Escape From This
The Kraka
“Look, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask you what on earth is going on?” hissed Lottie angrily.
Jack sighed and went on ignoring her. This girl would not let up. For nearly forty minutes, she had been constantly asking him questions like, “Where are you taking me?” and “You can’t keep me here, tell me where I am?” and, his favourite, “Is there a phone box nearby? I demand to make a call.”
He didn’t even understand a lot of what she said. What was ‘earth’ supposed to be?
“Why can’t you tell me anything?” asked Lottie again. “If I’m coming with you, I have a right to know what it is you’re up to.
“If you just tell me, then I promise I’ll co-operate. You know, whatever.”
Jack let out a hollow laugh, without meaning to. “Like you have an alternative.”
Lottie straightened up although she positively bent out of shape by this irritating boy. “I don’t have to do anything you say! I don’t even have to come with you.”
“Fine, go back there then!” smirked Jack. “See how far that gets you.”
Lottie grimaced at him and carried on walking beside him.
“You should be grateful it was us that found you,” Jack said suddenly. He hadn’t meant to – it was the girl’s fault. She was really getting on his nerves and it was not pleasant.
Especially as everything around them was so awful.
They were coming to the end of the Moan Fields, and Jack knew that it would not be long before they began to make their way through the dead bracken to the water front. He was so tense he could have cracked a nut between his eyelids with a single blink.
“Why, who else is going to be out here on a night like this?” inquired Lottie, curiously, trying to get an idea of who or what it could be from Jack’s face. “The Daymen? Is that what you call...whoever they are?” Jack’s eyes closed tightly for a second and nodded.
Lottie was beginning to lose her temper.
“But who are they?” she asked furiously.
Jack took a deep breath in and finally responded. “They’re the people who have taken over our city for the last eleven years. At first, it wasn’t much. It was like they wanted an alliance with our Kraka.” He quickly noted from Lottie’s expression that she didn’t quite understand. “I think...that’s a bit like a Queen for you.
“Aslaug – that’s her name – she was once a really great ruler. She was fair, not to be messed with. Kept everything beautiful, not that you’d think it from looking around here.”
Lottie’s gaze fell upon the grit that lay by the slabs beneath their feet and wondered if horses had ever walked upon it.
“This land was once the prettiest in the world. People would travel for miles to look at it. There were vines that played harps, purple lilies that blew out golden orbs that, if you listened really carefully, would tell you a secret that would help you one day. The pink lilies did the same thing only they told you the name of your greatest love. Or at least, your next great love, I don’t really remember, we haven’t had them here in years. They were pretty rare even then. And there were blue ones as well, we only ever saw them once, and they told you - ”
“OK, you’re just talking about flowers now!” snapped Lottie impatiently. “What happened? Why did everything change?”
“Well...” Jack paused for a second, looking uneasy. “Aslaug...she found out she could never have a baby. It was really sad. She didn’t leave her chambers for a month.
“And then, one day, the Daymen came to our land – Ishaca, it was known as then, before they changed the name – and offered the Kraka what she wanted above all. They gave her a child.
“After that day, things started to differ somewhat. For one thing, Aslaug left much of the work to her Council, and things started to crumble because they couldn’t keep order without her help. More of the Daymen kept coming and each time, more and more of them would stay. They took over the city, started kicking people out of jobs, creating their own businesses where you’d only earn enough to pay them tax and just about feed yourself. They began to get out of hand – attacking people who didn’t agree with them, but it got worse. People started disappearing and anyone who tried to find them or report them missing...well, same thing would happen to them. At first, they tried to be sneaky about it but eventually they didn’t even bother trying to hide what they were doing. They’d openly attack for no reason, People were afraid to walk the streets at night, women would come home raped...or never even get home at all.”
“That’s awful,” Lottie shook her head in disbelief. “But what about Aslaug? She must have done something. She surely wouldn’t want them doing it on her land, and to her people?”
Jack shook his head, sighing, “Ah, see, that’s the thing. Aslaugh had changed too. Some say she wasn’t meant to have children for a reason and that by having one unnaturally, the natural order had been screwed up. I don’t know about that. Actually, I think that’s a lot of nonsense.
“See, the child had started to grow up. No one outside the Fortress had ever seen him before, and no one knew why. There were rumours that there was something wrong with it or that Aslaug had gone mad and didn’t want it being tainted or whatever. But the truth is that there was something wrong with it. I don’t know if it was cursed or the Daymen had infected it or created it or whatever but it made Aslaug it’s slave. No one’s seen her in three years.
“The Kraka child rules now.”
“What?” spluttered Lottie. “But it’s only a baby?”
