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+--- Thread: Unchained | Invited (/showthread.php?tid=140243)
Unchained | Invited - nOmnomnOm - 06-11-2016
Prelude
*Huff... Huff... Woof! Woof! Huff... Woof! Huff...*
The sun beat down on her reddened neck and back. The heat sizzled on her skin as it continued to burn and the earth felt dry and bumpy beneath her bare feet just like on her skin. She looked up for a moment at the forsaken sun, looking for any clouds that would offer some shade. Even the sky seemed to not give mercy or comfort.
Her shoulders felt heavy from the long days work on the plantation fields; almost as heavy as the shackles around her ankles. She groaned to herself and wiped the sweat pooling over her brows and pain shot up again from her back and hind thighs as she straighten herself from previously kneeling. There was no time to cry and even if she wanted to there was no tears left. They'd made sure of that.
She bent down, groaning again silently in pain, and picked up the basket filled with harvested cardamine crop and tossed in the last of what would fit into the basket. Even though it was relatively light, the weight of the long day had done it's part in weighing down the damned harvest. She struggled to pick it up and managed to pass the initial pain before finding a good position to hold it in; resting it on her head where she could keep it with less effort and without touching her painful skin.
The master's whistle blew and she could see the guards assembling nearby with their rifles on their backs and some of them having whips in their hands. She shuddered and cried inside with little whimpers escaping her lips as she stared directly at the tool used on her just days ago. The pain still didn't fully go away as it stung deep inside her flesh with every movement she took. Her few steps towards the guards felt like needles and her short strides, limited to her chains, were making it harder for her to make the pain less bearable.
[img float=left]http://i.imgur.com/ave72dd.jpg?2[/img] Above the tall orange cardamine plants heads showed from all directions she looked. On her far right was Alice with her basket on her back and a slouching, regretful expression throughout her body. On her far left she recognized Jane and Tom even farther. She looked ahead of her and she saw many others she recognized already with the Masters as they were lining them up and putting them on the gang while tossing the baskets in a truck. They'd make them march back to the barracks, she knew, and her body quaked with dread as she imagined another day of hurt and hunger back to her hay-pile for a bed and the cold touch of the night.
She looked down at her left shackle on her ankle after watching if anyone would notice. It was loose and fidgeting like she still expected. She'd noticed the damage was overlooked from the guards and had been slowly hitting it against rocks and stones. The pin had finally loosened and she could even be able to now slip it out. She looked up again and hesitated, though. An escape now would be her only opening, as she didn't have more binds on while working in the fields. Nevertheless, the escape would be costly if she'd succeed. The guards made clear of that a few weeks ago when another group escaped. The rest were punished and beaten, and she was one of the worst as she attempted to run though was caught. They'd kept her alive, but not by a lot, and she had to work again right after with no time to rest. If she were to fail again...
Another opportunity wouldn't be anytime soon, though. They'd check her irons and see they would need to be replaced. If she would miss this opportunity, there would probably not be another coming any time soon. With her reputation as a attempted escapee, they were already watching her more intently.
She swallowed past her dry throat and bit her lip. What would happen to the others? Would they try the same or watch her?
Another whistle broke her train of thought and she looked up to see she was one of the few still to be walking to the gathered group. She took another step while thinking...
And then she tripped.
Without thinking, she acted. Her basket lay now on the ground spilled all over and mixed with the dry dirt. They'd beat her for sure for it and not lightly either. Her hands went to her shackles and pulled on the pin as it slid with some effort out and released from her swollen leg. She ignored the pain there as she felt a burst of adrenaline and as quickly as she could she got up and darted in the other direction.
[img float=right]http://i.imgur.com/WyrrUDr.jpg?1[/img]She could hear shouts behind her but when she turned she could see others as well limping in a run in other directions. She noticed one of those being Alice but the three others she didn't have time to find out. In the distance and coming nearer was a forest and with all her might she darted through the tall orange fields towards it while ignoring the prickling of the plants and stones underneath her feet.
The sprint made her feel free and alive. Her long strides with her legs were relieving. She'd forgotten the feeling of this much freedom. Maybe this would be it... maybe...
