Chapter 8 - Lost in the Dark

Chapter 8

“Dude! Why didn’t you wake me?” rubbing his cold fingers, Raul hunkered down next to Sami.

“Sssh!” Sami grabbed his arm. “Everything has been quiet so far.” He informed his friend without taking his eyes off the huge round house in the middle of the square. “Same as last night: Two guards by the door, but they seem drunk and asleep.”

“So what’s the big deal then?” Raul let his gaze travel around the house. The guards were indeed asleep, but there was still light inside and from what he could tell also voices and movement.

“There’s someone on the roof.” Excitedly Sami pointed ahead. “He came out from something that appears to be a window on the head of the house and now he sits there and… wait!” he put the binoculars back on his eyes. “He’s walking back and … Jeez, Raul, is that Samu up there? And is he helping Elida out of the window?”

Raul grabbed the binoculars, sucking in a breath. “It is! And he … look at that, they found a way out! But …” he fell silent, staring at the two persons on the roof of the freshly conquered and occupied house. “Are they naked?” he then asked, raising his eyebrows in disbelief.

Sami took the binoculars and nodded perplexed. “They are.” He confirmed. “What on earth are they thinking? Escaping in the nude? Isn’t that a bit cold? Oh.” His eyes widened. “They don’t seem in a hurry for an escape actually. More like… Oh!” he lowered the binoculars, handing them over to Raul to rub his eyes.

“Is she … are they now? Jesus Christ on the ROOF?” Raul shook his head, still watching to two supposed captives in a tight embrace on the thatched roof.

“Well it’s quite flat and… it’s Samu, come on.” Sami jabbed Raul’s ribs. “Are you really surprised that they ended up together?”

“After what, like less than 48 hours? I am to be honest!” Raul shot back with his teeth gritted. “We need to find a way out of this and now they are… they adapt themselves to the Vikings, they live with them, live like them. We need to make a move really soon and tell them to join us! Otherwise I intend to leave without them!”

“Raul!”

“What?” looking around again, Raul squared his shoulders. “We watched them the whole day, they have been working with them, talking to them. Maybe this is brainwash! Maybe they are brainwashed and plan to stay!”

“You’re talking nonsense and you know it!” Sami interrupted. “Like Riku said before: They adapt, of course, they stick together as close as they can because they depend on each other. They are captives, whether you see it or not. And they are trying to make the best of it and survive because they have no idea that we are here and that we want to find our way back.” Again Sami jabbed his friend softly. “And by the way, Mister: You wouldn’t say no to that lass on your lap, admit it!”

Raul rubbed his face. “Maybe.” He answered evasively. “So what are we gonna do now?”

“I will right now go over there and…”

“Wait!” Raul grabbed his friends arm and pulled him down again. “There is something else going on!”

Suddenly the main door of the house was opened and someone was dragged outside in the shaft of light from within.

Two women with torches followed and held the door for the old man in the white fur coat.

“Another captive?” Sami whispered, but Raul hushed him down and kept watching the bizarre scene. The young man that had been dragged outside, was now on his knees. He was almost completely naked and his head hung low. The old man lifted his walking stick and intonated a few sentences, before he stepped back and nodded at the blond woman by his side. She gritted her teeth and Raul saw her grim face in the bickering torchlight. Without another word, she shouldered a huge axe and walked behind the young man that was still on his knees motionlessly.

Raul felt his blood freezing in his veins when she lifted the axe over her head with some effort and simply smashed the large blade into the spine of the man on the ground. No beheading, no clean cut but a forceful strike. The man let out a piercing cry and fell over with the axe still between his shoulder blades. Without batting an eyelid, the blond woman grabbed the handle of the axe and pulled it out, handing it over to another man. She said a few words to the people that had by now gathered around them. Then she bent down and started cutting around on the young man’s back.

Feeling nauseous all of a sudden, Raul lowered the binoculars, flinching when unexpectedly Riku sat next to him, grabbing them from his hand.

“A Blutaar!” he whispered, still watching the blond woman that was by now chopping the ribs of her captive with a smaller axe.

“Blut-what?” Sami shivered in disgust.

“It is called Blutaar. A Viking execution. They are cutting the back open and break the ribs to unfold them like the wings of an eagle. This man must have committed a serious crime!”

“Thank God we brought you along, you little gobshite!” Raul snorted sarcastically, trying his best to hide his feelings. “I seriously have no idea how we are ever supposed to get through to Samu. I mean, look at that! They are doing this to their own people, what will they do to us if they catch us?”

Completely dispirited he wrapped his arms around his knees and shook his head.

“Hey!” Sami glared at him furiously. “Stop it right now! We will manage to get him out, we will get the hell away from those crazy people and I will be dammed if we don’t manage to find our way home! Now go to sleep, Riku and I will stay and keep watch.”