| " |
Needless to say, the slavers led Shelly around in circles well into the night before finally taking him to the camp. Maybe the slavers were in particularly sadistic mood and felt like giving Shelly a hard time, or perhaps they really were lost given that the entire path was covered in miles of forest. It didn't matter one way or another, as the slavers kept to their word and simply threw Shelly down in the nearest holding cell and left for the night. Despite his horrible conditions, the absolutely exhausted prisoner was finally relieved to get a moment of peace for whatever comfort he could find. Shelly thought the marching was never going to end and his entire body felt like it was being held down by a mountain. He began to shed tears and quietly whimpered through his gag as he wondered how he ended up in this sorry state, afraid whether he will rot away as a lowlife slave. He was tired- very tired, and he felt his mind slowly drift away as his body numbed into slumber. It didn't take long until Shelly's rumbling stomach woke him up from a wonderful dream, someplace far away from this dreary cell. Shelly already forgot what the dream was about, but he already longed to return back to his fantasy world when the pain crept back upon his body. It was still night at the camp, and Shelly could faintly hear the slavers elsewhere- enjoying some rest and recreation with copious amount of alcohol while he was left forgotten in his cage. Shelly didn't mind the loneliness anyway; at least he was away from their constant barking as their whip constantly crashed against his back. Shelly finally mustered up his strength to sit up against the wall. He didn't exactly know why, as moving made no difference one way or another while he was completely shackled up like this, and the chains made an irritating noise as they grated against the brick surface. There was a small pool of muddy water gathered up outside of his cell, and Shelly felt his dry throat clench up on the sight. He cursed as he tried to force his head through the cell bars but couldn't even come close to the water. The prisoner let out a muffled scream in frustration but he knew it was pointless. The tiny pool taunted Shelly and there was nothing he could do about it other than stare at the reflection of his dirty face. But as Shelly examined the reflection with nothing else to do, he noticed the extremely rusted padlock that held the stocks in place had severely chipped shackle on one part. It wasn't big enough crack to shake it open, but Shelly did wonder if he could try something else. The slavers were not paying any particular attention to him at the moment, and they did not seem in any hurry to address it. If nothing else, Shelly could at least give it a shot. He held the padlock towards the wall and bashed it against the brick with his remaining strength. Shelly was still tired and weak, but he felt significantly better compared to his condition when he first arrived at the camp. He tried again, grunting with little more strength as he slammed the padlock against the wall once more. And again, and again, and again, and again. The rattling and clanking of the chains echoed throughout the cell as Shelly continued to bash the padlock against the wall. Periodically he returned to the muddy pool to check on the padlock's condition, and could see the crack becoming larger. Shelly wasted no time resuming on the task at hand, as he could see daylight creeping over the horizon. The slavers could come back at any time, but for now it appears that they had fallen in deep slumber. Shelly felt like he hurled himself against the wall over a thousand times now, but when the padlock finally made a sharp crack he checked again at the pool to see that the shackle has finally split in two, but not wide enough to fall out of the stocks. He tried to force the padlock free by hitting it against the wall one more time until he heard a sound of the cell door opening. Outside the cell was one of the slavers standing, partially hangover from a night of drinking, but still awake enough to notice that the prisoner was behaving suspiciously. Shelly's eyes widened in terror as the two stared at each other in silence. After what felt like an eternity, the slaver finally broke the silence with alarm. "What the... what the hell are you doing?" The slaver slowly approached the prisoner, his pace gradually increasing. Shelly struggled to break free from the stocks with all his might, but felt the harsh reality come crashing down upon him as he realized that the restraint still would not budge. So it was futile after all, he thought. He was paralyzed in fear as the slaver continued to approach him. "So you still got some fight in you, huh? Looks like we still got some work cut out for us, after all!" The slaver approached and threw a heavy backhand slap against Shelly, sending the prisoner crashing to the floor as Shelly let out a muffled yelp. "Perhaps the others who brought you in were too soft on you. Lazy bastards, maybe I ought to tear off that silly ear of yours and show them how to properly break fools like you!" Shelly flinched as he was thrown on the floor yet again, but he heard an audible ping as he landed and saw the broken padlock tumble in front of him. The stock had finally broken loose, and the slaver had also noticed the event. "You... impudent... brat!" The slaver seethed in fury as he put the pieces together in his mind. He walked towards Shelly, brandishing his claws with full intent to maim, if not outright kill the prisoner. Realizing that it was finally his chance, Shelly stood back up as quickly as his aching muscles would allow. He saw the slaver approaching with claws raised to strike. With the broken padlock he clasped in his hand before getting up, Shelly threw the padlock directly towards the slaver's face with a quick motion, causing the slaver to flinch and cover his eyes. Big mistake. The slaver did manage to block the projectile, but left himself wide open as Shelly threw a powerful punch into the abdomen, causing the slaver to hunch over in pain. Shelly used this moment to tear away his gag and raised his other fist to strike. "You first," he growled, referring to the slaver's previous statement of his intent to break him. Using all his might, Shelly then delivered a crushing blow directly on the cranium, launching the slaver headfirst into the brick floor. Within seconds it was over; the slaver lay motionless on the surface, the top of his head bent slightly inwards like a crater. Shelly panted in fatigued pain as he checked his surroundings. The slaver was clearly down for the count, and he was kind enough to leave the cell door open. The sun had already made its way over the horizon and another one of the slavers was shouting for his partner, impatiently demanding to know who drank all the ale. Shelly remembered that his ankles were still chained to the stocks and impossible to break free from. With another company approaching closer, Shelly took upon himself to carry the stocks with his arms and hurriedly made his way out of the camp. Fortunately, the encampment was very sparsely populated with the rest of its inhabitants still asleep and Shelly had little trouble escaping besides the heavy stocks slowing him down. Before the rest of the camp could even comprehend what had happened, the prisoner would have long since disappeared within the thick forest. Unfortunately the same forest served as another huge problem for Shelly. He may have escaped from a life of torture and misery, but he was still exhausted, hurt, starving, and completely isolated from any society. Shelly may as well have gotten himself out of his small cell only to find himself trapped in a bigger cage of endless maze of trees. "...This didn't change anything." Shelly angrily whispered under his teeth as he walked away, chains still rattling with the heavy stocks being dragged behind him. He was too tired to think anymore. |
![Time Out [Flat]](https://va.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/4483/4483678_BlueCactus_shellyjailed12wip1b_noncustom.jpg "Time Out [Flat]")
