Camelot Dimension 360 chapter 8

 

Written by Daton L Fluker

Dutch translation by Keyno Wells

http://deathkeeperworld.com

E-mail datonfluke@live.com

 

 

CHAPTER 8 WHAT HAPPENED IN THE WOODS PART THREE VIII

What an awful night it was to overcome. Unconscious, lying on a hospital bed, Leith’s skin overcoats with a sticky residue of dampness engrossing the bed sheets. Stripped of his cloths, the last few hours he has been isolated in his own vigorous world, turning over and over in the bed with idle confusion. His uniform is folded neatly, lying in the corner of the room.

One of the teenagers has become teary-eyed because of the judicious occasion. Even if no one cares for the situation to evolve it’s repressing its self to do so. No matter what anyone wants to believe these bad things are still happening. All the children in the village grew up on the stories the Elders taught during their toddler years. Now everything is hovering on the brink of extinction.

The boys are the last few individuals, who occupy a business position. The other people, the villagers, are sick, dying or dancing in a loony tune state of thinking. Like all the other stories told to them, one particular story stole most of their hearts and kept them strong during this outrageous era, while growing up. It’s about their now decease Lord Cogan.

When Cogan was in his 30′s—the middle of his life—his wife was murdered and his son was taken captive by an enemy attacker, who has disappeared and left no traces behind. Even until this day, they are yet to be found. With a massive terrain, this world allows slavery-caravans to travel between communities, living and taking what resources they need to become more powerful. Some of these slavery-caravans only last for a few years because everyone—even the slave owners—are worn-out from walking through the heat or cold weather. However, this specific slave-caravan has figured out the-code-of-manner for living in an abominating type lifestyle.

Inside the hospital room, the walls are made from logs packed together with mud. It’s an old architect technique passed down from generation to generation. This village’s architect ancestry is from the people who use to live there. The whole entire Apollo generation has been wiped clean, and none of them are genuine kin, except for the last two individuals, who are direct decadents of the Apollo’s, and who are bearing the last of their people blood in their veins. Even so, Elizabeth still isn’t true blood.

No lighting in the room; it’s too dark to see. The doctor has bad eyesight, and most of his tools are best found by memory. Bleeding all over the place, the doctor accidentally sticks himself with one of the surgical blades he took from the bedside table. Nevertheless, Leith’s arm has changed to a deep white color. The room is extremely cold. The doctor wipes his bleeding finger off with his handkerchief, and signals Elizabeth by nodding his head. She understands exactly what he is pressing her to do. Leith’s temperature is going down, and the ability to keep him-self warm will worsen.

ELIZABETH

“What are you all standing around for? One of you, make yourself useful and go get some blankets. The rest of you go on now, shoo.”

One of the boys is a bit curious he asks,

BOY

“Will he be ok? I want to ask him something.”

ELIZABETH (CONT’D)

“You can’t ask him if he dies, so please, can we have a little privacy?”

Elizabeth begins to unsnap her breast-plate. The breast-plate steadily slips off and falls to the ground. The boys can’t see much, but it’s enough for their imaginations to run wild. With some game-wrap around her bust, Elizabeth undoes the wrap staring at them.

Boys will be boys, and at this growth period they have the tendency to play a lot. Usually teenagers are not afraid about the conclusion of their futures. They’re not worried about dyeing, even after they were just inches away from being butchered.

WHISTLING TEENAGERS

“Oh yea baby… Take it off!” (whistles)

BOY

“Only if?”

One of them jokingly says this to Elizabeth all the time, and he never gets an answer from her. However, this time he does.

ELIZABETH

“Only if what?”

BOY

“Only if I was your age, you sexy woman?”

Puzzled about how these teenage-boys can have perverted minds like this—after being in rhythmical steps with death—today Elizabeth appreciates their humor, which gives her a cloak of security, especially in these appeasing times.

The boys leave out, rubbing their chest-plates as if they were frolicking-their-nipples.

The shy boy, who went to get the blankets, hides his face when he comes back into the room. Almost tripping over himself, he places the towels on the bed when she looks into his eyes.

