Short Story Collection

Rise of Four Kingdoms: Part 4

BEGONIA 

I looked closer at Panther. She was taller than me and looked way thinner. But even though she was thin, she looked strong. Like she could do hand-to-hand combat with an adult. Or a soldier if she escaped.

Suddenly, I had an idea.

"Panther, bite through my chains." I whispered.

Panther looked at me as if I'd gone crazy.

"The chains are made out of concrete and ice. If you want to escape, you have to bite through the ice." I explained.

"How do you know?" Flora asked.

"Let's just say I know the texture." I replied.

Panther bit through my chains and I bit through hers. While Panther stood guard, I bit through Flora's. Flora squeezed through the crack just as we heard footsteps.

We threw a blanket over a pile of who knew what and put it next to Flora's chains. Then Panther and I put our hands in the broken chains.

"Faring well?" a soldier asked.

"Yes, sir." Panther said.

"Here's your daily bread." The soldier threw a rotten loaf in front of us and left.

We waited patiently for him to leave, then I whispered through the crack.

"Flora, are you ok?"

"Watchout!" Flora whispered.

We curled into balls, hiding our heads in our bodies. There was a buzzing noise. A laser cutter.

A second later, we were escaping into the woods with no idea where to go and how to survive.

We crashed into a clearing. We saw a couple huts and campfires everywhere.

"Mosquitos!" Flora exclaimed, slapping her arms.

"Get close to the smoke!" I said.

We all jumped in the smoke.

"Are you unwanted too?" a man's voice asked.

"Yeah." Panther muttered sarcastically.

"Welcome to the Unwanted Village." a woman carrying a baby smiled.

"I'm Wolf and that's my wife Cani. That little baby is Jackal. We're the Pak family. One of the many who have taken refuge here." Wolf smiled.

"Panther, Flora, Begonia." I pointed at my friends and I.

"Cabin 44 seems to be empty." Cani remarked.

"44!?" Flora asked.

"Yes. Many people equal many cabins. If you need anything, just come to cabin 4." Wolf said, walking away.

"Ok. I guess we'll go hunting." Panther said.

"How about you two go and I'll stay here." Flora said, batting at mosquitos.

Sighing, I walked into the woods with Panther.

"Wait, don't we need weapons to hunt?" I asked.

"First step, make a bow and arrow. We need to cut wood and use the string in my pocket. Knives are also in my pocket. I never leave home without them." Panther cut off two branches and handed me a knife.

Careful not to cut myself, I slowly started to shave off the bark. All villagers know how to make just about anything, so it was a piece of cake right? Wrong. Panther was so good at it though. I struggled to cut a good curve. Finally, Panther took over and ended up making both.

Now that I was safe, I thought of Rose. With her red petal-like curls and stem-green eyes, she looked exactly like a rose.

Last time I saw her, she was in the back of a prisoner cart too. But that was three months ago. Who knows what happened to her. Sighing, I watched Panther tie another knot.