Release

The sun has climbed to its zenith as I remain encumbered, my back snug against this oak. I feel its bite, my back nearly raw from the turns I have spent within its grasp. My captors have retreated to as dark a place as they are able to manage. It is obvious they do not suffer well the light of day. I have relented in trying to observe them further as they have settled into their night world. I sit now with the light of day to do nothing more than ponder my fate, certainly a prospect that appears bleak.

I hear a dull thump and feel a shallow vibration through the massive trunk. My shoulders fall slightly, no longer pulled tightly behind. A whisper floats upon the stillness, a calmness that awakens my spirit.

"Now stay still for a moment, my friend. I have work yet to do." The voice is as calm as a summer's breeze among the leaves.

I pull my arms forward, my shoulders screaming in agony as a blade slices though my bindings. My feet now free allow me to slide my legs forward. They as well, feel the sting of atrophy. I am free. My mind races to cover the ground away from my captors, yet my legs are not to the task. I remain beneath the shade of the oak, afraid. A single step I hear as my champion retreats into the background, lost to me in the light of day.

I turn abruptly toward the hollow where my captors have taken refuge. The sounds of death have awakened them. But whose death shall follow? I struggle to my feet and shake the weariness from my bones. I will not go down without a fight. Of this I vow, yet my mind screams the obvious; run!