Before the boy leaves, he practically twists his ankle trying to get a glance of her. Elizabeth is fully undressed, and doesn’t mind him looking. It might be his last chance to stare at a naked woman in his gambled-life. Stumbling over his shadow, he vacates.

On Leith’s fingerless-hand, the doctor spreads an antibiotic germ on it. The germ grows on the outside of rivers and lakes. If the germ is stored at room temperature incased in some boiled-sterilized-mud at the bottom of a bowl or cup then it will commonly act as a disinfectant and can be used to eat away at harmful bacteria. The germ is known to heal the skin faster.

The doctor puts the disinfectant on the rest of Leith’s scars. Elizabeth tucks the blankets on top of Leith, climbs in the bed, and holds his cold body close to hers. When the doctor finishes spreading the antibiotic germ on Leith, he leaves out to help some other patients. Elizabeth rubs Leith’s forehead until she gets warm enough and falls asleep.

OUTSIDE HOSPITAL

The Camelot soldiers are sitting down eating their brunches. The young Apollo swordsmen are surprised because archers are inside the city. The Camelot Archers have finally made it to Apollo. A few of them have taken a position at the top of the archer-towers. The rest or mixed in with the other units.

The Apollo swordsmen get an idea. Since the elders are passed away, they can finally help those poor people, who are lying in the middle of the street with no homes to go and rest their heads. They decided to portion some of the village supplies with the indigent. They go toward the warehouse holding a debate about their current situation.

AAMIR

“The Elders are dead. We are in command. We should help these people because they are starving.”

LANDON

“If they don’t kill us then we could rebuild better cottages.”

AAMIR

“You heard their Lieutenant. He is not trying to kill us. The guy in the hospital is.”

LANDON

“If that is true then why are we trying to save him?”

ANDER

“Have you been paying attention? He is the elder’s son. Like it or not he is our Lord now!”

AAMIR

“If he wakes up and sees her lying next to him than he won’t kill us.”

LANDON

“I sure hope that is the case.”

LIAM

“What a slick man. He still hasn’t been here for more than a few minutes, and he is already stealing our women.”

ANDER

“They were friends are something.”

LANDON

“I hope what she said was true!”

The swordsmen fall in next to the warehouse. Aamir, the leader, opens the door and six of the boys go inside. The others continue with their conversations. Ander, the first officer says,

ANDER

“We should talk about something else because all of this talk about dying isn’t going to stop this from happening.”

AAMIR

“And what do you suggest we talk about?”

ANDER

“Let’s talk about expanding the Kingdom!”

LIAM

“We are not exactly owners of this property anymore.”

LANDON

“Well, we can ask them can we join their army. Certainly, they won’t kill their own soldiers.”

AAMIR

“Look at them! Do you see anybody our age?”

LANDON

“I can see your point. However, this is a different plight. They will understand, right?”

The swordsmen, who went inside earlier, are coming out the warehouse. Three of them are holding two large iron cooking pots, and the other three are carrying some animal meat that has been salted down to keep it from souring. Two more of them leave out of formation to get some lumber stacked on the side of the warehouse. Another boy has a tinier pot. He begins to fill it with snow. Three more of them vacate toward the cottages to get some utensils and bowls to eat with.

 

 

 

A big wooden bench is near the Camelots’ recess area. A couple of the Apollo swordsmen go to the bench and attempt to pick it up, but it’s too heavy. Two of the Camelot warriors notice the Apollo swordsmen struggling to pick up the bench. The Camelot warriors do a kind deed. They give them some assistance.

The leaders of the Apollo group are watching the Camelot warriors help the Apollo swordsmen.

ANDER

“Do you see that? Why are they helping?”

LANDON

“I guess the Elder was wrong about outsiders. It looks to me like they aren’t that evil.”

AAMIR

“I don’t trust them.”

The boys carrying the lumber stack the wood in a circle, and pack rocks around the edges of the wood so the heat won’t leave that area. After the boys are finished packing the wood, they lit a fire. An Apollo Swordsman brings over a pot-holder and reassembles it over the fire.

The animal meat is tossed across the bench and, a cook has brought out some kitchen knives. He goes over to the meat and minces it up.

