Short Stories

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Escape from Lunsod

The Klatterstall guard standing over young Harap appeared to her as a giant. “THIS IS LAST WARNING- NOT WORKING HARD ENOUGH!” he said with a roar she thought could shatter the rocks she was hammering.
“I'm trying as hard as I can,” she cried. Sweat dropped down from her puffy, full head of light auburn hair into eyes that perhaps hid a sparkle of hope beneath the sweat and tears.
“NOT ENOUGH!” His fiery eyes blazed so hot that the redness spread through his whole face and down his neck. His thick, sallow mane of hair made him look more like a large jungle cat ready to pounce. But she focused on a rod that he carried in one hand, and was relieved when he turned and attended to more urgent matters.
The rock chisel in her hand looked larger than she did when she lifted it high above her head and brought it down on the obtuse rock, finally breaking it in two. The sound echoed throughout the long, dreadful valley filled with darkness that oozed along the ground, holding the inhabitants in bars of cruel iron. She heard an echo when Slaaf slaving next to her brought her own chisel down on a similar rock. They were building a fortified tower of hewn rock they would never be allowed to enter. “There must be something better than life in Lunsod,” she whimpered out of exhaustion to Slaaf.
“Don't you know you can never leave?” Slaaf aimed her empty eyes at her. “You shouldn't even say such things!” Her face showed deep pain under an expressionless mask. “What if the Masters hear you?”
But Harap lifted her expectant face to look beyond the darkness of the valley, “What if I just ran for the jungle?”
“The Kyroyos have at least five ways to kill you!” hissed Esclave, overhearing their discussion above the sounds of her hammer. Her face was twisted and marred from long years of slavery. “They are all around the valley, programmed to kill any slave they find outside the city. No one can escape alive. No one ever has. It's impossible.”
“And the snakes!” muttered a slave named Felmond. He was gaunt, dark, with a sagging face and laboring very hard. He had just appeared with a crude cart to move the rocks to where they would be formed into the tower wall. “Even if you could escape the Kyroyos, there are snakes patrolling the jungle that will certainly find you. You won't have a chance. They won't be so merciful as to bring you back here!”
While Felmond was muttering and shakily maneuvering his cart partly full of hewn rocks to the other side of the valley, Harap noticed another man hammering rocks. There was something different about him, something in the way he carried himself, the way he lifted the hammer, something that showed all over his face. “Who is that?” she asked curiously.
“Nobody likes him, and nobody talks to him,” snapped Slaaf, her face showing a trace of hatred instead of pain.
“He doesn't even belong here-” Esclave started to say, her twisted face glowering.
“He's Styrande.”
“He's what??”
“Hush!” hissed Slaaf fearfully as a Klatterstall guard came around the corner on his rounds.
“NO TALKING!” he bellowed, eyes blazing from his reddened face, reaching out to tap Harap with his rod. “I WARNED YOU!” Suddenly the darkness of the valley crashed down upon her. She felt the air around her thicken into the rocks she was hammering, holding her with a cruel grasp, draining her life from her. She tried to scream, but nothing came out of her mouth. When she awoke again, she felt sick with despair. Slaaf and Esclave had abandoned her, but the man from the other side of the valley was leaning over and wiping her forehead with a cool clothe.
“You must escape from this place,” he told her when she sat up. He was constantly looking around while he talked quietly with her.
“Whaa- to go where?”
“There is a city called Taivas ruled by King Kataastasaan and the Styrande. It's the only place left in the jungle that the Klatterstall haven't taken.”
“Wh- who are the Kl- Klapperstool?”
“You call them the Masters,” said the man. His face glowed in a way she had never seen before. But when he saw one of the Klatterstall approaching, he quickly shoved a piece of torn paper into her hand and continued on his way.
The Klatterstall approached her with eyes that appeared like raging red seas, pointing his rod at her threateningly. Still feeling uneasy, she jumped to her feet, picked up her hammer, and began pounding on the rocks again, her muscles screaming in pain. When he had passed, she unraveled the paper in her hand. There was a paragraph of ancient typed text, with some words underlined. The underlined words read:

I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.

