Morning all. I woke up this morning a full half hour before my alarm. While it is technically good as it means I actually slept last night, it always throws me off when I am this awake in the morning. Still, I am so I am going to use it to my advantage and get some stuff done. So timers at the ready and lets start the day with a 15 minute prompt.
I think I have danced around this story of escape and fleeing before in several prompts. I need to gather them and try to figure out the actual story for them. But I like this version.
Tuesday, November 12th: He prayed the bridge would hold.
He prayed the bridge would hold. ‘Just for ten minutes,’ he thought. He stepped on the first board and heard the ominous creak. ‘Okay just long enough for me to get across.’
He didn’t hear the signs of pursuit from behind him. Yet. He knew they would be coming. He couldn’t hope that they would somehow not notice he was missing for long. His guards were lax but at some point they would notice that his cell was empty. He started to wonder how long it would take them to actually notice and then realized he was using the thoughts to stall.
‘I have time now,’ he thought. “I need to use it.’ He did not want to go back into their cage. Only death awaited him there.
He took a deep breath. Quick like a bunny.
The thought drifted up from memory and he smiled. His grandmother used it to get him to take foul tasting medicine and eat vegetables as a child. He doubted she would have ever expected it here.
‘But it applies.’ He took a deep breath and tried to keep his mind a blank. Dwelling on potential disaster wouldn’t help.
“Quick like a bunny,” He whispered. He gripped the ropes to either side that served as railings and widened his stance. He hoped that by keeping his weight split instead of on one pint he might have less chance of it collapsing beneath him.
He took another deep breath and moved forward. The creams sounded below him. He looked at his feet as he moved hoping to see and avoid any damaged planks. There a few already cracked and just needing a light tough to cause them to crumble. He stepped over them. His gate was ungainly with his feet spread, but it not only spilt his wight a bit but he was able to place his feet on the pots where the planks were most supported. It made him shimmy from side to side and cut down some of his speed but the boards didn’t drop.
Focused only on his feet and the boards beneath him meant that the walk, no matter how fast he took it, seemed to last an eternity. He was both surprised and relieved when he reached the stone of the toher side and stepped off of the swaying and creaking bridge.
He took a deep breath and let it back out in a slow shaky stream. He was across. He realized he was out of breath and thought it more from periodically holding it rather than exertion. He allowed himself a moment to stand and the listen.
Still there were no signs of pursuit. No call of alarm sounding his disappearance. He allowed himself a sigh and turned away from the bridge. With it as intact as he found it, they might not think he crossed.
‘And perhaps if they try to cross it will give out under them,’ It was a dark thought and where once it would have horrified him, now he felt a little satisfaction from the thought. He stepped onto the narrow path leading into the woods and moved away from the bridge.
He wasn’t the person he was before he was taken. He knew that person was gone. As he moved further away he felt a little sad about the fact. He mourned the loss of who he had been but knew there was no getting that person back. He was as dead as everyone else.
‘As I would be if I didn’t run,’ he reminded himself. He took a breath, pleased with the fresh scents, How long had it been since he smelled clean fresh air?
Ten til Midnight 