Three Hundred and Sixty Hours Later

Leith has been moved to Elizabeth’s cottage. He still hasn’t awakened yet. Like always, she begins her daily routine. She has just gotten out of the shower wearing nothing more than a robe made of animal fur. It’s the only brand of clothing, which could keep a person insulated after a cold-freezing-shower. Elizabeth turns and stops near the door letting her long red hair down her back while she slips off the robe.

Without any warning, Leith opens his eyes. Elizabeth doesn’t notice him staring at her because she is facing in the opposite direction observing a game the men are playing with the Apollo teenagers outside. They are having a wooden sword-fight.

Cogan has trained the young men well; they are actually the ones winning. The rules of the game are to hit any part of your opponent’s body three times. After three consecutive hits the loser will be hammered out of a turn. The individuals, who have been conquered, have to go sit in a circle and the next man will take his place. The thirty participants, fifteen teenagers, and fifteen Camelot soldiers are playing the game. Spectators, who are not participating, act as an audience cheering the players.

Elizabeth stops watching the game and turns around. She sees Leith’s eyes wide open. They stare at each other for a while. Leith begins to speak. He stutters out his words.

LEITH

“What, what is the meaning of this?”

Elizabeth’s bosoms are out and they appear to be soft, tender, and sweet enough to bite. She’s not shy about him seeing her that way. She’s not upset about the predicament, and she doesn’t labor a finger to cover herself. Leith is a virgin and he seems to be terrified of her. You would think that a 50-year-old man would have gotten him some already. Ever since he was a little boy he was trained for fighting and never had a chance to make love to a sweet woman.

Leith murdered many men on the battle-field but never had a chance to feel the warmth of a woman’s body. Sometimes it’s nonsensical on how seconds turns into minutes, hours into days, and days change from months to years and being a warrior is all he ever was accustomed to.

She gives him curtsy and say,

ELIZABETH

“I’m sorry my Lord. I was only trying to keep you warm.”

She bends down and picks her robe up then puts it back on. With the addiction to seduce him, she leaves the robe open on purpose. Elizabeth raises her eyelid and walks toward his direction.

LEITH

“What do you mean my Lord? Who are you?”

Leith is having a slight case of amnesia. Stopping halfway to the bed, Elizabeth closes her robe and answers,

ELIZABETH

“You don’t remember me?”

LEITH

“No I don’t?”

Leith expressed his words in an unmannerly tone and this makes Elizabeth cry because she was genuinely younger than him the last time they met, and he doesn’t remember her.

She goes to the side of her bed and sits down constantly wiping the tears from her eyes, sniffing out her words,

ELIZABETH

“We saved your life, and we surrendered like you asked.”

When Leith moves, he feels a sharp pain in his back. His right arm is numb, and it still hasn’t recovered from the blood lost. Covering the cuts on his face, Leith has bandages around his head. In scrutinizing pain, his eyes squint in terror. The more his body comes to life, the more he could feel the-off-set of his injuries. Reaching over with his left hand to grab his right arm, he pulls it up to his face. His right arm is too weak for him to lift it on his own. Three of his fingers are missing. His legs are asleep because of him lying in the same position. Somehow Leith manages to get them out of the bed. Just like his father, his physique is made from a mountain of muscle. Every part of his body bulges. Leith doesn’t wish to upset Elizabeth again, so he discontinues on about who she might be…

His eyes loft into the back of his head as he absorbs the pain that is existing in all parts of his body, including his head that’s taking in an enormous headache. He seems to be enjoying himself,

LEITH

“Oh yea!”

Pushing himself to his feet and limping toward the door, Leith’s aching kidneys shoot an agonizing pain into his pelvis joint. All those hours of not hydrating properly, and after being physically in the cold for days, during the battle with his father’s regiment, has put a gigantic toll on Leith’s body. Luckily, he had someone who was willing to spoon feed him. No matter how much his soldiers adore him none of them, as likely as not, could have performed these certain perks Elizabeth could do for him.

