Sorry you always have to play the badass in the first book, Belovenar... Ill let you have your own ball pit in the fourth book. “Wait! No, I can help you! You need um... A... Food? You need food? I can help you get women!!!” Belovenar shouted at his capturers as they walked away from the hole. He let his arms drop to his sides in defeat, knowing the two men were out of hearing range by then. How had he ended up in this predicament? He could slither his way out of huge swarms of Semus followers. But when he ran into just two? He went through the different routes he could have taken to escape them, but made himself stop. It didnt matter what he could have done to change his fate- hed managed to find himself there, deep in that hole, with it tightly secured over his head and there was nothing he could do to change that now. He assessed his current situation. So what did he have to work with? A perfectly round hole with a flat bottom, dirt at his sides, an opening just a little wider than he was, and a barred lid screwed in place at the top of it. He couldnt reach that metal lid, either. So he stood there, observing all angles of the holes circumference, and saw nothing of significance. Finding no other options, he dug his fingernails into the dirt directly in front of him. This method would take a while, yes. But it was better than standing around waiting... for what? Were they sending someone from him? Were they coming back themselves? Or perhaps their plan was to just leave him there to die... Again another urgent thought crossed his mind. Where on earth were Dawn and Schruffedor? Hed been with them only an hour ago, but after their hideout had been spotted and invaded, theyd all had to split up to manage to escape the crowd of their enemies. He hadnt seen them since. Belovenar imagined Dawn either murdered not far from where she ran, or wandering in the woods scared and alone as hed found her when theyd first met. As for Schruffedor, he assumed he was either dead or passed out drunk by some tree. Again he shook the thoughts out of his head. He had to focus on his current situation. Only then could he hope to find his... friends? With a crack of thunder, Belovenar suddenly understood the plan the men had in mind. It slapped him in the face and he scolded himself for not having seen it sooner. That flood! The flood that fairy in the green dress had said was coming. They must have somehow known about it as well! And there he stood... trapped not just on low ground... but underground, with nothing to keep the water from pouring in. So fairies. Obviously they were on his side. They were little shards of the remnants of what Zamara had been. Of course theyd want to save it. There was always the off chance there was one nearby. So what should he do? Call for one? Call for help in general? Of course not. There were far more things against him out there than there were with him. He had to figure this out alone- quickly and quietly. But there was nothing!!! He could feel his brain overheating as he stood there, digging into the hard dirt with his fingers and knowng he wouldnt get out in time. Another crack of thunder, a flash of lightning, then he felt the first rain drop. He looked up past the bars- to the sky. It looked no different than usual- colorless, gray, but he knew it held anger. Could it possibly be that the sky, too was against him? The thing about Zamarian storms? They didnt take their time. Or at least they hadnt as of late. Hed spend his fair time outside the mansion walls in the rain storms, and he knew that if a flood was in order, he had a matter of minutes. He slid off one shoe- or what was left of it- and started scooping out larger amounts of dirt. He tried to keep calm as he felt his heart start beating faster. Panic was not going to help him. Panic was going to encompass him in the color green and smear it with bits of red. Red on the painted brick walls. Red from his gums, or his eyes, or from underneath is fingernails. Soon he could feel his feet becoming wet. It was only a matter of seconds until it reached his ankles. He wasnt going to get out in time so why was he still trying?! Because he would die fighting, thats why, he growled outloud to himself. It was inevitable that he would die at the hands of Semu- or now his followers- but he would never go down without a fight. His calves, his knees, his thighs... Sood standing waist- deep in water, he dropped his shoe. Soon his progress would be underwater before hed have a chance to finish it. Now was the time to incorporate a new plan with the newest situation. He had a new tool- water, and it would either make or break him. A flashback flew through his mind in an instant- that time he and Dawn were making their way across a pond, and Belovenar unknowingly swam straight into a bumbha. Hed been drug to the bottom so fast water was shoved into his sinuses with a force that made him believe they would exlpode. He remembered the coldness of the water, the darkness within it, and the pain in his lungs as they begged for air. He remembered for the first time feeling fear as he had been made mortal once again by Semu. Just as he was as he stood in that hole. Had he been saved just seconds later from that pond, he would no longer have existed. He had to push that panic and that pain out of his mind. Right now- he had to think of water as his friend, as his possible savior and not his executionist. He was able to tread in it as it reached his chest. What would come