"Michelle.... Wai-... wait fo- *BANG BANG*... *thud*"
She suddenly looked back as she heard gunshots. They were firing on them!? She looked and at the corner of her eye she saw Alice disappear under the fields. That was her that called her...
What had she done?
Fighting against her emotions she continued to run. There were shouts and gun shots fired and she darted from side to side like a prancing gazelle. She tried to balance the shackle that was flaying at the side of her leg though several times she felt a sharp sting against her thighs or feet. The pain felt sheering and she could feel something warm on her leg but she kept going.
Dogs barked in the distance. She knew they would call them out. The last time she tried to run it was the dogs that had found her up in a tree and with her chains still on. The forest in front of her was familiar to her... it was the glimmer of freedom in her eyes. She wouldn't stop now. She would run!
Dashing past one tree and another, she could hear the dog barking come nearer. She snagged and scratched against one twig and then another and she could feel pinching in her leg from perhaps a furn. Soon they'd be upon her, she thought. Soon she'd be caught. Soon she might be dead; shredded by teeth or by leather, or a bullet in the head.
She heaved and gasped for every breath. Her stamina was depleting fast but she pushed on farther. Every stride she took felt like the whippings all over again. Pain returned and she could feel as if every lash and ripped muscle come back to bite her again. Over a mound, under a branch, over a fallen log, she kept on going and running for her life.
As she jumped over another log, her chain snatched onto an extended branch and got stuck. She tripped again and fell down onto the ground in a hard thud. The sound of the dogs were fast approaching and ignoring all the pain she pulled together and tried to free herself as fast as she could.
"No... this can't.... this can't be happening.... Noo!"
With a pull and a snap, she broke free again, though as she looked up she could see the shuffle in the branches as the wild hunting beasts were now coming upon her. She half tripped again and broke into a run once more though this time ignoring the pain in her leg as the metal slapped her once... twice... and a third time on the legs. Twice again she half tripped and was saved by catching onto a tree.
She felt the air grow thick and her mouth run dry from exhaustion. She didn't even realize what was in front of her until it was too late.
Before she even realized, she'd started to fall down a steep drop into a ravine.
Freedom never felt sweeter.
![[Image: UgD981z.jpg?1]](http://i.imgur.com/UgD981z.jpg?1)
RE: Unchained | Invited - Cælumaresh - 06-11-2016
[img float=right]http://i.imgur.com/xeaXCE3.jpg?1[/img]Down in the ravine, someone would be hidden in a cave. The bushes surrounding it were covering it from the eyes of the unwanted. The small pathway leading to it was surrounded on all sides by razor sharp vines, that would be able to rip the flesh straight off one’s arm if they got tangled in it. Soft barks were heard sounding over the top of the cliff in which the cave was buried. The interior was enormous, complete with a waterfall and plateau inside. A river flowed freely and bushes and trees rose inside it.
[img float=left]http://i.imgur.com/SKb8yh8.jpg?1[/img]“Ugh, whats happening now?” The person in the cave would slowly stand up, grabbing a makeshift spear they had fashioned out of a stick combined with one of the thorns of the vines. These thorns were proven to be sturdier then the wood, and as such they had cut of two of those and had fashioned previously mentioned spear and a small knife. Beams of light darted over the ground as the bush infront of the cave moved with the wind. The person slowly walked to the exit. Once they reached it, they would peer out of through a small hole in the bush. “Hmm, nothing to be seen..”
Suddenly, the forest would wake from its slumber through a loud crackling of bushes and twigs. The person fell backwards to the floor, startled by the sudden orchestra of noises piercing through the silence. The barks slowly died down, and very faintly Maltese voices could be heard calling the dogs back towards their masters. “The hell was that?”. The person left the cave, and under the cover of the bushes and trees, snuck towards the origin of the sounds. Approximately 5 minutes later, after navigating the maze of thorns and traps, fallen trees and other natural hazards, they reached the origin of the cracks.
