Being Found

All he could remember was darkness and the pain deep in his stomach and how his lungs burned with every breath. He heard other male voices but could not make out what they spoke of. Hot tears streamed down his cheek from his fear of death. When he tried to move his arms and legs he found that they were bound at his sides from the fabric that covered them. The voices continued on with laughter. Death was laughing at him ready to bring him into his world. His heart quivered with fright as he felt himself bleed from the two wounds in his abdomen. His tears continued to flow for he feared death, feared the coldness that crept up from his legs and began to overtake his body.

Please don't let me die. I do not want to die, not like this. God. . . help me

I don't want to die

Please.. . . someone

He choked on the blood rising in his mouth and sobbed. For all his good intentions, he would face death alone in the darkness and in so much pain. The voices continued to taunt him and in the darkness he spent what felt like ages in agony. Such murderous people were those of the kingdom of Kinlatca, to kill him without a second thought. There was a slow sway to his body from where he was being carried. It was as if the sway was beckoning him back into slumber, back into the cold embrace of death. His chest heaved as he took his last breaths. Slowly but surely he was consigning himself over to the thought of his own mortality and death. Hopefully something positive would come of his death, perhaps a nurse had overheard the conversation. He felt his body grew cold and again closed his eyes as he resigned himself to his fate. His last thoughts were of his sister, who knew what a horrid fate awaited her.

The 4 guards struggled to continue to carry his heavy body.

"The prince weighs more than I previously thought"

"Quiet! Do not call this poor wretch by what he is . . . lest some one hears," commanded the sergeant of the little group.

He was an older gentleman and had blonde hair. His eyes had seen much while under the command of his prince to whom he swore his life to. Now he was being forced to clean up Migalo's mess once more. He struggled with the weight of John's body and prayed they would be able to hide his body far enough in the forest that no one would find him. The night was cold and the moon was waning. Their silhouettes would not be easy to make out in the darkness. It was well into the evening and he doubted anyone would be around to bother them. He sighed softly and continued on in his march to bury the young prince.

"Come on sir. . . we are so far into the forest that none will find us. . . let us bury him already. Morning will be coming soon and I would prefer to have slept some this night"

"Fine. . . this is far enough. Begin to dig the pit."

They dropped the tightly wrapped body and unclasped the shovels from their back and began digging. The work would continue for almost an hour in complete silence fearful that a hunter could be out late at night. However the night was long and time went by so slowly in complete silence. The only sound that they could hear was the sound their shovels made as they stabbed into the soft earth and the evening animals that were out scavenging.

"Why is our lord even bothering with this piss of a country? Honestly, there is nothing here but farmers and drunkards," complained the soldier from before, the one that had them stop. He had suffered major burns from the dragon hunt and had watched many of his comrades burned to death or be eaten by the horrid beast. He was bitter from loss and lack of sleep.

"Yes. . . we have lost much to only gain so little. The dragon hunters we had slain to hide his secret, the men we lost to the dragon, the trouble of finding that blasted whore. To think she would have chosen to lay with a beast. . . disgusting"

"I suppose the prince of Kinlatca prefers to soil his rod in a cave where a dragon once stood " said the third

The comment brought laughter from them all, even their sergeant.

"Come now we have a duty to our prince" said the old timer as he watched his subordinates continue on with the dirty deed of digging the pit.

"Yes a duty to him! Not to what strange things catch his fancy. I've lost my brothers because of him!" He growled and finished digging the hole but quickly threw his shovel over past the group. His loss and weariness was finally taking their toll on his mind. "To hell with this blasted country! Let us raid their coffers and let them kneel before us! For the price we paid we should each have this whore of a princess! . . .Then again why throw a sword down a well? "

"That is enough!" Scowled the old timer as he glared at the younger knight. He quickly unsheathed his sword and brought it up to his neck as he used his free hand to grab him by his chainmail. "Do you think I draw any pleasure from doing this! By god help us if anyone finds his body! It will be us who will be suffering if he is found not the prince!" He hissed as he continued gripping him tightly by his mail as he slammed him against a tree. His voice slowly grew louder and louder until it was a roar "I have lived a long life and I wish to retire within the year so I may forget the horrors I have done in honor of his majesty! You will not ruin my plans with your insolence! Now shut up and put his body into the hole!" He yelled so loudly his voice echoed. He took a deep breath and let the young one go. He took in a deep breath.

