I sat on a tiny cot in my cell bored out of my skull with nothing to do. I couldn't pay off my debt which meant that I couldn't get out. As I searched my mind for answers, one came to mind. I could try to escape! I wouldn't be able to get out by paying and I needed to leave and go back home soon.
It was the perfect plan. I decided to wait until one of the guys brought me food. Then, I would knock him out and hopefully get the keys.
Finally, the sun went down. I managed to locate a loose stone in the wall and pried it off. I tucked it in my sleeve and waited.
The guard watching me, Jared I think his name was, left for a couple of minutes. When he returned, a plate of food was in his hands.
"I got your dinner, boy." he gestured as he approached the cell. I stood up and walked over to the door. Carefully, I adjusted the rock in my sleeve.
He slipped the plate in his arm through the bars. I started to reach for it. I guess it's now or never. Just as I neared the plate, I reached my arm through the bars and grabbed Jared's shirt, pulling him toward the cell. With my other arm, I pulled out the rock and slammed it into his head. His eyes widened in shock and then closed as he fell unconcious. I let go and he slumped onto the floor. The plate of food clattered against the ground.
I realized that if I wanted to escape then I needed to be quick. I bent down and reached through the bars. After a moment of searching through Jared's pockets, I pulled out the keys.
The door opened with a loud creak and I hurried out. I grabbed my belongings hanging on the wall and ran to the door. The keys I left on the table, I had no use for them.
Just then, the door swung open and hit me in the face. I stumbled backwards and grabbed my nose. Ow! I raised my head and froze. The other guard stood three feet away and looking just as surprised as I was.
"Wha...what...how did you get out?" He gasped. The guard looked behind me, "What did you do to Jared?" He growled.
Instantly, I snapped out of my surprise and ducked around him. I bolted out the door as I heard him turn around and I assume, chase after me.
"Hey, stop!" He yelled. "Come back!"
I ran into the street and looked around for a place to hide. The street had quite a few people in it, and right away all turned to me. I brushed past them quickly and ran into a building. A woman screamed as I darted past her. I grunted when I realized that I had no where to go.
I ran upstairs and searched frantically for a hiding spot. Finally, I spotted a window. I pulled open the shutters and climbed out. Then, I shut them behind me and tried to balance on the small ledge. The street was a long drop beneath me, but thankfully I was on the opposite side of the busy street. No one passed under the window. I was safe, for now.
My feet stumbled for a moment. Woah... I wobbled before finding my balance. Exhaling, I calmed my breathing and listened. I didn't hear anything from the bedroom, so I hoped that the guard didn't see me run in the house.
Suddenly, a chunk of stone from the ledge cracked. It tipped for a second before tumbling down to the ground. I started flailing my arms to regain balance. My foot slipped and I fell. I felt a hard yank on my arm and looked up. I had barely grabbed the ledge with my hand.
Uh oh...I thought that was the end of it, until the rest of the stone ledge broke and tumbled towards the ground, with me. I heard a loud crack...then the world disappeared around me.
*Unknown amount of time later*
"Ugh..." I groaned. A splitting pain erupted inside my head as I became conscious. This was the worst headache I had ever had.
After trying to not scream, I forced my eyes open. I was in a small bed in someone's house. Well...at least I wasn't in jail. When my hands touched my head, I felt some kind of cloth. It must have been a bandage. I was still quite dizzy and confused, but soon I remembered. I had escaped from the jail and the dude was chasing me. Then, I hid on that tiny ledge and fell. I must have hit my head and gone unconscious.
Just then, the door opened. A young woman entered and walked over to me. She carried a cloth and bowl in her hands and smiled. "I'm glad you're awake. How does your head feel?'
"Uh...It kinda hurts." I replied looking confused. Who was she?
"You hit your head pretty hard, you must be confused." The lady explained. I nodded. "Well, I don't know who you are, or how you fell, but I found you on the street unconscious with a pile of stone around you. Stone that was from the window above you. I decided to bring you back to my home and care for you."
I started to sit up but stopped when the pain in my head worsened. "Oh...um, thank you for helping me, but I must be going."
She dipped the cloth into the bowl and brought it to my forhead, wet. "No, you have a serious injury on your head. You need to rest. Now, my name is Linda. What is yours?"
"But...you don't understand. I appreciate that you helped me but I shouldn't be here." I tried to explain.
"You. Are. Staying. I am not changing my mind. Now please tell me your name." She shook her head and continued to rub my forehead.
"It's Sam. My name is Sam." I told her.
"Nice to meet you, Sam." She added with a grin.
Just then, there was a knocking sound from the other room. Linda raised her head, a surprised look across her face. "I'll be right back." She stood up and left the room.
I strained my ears to hear anything from the other room. Then, I heard something bad. Very bad. It was the guard! Jared! I would recognize his voice from anywhere.
