by Kurup, P. L.
Samuel turned and saw him walking into the room while munching on a croissant.
“I want you to free my wife and two of my friends,” said Samuel.
“No,” Batiste uttered.
“Then, I’d like to offer you something in return for my wife’s freedom and no one else’s,” Samuel bargained.
“What?”
“My chateau and everything in it will be yours and will make you very rich indeed.”
Batiste wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. For the first time, Samuel sensed a glimmer of interest in the man.
“Do you think I became a general by not understanding how the world works?” Batiste posed.
“What do you mean?” asked Samuel.
“You don’t own anything anymore. The chateau and everything in it has most likely been burnt to the ground. Your kind are as precious to me as the rats I kill in my basement… I’m afraid your wife is doomed.”
Samuel charged at Batiste and clamped his hands around his neck. Batiste sputtered for breath, his face turning pallid as his life ebbed away.
“I implore you not to kill me,” Batiste said in a strained voice.
A moment before he snuffed out Batiste’s life, Samuel released his grip on the man and stepped away. Batiste coughed so much that his face turned red, and it took a while before he was back to normal.
“For heaven’s sake, come in here,” Batiste hollered.
Six of his personal guards barged into the room and seized Samuel. The portly guard entered last and stood behind Samuel, hoping not to be seen by Batiste.
“Who was it that released this man from his cell?” Batiste asked. The culprit raised his hand. “Then you are dismissed. And before you leave, you will suffer twenty lashes for your betrayal.” The portly gentleman was escorted out by three guards, and Batiste approached Samuel. “What is your name? Your real name.”
“Count Samuel d’Orleans.”
“You have courage, but no intelligence,” said Batiste. “I could have you killed in an instant if I wanted. I only resisted because it would deprive others the pleasure of watching you die. Take him back to his cell, and for God’s sake, keep an eye on him.”
Samuel was paraded out of the office by the remaining guards and transported back through the corridor and down the constricted stairs. His feet dragged the whole time, and he ignored the duke and duchess when passing their cell. As he neared his own cell, he felt nauseous about the entire episode and how he had failed his wife.
He glanced down the corridor and saw a shadow lurking in the corner. He squinted, trying to get a better view of the person, but he couldn’t tell who it was.
“Stop dawdling and get in your cell,” yelled a guard.
Samuel walked into the jail cell, and Alexandra rushed over and threw her arms around him.
“I am so glad you’re all right,” she said.
“I tried my best, but Batiste…”
“I don’t want to hear anything about General Batiste,” she interrupted. “As long as we’re together, nothing else matters.”
He held her close and ran his fingers through her lustrous blonde hair. He closed his eyes and wished for someone to save them from their fate. He wanted it more than anything else and prayed with such intent he drifted into a trance.
“I will help you,” he heard a voice say.
His eyes opened, yet he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Nevertheless, he knew without a doubt he’d heard the mystifying voice.
Chapter 5
Samuel tried to sleep but couldn’t. As the entire cell slumbered, he alone stared out the window and watched the moon sparkle in the night sky. It was a peaceful evening as all the crowds had gone home, and the only sounds were those of a few barking dogs. Suddenly, even that noise was silenced. The atmosphere was not as calm as it was a second ago, and whatever changed in the last few seconds made him shudder.
A man’s bloodcurdling scream tore through the prison, but was quickly snuffed out. Samuel snuck to the door and looked through its bars. He could see no one, which was odd. Normally, there would be two guards standing near the cell entrance. Someone dashed passed him, ruffling his hair and clothes before stopping in a darkened corner. Samuel glared at the alcove, trying to fathom who it could be. However, the locked door prevented him from leaning any further forward.
“Who’s there?” Samuel called out, but no one answered. “I know you’re there. I saw you run passed me.”
“I have come to make you an offer that will save your life. As well as that of your wife’s,” a man said.
“I am not in the practice of making deals with people I cannot see,” Samuel replied, stepping back from the door.