However, he still has to figure out what the hell happened. He goes outside and sees teenagers with enemy armor on playing games with his soldiers. On the contrary, the homeless are being fed, and some of the Camelot soldiers are helping to rebuild the city. From the sound of the hammer hitting the roof and the laughter the men and the boys are having, everything thunderbolts through his mind.

A Long Day Dream

Leith is hunting in the woods with his father. He stares up to him, and Cogan smiles back. A younger version of Leith is at his old home in Apollo.

A big warthog is smoked on the table with some chicken legs in a pan next to it. Smiling back at him, his mother is sitting on the other side. Leith closes his eyes. He’s in the forest with his friend Heron and some of his other childhood comrades. The boys are having a wooden sword fight. Each of the boys has radiant smiles that magnify toward him. They nod their heads down in an eerie way trying to hint on at something or someone. A white light appears, taking him to another barrier in his mind.

Leith is on his father’s obstacle course. Leith is delighted about something.

COGAN

“Come on Leith Erickson! Make us Erickson’s proud!”

Leith does a frontwards flip off of the plat-form and lands on his feet. However, when he lands, he’s fifty-one-years-older. Standing in front of him, his father is an old man. Leith tries to stop himself. However, the dream plays on, he does a 360 back spend chopping off his father’s head.

His memory is trying focus. He wants to remember who she is. The white lights come again taking him to a different section of his memory.

Leith is in Apollo-1 where he grew up. Cogan is lying on the ground sideways with an arrow embedded into his chest. Helen, his mother, is being lifted into the air on a cross. Iron nails are hammered through her hands and feet. Some of the other women, in the village, are being burnt alive. All the cottages are up in a blaze. Leith is in chains with the rest of the village people. The enemy soldiers pull Leith, and the other prisoners out of the gate. Leith closes his eyes.

Blaming his father about what happened; Leith’s in the forest hoping someone could help him. When he turns his head one of the elders from his village throws an axe at an enemy soldier. The hatchet sinkers into the man’s neck gashing his head open. Splattering into Leith’s face, some of the man’s warm blood skirts from his open neck wound. The enemy-soldiers take them pass the Fear-archers on the other side of the forest. Leith glances back for the last time. He will never forget the sight of the elder hovering inches from the foundation with more than one-hundred arrows piercing through his body.

Leith and the rest of the survivors are being pulled through the Normfee-Desert. The sand is cooking their feet. It’s at an immense flaming temperature. The conditions are unhealthy, especially when their bodies are dehydrated from the long hours of walking.

Their victors aren’t managing their captives fairly. The captures haven’t given the captives anything to eat or drink in the last forty-eight-hours. The sun powered rays are blinding them to death even when they are not looking directly into it. Everyone has to keep their eyes close and follow the leader. Sand coming from the caravan’s horse’s flurry out a thick patch of sand-dust smothering the captives in the back. Leith has to breathe through his mouth because his nose can’t take anymore punishment.

The assembly is moving at a horrendous speed. Every step the prisoners take gets harder because of the people falling behind in the back. Everyone is forced to carry an extra load. Glancing back for a split second, Leith quickly calculates the tug and war poser. A pregnant lady in the last row yanks on the rope, slowing everyone down. A man with a long leather whip constantly hits her. When she pulls away from the other’s the man would slash her back. Her skin’s purely bruised and her eyes are bleeding out. Leith knows how she feels because he has been hit in the head a few times with the whip. Nevertheless, even those few hits burn and sting, the lacerations afterwards hurt horribly as the prisoners cook in the smoldering fumes of the hot sun and sand.

The pregnant lady can’t take the punishment any longer—she falls down. The slow trot from the horses damn near pulls his shoulder out of socket. She’s dragged face first in the hot sand.

The front chariot slows down and a man on the chariot yells out,

LEADER

“Halt!”

The horses are slowing down to a lingering hurry. Everyone is trying to catch his or her breath. The dust in the air settles on the perimeters of the slave caravan, but not by much. The leader jumps out of the Chariot, sliding his sword from out of its case. Leith can’t read English. However, he will never forget those letters saturated into the man’s breastplate—on all of the enemies’ breastplates. This was the first English word Leith ever interpreted correctly an even his pronunciation is accurate: F-E-A-R. Heading for the pregnant lady in the back, the Leader slowly walks toward her.