There, in the bush, all gnarled and broken now, would lie a young woman. The clothes on her body were hardly worthy of the term.. just the stained and torn remnants of a dress, her back nearly completely exposed and full of cuts and only barely healed scars from beatings. From what the person could see, she had red hair, and swollen anckles, only just broken free from the shackles normally found on slaves. The same shackle would still be attached to one of her anckles, a bit busted from what appears to be impacts against a harder surface. While the bush largely broke her fall from the cliff, which peeked about 20 meters above them, the twigs and assorted objects scattered on the floor gashed her skin, making multiple assumingly painfull cuts. “Nothing lethal there.. Can't see if anything's broken just yet... Hmm.” The person thought to themself. The redhead woman moved a little bit, groaning as she came back from blackout-land. The person rose their spear and put the tip against her neck. The person started speaking in a broken, female, but clearly rheinlandic accent. “Don’t move. Who are you?”.
RE: Unchained | Invited - nOmnomnOm - 06-12-2016
She didn't even feel the pain as she hit the floor-bed of the forest below and darkness overtook her.
When she woke up, she didnt know where she was. She moved a little but felt a jolt of pain run through her leg and arms. She whimpered silently and didn't try to get up.
Under the tip of her chin she felt something sharp and she pulled away. The point lifted her head up to something above her. She couldn't make it out clearly as it was all bury and her vision was still spotted with stars. Her green eyes were diluted and out of focus as she looked up at the towering shape.
"P..pl...please... don't... beat me.... more....I'll.... I'll..." She couldn't manage to say much else and was internally frightened the slave masters had found her again. She could only imagine what horrible things they'd do to her this time.
All her energy was gone as she lay on the ground. Her dress were tattered and stained in her blood, mud, and her sweat. She felt the end draw near to her and all that she had that was on her was torn to pieces.
RE: Unchained | Invited - Cælumaresh - 06-12-2016
Realizing the woman wasnt going to pose a threat to her, she removed her spear from the girls throat. “I'm not going to hurt you. It seems like those Maltese critters did that pretty good beforehand. Jesus Christ girl, what happened to you?”. She laid her spear on the ground next to her and kneeled next to the person. She saw the strained look on her face, albeit that the person couldnt see it due to the hood and scarf she used to cover her face, and drew a worried look. "Can you tell me your name, and where you are hurt?".
In the distance, soft barks and distant gunshots could still be heard of the maltesan attempt to line up the slaves again. It was impossible to tell how many were killed by now, but judging by the amount of gunshots, it were at least 20. The Rheinlander looked over the girl again, noticing her dress torn to shreds. "I caught 2 guards flat-footed the other day. I still got a spare maltese uniform, not unlike the one im wearing now. Can you stand?". She kept kneeling down next to the figure, awaiting an answer.
RE: Unchained | Invited - nOmnomnOm - 06-13-2016
Michelle breathed easier as she felt the prickling under her neck leave and she lowered her head again to the ground and groaned lightly in her pain. Her hearing had gotten better as she listened to the female voice as best she could, but didn't make out everything.
"Mm.. ahh... I'm... ow..." She sighed as she tried to move her arms and legs and felt pain again. Her breathing quickened and she shut her eyes. "Plea...please... I... I can't... m... my leg... a-and... aaahhh... back..."
Her leg that was unshackled looked to be bleeding and bruised as if beaten with a dull object over and over and her sun-burnt and whipped back had re-opened cuts that looked to have not been treated. Her dress on her barely covered her body now as she lay and the girl would be able to make out most of her injured marks.
"W...water.... aah... p-please... ma'am... miss... master..." She begged as she rested her head down into the damp dirt to the side and her hair along with it. She had no idea who she is talking to either and assumes for the worst."Oow... I'll... work... please.....j-just... five minutes... j-just... n...not yet..."
RE: Unchained | Invited - Cælumaresh - 06-13-2016
"Calm now. Dont worry. Im not putting you to work. Here.. Hang on a sec." She bent over and folded her arms around the near motionless body of the female. "This might hurt, but i've got to get you out of the open before they find us. There's plenty of water and shelter in the cave." She lifted up the girl, her making pained noises as she was being lifted into the air. "Hush, calm now. It isnt far. Let me... Sorry for this.." She grabbed a bunch of big leaves from a nearby bush and put them in her mouth, with a sadden expression. She then started carrying the woman towards the entrance. She thought to herself: "Pff, with her its going to take at least 10 minutes.."