“I understand it is a difficult decision,” the man replied. “But the consequences would be dire if you resist. I will be back tomorrow night, and I hope by then, you will have come to the right decision.”
A rush of air swept over him as the figure dashed by again. In the sublime tranquility of the cell, Samuel reflected on the man’s offer with greater care.
“What nonsense,” he exclaimed, scoffing at being free.
Samuel forgot about the stranger’s bizarre proposition and fell into a deep sleep. His rest was not peaceful as he was plagued by intense dreams. Visions of blood, death, and torture enveloped him. Of warriors being killed on the battlefield, and unhappy children crying out for their mothers. Samuel willed himself to wake from his nightmare, but something or someone prevented him from doing so. In the last dream, he fell off a great precipice and plummeted into a never ending abyss...
“Samuel, wake up!” he heard Alexandra yell.
He woke with a jolt to see his beautiful wife looking down on him with worry.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, touching her face.
“You were mumbling in your sleep. I thought you might be ill,” she replied.
Her sentences were eclipsed by raised voices coming from the corridor. Samuel stood up and crossed the room to investigate. Once again, the door restricted his view. Then, a prisoner from the adjacent cell whispered, “Two of the guards have been found dead. Their bodies drained of blood.”
Samuel recalled the bloodcurdling scream from the night before, and a chill ran down his spine. He returned to his wife and kept his eyes peeled on the door.
“Are you all right?” Alexandra asked, sounding concerned.
“Actually, something odd happened to me last night.”
“What happened?”
A group of guards making their way to the cell silenced him. Soon, it wasn’t just Samuel who was agitated, as everyone stared at the door. The cell door was unlocked, and the guards poured in one after the other, followed by General Batiste. The general’s confident manner was absent, and this made Samuel watch his every move, knowing how erratic he could be.
“We had an incident last night,” Batiste informed them. Though Samuel remained impassive, Batiste walked up to him and stood nose-to-nose. “It seems incredible, but I know you had something to do with it. Before you came here, things were calmer. Seize him.”
Alexandra rushed to Samuel screaming. “No, take me. I’m ready to die. Take me.”
Samuel pushed his wife behind him and spoke to Batiste in a firm voice.
“This time tomorrow, my wife and I will be ready to meet our fate,” he said. “We will not cause any trouble. Just give us one more day together. I beg you.”
Batiste stared at Samuel, and for reasons known only to himself, answered, “Tomorrow at dawn. That goes for all of you.”
Batiste and his fellow soldiers departed, having given Samuel the crushing ultimatum. Samuel took a breath and closed his eyes in sheer gratitude.
xxx
The crowds cheered the carnage all day. Samuel looked out the window, his tall stature allowing him to see the prisoners from the last cell being boarded onto carts. He made eye contact with the Duke and Duchess of Rennes, and the elderly lady gave him a gentle smile. Samuel’s eyes brimm
ed as he watched his friends being transported to their deaths. No sooner had the carts left, than the prison coach arrived, and from it came more victims. He noted that the new prisoners included young children clinging to their parents’ clothes while being ushered into the prison. Samuel pulled away from the window, not wishing to see anymore. Suppressing the urge to weep, he marched to a corner far away from the window.
“Had enough of death?” asked Fredrick, a young man who looked the same age as Samuel.
“Yes,” muttered Samuel.
“Soon it will be our turn,” Frederick said. Several squirmed and
Alexandra edged closer to Samuel. “Not sure why you didn’t allow Batiste to take you this morning. At least your suffering would be over.”
“Unlike you I have no wish to die,” snapped Samuel.
The man sniggered and Samuel sneered at the pest.
From then on, every noise resulted in terrified souls kissing their crucifixes and holding their loved ones close. The wait was nothing short of torture for Samuel too, and at one point, he wished he had taken up Batiste’s offer.
At sunset, they heard a group of guards marching down the corridor, jangling their door keys.
“Make sure they don’t run away. They can be as slippery as snakes when they want to be,” yelled one of the guards.