Segments of the pregnant lady’s skin and face have been torn off because of the whip hitting her and the force of the haul as she was dragged through the dirt. Lying on the hot scorching sand, she’s bleeding through every pore in her body. Somehow, she pushes herself to her knees. She has been beaten to a bloody mash.

The lady pleads for mercy in her native tongue,

PREGNANT LADY

“Ben je nu tevreden? het doet pijn en het heeft mij gekwetst, maar ik zal doen wat jij wilt. k ben zwanger en jij hebt mij gekwetst, maar ik zal doen wat JIJ wilt!!”

Her voice is weak. However, her words are understood. Like everybody else from their village, Leith is zoned in to what she was saying. None of the prisoners will ever forget this conversation because these will be her last words. Without warning, the leader raises his sword and slices both the lady’s hands off, separating them from her wrist. When she hits the ground, the blistering red sand swiftly fills in the bleeding stubs on her arms. The lady screams terribly loud,

PREGNANT LADY

“AHHH!”

 

Hurrying back to the front of the Caravan, the leader wipes his sword on his leg and puts it back in its holster. The caravan leaves the sliced up lady in the middle of the hot desert. She disappears in the trail of sand behind them. Her parted-hands are stuck in the shackles, and one of them falls out meters away from her execution site. The other hand stays attached. It gets dragged in the sand behind the caravan. Leith closes his eyes.

They have brought the prisoners to a slave trafficking market. Leith’s on his knees with a bunch of other different races of people brought from all around Minaera. None of the slaves are from his village. Nevertheless, being in a kneeling position bestows relief to the sores festering on the bottom of his feet.

GAURD

“You are given one more chance not to be defiant.”

The guard pushes Leith to the ground. Leith pushes himself back to his knees.

Even when Leith saw what they did to that poor pregnant lady in the Normfee Desert, he still doesn’t break his resistance. However, it slows it down a bit giving him room to think about acting badly again. Leith makes his decision,

Translating from this point on…

LEITH

“You killed my mother and father! I’ll get my revenge on you! You bastards shouldn’t even be on this planet!”

He continues to yell. A guard on stage next to Leith becomes a victim of his attempted revenge. Jumping toward the man, and pulling the man’s dagger from his belt, Leith jabs a hole into the man’s leg. However, Leith’s feet are bruised, his arms are weak, and his body is cramping up because of the four day nonstop agony trip. He doesn’t have the energy to stand.

Tucking his head between his legs holding the knife out in a guarded position, the man reaches down and takes the knife from Leith. The guard, who Leith poked, cuts Leith’s rope loose from the others. He drags him off stage by the hair. The audience isn’t concerned about the violence onstage. They continue to have conversations, and some are clapping. However, except for one person. Weird carnival music is playing in the background. It’s a festival are something. A prince, who is sitting in the middle of the crowd gets up and follows them backstage.

The guard is forcing Leith to stand to his feet. Before the guard can reach for his dagger the prince sneaks up behind him and grabs his wrist. It’s the younger version of Lord Matchbox the 1^st—Leith’s first Lord. Prince Matchbox the 1^st is in his 30′s.

PRINCE MATCHBOX THE FIRST

“I’ll take him.”

The guard grips the boy’s neck tightly.

PRINCE MATCHBOX THE FIRST (CONT’D)

“Oh my… What bad manners you have.”

GAURD

“This salvage boy cut me with my dagger. He is not good at listening. He has no price. So Mr… Leave us be so we can get this over.”

The prince doesn’t listen.

PRINCE MATCHBOX THE FIRST

“Do you know who I am?”

The guard replies,

GAURD

“I don’t honestly, know, and I really don’t care. Do you know who I am?”

The prince jokingly replies with a big smile on his face.

PRINCE MATCHBOX THE FIRST

“Amusing… I truly do like playing guessing games. However, I can’t come up with a straight answer. Can you fill me in?”

The guard jerks his hand away and put’s the dagger to Leith’s throat. The prince is offended by the guard’s actions. Getting in a defensive position, the prince backs away, and pulls out his sword.