After about 20 minutes she reached the cave, the stolen maltese uniform tattered from the numerous times she stumbled into the thorns. Once inside she put the motionless female into a puddle of water. It was just deep enough to cover her down to her chin in water. "It might not be miracle water.. But at least it should clean out your cuts, gashes and cool the bruises and inflammations on some parts." She sat down sighing next to the woman in the puddle. "I still didnt get an answer, dear. What's your name?"
RE: Unchained | Invited - nOmnomnOm - 06-13-2016
She relaxed a little when she heard she wouldn't be put to work and understood this was not who she expected it to be. Her rest state only lasted a few moments until she felt hands on her skin and then felt being pulled up. Her wounds stretched a little in places and she started screaming. "Ooow OOW!! OO-MmmHHmm!!" She yelled through the leaves that muffled her voice and shook her head frantically until she lost her strength again and went limp. Her eyes went shut and she groaned in pain and from time to time she flintched, kicked, or struggled a little to be let go; not knowing the woman that held her was just trying to help. After a bit more struggling she gave up and let her take her away into the shelter of the cave though after a moment she again slipped unconscious.
She snapped out again when she felt the cool running water flowing under her front and she gasped in surprise with her body flinching but then resumed to feeling totally relaxed. The water felt refreshing, comforting, cleansing, and lessened her pain. She felt amazing.
"Mrmmm... ppf..pp!...p!!...Pppf!!" She shook her head a little and spit out the leaves. "I...I'm... Michelle... Whe...where am I? Am... am I in trouble?"
RE: Unchained | Invited - Cælumaresh - 06-13-2016
"Hello Michelle. My name's Linda." She smiles a bit as Michelle seemed more awake. She didnt however uncover her face just yet. Her blue eyes pierced over the scarf she has pulled over just over her nose and under the hood she had pulled as far down as possible. "Now. You are safer here then you were outside. I've withdrawn us into a cave i'd found a few weeks before. You probably heard of the last group that had ran from the plant. I was one of 'em. The others... They.. They uhh... They left me behind." She played with a small twig by twisting its tip around a bit in the sand. "You are in the cave i've started calling home now. Though i'd rather be back where i belong. And no, you're not in trouble. Unless of course you suddenly try to kill me. In that case i'd have to hurt you rather badly, and i'd rather not do that, if you agree."
She pulled down the scarf covering the lower half of her face. Linda shouldn't be much older then 18, but radiated a confidence rarely found in someone her age. "Now. I bet you are not the only one to want to get of this godforsaken rock. Lets say we band up? Its better to be together then alone out here. I've taught myself a few hunting tricks and got quite good with this makeshift spear and a bow i should've somewhere around here..." She stood up and started digging in a pile of what appear to be an assortiment of thicker sticks and eventually pulled out a makeshift bow made out of wood and a thin but strong vine, along with a bunch of wooden arrows tipped with the same thorns. "I've had the time to get settled. Now. I'm sure you have a lot of questions for me, or not. Ask away if you so choose." She smiled and sat down next to Michelle again.
RE: Unchained | Invited - nOmnomnOm - 06-13-2016
She listened to the voice that she heard, though wouldn't bother to turn around to see who it was speaking to her. For the first time in a very long time, Michelle felt calm and peaceful in the cave. She could hear the sound of the stream echoing in her ear as it flowed around her and she could make our birds chirping from outside the cave in he distance as well as in the trees inside. She felt safe.
"Wh...why would I... h..hurt you... Mmahh... Oowwe...." She groaned a little more as she tried a little to move with an arm that didn't hurt as bad. She tried to push herself up a little and while resting on the floor with her elbow, she cupped the water running under her with her hand. "I...is this water safe.... to drink?" She asked the female voice behind her.
RE: Unchained | Invited - Cælumaresh - 06-13-2016
She smiled as she saw Michelle making attempts to drink. She thought to herself: "Good, she's a fighter." She shuffled around a bit before answering, trying to find a more comfortable seating. "Its safe to drink, yeah. I've drunken from it for the last few weeks."