern behind him. He almost casually walks up to me armed with a sword on his side and unchains me. I slump to the floor as my feet are unable to hold me. I want to scream in panic, but he puts a hand over my mouth.
“Shhhh. Stay quiet and let me help you. We have to get out of here unnoticed.”
He takes me up and carries me slumped over his shoulder.
Hope floods me. I’m almost gleefully happy as I hang there and am carried through empty corridors, along countless cells. The twisted path of staircases and corridors stretch out like a maze but I don’t care. His confident steps assure me he knows the way out.
This goes on for some time until I can hear him breathing hard. His body starts to shiver under my additional weight. As he scales the last steps of a flight of stairs, he puts me down. There is a window here and the sun shines into my face. I let the sun tickle my nose and warm my face. It’s such a simple gesture, but I haven’t felt so good for a long time. As I bask in the light he rests across me leaning against the wall.
“I need to catch my breath. The exit is near, but it is heavily guarded. We will need to make a run for it if we want to have a chance. Say by the way, what is it that they want to know from you?”
“I don’t know. I told them all what I know and there is nothing more. Why do you ask?”
“Oh, I just wanted to make sure.
That you aren’t needed anymore.”
A shiver runs down my spine. From one moment to the other his voice has changed. I stare in shock as he slowly turns into the light and reveals his face. It was my captor!     
I don’t want to believe it, but here in the cloths of Arg he stands, a sinister smile playing on his face.
“You know, for a while it was fun playing with you, but now it is time to end it don’t you think?”
I want to run. I want to flee this horrible place as fast as I can, but as I try to stand, my knees buckle and give away under my own weight. I scream at them. I curse them. I hit them with my hands, but even the pain is only a numb feeling.
“Oh, don’t be so surprised. Did you really think one could go through this castle as uninhibited as we did? Never even so much as see a guard? You naïve little girl.”
He comes closer shielding the sun from me as if he’d want to take away everything I have left to torment me as much as he can. As he draws his sword I close my eyes and wait for the final blow. I’m finally broken, no last attempt to escape, no final defence against the inevitable.
I hear the sword slashing through the air. I hear it pierce flesh and feel the warmth of blood on my stomach.
Strange, I always thought it would hurt like hell, but I don’t feel anything.
I hear the last gasps of pain.
“Arg. I should have known.”
“Its strange how they always know my name, isn’t it.”
Surprised I open my eyes. I’m not hurt! My captor sinks aside a blade in his stomach. The blood I felt was his, and before me stood Arg, barefooted, only wearing a loincloth, offering me a hand to help me up.
“You know if you had tried to seduce the guards the same way you do me now, you could have freed yourself. Not that I mind that little dress malfunction. But I do think such things should be kept for after we are safe.”
Full of anger I push myself up. Braced against the wall I fight for every inch refusing his hand for help. I concentrate all my anger and slap him in the face.
He stands there looking at me and starts smiling.
“There is still some spirit left in you. Good, we will need that to get out of here.”
I don’t know why, but somehow slapping him was like breaking a dam. The feeling of constant despair fell off of me and my strength returned. And before I know it, I seek his embrace and lean against his shoulder.
“Your name may not sound very heroic, but for me you are a hero.”
“No I’m a barbarian. Because to get out of here we will need to do what I can do best.”
“Run.”
“Strange how all the people know what that is. OK, we can’t go out the front gate without overcoming multiple guard posts and smashing in doors, so this is not an option. The only thing we have is the element of surprise and we have to make that count. Your wings are pretty damaged, but I think you can still glide with them for a bit. We will run out the castle wall and jump down the Cliffside. While you glide I will cover you and follow as soon as you are a save distance away. A few friends of mine are waiting there with horses. Try gliding along the river and they will find you. They will bring you to safety. Everything clear? OK. Follow me.”
We don’t waste any more time. Unchallenged we make it to the door leading to the castle wall. One last deep breath and we burst through. The first guard is so surprised he hardly defends himself as Arg grabs his shield and throws him over the wall. He doesn’t really stop in his motion, as he keeps running and slams into another guard standing watch. I barely manage to get some distance from the tower while he has crossed almost the whole length. I climb the battlements and ready myself to jump, seeing endless woods and the sparkling band of the river directly beneath me a good 500ft away. I turn around again. I just realised there was no way down for him. He sees me hesitating and runs to me.
“What are you waiting for? Jump or do you want an arrow in your back?”
“But there is no way you can escape. You are trapped here!”
He jumps up the battlement and grabs me.
“I think I can carry us both, I . . . “
Without hesitation he tosses me down. And not a moment to soon. Arrows pierce the air where I stood.  I fall down, desperately trying to catch the wind in my wings. I only barely manage to unfold them, and as they hold my weight the pain drives tears to my eyes. I want to be angry at him for not holding on, for not even trying, but now I know I couldn’t have held us both. We would have both plummeted to death. I don’t dare look back. I focus all my thoughts on staying in the air and finding his friends.
It’s a miserable little hop compared to my former flights, but it is enough to find his friends. My landing isn’t graceful, but good enough. They immediately put a blanket over me and put me on a wagon. As we speed away from this horrible place, I look back at my captor’s castle. Strange from down here it doesn’t look as deadly and dreadful as from the inside. Maybe I’m just numb from all what happened. I turn to one of my saviours.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t save him. I tried but he wouldn’t let me. He just tossed me down. I’m sorry.”
“You think him dead? Somehow I doubt that. He always has a plan and no matter how desperate the situation, he always pulls through somehow.”
In my thoughts I stand again at the battlement. There is no way out. Beneath me are the forest and the river, and behind me a hundred soldiers storm the wall. Wait. It was pretty far, but it could be done. It would be close but . . .
“Just you see. He will probably wait for us in the next tavern, greeting us with a drink.”
“and saying something like ‘what took you so long’ . and his hair would probably still be wet.”
“You said something?”
“No. Just talking to myself” and hoping that he pulls through.