Chapter Four:
Meetings in Misfortune
I had been walking for days with little rest and hardly any food. There had been a little money in the pockets of my clothes and I was able to buy some bread and a little meat to sustain me, but that was soon gone and I needed to find some other way to keep my strength up. I had not wanted to stop long enough get much rest. There was a sense of urgency screaming in my head that I could not stop. I didn't understand this need to hurry anymore than I knew where I was going. I had no idea where this road lead, but I knew I had to get there quickly.
After many days of walking like this, I accepted that I had to rest if I wanted to keep from falling down. I had come to a small country road, far from that decimated city. It was a clear day, and the sun over head beamed down, causing me to sweat. At the edge of this road, I saw a large tree that was thick enough to give off an inviting shade. I un-synched the sword from my back and set it down beside me in the grass. The turf was soft and comfortable, and as soon as I laid my head down, sleep overcame me.
I rested in a deep satisfying slumber, yet that uneasy feeling never left me. Even the scrambled fragments of dreams that found their way into my mind were harsh and unnerving. My mind fought with my body and seemed to call to me to awaken, but the warm air lulled me deeper into sleep and my tired body triumphed over my mind.
It was close to dusk, many hours later that my mind finally had its way. A haunting vision had just finished in my head. I had heard footsteps, heavy footsteps on soft ground, approaching me. In the vision, I had not been able to see farther up than the shins of those coming towards me, but the feet kept coming closer. I had seen my own sword lifted and held in front of my eyes and then heard the clinking of chains from above.
My eyes cracked open, and my heart jumped in my chest as I discovered part of my dream was true. Many dark boots stood in front of me, more were approaching, and my sword was in the hands of some dark man grinning down at me.
I pulled my knees under me and pushed myself from the ground, ready to protect myself from these men, when something crashed into my skull from behind and knocked me back in the dirt on my face.
I felt something clamp down on my wrists behind my back and felt them drag me somewhere. Blackness crept in front of my eyes and I shook my head trying to overcome the dark void. I tried to get my feet beneath me, but they dragged me too quickly and my stumbling feet could not keep up. In the end, I let them drag me and waited to make my move until I could make sense of things again.
They threw me, face first, on a hard, dusty surface. I breathed in the grime and that sent me coughing and sneezing. The men laughed happily from behind and the light disappeared with the whirling sound as the doors closed.
"Looks like we got a new roommate." A voice said in the darkness.
"Quiet now, John!" A raspier voice said. "You gonna be okay, sonny?"
My head ached horribly. I felt like I wanted to throw up and I felt more than a little dizzy.
"Yeah," I managed to say. "Yeah, I think so."
"That's the way!" The raspy voice said. "You look like a strong young man. A little knock on the head ain't gonna keep ya down!"
I dropped my head down, resting on the dirty floor. My eyes gradually became used to the dim light and I could make out the figures that owned the voices I had heard. Ahead of me was a young man who appeared to be tall if he were standing. His hands were fastened above his head and he sat against a wall. To my left, a little to the side of the young man, was an old man with white hair tied behind him. His face was ugly and wrinkled with age, but held a kindness. His had been the raspy voice that had asked of my well being.
"Where am I?" I asked.
"Well, that changes from day to day." The younger man said with a hint of bitterness. "You see, you've just joined our merry band of slaves!" "Sonny, for a while now, folks has been having no end of trouble." The older man said. "Now, some has been having less of it because they been having others have the trouble for 'em."
"Which would be us." The young man said. "Looks like you're gonna be here for a while stranger, so you best just learn to deal with it." "Hush John!" His elder said. "Ain't no one deserves this! Ain't no one who should just learn to deal with it!"
A lump in my throat was rising, and I felt sick again. I must have been weaker than I thought when they hit me. I turned my head to the side, so that I could look towards my fellow prisoners better, and felt something hot and sticky trickling down my neck. Apparently the blow was harder than I had imagined and was bleeding.
"So what now?" I asked as I felt the compartment jolt forward and ease into motion.
"We wait." The old man said. "We'll be moving all night. In the mornin' they'll be comin' to see to you, fix up your head and all, and then we'll be gettin' something to eat on."