Right away, I jumped up out of the bed and looked around for a window. Big mistake. My head seemed to explode with pain. I gasped and tried to breathe. Leaning over, I vomited. Yes, I emptied my stomach of its contents. After that, I found some relief and managed to find a window. I opened it and climbed out. Thankfully, it was the ground floor so I easily escaped. I ducked around the side of the house and started sprinting. From the house, a loud shout was heard. They had descovered I was gone. I needed to go home but I didn't have anything left. My horse was in the stable but I didn't know where that was and anyways they would probably assume I would go there. I reached into my pocket to see if anything had made it through with me, to realize why this had happened.
It was the stone. This stone was causing me to change. It was making me do foolish things and honestly, I hated it. I wanted to throw it away and leave it but knew I couldn't. That would be the wrong thing to do. If someone else found it then they would have this aweful burden, and no one deserved to have this stone thrust upon them.
As I ran, I searched for a place to hide. My head started to hurt more than ever and I couldn't run forever. Desperately, I tried to stay hidden by running through the empty alleys instead of the streets. Finally, my feet turned toward a small cottage that seemed empty. I approached cautiously and walked in.
It wasn't very large, about the size of my own home but still cheerful. No one was inside, but their was a recently used fireplace and some leftover bread on a table. My stomach rumbled as if it could see the food. After looking around again, I reached for the bread.
"Don't move, or I promise, I'll kill yuh." A voice commanded. I froze, arm in mid-air. "Put your hands in the air'n slowly turn 'round." I obeyed, slowly turning to face the person. Thankfully, it wasn't either of the guards, but an older man. He seemed friendly except for the knife that was in his hand. I debated whether to run, stay, or try to fight him.
"Look, sir, I didn't mean to intrude. I was just hungry and I couldn't find anyone." I lied.
"Oh really..." He looked skeptical. "I think I better go find the guards. They were putting posters up saying that they were look'in for an escaped prisoner. You wouldn't happen to be him, would ya?" He eyed me suspiciously.
"Um...no, sir. I don't know what you are talking about." Once again, I lied.
"Why don't you just sit down on that chair..." He pointed with his knife.
"I'm sorry, but I can't stay. Now let me go peacefully. I don't want to hurt you." I put my hands down, prepared to fight.
"Oh, sonny. You aren't going anywhere. I know now from what you said that you're in trouble with the law. Now sit down and I won't hurt you." He growled. He began to approach me. When he was closer, he swiped the knife at me. I sidestepped barely and ran out the door. I needed to leave before I did something that I would regret.
My legs carried me swiftly away from the house and once again, I was running. I needed to figure out a plan of getting my stuff back. Once I was a long distance away from the cottage, I slowed down. Weaving in and out of the narrow alleyways, I found a secluded spot and slid down against the back of a building.
I rested my eyes for a moment before hearing a voice. It sounded angry, like Jared's. I needed to leave. Now. Jumping to my feet, I looked down the alley. The sun had slowly gone down and now it was almost completely dark. Through the dim light, I saw the outline of a man.
"There you are!" He shouted at me. It was Jared! Instantly, I turned the other way and sprinted. Just as I was to the edge of the alley, the other guard ran to the opening and pulled out his sword. I looked back only to see Jared had caught up to me. I was trapped.
"Stop trying to run, boy, and put your hands behind your back." The other guard demanded. I started to until Jared grabbed them and tied rope around them.
"You shouldn't have run." Jared snapped. "Now it's just gonna be worse for you." He shoved me forward and we started walking back to what I assumed was, the prison.
We walked along for about five minutes until the building loomed above us. I was closer to it then I had thought.
They pushed me to walk faster into the dark jail. While Jared lit some torches, the other guard pushed me into the cell, still tied up. Both men looked at me from the other side of the bars.
"What should we do to punish him for escaping, Alistair?' Jared mused.
"I don't know..." He looked at me, "What do you think we should?" he asked.
I laughed, "Um...how about let me go, give me my stuff, and never talk to me again?" They laughed arrogantly in return.
Alistair joked, "Ya, sure! Let's do that and just let you get away with breaking the law!" He paused and rubbed his chin, "Actually, I know exactly what to do with you."
Jared turned to him, "What?"
"Let's show him what real pain feels like." Alistair chuckled. "That'll teach him." He pulled the keys from his pocket and unlocked the door. Then, the two men walked in and towards me. They thrust me up, still bound, and shoved me against the wall.
Jared growled, "Next time, don't try to escape. Cause this is how it'll end."
I'm not going to describe what happened next in detail. Basically, they just began punching me. Over and over again. They finally paused for a moment when I again threw up. Only, I didn't have anything in my stomach and soon my vomiting turned into heaving. Painful, wretched heaving.
When I was done, they dragged me onto the cot and I think, untied me. My head was swimming and I couldn't think clearly. Vaguely, I heard the cell door shut with a click before the darkness swallowed me.