Chapter 23
Despair And Fear
The Orc slammed a big fist into his stomach forcing the air out of his lungs. Aragorn lost track of time as the sadistic Orc, this time an angry one, beat him without mercy or reprieve. The punishment was fast becoming more than his body was capable of handling and just when he thought he was going to pass out, the blows stopped.The same three questions were asked of him again though now he was physically incapable of answering them even if he had wanted to. In frustration, the Orc grabbed his hair and forcefully slammed the Rangers head into the wall of the cave behind him. Mercifully, his world turned black and the pain disappeared as he finally lost consciousness.
Consciousness was slow in returning to the wounded ranger as the nightmares of his feverish dreams tried to keep him a prisoner of the darkness which held him. Something inside of himself took comfort from the darkness and realized that though it was haunted and disturbed by images of ugly Orcs, it was still pain free. He did not want to leave the comfort of the darkness and also knew the choice of waking or not was no longer his to make when a bucket of icy cold water was suddenly poured over his head. He suddenly woke to a world of pain so great that the pain and the icy water literally took his breath away.
When he had finally opened his eyes, he saw stone in front of him instead of the inside of the cave. Aragorn was confused by this fact until the realization hit him that he was now tied facing the wall. He began to shiver violently from cold and shock which, for some reason seemed to amuse his captors.
'Please no, please no, please no,' he repeated over and over to himself though he knew that no amount of pleading was going to prevent what was coming.
A hand grabbed his hair and painfully jerked his head back until he was once more looking at Shaglir.
"I'm starting to run out of patience with you human, so I'm going to ask the questions just one more time and if you don't answer the questions I ask, then by Saruman's beard, I swear I will beat you to death! Now, one more time, where are the horses being kept, where are the humans being kept, and where is the black rider?"
Aragorn tried to speak and was surprised at how weak his voice was beginning to sound. Somewhere in his gut, he was starting to realize that he wasn't going to survive this one. His answer to Shaglir's questions, tempered by what his instincts and his body were telling him, became his last act of defiance. If he was going to die then he was going to remain defiant for as long as he could.
"I told you I don't know what you are talking about," he whispered, hoarsely.
Shaglir walked to where the man could just barely see him out of the corner of his eyes. The Orc was holding a whip in his hand.
"Wrong answer little ranger." The Orc sneered. "Don't say I didn't try to warn you."
The whip rose and fell, again and again, laying wheals and tearing and bruising the tender flesh. The young ranger heard himself scream over and over until his vocal chords were so bruised and swollen that he had no voice left. His brutalized back was almost numb by the time the whipping stopped and he stood trembling, supported only by the rope around his hands.
Just when he had finally convinced himself that things could get no worse, he felt his hands being released. As he began to slump to the ground Shaglir grab him by the neck. As the Orc held him off the ground he glared angrily at the human as he began to realize that he would never be able to break him. That thought frustrated him greatly. He threw the Ranger to the ground then walked away after giving orders to other Orcs to "stake him out".
After the Orcs had complied with Shaglir's orders, they began to taunt the man, purposely walking by the beaten and bloody human and kicking him with their heavy boots. Aragorn had no idea how long he had lain on the ground though he could say, with certainty, just how many Orcs had kicked him as they passed by. When he tried to shift his body the pain from his ravaged back where it had come in contact with the filthy ground caused him pain beyond anything he thought possible so far ... that is until Shaglir returned.
The Orc squatted on his heels next to where the ranger lay on the ground. Aragorn remained defiant and glared at his torturer with fever glazed eyes - until he saw what the foul creature had in his hands after which time his own eyes widened in fear and panic.
The man's look of fear and panic was not lost on the sadistic Orc. "I know you're reluctant to answer my questions, Ranger, and I really do understand. However, I really do want to find the things we've been talking about, so I've decided to give you one more chance to tell me what I want to know."
Aragorn remained silent though he could not keep his eyes from going to the Orcs hands and seeing the horror they held.
Shaglir smiled when he saw the man's fear then, after gently kissing the two great, grey rats he held in his hands, he placed them on top of the ranger's bloody chest where they walked around for a time snuffling at the blood and the wounds. Then the first rat bit down.
For some time thereafter, Aragorn's ears were filled only with the sound of his own silent screams. Tears ran down his cheeks as his body arched with fear of his small attackers as well as his efforts to get away. Finally, he was spent, physically and mentally. He had no more strength left to make a sound so he lay where he had been staked out, panting. Unnoticed by the man, the light in the cavern began to dim as the sun set on another day. Broken in both mind and body, and with the last bit of hope being consumed by pain and confusion, he didn't seem to notice when all hell broke loose in the cavern.
