CHAPTER 25 - ...AND ESCAPE
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Natirra stood up, finally free from the bothersome ropes that had bound her. Her arms and legs ached from being in the same position for hours, and she still had a slight headache from waking up so many times during a single night. As soon as she got up, she turned to Gaid, who was carefully analyzing the room.
«“What are you doing?”»
«“What material is this?”» Gaid had completely avoided Natirra's question, continuing to touch the walls of the cell from every side of the room.
«“I’d prefer it if you explained what you’re doing first.”»
«“I’m planning the escape, obviously.”» Natirra didn’t know what the hell he was thinking, but she theorized that he was probably going crazy trying to escape. In any case, she followed him since she had absolutely nothing to lose at that point.
«“I don’t know what material the walls are made of. But they can’t be made of rock.”» Natirra explained, sharing the same theories she had thought of when she first entered the cell. «“It’s warm, and given that it’s freezing cold in here, the walls should be damp.”»
Gaid looked at her, stopping his exploration of the walls. «“Damp, huh? Where are we?”»
«“Where do you think we are? We’re in the dungeons, right?”» She replied with a rhetorical question.
“What questions is he asking me? What does he plan to do?” Gaid started to think and, after a moment, asked a peculiar question.
«“Question, so… There’s water beneath us, right? After all, we’re on a boat.”»
Judging by the humidity of the floor, Natirra was certain that they had the sea right below them.
«“Yes, we have water beneath us. Can you explain what’s the point?”»
«“Maybe you from Amelis Island don’t know this because you’re idiots and terrible warriors, but I know a perfect way we can use the water to get out of here.”»
“What? What is he talking about? And what does he mean by ‘You from Amelis Island,’ doesn’t he come from the island too?”
She had many questions, but despite that, she let him continue. «“Go on.”» She asked, curious.
Gaid turned, completely avoiding Natirra’s gaze, with his usual thoughtful tone, and began to clarify his statement.
«“It’s called High-Pressure Water Jet, one of the most powerful tools ever used, so much so that blacksmiths use it to cut metals.”» After a short pause, he began to explain in more detail. «“This technique is known as water jet cutting and is often used for producing weapons or… Well, simply working with materials. Water isn’t intrinsically ‘strong’ when pressurized. The strength of water depends on the pressure it’s subjected to and its ability to withstand this pressure. Water pressure is a measure of the force exerted by water on a surface or container. Are you following me?”»
«“Uh… Yes..?"» Natirra didn’t understand half of the words he said, but she wanted him to continue. If she started asking questions, they’d be stuck there for days, and Natirra didn’t care about that at all.
Gaid continued, checking if Natirra had understood what he said.
«“When water is pressurized, as in a hydraulic system or a water conduit, its pressure increases. However, the force of the water depends on the applied pressure and the system’s size. In short, water can become ‘strong’ when pressurized in a specific context, but its strength depends on the pressure and conditions in which it’s used.”»
«“I appreciate the lesson, but…”» Natirra asked, somewhat confused. «“How exactly is this supposed to help us?”»
Gaid immediately pointed to his horn. «“With this. If I can get in contact with the water, I can suck it up through my horn and then shoot it out as pressurized water to destroy every single wall that keeps us from freedom.”»
Natirra pondered over it, and despite how absurd the plan seemed, she had no luxury of thinking of anything else.
«“I see…”» She said to Gaid. «“So you’ll puncture the floor?”»
«“What? Of course not! Have you seen my horn?! It’s tiny, I wouldn’t be able to break it. I’ve already tried, and I assure you it doesn’t work. I need a sharp one that can penetrate directly into the ground.”»
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“Ah, so he knew he had a small horn.”
«“If you know it, why does it offend you when others say it?”»
«“I'm the only one who can say such things. If others say it, it’s an offense to my honor, to my narwhal honor, it’s obvious, don’t you think?”»
«“But what kind of reasoning is that?”»
«“Okay, so if you don’t break it, who will?”»
«“Who else is in this room?”» He said in an ironic tone, and after a few minutes of serious contemplation, she realized he was referring to her. «“Wait, me?!”»
«“Yes, you dimwit.”»
Gaid went on to explain. «“So, I need you to puncture the floor,”»
“Perfect, my suspicions were correct. He really wants me to puncture the floor.”
«“wherever you want, so I can get in touch with the water.”»
Natirra looked at him for a moment, trying to process the damned request he had made. «“I have to do what, excuse me?”»
«“Bang your head as hard as you can on the floor, so you can puncture it. It’s even soft and damp, it should be easy, right?”»