next? Well, hed either go under or stay above. And if he stayed above? Hed reach that metal lid, that had been tightly screwed into the cement circle encompassing it. If he couldnt figure something out by the time he reached that- he would lose this fight. The rain poured down on him. Between the water splashing up around him and the rain falling down on his face, he was constantly taking in involuntary gulps of water and spitting it off of his face. Flashes of lighting lit his surrounding up like a strobe light as the gears in his brain turned full speed. And then there it was- the top of the hole. He was there. This was it. No! He had to stop thinking that. This was where he needed to be if he was going to escape. He contorted his right hand to slip between the bars and bent his fingers to reach for the first screw of... how many? He couldnt see. He cursed to himself as he could feel it was on tight. He didnt know if he could loosen it with his bare hands- let alone his compromised angle. He stopped with that screw and went at its neighbor. His heart skipped as this one loosened. Quickly, he unscrewed it and threw it away from the lid. One down. However- he was having to tilt his head up towards the bars to keep his head above water. Only his face was free. He scanned the ground he could see from where he was. There was nothing there except for plants and litter. A milk jug sat in his reach. A milk jug... how on earth could that help? Then without thinking he grabbed it, queezed his left hand through the bars and somehow ripped the bottom out of it. Unscrewing the lid, he put it to his mouth a second before the water buried it, and he took in a gulp of air. At least the remaining plastic created a funnel higher up than he was allowed. He returned to the screws. The first was hopeless, but he searched for the next one. This one was difficult as well. It took him a few seconds to get it to budge, then a good amount of effort to completely remove it. The next one was the same. The one after that easy... the one after that hard. It was the last screw- aside from the first he had tried... that had him doubting hed be able to get the lid off after all. The water had risen to fill the milk jug by then, and Belovenar remained under the water with nothing to do but hold his breath. He felt like screaming by this point but kept his mouth shut. The screw wouldnt budge! This was his last chance! Again he tried at the first. It. Wasnt. Budging. A stick brushed by his hand in the water above him. Grabbing this, his fingers utilized it to get better grip on the screw, and, using both hands to work at it- he managed to make it turn. Unscrewing it was the longest, most painful thing hed had to endure. Then- finally! It gave. Belovenar used all the weight he could giving he was underwater to push at the lid- still held down by one stubborn screw. Barely getting it open enough, he squeezed through it and escaped into the floods current. How deep was the water by then? He had no idea. Feeling the ground with his foot, he pushed off as hard as he could- the current grabbing him and dragging him to the right. Was he close to the surface? Oh god the only thing he could think about was air. Without him ordering it to, his mouth opened and his lungs started to gulp. A small amount of water entered before he ordered his mouth to shut again. His hands scanned the water wildly, for anything that could help him make his way up... which was... that way, right? Then, with a bout of pure luck, his lungs automatically swallowed again but this time- they took in air. Somehow hed made his way- finally!- to the surface, but he was still falling victim to the strength of the current. He couldnt touch the ground, the water had made its way to the trees waists by then. God! Where on earth were his... he really needed to think of a term from them. Surely Dawn was clever enough to save both herself and Schruffedor both, right? Belovenar considered grabbing onto one of the many trees- hes been crashing into- but thought better of it. The water was crashing up in waves against them. He would drown grabbing onto one just like he could then. Caught in a raging river- all he could do was let it take him and hope it didnt pull him under. Then- down he went again. Thrashing in the solid murky color, he hoped hed again taste air, at least if only one more time to kiss it goodbye. Only seconds later- he resurfaced, in just barely enough time for him to start panicking. Then. A log! It was large, and was holding its own against the river. How was it floating so well? He wondered as he observed it, suggesting his body move toward it. Finally reaching and grabbing onto it, he noticed it was a hollow log- obviously having been used for storing the bodies of perished loved ones when the world was populated by other humans. He kissed the log, regardless of anything it could have on it, and positioned himself inbetween two convenient remaining branches. There, he sat, and rode the river until it passed higher ground. It was what he guessed was an hour later when he was able to latch on to the side of a cliff, whose top wasnt far off. Reaching from one rock to another, he easily made his way to the top, where he fell onto the flat, dry land, and sprawled out on his back, finding it unbelievable how hed managed to survive another day in the crazy world Zamara had become.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 05:20:26 +0000
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