Page 26 of 1000 of You
“Itis a miracle you are still alive, after what the guards did to you.Justonenis still out. He has been unconscious ever sincethey brought him back here.”
“Howareyoudoing?”Muamhad discovered long agothat by engaging strangers into talking about themselves, they often revealedimportant details that helped him discover who he was, where he was, andsometimes why he was there.
“Myarms are busted. I think they are no longer attached to my body. But my legsare fine. They were careful not to injure them too much.”
“Whynot? My legs are aching.”
“Butyou can still walk on them. You have to still be able to walk on them. Theseguards are not going to carry you to your death. You have to walk thereunaided.”
“Whatif I cannot?”Muamqueried.
“Thenthey will find a way to make you. I know of a man who was dragged behind ahorse because they accidentally broke one of his knees. Fortunately for him, hedied before he reached the stake.”
Muamtried again to lift his head. This time he managed tosucceed, but only a little bit. The man who’d been speaking to him was chainedto a long table. By the awkward angle of the one arm he could see,Muamcould tell it had been pulled out of the socket. Notfar away, another man hung, suspended from an overhead beam. His feet didn’ttouch the floor, and his arms were stretched over his head. It was clear theman was completely out of it, perhaps for the better, considering how muchblood streaked his bared skin.
“Howmuch longer must we endure this torture?”Muamaskedin a gravelly voice.
“Notmuch longer. I believe today is the day we shall meet our Lord and Savior inHeaven.”
Meetwho? The comment had been said with a note of reverence.Muamcouldn’t tell if the lord and savior was one person or two, much less knowwhere Heaven was. It didn’t matter, as long as it meant they would be taken outof this den of horror.
Anoise caught their attention.Muamheard a door openbehind him, and several people entered. They moved around to where he could seethem. Although they were dressed in odd clothing, by the helmets and lances, itwas clear they were guards. They stopped behind the man on the table, steppingaside to allow a man in long, dark robes to stand in front and face theprisoners
“Thisis your final chance to renounce your blasphemous religion. Repent, and thepersuasion will cease.”
“If werepent, does that mean you will let us go?”Muamasked, although he already knew what the answer would be.
The manin the robes gave him a disdainful look. “The means of persuasion we have beenusing to seek your salvation will no longer be employed. However, you are stillprisoners of Her Majesty. And, thus, your freedom will only be granted throughher will.”
The manon the table laughed hysterically. “The bloody queen does not even know we arehere, you turd! How can she grant us clemency when she is not even aware of ourexistence?”
The robedman ignored the outburst, focusing onMuaminstead.“What is your decision? Repent and live? Or refuse and die?”
Thechoice was simple. If he repented, he would be condemned to remain in this dankhole, never to see the outside world—orGova—again.She was out there, somewhere, looking for him. He had to get away from thistorture chamber in order for them to find each other.
“Thedevil take you to hell!” the man on the table yelled.
“And Isecond him,”Muamsaid. “We will never repent our beliefs.No matter how much you try to convince us otherwise.”
The robedman crossed his arms over his chest as a smug smile covered his face. The manhad anticipated, perhaps had hoped to hear, those exact words. A shudder wentthroughMuam.
Insteadof commenting, the man gave a signal to the guards. One began unchaining theman on the table. Two others started lowering the unconscious man from where hewas suspended.Muamfelt a tug on his arms from wherethe ropes or shackles were being removed from his wrists. A sudden shove on hisshoulder forced him to fall face-first onto the ground.Muamgroaned as feeling came back to his limbs, bringing bright, hard pain with it.His companion was dragged off the table, where he collapsed to his knees. Theman who’d been hanging remained unaware. A guard threw a bucket of water onhim, but was unable to revive him. Grunting, the guard tied a rope around theman’s ankles and began dragging him out of room.
“Come.Move it.” Another guard gestured forMuamand hiscompanion to follow the hapless man being dragged out.Muamstruggled to get to his feet. He was eventually grabbed under the arms andhauled up, when he managed to stay upright without toppling over again. As theyswayed, struggling to remain upright, a rope was looped aroundMuam’sneck, then around his companion’s neck, linking themtogether. After the guard checked to make sure the prisoners couldn’t slip outof their restraints, the two of them were able to stumble their way out of thechamber, through winding hallways, and eventually out into the open where acrowd was gathering.
He andthe other man followed the man in the robes. The guards kept the path clear forthem, although the crowd continued to press close toMuamand the others. As they passed through, the townspeople filled in behind tofollow them toward their destination.
“Sacrilegious!”a woman shrieked. “Blasphemers!”
A rottenvegetable was thrown at them, strikingMuamin thearm and sending a shaft of pain through his entire body. Halting in his tracks,he gasped and waited for the knife-like sensations to end, but he was slammedin the back by an impatient guard.
“Keepmoving!”
Trying toplace one foot in front of the other was like trying to wade through knee-highmud. His legs felt as though huge weights were tied to them, preventing himfrom walking normally.
But hispain and circumstances were secondary toMuam’srealpurpose. He scanned the crowd, searching for that one beloved face that had tobe here. For that one person whom the gods decreed he must rejoin in order forthe both of them to continue.
The crowdgrew rowdier, hurling insults and garbage at the prisoners. He ducked to avoidsomething thrown his way, when a familiar figure appeared ahead of the robedman.Govastared at him with a curious expression onher face as he neared.