Screams of terror filled the room, and one of the women fainted. Alexandra held on to Samuel, and he heard her gasp for air. The guards approached the door, then giggled like naughty children, and shuffled back the way they came, confusing the inmates to no end.
“What happened?” asked Alexandra.
“I think we’ve been the victim of a prank,” said Samuel.
“A prank?” shouted the Marquis of Maine. “How dare they toy with our emotions in this way?”
“They can do whatever they want to us,” said Fredrick. “They could molest every woman here, and nothing will happen to them.”
“That’s enough!” Samuel yelled.
Frederick quieted down, while the rest of the room sighed in relief.
It wasn’t until nightfall they truly relaxed as it meant the killing was over for the day. The prisoners expressed their appreciation by shaking Samuel’s hand and patting him on the back. Rather than enjoy the moment, his heart thumped thinking about Batiste and his men returning in hours. The peculiar gentleman who offered him a way out didn’t seem so ridiculous anymore.
xxx
Samuel stayed awake again while everyone else slept. He waited for the man to turn up, but hour after hour went by with no sign of him. He paced up and down the cell, aware that dawn was hours away. He scrunched his hair with his hands as desperation consumed him.
“Where are you? I want you to turn up now,” he yelled.
He glanced at the others in the room and was overwhelmed with guilt. If the stranger helps us, all these people will die while my wife and I are saved.
“Don’t feel unhappy. Death is inevitable,” a familiar voice said.
Before Samuel reacted, a hand grabbed his shirt from between the bars, and dragged him to the door. Samuel tried to pull away, but the man was too strong. The only thing Samuel could do was turn his head a little. As he did, he saw a royal blue suit made of silk fabric, but nothing more.
“I don’t want this. I want to be free,” Samuel shrieked struggling.
“You will be free,” the man told him.
The stranger leaned in, and he finally saw his abuser’s face. Samuel’s eyes widened because he observed a man who was deathly pale with ruby lips that looked as if they were soaked in blood. But the most striking thing about him were his eyes. They were black in colour and unlike anything Samuel had seen before. Even though the individual displayed all the features of a human – eyes, nose, mouth and hair – Samuel concluded that the creature was far from human.
“Who are you?” Samuel demanded.
“My name is Lucas Renard and I am your salvation,” he answered.
Lucas opened his mouth to reveal a set of sharp fangs on either side of his mouth, he then leaned forward and plunged them into Samuel’s bare neck. Samuel writhed in agony and tried again to free himself, but Lucas held him with a firm grasp. Drops of blood fell onto the straw-covered floor, and Samuel’s eyelids drooped as he weakened. He knew he only had a few more seconds of life left in him, so he closed his eyes and awaited the inevitable. That was when he tasted a metallic substance. Reopening his eyes, he saw Lucas pour a vial of red liquid into his mouth. Samuel perceived the taste as blood, but he didn’t understand what the man was up to.
“Now you are free,” Lucas whispered, releasing him.
Samuel collapsed on the floor and closed his eyes, becoming oblivious to everything.
Chapter 6
Samuel saw himself being chased through a dense forest by a pack of wolves. They drove him further into the darkness, rendering him vulnerable and solitary. He stumbled forward and righted himself, only to be pounced on by a lone wolf that had broken from the pack. The animal ripped the flesh off his chest and tore into his neck. Samuel thrashed his arms about and screamed, but nothing hindered the attack.
Just when all seemed lost, he clasped his hands around the wolf’s slender neck and snapped its bones. The rest of the pack fled, and Samuel leapt to his feet and gazed at his palms in awe of what he’d done. He saw flesh reform on his lacerated chest and sensed the lesions on his neck, face, and hands heal. Within seconds, he was rejuvenated and stronger, better than his former self. He emerged from the forest to be confronted by a narrow ridge with a deep ravine on one side. He continued walking, careful not to lose his footing, as the pebble-strewn earth crunched underfoot. A bitter wind swirled down the mountainside and shoved him back and forth.