TBC
Despair And Fear
The Orc slammed a big fist into his stomach forcing the air out of his lungs. Aragorn lost track of time as the sadistic Orc, this time an angry one, beat him without mercy or reprieve. The punishment was fast becoming more than his body was capable of handling and just when he thought he was going to pass out, the blows stopped.The same three questions were asked of him again though now he was physically incapable of answering them even if he had wanted to. In frustration, the Orc grabbed his hair and forcefully slammed the Rangers head into the wall of the cave behind him. Mercifully, his world turned black and the pain disappeared as he finally lost consciousness.
Consciousness was slow in returning to the wounded ranger as the nightmares of his feverish dreams tried to keep him a prisoner of the darkness which held him. Something inside of himself took comfort from the darkness and realized that though it was haunted and disturbed by images of ugly Orcs, it was still pain free. He did not want to leave the comfort of the darkness and also knew the choice of waking or not was no longer his to make when a bucket of icy cold water was suddenly poured over his head. He suddenly woke to a world of pain so great that the pain and the icy water literally took his breath away.
When he had finally opened his eyes, he saw stone in front of him instead of the inside of the cave. Aragorn was confused by this fact until the realization hit him that he was now tied facing the wall. He began to shiver violently from cold and shock which, for some reason seemed to amuse his captors.
'Please no, please no, please no,' he repeated over and over to himself though he knew that no amount of pleading was going to prevent what was coming.
A hand grabbed his hair and painfully jerked his head back until he was once more looking at Shaglir.
"I'm starting to run out of patience with you human, so I'm going to ask the questions just one more time and if you don't answer the questions I ask, then by Saruman's beard, I swear I will beat you to death! Now, one more time, where are the horses being kept, where are the humans being kept, and where is the black rider?"
Aragorn tried to speak and was surprised at how weak his voice was beginning to sound. Somewhere in his gut, he was starting to realize that he wasn't going to survive this one. His answer to Shaglir's questions, tempered by what his instincts and his body were telling him, became his last act of defiance. If he was going to die then he was going to remain defiant for as long as he could.
"I told you I don't know what you are talking about," he whispered, hoarsely.
Shaglir walked to where the man could just barely see him out of the corner of his eyes. The Orc was holding a whip in his hand.
"Wrong answer little ranger." The Orc sneered. "Don't say I didn't try to warn you."
The whip rose and fell, again and again, laying wheals and tearing and bruising the tender flesh. The young ranger heard himself scream over and over until his vocal chords were so bruised and swollen that he had no voice left. His brutalized back was almost numb by the time the whipping stopped and he stood trembling, supported only by the rope around his hands.
Just when he had finally convinced himself that things could get no worse, he felt his hands being released. As he began to slump to the ground Shaglir grab him by the neck. As the Orc held him off the ground he glared angrily at the human as he began to realize that he would never be able to break him. That thought frustrated him greatly. He threw the Ranger to the ground then walked away after giving orders to other Orcs to "stake him out".
After the Orcs had complied with Shaglir's orders, they began to taunt the man, purposely walking by the beaten and bloody human and kicking him with their heavy boots. Aragorn had no idea how long he had lain on the ground though he could say, with certainty, just how many Orcs had kicked him as they passed by. When he tried to shift his body the pain from his ravaged back where it had come in contact with the filthy ground caused him pain beyond anything he thought possible so far ... that is until Shaglir returned.
The Orc squatted on his heels next to where the ranger lay on the ground. Aragorn remained defiant and glared at his torturer with fever glazed eyes - until he saw what the foul creature had in his hands after which time his own eyes widened in fear and panic.
The man's look of fear and panic was not lost on the sadistic Orc. "I know you're reluctant to answer my questions, Ranger, and I really do understand. However, I really do want to find the things we've been talking about, so I've decided to give you one more chance to tell me what I want to know."
Aragorn remained silent though he could not keep his eyes from going to the Orcs hands and seeing the horror they held.
Shaglir smiled when he saw the man's fear then, after gently kissing the two great, grey rats he held in his hands, he placed them on top of the ranger's bloody chest where they walked around for a time snuffling at the blood and the wounds. Then the first rat bit down.
For some time thereafter, Aragorn's ears were filled only with the sound of his own silent screams. Tears ran down his cheeks as his body arched with fear of his small attackers as well as his efforts to get away. Finally, he was spent, physically and mentally. He had no more strength left to make a sound so he lay where he had been staked out, panting. Unnoticed by the man, the light in the cavern began to dim as the sun set on another day. Broken in both mind and body, and with the last bit of hope being consumed by pain and confusion, he didn't seem to notice when all hell broke loose in the cavern.
TBC