Chapter 13-Death penalty
‘OK big guy, this is the end of your journey and probably your life!’
‘What’ I said.
‘Yeah, you will be lucky to survive the flogging by the Bourin executioner, he uses a chain to lash the hell out of you, Ha, you poor ugly bastard.’
I got to my feet in an instant. The reaction was instantaneous panic. I got hit by three blasters set on stun; I went down like a ton of bricks in an enormous sack.
I woke up in the astral world; in fact I was in my own bed with my wife stroking my brow.
‘Don’t worry, you will survive the attack, please trust in the Guardians.’ I looked around and there was my son staring at me. ‘You can do anything, Dad, you’re like a superhero but just for now act like a super softie and it will save your life!’ I woke up with a throbbing headache, and a lack of use in my left arm and leg.
‘You’re not so big now, eh, fella.’
I knew I had to act stupid and weak. I lay there looking at them with my cat type eyes even that made them uneasy. I could sense the feeling coming back into my limbs, also I knew it had made me even more stronger, I don’t know what had happened but I knew I had to be careful of injuring myself. I was far too strong even for this body. I had enough strength to squash a steel plate with my two fingers but it would also squash my bones.
‘Out!’
It was the chief guard. I pretended to limp out of the shuttle but in reality I could have jumped fifty yards if I had wanted to, and I wanted to. I wanted to smash everything in a mile radius.
‘In,’ shouted the same guard. An open top vehicle with a cage around it was parked nearby. I got in but I had to squeeze into it I felt claustrophobic I never liked to be in small places when I was a teacher so I guess the fear stems from there. The other guards got into a large bus type vehicle nearby while two more sat at the front of my vehicle. The panic was now setting in, I felt like smashing the cage to pieces which I could have done with ease but the guards would had killed me. I had to squat down and hold myself in check. Just a short time and I would be free. It took an agonizing three hours to get to the place of punishment. It was a large courtyard with a surrounding wall and a tall steel fence with ugly spikes on top. There were cages all over the place, they were stacked outside and inside with a collection of life forms in them; some were obviously dead, some had been there a long time and were stinking!
What the Hell have I let myself in for? All I could think of was my son saying you’re like a superhero dad! When I came out of my nice day dream I noticed prehistoric birdlike creatures pecking at the corpses in the cages also rats as big as cats running about between the bars. They sure are a successful species; I suppose you couldn`t really improve on them no matter what planet you’re on. What am I thinking! I have to get myself together.
“Hey, you, Tourgen, you are to be dealt with right away as we don’t want the risk of you escaping, you are to be flogged by chain until dead. The execution will be long and painful’
‘Wait a minute!’ I shouted, it is supposed to be a punishment and then I’m to be freed!’
‘No’ shouted the guard. The order has just come through, you are too dangerous.
My mind was in uproar, why didn`t Grenwer know? Or is this some sort of plan. Was I deliberately not told? I now had to think of some way to get out of this hell hole.
Right, I thought, they think I’m stupid and easily killed, well I’ll show them, and to hell with the karma.
‘Out,’ shouted the guard.
I squeezed myself out of the cage bending the metal bars of the door doing it. I could see about twenty guards of different shapes and sizes standing about.
‘Move,’ the head guard said. I could see the executioner about fifty yards away standing on a sort of scaffold in the middle of the area. I noticed people were gathering on seats that were being placed around the area. Surely that can’t be for me?
‘You’re the star of the show today.’ said the chief guard. ‘Whenever a Tourgen gets flogged, it’s a special occasion.’
I could see there were dozens of different alien types of people, most were cruel looking but all were humanoid in appearance. The guard said ‘They know it will take ages and be cruel. That is what the people want and so we won’t disappoint them, will we!’ As we approached the scaffold I could see the executioner was a large troll-like creature known as the Bourin. He was about fifteen foot tall and about sixty stone. If I stood a chance it had to be before he struck with the chain.
‘Get on the scaffold,’ the head guard said. I started to climb up. The Bourin said `I’m going to enjoy this.’
The smell coming from his mouth was terrible, worse than anything on Earth!
‘I`m going to cut you down to the bone first and then I’ll start to smash your face. I know it will take a long time that is why I like to execute Tourgens, It gives me a good workout.’
He fastened me into a metal loop in the floor of the scaffold. I noticed there was no cage around the scaffold, maybe they thought there was no place to run to or simply that there were too many guards, another thing I noticed was that most of the guards had their weapons holstered.
‘If you believe in any sort of God, now is the time to pray,’ the security chief said. In fact I did pray a little, for them!
As I knelt down I grasped the chains that were around my wrists, I knew I could break them easily, the question was would I be quick enough to stop the guards. The Bourin said, ‘Right, man-beast I will cut your suit off first, and then I’m going to start.’ As he took out a large knife from his belt, I pulled at the chains; they broke easily, with one swoop I brought the chains and the metal loop around hitting the Troll in the face killing him instantly, I then broke the chains around my ankles. In the next instant with speed that even stunned me, I jumped down and onto two of the guards, one being the head guard, smashing their heads together and killing them. I then grabbed one of their weapons. The other guards were staring in stunned silence, I didn’t have time to look whether it was on stun or kill, I just fired, luckily for them it was on stun, they were out before they could think, I looked around, there was panic everywhere. I scanned the area for any more guards, but they must have got the message, all I could think of was escape, I looked for an exit, I noticed a figure on the wall above the area waving to me, I at once knew it was Reeas the female Tourgen, I ran as fast as I could and jumped the twenty foot wall easily. ‘Come,’ she said. I knew if I was a Tourgen, and I suppose I am, I could love someone like Reeas, she was unusually attractive for a beast-woman but I suppose it was the beast in me coming out, she said she had a transport a short distance away, she also said we couldn`t go to the hotel as the security people would be there once they found out about the incident. I said, ‘How did you know I would be given the death-penalty.’ she said she had contacts in high places. I thought, thank God, or rather Sionn!’