Heir of the Land of Tears

Merridy was a resilient young woman, despite her obvious inhibitions. Renel wouldn't hold her here forever, and she knew it. So, day by day as she worked around in his bunker and his fenced property, she made a visual image of the land in her head. She was underestimated, much cleverer than she appeared. Within a few months, she knew every square metri by touch better than Renel did by sight. On the sixteenth day of the fourth month, she executed her plan of escape.

First--she woke up early in the morning when she knew Renel still slept. She quietly crawled along the floorboards, making sure to put her weight on the ones she had memorized as the least creaky. Crawling silently around the room, Merridy made her way carefully to the front door. When she reached the the prickly doormat she had learned to hate, Merridy slowly stood up and turned to her left, feeling for the corner of the cupboard. She needed the key to the gate, which he always hid from her in the top shelf of the cupboard--but she could hear it, the scratching of the iron against the wood when he placed it up there. From the doormat, she scooted her way up onto the countertop, standing up, careful to not lose her balance (for if she fell, she would surely injure herself and most likely wake up her captor) and slowly opened the cupboard. She reached for the top shelf and sure enough, there was the iron key. She fingered it, feeling it's ridges and its intricacy for a moment.

Now, she had to make her way outside as to not wake Berrnix. Quiet as the soft wind on a hill of green, she eased her way down from the countertop and smoothly and cautiously opened the heavy door. She had made sure to clean herself as well as she could the last night, so she wouldn't be as noticeable to the sensitive nose of the dog. Unfortunately for her, her efforts in the matter proved to be pointless, as the large dog wandered over to her in just a few moments of her stepping out the door.

She silently thanked the dog--this was one of the few mornings that the dog didn't bark when she came out to do her work. She threw the dog a piece of meat that she had stolen the last night. She could hear the snorts of the beast as he devoured his treat.

She silently walked over to the gate, her bare feet sliding against the cool, dewy grass. Still fingering the key, she reached the gate. Running her hands up and down the sides, she found the lock that had kept her a prisoner the last few months. Now, for possibly the most difficult part of her escape--she had to blindly insert the key into the keyhole. She felt along the underside of the lock, making a mental image of how it looked, and how the key would fit in. Raising the iron key, she pushed it into the keyhole first try and turned.

Click.

She pulled the squeaking gate open and made a run for it as fast as she could. She stuck her arms out in front of her as her bare feet pounded against the forest floor, as to avoid any trees she might run into. In a minute, she heard swift footsteps behind her. From the sound of it, it wasn't Renel. Nonetheless, she ran faster. Tripping over a fallen tree, she tumbled down a steep hill. She felt branches and rocks tear at her skin, and she lost consciousness.

Merridy awoke feeling battered... and chained. A deep gouge ran along her back, and the pain stung and made her sightless eyes water. However, all her wounds were patched and bandaged. She struggled to get up, but iron bracelets around her neck, wrists, and ankles, held her down.

"Don't try something like that again," Renel marveled. "You'll spoil that pretty body of yours."