GAURD

“We are Fear! We are the ones who you should be afraid of at night. If your country falls under the shadows then we will be the ones who will take the survivors. The women, children and old will all become someone’s servant. Every kingdom comes to an end. Be-careful what you say to me now because your kingdom might be getting a communication letter and when you do, it will be impeded with terror.”

Leith bites a chunk of the guards arm, spitting the remains on the ground. The guard reacts by throwing Leith into the prince’s direction.

The Fearian gets angry and charges them. Prince Matchbox rapidly reaches his sword out aiming it toward guard’s neck. Luckily, the guard stops before the sword goes through his esophagus tube.

GUARD (CONT’D)

“You coward…This is between me and him.”

Directing his attention to the boy…

PRINCE MATCHBOX THE FIRST

“Just walk away. I think you had enough for today. Go play with your other friends. I’m sorry, I missed pronounced that; your Fearians. I hope you understand because of your rude behavior. I am taking this one on the house.”

The Fearian turns around and walks into the other direction. He seems to be having a nervous breakdown. Picking up an empty wheel barrel, the Fearian throws it into one of the tents.

PRINCE MATCHBOX THE FIRST

(Murmuring)

“Now that’s childish.”

The Prince bends down prompting Leith to get on his back.

PRINCE MATCHBOX THE FIRST (CONT’D)

“Well, come now. Get on… Do you want me to leave you here? It seems our friend has some unfinished business with you. Would you like him to come back?”

Leith has no more options, since he can’t walk, and he can barely see. Plus, an angry Fearian wants to slice him ear to ear.

Leith gets on the prince’s back. He carries Leith toward a group of Camelot soldiers. However, this is when he remembers Elizabeth. She is being carried by some maidens from a different sovereignty. They are dressed in white and blue garments. The little girl’s red hair is blowing in the wind. He can’t help her. They glanced at each other for one last time. She reaches out to him. However, Leith puts his head on the Prince’s shoulder and falls to sleep.

FLASH OUT

Leith says to Elizabeth,

LORD LEITH

“Can it be you?”

Elizabeth briefly looks up to him hiding her face under her red hair. He limps back to the bed and sits down next to her.

LORD LEITH (CONT’D)

“How could this be?”

Leith never cried this much before. First he had to kill his father because he asked him to. He doesn’t use these types of emotions much. Elizabeth and Leith eyes pore out water.

LORD LEITH (CONT’D)

“I am confused. I never felt this before. It’s worse than getting an arrow stuck in my shoulder.”

His lungs are racing for air; he talks in a low tone—not because of the injuries—but because his lungs are racing full of human emotions. Elizabeth finally gets the nerves to reply.

ELIZBETH

“Are you going to kill us?”

LORD LEITH

“I will never do that.”

ELIZBETH

“Why did you murder your father?”

LORD LEITH

 

“He asked me to.”

Leith sits on the edge of the bed. Elizabeth puts her soft hand on his face, her touch makes him elastic. He never imagined that he would ever be alone with a beautiful woman—let alone—in the same bed with a long lost friend. When she kisses his lips, he begins to hear voices and see prismatic images of her cousin and their friends in the forest. This is the best sensation anyone can ever have on this world considering that these images were repressed in his mind for a long time. He wants this as much as she does; he kisses her back. Clutching her shoulders, he drags her closer. She dies in his arms. Her smell is mystical. She has always been beautiful creature to him, and since she was a child, her red hair made her stand out from the other village-girls. However, Leith needs to get stronger. She helps him back into bed, and tucks him under the warm covers. They kiss until they both fall to sleep.

The Confinement Massacre

LORD LEITH ERICKSON

“If anyone one of you can explain to me why I shouldn’t exterminate you. Please verbalize your appeal! If you can’t tell me anything then you die! If I don’t like what you have to say then you die! At least you get to plea your case! Since, I am king now. I will decide to kill you or not. However, I am not a bad person, so I will give you some options on how you should die!”

In confinement by Leith’s father, criminals are standing in the court yard out in the snowy weather. Leith is now the new Lord, and he has to clean out the jail before he goes back to Camelot. If not, the prisoners will die of starvation.

