"Caged" by Emma-Jane C. Smith

Suddenly, one caught sight of him and the chase was on again. Harry was not used to running for so long a time and a stitch in his side hindered his progress. Behind him he heard the noise of their feet as they got closer and closer to him. The hunters were catching up to the hunted. Quickly Harry stopped, dropped to the earth, rolled and lay hidden in the jungle underbrush. The hunters had lost sight of him.

As the creatures searched, Harry slowly crept forward to the closest creature, careful not to break the cover of the ferns around him. With great speed he jumped up, pulled it to the ground and slit its throat with the small knife he carried. Unfortunately for he had not been fast enough and the hunter, turned hunted, had let out a scream. Even though the scream was satisfactorily cut off by a gurgle, he knew the others would be on him now. The other hunters turned to him as he held the now bloodied knife out in front of him as a warning. The creatures conversed in their own language before begining their attack. The creature to Harry's right charged for him, but that was a diversion. He was struck by a strange dart that the second creature had shot out of a long black, metallic thing and he crumpled to the ground.

He, the hunted, woke up in a strange cage, the walls a brilliant white and padded softly to make tiny clouds in rows along the walls. A man dressed in strange clothes walked into the room. He tried to leap across and scratch at the man, but found that his torso was tied in a white material in a way that made his arms hug his body tightly. A snarl grew across Harry’s face. He was almost wild with the thought that he had been caged. The creature began to talk to him, he even thought he could understand what it was saying.

“Harry.” it said, “Where have you been all this time?” he backed away from the noisy creature and poised himself to attack reguardless of his tied arms. Harry wanted to get out, he wanted to get away now, this very instant. But he bided his time. He waited. His captor then turned away with an exasperated sigh, that’s when Harry lunged. He used his legs to push the man out of the doorway and caused him to go sprawling on the ground. Now out of the white padded cell, Harry ran for the door that would lead home, to the outside. Just as he could taste freedom, something smacked into the back of Harry’s head and he fell to the ground. He managed to grab a paperclip in his mouth from the floor before they stung him. The poison working fast, causing him to meet oblivion again.

Harry dreamed of stars, the stars that called him. The stars that sang for him. The stars that were his family, his friends, his life. As Harry woke he noticed nothing but the bright white of his cell, he ignored everything and withdrew into himself . Time passed and he hungered for the forest trees, the cool breeze caressing his cheeks. In his cell he curled up in a ball, muscles taught and unyielding. Harry wished he were free.

That night, when all was quiet, Harry slipped a previously pilfered paper clip out of his mouth. Harry worked himself out of his restraints. Working at the lock he prised open the doors of his prison. He could taste freedom.

Harry ran, ran like the wind for freedom. Freedom, something he had long missed. A thing he had nearly forgotten the taste of. Tears came to his eyes as he leaped over the last boundary that separated him from sweet freedom. He had the last laugh. He, Harry was free like he never dreamed he would be again. A huge clap of thunder was followed by a searing pain. He felt his heart breaking, but Harry smiled still. He was finally free. No one could take that from him. His mortal body fell to the soft, wet grass. His spirit soared on. Higher and higher. To the stars.

“So… Stephanie, what do you think of the story?” asked her mother. The young woman turned from the window where she had been staring at the stars. She stared into he mother’s eyes, engulfing them. Then she whispered something to quiet to hear, and a tear slid slowly down her cheek. She then turned back to gazing at the stars that somehow flickered brighter. A slow, sad smile lightly touching her lips.