“Damn this blasted breeze,” he cried.
He turned a corner and saw a magnificent castle looming before him. It was as romantic as it was foreboding and proudly showed off its grand towers and tall windows. Samuel felt safe looking at the structure, like this was where he was meant to be. As he stepped closer, the ledge crumbled and piles of soil tumbled down on him. He held onto the rocky wall, but the earth opened up under his feet, and he was thrown into the endless ravine…
“Samuel!”
Alexandra’s voice roused him from sleep. He noticed that she and everyone in the cell stared at him.
“You fell into a deep sleep,” Alexandra said. “You were talking loudly and not making sense. What’s this?” He felt her touch the teeth marks on the side of his neck. “It looks like an animal bit you. A dog or a rat.”
“That’s no dog,” yelled Fredrick. “Those marks are human.”
Samuel stood up, and the prisoners reeled back. Alexandra stood up too and took hold of his hand, only to let go of it straight away.
“What’s the matter?” he asked her.
“Your skin… it’s as cold as ice,” she replied.
“What else?” he demanded.
“Your eyes are darker than they were yesterday. Perhaps grey or brown. Your skin is paler too.”
I fear you may be dying, she thought to herself. Samuel frowned as he heard every syllable his wife imagined. The words were as clear as if she had spoken them aloud. He dared not tell her as it would only make her worry. Instead, he looked to the window as the first rays of sunlight poured in. The radiance smothered him from head to toe, and he felt his body drain of energy. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed on the filthy floor, forcing Alexandra to crouch down.
“Tell me what’s wrong,” she pleaded.
“Last night, I was visited upon by the devil,” he said.
His reply made her eyes well up, and she held him tighter. The prisoners watched in silence and looked as perplexed by the events as Samuel and Alexandra were.
“I know what’s wrong with him. He has the plague,” Frederick stated.
The entire room murmured and shifted as far away from Samuel and his wife as possible. The ones at the back being crushed by the
tide of souls.
“Let us out,” they yelled.
“There’s death in here.”
“We don’t want to die.”
xxx
The uproar got the attention of General Batiste, who was eating a hearty breakfast in his office. He continued munching on his food despite the chaos. A guard rushed into his room, and Batiste jumped at the intrusion.
“There’s pandemonium in the lower cells, sir. I think there may be problems,” the guard said.
“It’s a trick to make us set them free. Get the prisoners ready for transportation. Start with the last cell on the lower floor,” Batiste ordered, dabbing his lips with a napkin.
“Yes, sir.” The guard left the office eager to do his bidding.
Batiste finished his meal of eggs and bread, gulped down his tar-like coffee, and polished the many buttons on his tunic. Once he was spruced up, he smirked at the thought of putting Samuel and Alexandra to death.
xxx
Several floors below, Samuel shivered and coughed, and his frail body was drenched in perspiration. He saw Alexandra’s breath burst in and out of her chest and grabbed her arm to offer her some comfort. Soon, the ominous thud of footsteps made their way to the room.
“Oh, my God. Samuel, you have to stand up,” she shouted.
Samuel was incapable of doing so. Hence, she used every ounce of strength she had to help him to his feet. He swayed to and fro, and she held onto him to keep him steady.
“Try to stay still,” she muttered.
All eyes were trained on the wooden door, and sure enough, it was unlocked and opened. One by one, the guards flooded in. The last to enter was General Batiste, who examined every prisoner there.
“It looks like you will all face Madame La Guillotine today,” Batiste announced.
Horrified cries swept the cell, and thirty-one inmates scurried to the corners to avoid capture. The ten guards were joined by an eleventh. All had their rifles trained on the victims. Samuel let go of Alexandra’s hand and stood unaided. He glanced at Batiste and walked confidently out of the cell, accompanied by his wife. The rest followed without trouble, some crying, many holding their loved one’s hands. Samuel led the group passed the adjacent cell and noticed the prisoners there watching him in gloomy silence.
