Chapter 3: Escape

Benjamin glanced back up at the stranger who was walking away back to the entrance. The way he spoke was strange as if he was some kind of cultist. This speech didn't sound like something a normal priest would've said. Actually, this whole conversation was mostly in the realm of fantasy. It sounded like some kind of game, or maybe a movie.

Benjamin glanced to his side and saw a dark bowl filled with something he couldn't quite make out. It looked like mud or something along those lines. It also looked distinctly like some kind of animal blood and organs were mixed into it. Finally, both figures had left him alone and he needed to leave this place before he was sacrificed to what he was pretty sure were cultists of some sort. Things he had seen in movies let alone books didn't quite compare to what he had seen last night.

He struggled to break free of his bonds. His best bet was to get loose right now and just run. So he quickly struck the bonds on his legs with all the strength he had and he felt them snap and fall away. He kicked them off to the side and sat up. Then he struggled with the one on his arm but they were on too tightly unlike the ones on his legs which were of shoddy make.

He stood up feeling pins and needles on his feet and looked around to see if anything would let him get away. The desk held a key which he hoped could be the one to his cell but it was slightly too far away to reach it normally. He took his shirt off and quickly tied one end around his hands. He could then throw his shirt so that the key fell onto the floor then grasp the key and pull it in through the small gap between the bars.

He slowly bent over with his feet pointed away from the key, trying to hold the key in position. After a bit of work, he managed to get the key in position and pulled it over. He then unlocked the cell with a sticky key from his sweat and quickly put the key through the keyhole while he put on his shirt back. This had come out of nowhere but it was rather fortunate that he had found the key on the table. He didn't know how he was supposed to escape but if he didn't hurry, he was sure things would go south.

He slowly walked to the door and listened for any noise. All was quiet inside so he felt safe enough to leave. He surveyed the place again. The only thing he could think to do was to head for the exit but first, he wanted to see if he could find any weapons to defend himself. Finding nothing else and with his hands sadly still tied he just had to hope he didn't need to get into a fight. He glanced around one more time before his eyes landed on top of the desk and its legs.

He thought he could use the desk leg as a weapon so he flipped the table and kicked at the corner leg until it bent and broke. He picked it up and headed out.

He slowly opened the door and started for the stairs. The interior of the cellar wasn't much to look at. It was bleak and plain with only a single exit. The old bunk beds were made out of straw and soaked with what he feared was blood on some of the blankets. There was a cupboard that looked newish and out of place in the corner of the room. He walked towards it and opened it to find his bag was there. Jackpot! it had his mobile and a bottle of water and a bar of chocolate with a sandwich in there. He wondered why they kept him alive for some reason? something weird was going on and he had to find some answers.

The stairs were old and creaky and not a lot of light leaked through the top. he started to slowly climb up the stairs. He was halfway up before he started hearing a loud scream cut through the silence. He followed the screaming and found a door open to a room that had a similar cell and desk like the one he had been put in his room, but with one of the grey creatures torturing a woman. He slowly crept forward while the creature was distracted and clubbed it in the back of the head. He knew the creatures were flesh and blood from back when he was in the Church and saw one of the creatures bleeding from being thrown around by the strange wind. He didn't know where he was right now but it looked very old.

The creature fell to the ground and while he was out, he grabbed a key from its belt and unlocked the cage, and opened the door. The woman was injured and rambling something about gods.

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"Shhhh, I'll help you but you have to trust me now. Are you alright?"

The dark-haired woman glanced at him and nodded weakly. He gave her his shirt and helped her wrap it around her leg.

"Can you walk?"

"I don't know. I want to… I have to get out of here" She said.

"I'll come with you. We need to get out of here too. Did they hurt you?"

"No, but… they were going to sacrifice me tonight. They keep things alive for some reason. I can't escape." she said.

"We have to run. the priest is strong, but not that much stronger than us I think. Let's go."

She started walking away from the injured creature with Benjamin. He was glad he had that weapon in his hand.

"What is your name?" He asked.

"Dana and yours?"

"Benjamin."

"So, Benjamin, where are we going?"

"Out of here as soon as we can find where the people who came with you are? Do you know what's going on?"

"Yes, they were going to sacrifice me tonight. They rounded us up from enclaves of our tribes because we didn't believe in that crazy goddess and they are sacrificing people so they can power a spell to open the Elu est Adoni"

"What is the Elu est Adoni and why would they round your tribe up?"

"It is because we have the ability to track people from anywhere as long as we have anything belonging to them and she wants to get rid of everyone who can lead the other gods to her and the Elu est Adoni is the portal keeping our world separate from the others we know of and we are the Völsung tribe. What about you?"

She stopped walking and glanced back at the door with a look of worry. Benjamin looked back to see nothing had followed them and pushed her slightly to continue moving as he was half-carrying her. They got to a door with sunlight streaming through the holes in the old door. They had finally found a way to exit this desolate building and opened the door to a dilapidated courtyard. The evening sun was visible now that they were outside and as he looked away from the courtyard he could see they were on a hill overlooking the city.

"I am from here but I suspect you are far from home Dana," Benjamin said gesturing towards the city.

"Wha-What is this? where am I?"

"I currently don't know which city this is from just this view but I suspect even if I told you which city we are in you wouldn't understand."

"I-I," she struggled to get her words out in shock because of what she was seeing.

"Yes Dana, I don't think we are in your world any longer."

"You are the only one here who has been taken from your world, the rest of the people you were with I suspect haven't come with you. What were they interrogating you about?"

"They kept asking where the rest of my tribe was while torturing me, but I don't understand. why would they ask me something like that? my tribe was with me and fighting them when a flash of light blinded me and I woke up to them questioning me."She shuddered remembering what she had been through.

"Here, there is some water. I know you are thirsty, just leave some for me. I'm sorry about what you went through." he looked at her in the light of the sun and she looked rough and had cuts and bruises everywhere. He needed to get her to a clinic or get a first aid box. They slowly walked away from the building into the city.

He got out his phone to see if he could get a look up their location. They were in an old city, there didn't seem to be too many people around luckily for them. They walked for a while as Dana leaned on Benjamin. He couldn't get any signal at the moment so they continued walking.

"What is that place?" Dana asked pointing towards a large building.

"A Libary."

"It looks like one of the temples of the old gods."That gave him pause for a second but he kept moving. He knew that she needed either rest as soon as possible and his questions could wait.

They wandered around towards the library hoping they could get in and rest. It was an old building with old brick walls and a wide selection of old books with new bricks laid on top as renovations to preserve it without changing it completely.