There was a loud noise that came from deep in the trees. It was a loud thump and then the cracking of trees and tree branches. It was a rather nasty sound.

All the men jumped quickly and gathered their swords. Unfortunately for them they had not brought candles nor a torch to light their way. All they could do was simply stare into the darkness in front of them. They all quickly scrambled into a small tight group as they tried to find the source of gut wrenching noise.

"Who goes There!" Roared the sergeant as he stood in front of the three. They stood at the foot of the ditch they had dug as their eyes tried to find what made the sound.

"It must be a b-bear. If we make a lot of noise it will surely go away" said the smallest of the group who was currently standing at the back.

"Bears do not break fucking trees!" growled the poor wretch with the half burnt face as he gripped his sword tightly.

"By order of the Kings Guard of his Majesty Prince Migalo of Kinlatca I order you to step forward and show yourself!" Roared the sergeant as he took a step toward the darkness.

The sack in the ditch moved causing them all to jump up in fright.

"THE FUCKING DEVIL!" Cursed the sergeant as he took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "the son of a bitch is still alive. Someone silence him!"

"I am not going into the fucking ditch just to finish him off. Let us just bury him alive and let him suffocate"

"we cannot risk anyone finding the body ju-"

A loud roar could have been heard coming from deep in the forest and echoed around them. It shook the very trees themselves .

"I-It is the dragon" whimpered the poor welp with the scarred face. "I know his voice. . . it must be him but. . . we blew him up. . . . it is a demon. . . a fucking demon!"

"Hold your ground! We cannot let them both live. . . The dragon is wounded we can take him. .. we can deliver the death blow and sell his hide for gold. Do not turn into cowards in light of a wounded lizard!" His eyes darted around them trying to pinpoint the location of dragon. He must have not been that close for him not to even make sound. At the moment the only sounds he could hear was the shuffling of his men and his own breathing.

The body shifted again and it made them jump. One of them finally got frustrated enough to throw a knife at the body hoping to kill him quickly without having to bother with going inside the ditch. The Knife hit the corner of the sack and dug deep into the earth. Their attention was on the body and they watched the blood stain through the fabric as he slowly stopped moving.

They all stayed quiet in fear of the dragon hearing them. It was all for naught. Slowly they could hear the cracking of trees and the slow menacing footsteps coming towards them.

"Miiigggaaaloooo" it said the name in a low growl as it made it's way toward them.

John stopped moving since it pained him so much to do so. The world seemed to swirl around him in a fog of noise. The ache from his wounds kept him from stirring much but he knew he had to move. Something thudded close to him which startled him enough to keep from moving. He took slow deep breaths to calm himself and try to get a focus on what was happening to him. He heard growling, the sharp sounds of trees cracking and the snarls of some demonic beast before the horrifying shriek of someone being eaten alive. His heart raced with fear at the sound, was he in hell? It certainly sounded like it, however hell wouldn't have kept him tied up and in the same sack he arrived him. He struggled and felt something pull at the sack as if something was stuck in it. John writhed even more to try and figure out what it was. Perhaps a branch penetrated the fabric? It was a glimmer of hope of some way of finding freedom. Despite his aching body, the wounds which shot pain through his core, he continued to struggle. The sounds shrieking and roars continued. Perhaps a bull got free? He could he be so lucky? No, now was the time to focus on getting free while they were distracted with whatever hellish beast was finishing them off. The horrible noise was so close though that it made him lose his focus. Within a few seconds that felt like hours the object broke free. Every time he pulled his body closer to it he could feel the hot sensation of blood pouring out of him. Once it was within reach he could feel what it was. A dagger.

Please don't let me die here . . . I need to live. I need to tell them. I need to. . live

He took his time cutting himself free and finally emerged from the cocoon of the fabric and took in a deep breath of air but what he saw took the sensation of hope and replaced it with utter dread. In front of him was a beast of hell with scales of bronze that were stained with blood. The last of the guardsmen was in his mouth , the bastards entrails gushed out as it snapped him in half. John's eyes widened in horror , he was unable to move or even breath all he could do was stare at the beast in front of him. In that moment he consigned himself to death.

"Leyla. . . I'm sorry"

He sank back as he drifted back into unconsciousness from blood loss and shock. In the darkness he could hear it rumble

"Leeyyllaaaaa"