Heart's tale

Chapter 2 part 2

Lila woke up from being hit and pressed against the trunk lid. The noise in her ears turned into the noise of the scooter's engine, and when she came to, she realized that the scooter was going down. The aircraft shook several more times and spun. The monkey shrieked, hit the doll, and passed out again. This time there was no dream, and she came to her senses as her head jolted across the lattice metal surface. Occasionally, rivets came across, and one of them woke Lila up.

Someone's muffled footsteps clattered, and a metal cross-arched ceiling crawled over her eyes, its edges shining from oil lamps that glowed yellow and red. It was wet all around, drips fell from the ceiling onto the monkey's face, and the smell that wafted to her essence through the painted holes in her nose reeked of dampness and mildew. Slowly her hearing returned, and more and more clearly she could hear the moans and wails, the mutterings and laughter of those who had lost their minds. The walls and doors could not be seen, but no doubt it was the cries of the prisoners.

There was a shrill cry from somewhere below. Lila flinched, and her cap got caught in its pompom on a splintered wooden plank and peeled off, revealing the top of her head with a big mop of chipped curls. Lila turned her head and saw that someone was dragging the doll beside her, holding its legs with a big, beefy hand in a black sleeve. Looking up, the monkey found another such hand holding her by the remains of her wooden legs. The owner of the hands was a huge hunched black back whose robes reached down to the floor. And the fabric, rippling with heavy footsteps, only hinted at the size of the legs.

The faintly visible head of her new vehicle was wrapped in a greasy rag that threatened to fall with every step, but each time, in defiance of common sense, kept its position. Lila's painted nose was dripping with moisture, but she could smell something burning on the clothes, and here and there she could see holes scorched with sparks. The giant turned the corner (it became noticeably warmer) and began descending the big spiral staircase. Lila stopped staring at the bearer, concentrating on banging her head on the s teps, and by the end of the descent, she was unconscious again.

Lila felt something wet with her stomach. She tried to move her hand – it worked. Then the other. She lifted herself up, but could not stand up. She had no strength. She lowered herself onto the wet surface, lay down for a while, but then pulled herself together and tried to crawl. A movement, followed by another. It was very hard to crawl, her arms wouldn't budge, making false movements that led nowhere. Lila got angry at herself and opened her eyes.

She lay in the middle of the cell, angled-out into a wide, winding corridor. The walls were thick bars, one with a small door. In both corners on the opposite side of the corridor were sturdy wooden doors with a wrought pattern, and in the openings beneath them, a fire was clearly blazing. It was hot and foggy, and there was a strong smell of burning.

The hearing wholly returned. In the next cell, someone moaned softly. A particularly tingly string twitched in Lila's chest. The doll sat in the corner, showing no sign of life. The monkey looked down at her legs. Everything below the knee joints was mangled. After breathing for a while and accepting this thought, the monkey lowered herself onto her stomach and crawled toward the doll. It was a head taller than she. The face and the place where the doll's eyes were painted, were made of wood, but imitating the armor, the lower part of the face from the nose to the chin was covered by metal with a similar pattern to the one on the chest. A bandage protruded from the metal under the helmet. Mechanical shoulders with gears ended in hands exquisitely carved from lacquered wood. The chest and abdomen were covered by a wrought iron shell, where the shard was now stored. Metal legs with a star-shaped pelvic mechanism ended in wooden feet. It had clearly been assembled from various parts, but it was done professionally. Though it was obvious that the parts had been changed many times, the doll looked solid and expertly constructed. Once there, the monkey put her paws under the shell and tried to open the flaps toward herself, but they wouldn't budge. Lila lowered her head and froze.