I noticed above the young man, whose name seemed to be John, was the source of the dim light. It was a window, covered with some torn fabric, with the light shining against it. I could see the glow of a lantern against it, projecting the shadows of bars. It must have been bright that night, and in this vast country area; the sky must have been filled with stars. But the only light that found its way in was the diffused yellow of a sickly lantern.
"Wait huh?" I mumbled. "Great."
"Take heart, sonny." He said kindly. "At least ya ain't alone in this. My name is Joseph and this here is my son John."
I nodded in recognition when, far to my right so that I had to turn my head quickly enough to make a fresh pain in my mind, I heard the clinking of more chains. The corner from which the sound had come was much darker. I strained my eyes to make out the hard silhouette of another man, a huge man, with his back hunched over and his legs stretched out in front of him.
"Who is that?" I whispered to Joseph.
"Alls we know is that he calls himself 'Hunter'." He said just as quietly as I had asked. "He don't say hardly nothin'. But he's a fearsome man, a damn fearsome man! They come across him sleeping, like they did you, but I say they'd have been better to just let him alone. They's gonna have trouble out of him one o' these days. And I'm just as nervous and I am anxious to see it. He's a damn fearsome man, sonny. Listen to me, ya hear? Keep your distance from him."
I nodded once again and rested my head against the floor. I wouldn't fall asleep that night, my head ached too much and I was trapped in the most uncomfortable position. However, in this circumstance, even if my body wasn't hurting, I would never have been able to make myself sleep. So I simply remained silent for the rest of the evening and watched the shadows dart across the fabric over the window.
The night passed so slowly that I began to wonder if it would ever end. But just as my senses were so jumbled and frustrated from waiting that I thought I would go completely insane, the compartment pulled to a stop. I looked around my compartment and discovered I could see the faces of my roommates more clearly.
All this I took in in a moment, as the whirring of the doors began and fresh morning light flooded over me and stung my eyes.
"Well now," I heard someone speak. "Let's see what we caught last night."
Meetings in Misfortune
I had been walking for days with little rest and hardly any food. There had been a little money in the pockets of my clothes and I was able to buy some bread and a little meat to sustain me, but that was soon gone and I needed to find some other way to keep my strength up. I had not wanted to stop long enough get much rest. There was a sense of urgency screaming in my head that I could not stop. I didn't understand this need to hurry anymore than I knew where I was going. I had no idea where this road lead, but I knew I had to get there quickly.
After many days of walking like this, I accepted that I had to rest if I wanted to keep from falling down. I had come to a small country road, far from that decimated city. It was a clear day, and the sun over head beamed down, causing me to sweat. At the edge of this road, I saw a large tree that was thick enough to give off an inviting shade. I un-synched the sword from my back and set it down beside me in the grass. The turf was soft and comfortable, and as soon as I laid my head down, sleep overcame me.
I rested in a deep satisfying slumber, yet that uneasy feeling never left me. Even the scrambled fragments of dreams that found their way into my mind were harsh and unnerving. My mind fought with my body and seemed to call to me to awaken, but the warm air lulled me deeper into sleep and my tired body triumphed over my mind.
It was close to dusk, many hours later that my mind finally had its way. A haunting vision had just finished in my head. I had heard footsteps, heavy footsteps on soft ground, approaching me. In the vision, I had not been able to see farther up than the shins of those coming towards me, but the feet kept coming closer. I had seen my own sword lifted and held in front of my eyes and then heard the clinking of chains from above.
My eyes cracked open, and my heart jumped in my chest as I discovered part of my dream was true. Many dark boots stood in front of me, more were approaching, and my sword was in the hands of some dark man grinning down at me.
I pulled my knees under me and pushed myself from the ground, ready to protect myself from these men, when something crashed into my skull from behind and knocked me back in the dirt on my face.
I felt something clamp down on my wrists behind my back and felt them drag me somewhere. Blackness crept in front of my eyes and I shook my head trying to overcome the dark void. I tried to get my feet beneath me, but they dragged me too quickly and my stumbling feet could not keep up. In the end, I let them drag me and waited to make my move until I could make sense of things again.
