THE MORNING AIR FELT GOOD. It brushed past Erik’s face through his prison bars. He woke and couldn’t remember much from the day before. He still felt groggy and allowed himself a yawn. He was lucky, he thought, to at least be outdoors; so many others served their time indoors. He had been restless and hadn’t been sleeping well which was why he was fairly sure the guards had slipped something into his food. The meals came in meagre sizes and were barely edible even for him. He’d lost weight. That was expected. He looked his body over: he looked weak and could see the prominent outline of his rib cage and sunken chest. He’d always been lean and displayed powerful muscle definition, but now his bones appeared too close to the surface. This saddened him. His sentence was one he was not sure he’d survive.
The new day was breaking earlier than usual and Erik could already feel the sun’s warmth on his back. He paced about his cell. He was thirsty and hadn’t been left any food yesterday and there was none so far today. The water he’d been given two days ago was almost depleted. He couldn’t see any guards at all and he wondered if whatever they had put in his food had kept him asleep all through yesterday.
The complex was quiet and felt empty. Something was wrong. His instincts had always been very keen; honed after years of experience dealing with the most cunning men on Earth and living in a land allowing little forgiveness for error. He wondered where everyone was and if they were even coming back. Where had all the guards gone? Where was the Pink Skinned Man? The Pink Skinned Man was someone whose name no one spoke and who had done terrible things to him, things he would never forget. The Pink Skinned Man told everyone what to do and they listened. The Pink Skinned Man watched him closely, afraid Erik may try to escape. He would look into Erik’s cell and stare at him grinning with his rotten corn-coloured teeth. Erik would look right back at him. He would not be made afraid, after all he was a King where he came from. This angered the Pink Skinned Man, who relished the fear he struck in his guards. Then he would do things to Erik to show he was stronger than Erik, smarter than him, better than him. Though no matter what terrible things the Man would do, Erik would never show fear and kept his pride. For Erik was a King who had been abducted while he slept, by men with unique weapons far superior to those Erik had faced in the past. Cowards, he thought silently. I will have my revenge.
Now Erik was alone and the complex looked empty, devoid of its busy population. He wondered if he was the only one left. He couldn’t see any of the other cells so it was hard to tell if others had been left behind. There was not a single sound from the other captives or inhabitants in the complex and this led Erik to believe he was positively alone. Alone. He thought to himself about the soft spot he’d discovered in the cell flooring and how he was sure he might be able to break through and with some digging he might win his freedom. He would wait a while longer, until late afternoon, to see if anyone would return and then he’d consider the idea again. In the meantime, he drank some water, leaving the last of it for later. For now he would try to get some rest.
The sun was high in the afternoon sky and the cell bars cast striped shadows onto the floor of Erik’s cell and across his body as he sat, arms folded, looking out into silent emptiness. The late afternoon sun was getting hot. Erik examined the weak spot in his cell’s flooring. He knew that the time had come to attempt an escape. He was alone, his only companion the eerie silence of the complex. There was an odour attached to the air now but Erik could not place what it was. He moved towards the weak spot in the floor and looked down at it. It shouldn’t be too hard to break through. He wasn’t looking forward to the digging though. He wondered if this was why the Pink Skinned Man watched him so closely. He must have known of the weak floorboards and that escape would be easy for anyone if given the chance.
Erik made short work of the flooring. Although making a hole large enough for him to slip through wasn’t difficult, the fierce heat from the growing afternoon sun caused his thirst to flare. He decided to finish the last of his water before the dig. There wasn’t much but enough to wet his dry mouth sufficiently.
The digging took him about twenty minutes. Once Erik was free he stood a moment to catch his breath and looked into the empty cell. He hadn’t been there long but he would never forget what had happened to him in this place. He turned to face the open courtyard of the complex and assess his surroundings, looking for an opening or somewhere to crawl through. The perimeter walls were too high to climb, nor did he have the strength. Erik noticed the front gate was ajar. He thought this strange as he hadn’t noticed the gate being open from within the confines of his cell. He slowly and quietly made his way towards the large gate doors. He took a quick peek through the doors, carefully checking for any signs of life. There were none, nothing except the strange odour in the air. Erik could see the muddy road winding its way to the left and forest in front of him. He didn’t sense any danger so he left the complex and ran swiftly towards the trees. He’d be safer in the forest than along the road. Once inside the tree line, he turned and looked back at the complex for only a moment, then continued into the dense foliage.
Erik had been walking for over an hour at a good pace. The odour in the air had been growing stronger and he now knew what the smell was that he couldn’t previously place. It was death. He heard the birds of carrion first, arguing greedily. Then he saw them: they where everywhere. He now knew where the guards were. They were all here in the forest with their weapons in hand, dead and disfigured from strange wounds. Predators were feasting on the rotting flesh. The birds shot questioning glances at him but were not the least bit afraid of him. It was apparent they felt there was enough here for everyone. Erik left the black winged creatures to their grisly business and waded through the awful death. His mind weary, he almost didn’t hear the gurgling noise coming from a figure sitting against a large stone. It was the Pink Skinned Man. He was alive and looked at Erik. He had a sickly smile on his face and blood slowly oozed from the corner of his mouth.
“It’s you,” he said in his crude language that Erik did not always entirely understand.
“I knew you’d escape if I turned my back. I told them…” he choked on a laugh.
“You want to kill me don’t you? I can see you want vengeance.”
It was true Erik had wanted to kill this man for all the things he’d done to him.
“Well go ahead you disgusting…” he hacked and coughed, his death rattle approaching. “Indulge yourself…”
Erik couldn’t understand his words. He approached the dying man, bringing his face only inches from his tormenter’s. He could smell the sick scent of fear bleeding from the man’s pores. The Pink Skinned Man looked into his eyes, and incredulously thought he could see a smile on Erik’s face. Then Erik backed away and left him to his fate, making for the deep forest.
After some time he came to recognize his surroundings. He was getting close to home. Erik’s ears twitched then perked up as he heard a rustling in the underbrush. In front of him appeared a tiger. Brash and unafraid, the tiger climbed a large jagged slice of granite and let out a powerful roar. Erik stared at the compelling beast standing majestically upon the stone slab. She was beautiful. He knew the beast. He knew her intimately. She was his Queen. She was his mate. He roared more powerfully than she, despite his fatigue. He was King and he was home.