What does it mean? She had no idea, so she threw the paper down on the ground and looked over at the man, perplexed. He was gazing above her at the jungle on the edge of the valley until she saw a guard bark an order his way. She gazed up at the edge of the valley, then around the valley nervously. Why not? No one was watching, so she quietly put down her chisel and ran as fast as she could up the steep rocky face.

“What is she doing?” asked Esclave watching her with a scowl on her twisted face.
“Looks like she's trying to escape. Saw it coming,” replied Slaaf sadly.

Harap climbed and ran as fast as she could, falling repeatedly on the rocks, scraping her knees and hands until they were covered with blood. Were they chasing her? How close were they behind her? She dared not even look back; the top was almost within reach.

“Why aren't the Masters chasing her?” asked Esclave.
“They know she's dead,” Slaaf replied, her distraught face looking down to try and hide her tears. “No one has ever escaped Lunsod alive, and she certainly won’t.”

Harap grabbed the grass of the jungle with one hand and pulled herself up with all her strength. She did it! Freedom! The dim light above the dark valley was better than she had imagined. She jumped back to her feet and sprinted into the darkness of the jungle as fast as her small legs would take her. It was misting, and there were tall trees that spread a dome above her, with undergrowth so thick and thorny she was falling continually. Insects of all types would make way for her whenever she fell splattering into the mud.
One last time she roused herself from the muck, to find herself facing a creature larger than herself. It appeared like a giant scorpion with razor sharp teeth, two scissor claws poised to strike, six legs, and a tail raised high above it. Before she could even consider what to do, the creature struck. Harap felt pain flood through her body like she had never known before.
The slaves throughout the valley of Lunsod stopped their work for just a moment as her cry was heard echoing around the rocks of the dark valley. Esclave's twisted face showed just a smidgeon of compassion when she saw Slaaf bury her face in her hands. The Klatterstall barked harsh orders at the slaves, and tapped a few with their rods as examples to the others. They all knew Harap was dead.
Late that evening, Slaaf retired to the bunkers with all the other slaves, fatigued from a long day of work. Why was Harap so foolish? She had seen this many times before, those who believe the silliness. What did it gain her? Where was her hope now that she was dead. Life was painful, and that was just the way it was. The only way to survive was to make peace with the darkness and obey the Masters, and surviving was the goal. The she fell into a painful sleep.

Harap awoke, looked around her and gasped. What was this place? She was in some sort of room, but much nicer than she had ever known. She jumped out of a bed with large wooden pillars and looked out and elaborate engraved window. It was so beautiful! There were elegant brightly painted buildings and polished stone streets that dazzled in the sunlight. She breathed deeply of the clean air and wondered at the attractive faces of the people on the streets.
“Welcome to Taivas,” said a deep, rich voice behind her. She whirled around to see someone with full dark hair approaching with such confidence. He was very handsome. “My name is Seifu, I serve King Kataastasaan with the Styrande.”
“Taivas,” she repeated slowly in amazement. “Where is this place? Is this- have I-”
He understood her question, “No, we are still in the Rung Coram Jungle, actually not far from Lunsod, the valley where-.”
“Then how did I get here? I don't remember anything!”
“That's because you were dead.”
“What?”
“You were told that no one can escape Lunsod alive?”
“Yes- so how did I-?”
“You died,” replied Seifu while coming closer to explain. “The Klatterstall and their forces have no power over someone who's dead, so you were able to escape.”
“So how could I come here if I was dead; that doesn’t make any sense!”
“I know, but King Kataastasaan has technology you don’t understand; he made you alive and the Styrande brought you to this place.”
“What about all the others in that horrible valley?”
“They have chosen to remain there. The King always honors their choices.”
“So I died,” she looked at him with wonder.
"Yes you did,” he smiled back at her. “And now you've been born again."

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