«“Easy?! Are you crazy?! Actually, no, not even crazy people would slam their heads on the floor hoping to break it! Who do you think you are to make such requests?! I refuse!”» She became aggressive; it wasn’t really that serious, but she didn’t know any sane person who would dare slam their head on the floor in hopes of breaking it. Moreover, she feared that her horn might get stuck. After all, it was something she saw as a great beauty and would never want to break.
Come to think of it, she didn’t know that this would be the least of her problems.
«“I refuse to do such a thing! Even if it means escaping from this cell.”»
That was the only response that came to her mind at that moment.
Natirra heard a sharp, hissing breath from Gaid, who had asked her the question. He was probably thinking, as she noticed he was looking at the floor.
Suddenly, he lifted his eyes, meeting Natirra’s gaze, and at the moment he did, Natirra immediately regretted her decision.
Suddenly, he moved towards her, and before she realized it, he grabbed her head with his hands.
«“I’m sorry, but I have no other choice, and I need to get out of here!”», saying this, before she could respond, Natirra was silenced as Gaid, grabbing her head, slammed it forcefully onto the floor, embedding her horn into the damp, soft wood and piercing it. After doing so, for a few seconds, and checking that she had finally punctured the floor, he pulled her head out of the floor.
Natirra fell on her back, with a strong sense of nausea. Gaid, on the other hand, approached the newly made hole, turning towards her and giving her a thumbs up.
«“Thanks, I appreciate your cooperation!”» Natirra was too nauseous to respond, but the voice, which she heard with a strong reverberation in her head, made her want to get up and smash Gaid’s horn.
«“Perfect,”» he turned back to the hole. «“It’s time to get out of this damned prison.”»
Quickly, he inserted his horn into the hole, and Natirra, who had just gotten up and recovered from the bad knock, could see him working hard to reach the water.
«“I can do this…”» He said to himself. «“Just a few millimeters… just a little more, and I’ll reach the water…”»
Natirra watched him and, rubbing the bump Gaid had given her, got a bit angrier, wanting to leave this place now more than ever, because she didn’t want to think that the bump had been in vain.
«“I’ll help you, you ugly fish!”» She exclaimed loudly, and a few seconds later, Natirra, who had gotten up and reached Gaid, placed her foot on Gaid’s head, who was still trying to reach the water, «“Hey! What the hell are you doing?!”»
«“I’m returning the favor, so you learn to stick my horn into the wood without my permission.”» She started to stomp on his head, trying to push him further down to reach the water.
Indeed, she wasn’t really helping him, but it was undeniable that it was amusing, at least from Natirra’s point of view.
«“Okay, okay, okay, stop!”» Gaid exclaimed, but Natirra didn’t stop until he gave her a valid reason to, until he told her the news that he had finally reached his goal. «“I found it! I found it! The water, I’ve reached it!”»
Natirra finally lifted her foot off his head, and he stood up shakily, immediately turning his attention to the door. «“Natirra.”»
«“What do you want?”» Even though she had gotten her revenge, she was still annoyed.
«“Have you ever seen a Narwhal shoot a pressurized stream? Actually…”» He tried to rephrase the question. «“Have you ever seen a pressurized stream, in general?”»
«“No, but judging by how you describe it, you have a lot of faith in it, so… I guess I’ll have to trust you.”»
«“Water is fascinating, Natirra, we have it all around us, and who knew it could be such a deadly weapon.”»
At that point, Natirra grew tired of all the explanations. Sure, it was interesting, but she couldn’t stay there all day.
«“If it’s as strong as you say, why don’t you hurry up and show me instead of giving me this damned lecture? You did it before too!”» Suddenly, a few seconds after Natirra’s comment, Gaid took up a stance, preparing to strike after what seemed to be some sort of charge before the final release. Natirra could see his horn change, from being completely straight to having its lower part swollen. This strange sight didn’t last long, though, because shortly after, Gaid unleashed a powerful and targeted stream of water.
Natirra watched in astonishment, surprised, even though she didn’t want to admit it.
First, she observed the speed of the stream, so fast that it didn’t even seem to be moving, and then she focused on the cell door, the primary target of the shot, which had been completely pierced.
Gaid, before running out of water, traced the perimeter of a rectangle through which both he and she could pass. Immediately after finishing, the stream stopped, and he, exhausted, took a few seconds to catch his breath and calm down.
The rectangle, a small piece of door, fell quickly to the ground, fortunately making little noise. After observing with amazement, Gaid looked at her.
«“Well, let’s get out of this place.”»