He awoke to the distressing sensation of being in a completely unfamiliar place. He knew he was laying on his back, but on top of what he wasn't sure. He twisted to roll sideways from the strange bedding, but felt ropes closing around his chest. His eyes focused, and he let out a bloodcurdling scream that echoed several times. There were ropes around his entire body, closing around his head. Somehow, he had woken in a horrible trap of some sinister design.
Thrashing around did him no good. He was wrapped in a series of crossed ropes in the same way that his people rolled chocolate in papers, twisting the ends to make an air tight pouch. His hunting knife had been taken from him, so he used the only weapon he had left. Concentrating as best he could in a state of blind panic, he began to heat his palms. Grasping the ropes beneath him, he began to burn through them one by one. After the fifth gave way, his body fell several feet onto a bamboo floor that bent slightly under his considerable weight.
He heard footsteps behind him and spun wildly. His snarl faded as he gazed upon a woman carrying a large, ceramic jar, cocked slightly and spilling clear water. She had a completely puzzled look on her face, and slowly set her jar to the side.
"What do you think you're doing?", she asked, holding her hands out to her sides.
He stared at her, taking her in. She had long, blonde hair and an extremely firm build. Muscular probably described her better. Her eyes were a piercing black and very large, with high cheekbones. She wore a grey sash across her upper body and a sort of flowing loincloth, bare across the hips, on her lower half.
"You ruined my hammock. Are you going to talk?", she asked.
"Ham... hammock? Is that a trap?", asked the man, realizing that he was clad in only underwear and suddenly feeling very naked.
"No. A hammock is a bed. That was my bed, and it's still burning. Would you mind putting it out?", she planted her hands on her bare hips.
"Of course. My apologies."
"Right. What's your name?"
He snuffed the smoldering ropes between his leathery palms carefully, then stood upright.
"My name is Uthur. What is yours, if I may ask?"
"Ambeleena. Everyone calls me Leena. Where are you from, Uthur?"
Uthur thought about it for a few moments, but couldn't remember things very well.
"Penland. Western acres. Where are we?", he asked calmly.
"Lincomber. Hey, watch where you're going. Look down, ye Gods!"
Uthur had begun to lean over the edge of the walkway, and his stomach seized up in tight, unforgiving knots when he saw what lay beyond. They were higher up in the ait than he had ever dreamed of being. Specks moved lazily far below, and he realized they were people.
He fell back on his haunches, clinging to the floor. His face, with it's broad features, was twisted into a grimace. He couldn't control his stomach any longer, and he threw up, observing the bright colors and wondering what he had been fed. His voice being unavailable in his state of fearful paralysis, he pointed at the food he had regurgitated and looked at Leena questioningly.
"Oh, that? We've been feeding you fruit and water. It's all we could get you to swallow. You were unconscious for so long, we thought you might starve to death. We stripped you because you were soiling yourself."
He blushed, still clinging to the floor. She moved closer to try and help him to his feet, but he simply hunkered down farther, shaking his head from side to side furiously. He was terrified of heights, much like he was terrified of deep water. He couldn't swim, and as far as he knew, he couldn't fly either.
"Look at me", she said, but he moved his face even closer to the floor.
"Look at me, please", she repeated, and his head began to slowly crane upward.
"See?", she pointed down the line of bamboo planks, "there's a whole city up here. Nobody falls from up here, and neither will you. Try and stand up, now."
He saw the bamboo walkway where he crouched running slightly upward, joining with a larger walkway that connected to a picturesque village, far nicer than any he had ever seen. Even on land, where homes could be built on foundations. Somehow the entire city was perched in the upper limbs of an immense tree. There were vast buildings and gables, archways and pillars, all made of the same woody reeds and painted marvelous shades of green, yellow and brown.
The sight of such a welcoming place made the strength come back into his knees, and he grimaced even harder. Slowly, with what remained of the fruit threatening to see the light of day again, he lifted himself into a squatting position. Leena held out a hand to him, and he took it. With her steadying him, he lifted himself onto his feet, as though he were a dog whose master had him by the paws trying and get him to dance.
With an embarrassed nod he apologized. She began to lead him one step forward at a time. After a few paces he regained his legs and gave Leena her hand back.
"Come on, we need to report your wakening to the high elders. I won't tell them about the fire. Starting fires is a crime punishable by lengthy jail sentences", she said, pointing to several hanging rope sacks that dangled from the limbs of trees with nothing beneath them but the solid ground.
Legs stuck out the bottom of the sacks and Uthur swallowed hard at the thought of the people inside them hanging so far above the earth. If one fell, he might drop for several minutes before crashing into the greenery below. He knew that, above all else, he would be committing no crimes here. |
Submission Name: Hang 'em high