LORD LEITH ERICKSON (CONT’D)

“You all are subject to die. However, you will be given some options!”

Leith’s desk is set up like an outdoor admin-office. Sitting on the bench where they usually cut up the meat, Leith is behind a desk made from logs. At his right front—further away from the desk, standing in a circle—swordsmen with their swords upholstered are waiting for a prisoners to choose their territory. Furthermore, they don’t look friendly. On the opposite corner by a wall, archers are staring at a newly designed shooting gallery. What is the most amusing part about this form of entertainment is the hanging galleries in the center of town instantly put together. The hanging gallery is flimsy. Nevertheless, it does an okay job. One prisoner, who was used as a test, swings back and forth on the rope-lifeless-hung from his neck. Luckily the big hot pot of boiling broth feeding the people in the village is occupied. Some of the teenagers are administering portions to the villagers. If a prisoner is let go or joins the Camelot Army, they also get a portion of the broth.

LORD LEITH ERICKSON (CONT’D)

“You will be given four choices—’One—die-by-hanging—two-die by getting shot with an arrow. The Camelot Archer’s have excellent aim, so you will die quickly. Three—get chopped up into pieces, or—four—join my army!’ It doesn’t pay well, but it’s a good job. You will live longer, until the next battle. Send the first candidate!”

The first man comes up to the desk. Chains are on his arms and legs. He is a heavy set guy who appears confused about what’s going on. The prisoners are well mannered and none of them are fighting the guards. The man walks up to the desk by himself. He is wearing rags, a torn-up shirt, and some paints, rotten off so much they look like shorts.

LORD LEITH ERICKSON (CONT’D)

“Take them off! I don’t want to see anyone in shackles!”

The warrior takes the keys out of his pocket and tries all of them until it opens. Adrenaline rushes through the prisoner’s arms. For someone that has been living off rats and rain water for the last decade seems to be well-built. The man stands in front of the table and huffs-and-puffs.

LORD LEITH ERICKSON (CONT’D)

“What have you done? Why are you here?”

GUY

“I stole some meat from the market. We were hungry.”

He speaks English. The guy continues.

GUY (CONT’D)

(Crying) “I was only trying to feed my dyeing wife. No one could protect her, and the children. I have no idea where they went. She probably passed away when I was in prison. She was really sick.”

Leith has heard enough.

LORD LEITH ERICKSON

“You may leave this city, stay here if you like, or you can try joining my army! Whatever, you desire. You’re free.”

The man falls to his knees. It’s like a huge weight has been relieved from off his shoulders.

LORD LEITH ERICKSON (CONT’D)

“Give him some food and new clothing. Send the next volunteer!”

Elizabeth orders the teenagers to help the free-man. They bring him a bowl of soup.

The next prisoner comes up. He is dressed in nothing but rags.

LORD LEITH ERICKSON

“What have you done?”

He’s skinny and one of his hands has been chopped off.

SKINNY MAN

“I raped my son.”

Leith laughs and when the man begins to laugh, he suddenly stops.

LORD LEITH ERICKSON

“Take him to the swordsmen!”

Two workers grab him and bring him over to the circle. The Skinny man fights for his life.

SKINNY MAN

“No… not that! I want a hanging. I didn’t choose this!”

LORD LEITH ERICKSON

“You sick son of a bitch.”

Two other prisoners come up to the desk. They have a mysterious awe about them. They are human like. However, with no hair on their bodies and their pelts are dark green.

LORD LEITH ERICKSON (CONT’D)

“What the hell are you?

They don’t answer. They stare at Leith for a few seconds.

LORD LEITH ERICKSON (CONT’D)

“You are given a chance like everyone else! What did you do?”

One of the green-men answers,

GREEN MAN

“We did nothing wrong. We were captured in the woods by your father.”

The green-man has a strait plain accent. His voice doesn’t even have an accent. More like a computerized tone. Leith is surprised because none of the prisoners were told Cogan was his father..

LORD LEITH ERICKSON

“What!”