Jack frowned. “It’s not a baby. I don’t know what it is but that thing isn’t human. It can’t be.”
Jack sighed and went on ignoring her. This girl would not let up. For nearly forty minutes, she had been constantly asking him questions like, “Where are you taking me?” and “You can’t keep me here, tell me where I am?” and, his favourite, “Is there a phone box nearby? I demand to make a call.”
He didn’t even understand a lot of what she said. What was ‘earth’ supposed to be?
“Why can’t you tell me anything?” asked Lottie again. “If I’m coming with you, I have a right to know what it is you’re up to.
“If you just tell me, then I promise I’ll co-operate. You know, whatever.”
Jack let out a hollow laugh, without meaning to. “Like you have an alternative.”
Lottie straightened up although she positively bent out of shape by this irritating boy. “I don’t have to do anything you say! I don’t even have to come with you.”
“Fine, go back there then!” smirked Jack. “See how far that gets you.”
Lottie grimaced at him and carried on walking beside him.
“You should be grateful it was us that found you,” Jack said suddenly. He hadn’t meant to – it was the girl’s fault. She was really getting on his nerves and it was not pleasant.
Especially as everything around them was so awful.
They were coming to the end of the Moan Fields, and Jack knew that it would not be long before they began to make their way through the dead bracken to the water front. He was so tense he could have cracked a nut between his eyelids with a single blink.
“Why, who else is going to be out here on a night like this?” inquired Lottie, curiously, trying to get an idea of who or what it could be from Jack’s face. “The Daymen? Is that what you call...whoever they are?” Jack’s eyes closed tightly for a second and nodded.
Lottie was beginning to lose her temper.
“But who are they?” she asked furiously.
Jack took a deep breath in and finally responded. “They’re the people who have taken over our city for the last eleven years. At first, it wasn’t much. It was like they wanted an alliance with our Kraka.” He quickly noted from Lottie’s expression that she didn’t quite understand. “I think...that’s a bit like a Queen for you.
“Aslaug – that’s her name – she was once a really great ruler. She was fair, not to be messed with. Kept everything beautiful, not that you’d think it from looking around here.”
Lottie’s gaze fell upon the grit that lay by the slabs beneath their feet and wondered if horses had ever walked upon it.
“This land was once the prettiest in the world. People would travel for miles to look at it. There were vines that played harps, purple lilies that blew out golden orbs that, if you listened really carefully, would tell you a secret that would help you one day. The pink lilies did the same thing only they told you the name of your greatest love. Or at least, your next great love, I don’t really remember, we haven’t had them here in years. They were pretty rare even then. And there were blue ones as well, we only ever saw them once, and they told you - ”
“OK, you’re just talking about flowers now!” snapped Lottie impatiently. “What happened? Why did everything change?”
“Well...” Jack paused for a second, looking uneasy. “Aslaug...she found out she could never have a baby. It was really sad. She didn’t leave her chambers for a month.
“And then, one day, the Daymen came to our land – Ishaca, it was known as then, before they changed the name – and offered the Kraka what she wanted above all. They gave her a child.
“After that day, things started to differ somewhat. For one thing, Aslaug left much of the work to her Council, and things started to crumble because they couldn’t keep order without her help. More of the Daymen kept coming and each time, more and more of them would stay. They took over the city, started kicking people out of jobs, creating their own businesses where you’d only earn enough to pay them tax and just about feed yourself. They began to get out of hand – attacking people who didn’t agree with them, but it got worse. People started disappearing and anyone who tried to find them or report them missing...well, same thing would happen to them. At first, they tried to be sneaky about it but eventually they didn’t even bother trying to hide what they were doing. They’d openly attack for no reason, People were afraid to walk the streets at night, women would come home raped...or never even get home at all.”
“That’s awful,” Lottie shook her head in disbelief. “But what about Aslaug? She must have done something. She surely wouldn’t want them doing it on her land, and to her people?”
Jack shook his head, sighing, “Ah, see, that’s the thing. Aslaugh had changed too. Some say she wasn’t meant to have children for a reason and that by having one unnaturally, the natural order had been screwed up. I don’t know about that. Actually, I think that’s a lot of nonsense.
“See, the child had started to grow up. No one outside the Fortress had ever seen him before, and no one knew why. There were rumours that there was something wrong with it or that Aslaug had gone mad and didn’t want it being tainted or whatever. But the truth is that there was something wrong with it. I don’t know if it was cursed or the Daymen had infected it or created it or whatever but it made Aslaug it’s slave. No one’s seen her in three years.
“The Kraka child rules now.”
“What?” spluttered Lottie. “But it’s only a baby?”
Jack frowned. “It’s not a baby. I don’t know what it is but that thing isn’t human. It can’t be.”