They threw me, face first, on a hard, dusty surface. I breathed in the grime and that sent me coughing and sneezing. The men laughed happily from behind and the light disappeared with the whirling sound as the doors closed.
"Looks like we got a new roommate." A voice said in the darkness.
"Quiet now, John!" A raspier voice said. "You gonna be okay, sonny?"
My head ached horribly. I felt like I wanted to throw up and I felt more than a little dizzy.
"Yeah," I managed to say. "Yeah, I think so."
"That's the way!" The raspy voice said. "You look like a strong young man. A little knock on the head ain't gonna keep ya down!"
I dropped my head down, resting on the dirty floor. My eyes gradually became used to the dim light and I could make out the figures that owned the voices I had heard. Ahead of me was a young man who appeared to be tall if he were standing. His hands were fastened above his head and he sat against a wall. To my left, a little to the side of the young man, was an old man with white hair tied behind him. His face was ugly and wrinkled with age, but held a kindness. His had been the raspy voice that had asked of my well being.
"Where am I?" I asked.
"Well, that changes from day to day." The younger man said with a hint of bitterness. "You see, you've just joined our merry band of slaves!" "Sonny, for a while now, folks has been having no end of trouble." The older man said. "Now, some has been having less of it because they been having others have the trouble for 'em."
"Which would be us." The young man said. "Looks like you're gonna be here for a while stranger, so you best just learn to deal with it." "Hush John!" His elder said. "Ain't no one deserves this! Ain't no one who should just learn to deal with it!"
A lump in my throat was rising, and I felt sick again. I must have been weaker than I thought when they hit me. I turned my head to the side, so that I could look towards my fellow prisoners better, and felt something hot and sticky trickling down my neck. Apparently the blow was harder than I had imagined and was bleeding.
"So what now?" I asked as I felt the compartment jolt forward and ease into motion.
"We wait." The old man said. "We'll be moving all night. In the mornin' they'll be comin' to see to you, fix up your head and all, and then we'll be gettin' something to eat on."
I noticed above the young man, whose name seemed to be John, was the source of the dim light. It was a window, covered with some torn fabric, with the light shining against it. I could see the glow of a lantern against it, projecting the shadows of bars. It must have been bright that night, and in this vast country area; the sky must have been filled with stars. But the only light that found its way in was the diffused yellow of a sickly lantern.
"Wait huh?" I mumbled. "Great."
"Take heart, sonny." He said kindly. "At least ya ain't alone in this. My name is Joseph and this here is my son John."
I nodded in recognition when, far to my right so that I had to turn my head quickly enough to make a fresh pain in my mind, I heard the clinking of more chains. The corner from which the sound had come was much darker. I strained my eyes to make out the hard silhouette of another man, a huge man, with his back hunched over and his legs stretched out in front of him.
"Who is that?" I whispered to Joseph.
"Alls we know is that he calls himself 'Hunter'." He said just as quietly as I had asked. "He don't say hardly nothin'. But he's a fearsome man, a damn fearsome man! They come across him sleeping, like they did you, but I say they'd have been better to just let him alone. They's gonna have trouble out of him one o' these days. And I'm just as nervous and I am anxious to see it. He's a damn fearsome man, sonny. Listen to me, ya hear? Keep your distance from him."
I nodded once again and rested my head against the floor. I wouldn't fall asleep that night, my head ached too much and I was trapped in the most uncomfortable position. However, in this circumstance, even if my body wasn't hurting, I would never have been able to make myself sleep. So I simply remained silent for the rest of the evening and watched the shadows dart across the fabric over the window.
The night passed so slowly that I began to wonder if it would ever end. But just as my senses were so jumbled and frustrated from waiting that I thought I would go completely insane, the compartment pulled to a stop. I looked around my compartment and discovered I could see the faces of my roommates more clearly.
All this I took in in a moment, as the whirring of the doors began and fresh morning light flooded over me and stung my eyes.
"Well now," I heard someone speak. "Let's see what we caught last night."