GREEN MAN

“We know everything about you. I am Eloving the Prince of the Odxithon Empire. Do you remember the stories? Most of them are true. We were leisurely walking through the mountains’ gathering medicine for my sick father. We were not worried because no human ever came up in the mountains before. When I bent down to pick up some herbs then out of nowhere archers came from behind the saplings. When we ran in the opposite direction your father was in front of us. He clobbered us over the head and chopped off our tails.”

He raises his shirt and showed him his hacked off tail bone. It’s enlarged and the bump on it swings back and forth.

LORD LEITH ERICKSON

“How could this be?”

 

The creature puts his shirt back down.

ELOVING

“If you kill us then you will be annoyance a curse. Do you want this on your people heads? Your father made his choice.”

LORD LEITH ERICKSON

“Don’t talk about my father like that! It wasn’t a curse that killed him! Now I am not going to harm you! You didn’t commit a crime, so I’ll give you some food and horses so you can get back to your habits! Where ever the fuck you’re from.”

The man who the workers took to the swordsmen’s circle is crying out making too much noise.

SKINNY MAN

“Stop! How could you?! I have a choice! Not like…”

The swordsmen commence to hack the skinny man up, he gets muffled out.

The Odxithon are an alien race who was believed to be the natives of Minaera. The humans, on the other hand, were said to be brought to Minaera by them. The legends foretold a story about big medal-ships that fly and hide in the dark on the cold side of the planet deep in the mountains where no army dares to go. If a soldier tries to enter the mountains’ paths, they will be eaten alive by strange creatures or die from blizzards or avalanches.

ELOVING

“Thank you but we don’t need horses. Just let us go free and give us some of that soup.”

LORD LEITH ERICKSON

“Only one condition…”

ELOVING

“What is it?”

LORD LEITH ERICKSON

“If I am ever captured in your kingdom then show me the same respect!”

Eloving nods his head. The green men go toward the hot pot taking off their clothing. When fully undress, their naked bodies are inhuman. The green men have hind legs of horses, and their movements are extremely sharp. One of the teenage boys gives Eloving a scorching hot bowl of soup and, the other Odxithon. When the two Odxithon takes the soup they gulp it down without even thinking about the temperature. Its body is muscularly thin; the heat from the water rolls down its six-packs.

ELOVING

“Can we have another one?”

The boy gives them some more, and they do the exact same thing. They gulp the hot boiling soup down. The other creature guzzles his portion as much as Eloving does his. Everyone, including the prisoners stare as these two mysterious creatures stroll around as if they were creatures of the mist. After the fifth serving, they begin to trot in circles. Gradually the two green men begin to move in a springy motion. They instigate a terrible yowl.

ELOVING

“Owwwwwe!”

ODXITHON ONE

Owwwwwe!”

 

It’s the worst noise that anyone of them could ever imagine. The soldiers cover their ears trying to block out the terrible noise. The creatures begin to push each other. The tempestuous activity builds up their anger. After they seem to be good and irritated, the creatures run out of the gate at a full speed and disappear into the night.

Four Hundred and Eight Hours Later

A half a year passed and it’s time for the Camelot army to go back to the Camelots check-point. Some of the Camelot’s were ordered to stay in the village, and they are actually pleased for not having to go back through the harsh environment. Standing outside the front-gate, Elizabeth is dressed in thick ice-bear-fur. The polar bear exists in this world. It’s probably the only creature that rather be on the ice and eat plumb seals, like the other dangerous animals that swim beneath the frozen ocean floor, than bother with any human affairs.

Leith comes from out of the cottage in full uniform. He goes to Elizabeth and kisses her. He expresses his feelings.

LORD LEITH ERICKSON

“I still have my duty to the Camelot people. The new Lord will understand once I tell him. However, I have a new people now. I will be back in the summer.”

ELIZABETH

“You don’t have to go. Please stay. You are our King now.”

LORD ERICKSON

“And you are my Queen. Take care, I promise you I will come again!”

They kiss one more time then Leith climbs on his horse. Elizabeth wipes the tears from her eyes. That is the last image he sees of her-crying. He gallops out and his army follows behind him.

 

 

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