Page 56 of Evil Hearts

Chapter Seven

My eyes snap open to the sound of raucous laughter and loud voices. I hold still, trying not to draw attention to myself. I blink rapidly, trying to get my eyes used to the crackling fire that dances across the small camp. The heat from the flames makes my head swim as I try to push myself into a sitting position. Frayed ropes are tightly bound around my wrists, and into a wooden beam on the ground, preventing me from sitting up. They cut into my skin, effectively holding me in place.

The bandits are scattered around the fire, in different levels of undress and relaxation. One of them is completely shirtless, poking at the flames with a long stick. While another leans back against a tree, taking long swigs from a brown bottle. The smell of something burning, the crackling of the fire, and the sense of danger press in on me from all sides.

My heart feels like it’s seconds from beating out of my chest, but I try to keep my composure, gently pulling at the ropes while they aren’t watching. There’s no give to the frayed edges, and the truth settles on me heavily. I’m trapped. I’m vulnerable. I’m a captive in a strange world.

And no one is coming to save me.

Panic surges again, threatening to drown me, but I force it back by the skin of my teeth. All I can do is focus on the one thing that could give me a sliver of a chance.

My gaze shifts across the camp, looking for anyone who may be on my side, but it’s a rough and chaotic place. Tents are pitched haphazardly. Supplies are scattered everywhere. But then, across from me in a large rusted cage, I see it. A large, hulking shadow slumped against the far side of the fire.

The only one who would want out of here as much as I do.

The Orc.

Ganesh.

My heart races for a whole new reason as I take him in. Dark green skin, a wide muscular frame, and tusks jut out from his lower jaw. The bandits made sure to relieve me of all of my weapons, but he is a weapon by sheer size alone. And his eyes are staring right at me with an interest I wasn’t expecting.

He’s shackled to the door of his cage, but there’s a tightness to his body like he’s just waiting for the right moment to pounce. For a split second, I’m overwhelmed by the feelings in my body. Everything is urging me to get to him, and by the look in his eyes, I’m thinking he feels the same way.

Is this what a character feels like when they’re on a quest, or is it all me?

The fire pops, startling me into looking away from Ganesh. One of the bandits stands, moving closer to me. My breath hitches, but I refuse to move. I have to play this smart, or I fear neither of us will make it out of here alive.

”I dona fink youse gunna last long, little adventurer.” A sneer covers his face, but he doesn’t move any closer. Though what I have planned to do to him, with my arms secured to the ground behind my back, I have no clue.

The leader steps closer, sinking next to me and putting us face to face. There’s a maniacal look in his eyes as he grins, trailing his finger over my exposed stomach. His breath is hot and reeks of alcohol, but I try my best not to squirm away. “Youse is gunnamake us a lot of money, girly,” he says, his voice dripping with malice. “But first, I fink we deserve a bit a fun.”

My stomach drops, the weight of my situation crashing down on me. I’m terrified, trapped in a world I can’t seem to figure out, and bound by ropes in a camp full of men.

But I’m not willing to give up yet. I won’t go down without a fight.

My eyes dart around the clearing, looking for something… anything… that can help me get out of here. A few discarded soup cans lay scattered about, but the thing that catches my eye is the rusted knife lying just a few feet away at the base of the fire.

A low growling rumbles across the ground, startling the laughing bandits. The leader lets out a hoot, removing his hand from its slow path up my tunic. He jumps to his feet, rushing over to the Orc whose eyes stalk him from across the camp.

With the bandits distracted, I wiggle slightly. I turn my body to point my feet toward the fire, capturing the knife with my feet. I pull it back toward me slowly, getting it in just the right position to secure it under me and sever the ropes.

The laughter starts to die down, and there’s no time to hesitate. I slice through the ropes, clutching the knife in my hand. Just as I jump to my feet, there’s a loud roar.

It shakes the tents around me, startling the men. The Orc’s eyes are blazing with fury as the men heckle him, backing away too slowly to escape. His hand lashes out, grabbing the man closest to him. He pulls him into the bars of his cage, over and over again, until the man’s body goes limp.

With a terrifying speed, he reaches into the man’s pockets, pulls out the keys, and releases himself from his restraints. The remaining bandits stand and stare, too stunned to act as the cage door swings open. Ganesh reaches forward, grabs the closestbandit by the throat, and lifts him off the ground as if he weighs nothing.

The other bandits scramble back, running for their weapons as he tosses the bandit aside, his body hitting the trunk of a tree with a sickening crunch.

I don’t waste any time, arming myself with a sword that is way too big for me, but will have to do the trick. Ganesh stalks toward me, ignoring the bandits who scramble out of his way.

His body radiates an energy I usually only find in the deepest part of the game. Ganesh steps toward me, his large frame towering over the top of me by a few feet. And without hesitation, he rubs his hands up and down my sides, looking for injuries. I can feel my skin heating at the intrusion, but I push it down, not wanting him to stop.

A large gust of air pushes past my lips in a hiss as his fingers find the spot on my head that connected with a rock. He growls at my pain, but it doesn’t scare me.

Awe and disbelief flood my senses, and I can’t tear my eyes away from him, even as the bandits around us are readying themselves to recapture us.

“You’re the Innkeeper…” I whisper, half in wonder and half in disbelief. My heart races. This is real… it’s happening.

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