Chapter 11: When the morning has broken

When I woke up, my world was on fire.

Deep aching washed over my body in pulses of dull pain that came with my heartbeat. Panic settled in, and as my heart rate increased, so too did my misery

W-what?

My eyes were hazy, watered with unshed tears. In the blurred world, dizziness hit me with an onslaught, pain erupted in the back of my head, and I had to settle down or risk throwing up all over myself.

Probably concussion, some rational part of my mind, not gripped with fear and pain, told me.

I tried to squirm around but I couldn’t. My hands and legs were bound.

This is it, the thought hit me. I severed the head, but the body’s still living.

Surely they would come any moment now, the dogs furious about the death of their leader. They would torture me to death, bring upon me even greater pain before ending it all in eternal darkness.

And that thought scared me.

But the fear didn’t grip me in its claws. Rather, it helped me clear the haziness away both from my mind and my sight. I blinked a few times, tears escaping and trickling down my face, before falling into a bucket below me.

That’s when I realized the pressure on my stomach and ribs. I was lying face down on some kind of… bed, I guess. I couldn’t move my head around, as it was lodged into some kind of opening.

At the bottom of the bucket was, what I somehow realized, my drool. There was a lot of it, and the image of translucent liquid immediately flared up great thirst in me. Smacking my lips a bit to wet them and prevent them from cracking, I proceeded to roll my eyes around trying to see more of my surroundings. However, my entire vision was filled with the wooden bucket and tiled floor.

There’s something more I realized. Sunlight gleamed off the liquid. Honest to god sunlight. That meant my ass was no longer stuck in the underground hell of blue crystals. But how did I get here?

As the sunlight reflected upon the bucket, it made my eyes hurt. Pain once again overwhelmed the back of my head, and darkness crept up on me in the corner of my eyes for a few seconds.

When I opened my eyes again, the sun had visibly moved. Perhaps a few hours had gone. But nevermind that, as the pain receded greatly during my impromptu nap. With my senses no longer overrun by agony, I decided to bring some attention to myself.

“Hello?” Calling out with my hoarse throat was almost painful. I needed a drink, and I don’t just mean water.

When no one came, I tried in Balderdash, the language still strange on my tongue even after all this time. Yelling again took more of my meagre strength, nonetheless I forced myself to be louder. “Hello?”

Yet again no one answered. No one came.

“Dammit,” I wheezed out, before closing my mouth and gulping air in vain attempt to ease the scratchiness of my throat. With nothing more to do, I eased myself into the bed or whatever I lay on.

Closing my eyes once again, silence fell upon me like a blanket. Light at first, but heavy all too soon.

The silence pressed on me still, and it made me think about unpleasant things.

The dogs. The air suddenly became acrid with iron and scald. My hands felt the bed under me, soft, like the fur of the dog I sneaked up on.

But I didn’t feel regret, surprisingly. I felt… indifferent, really. Though the thought of killing others wasn’t pleasant, I was convinced, for better or worse, that they deserved it. To enslave others and hold their children hostage—yes, they deserved everything that came to them, though looking back to my time in the prison cell, the children weren’t malnourished or visibly wounded. Perhaps what Doc’d said was true.

Doesn’t make it right, my own answer shattered any kind of remorse that could bubble up in the compassionate part of my heart.

Then, however, the cry of one particular dog echoed seemingly in the empty room. The cry of pain as he hit the wardrobe, cracking it slightly.

The tears of a dog that had to see his son get hurt.

What would I do if I saw my own little brother’s body battered? What would I do to the one responsible?

Trying to shake off the rising thoughts and images that I dared not to think about, but failing miserably with my head still trapped in the opening of the bed, I instead focused on my own spit drifting slowly from my mouth before falling into the bucket below. But the thoughts we try to push out always come back the hardest.

I did it for my brother. Yes. Everything. The killing, the hurting, all of it. And I would do it all over again if it meant being closer to Michael, even if by just a step toward his direction.

They deserved it. Yes, they did. Yes, for Michael.

While being enthralled by my thoughts and my own drool glistening in what appeared to be an afternoon light, my ears didn’t pick up the soft sound of padded paws on the tiled floor, until a goddamn gryphon pushed the bucket away with his head, dopey smile plastered on his face, and beak parted in a cheery, “Hello!”

I jumped in my bed, painfully jerking against the restraints. Saliva went flying everywhere. That erased the smile off the gryphon’s face, but brought a grin to my own.

“Sorry, Paul,” I half chuckled, half gasped for breath from the pain that flared in my left lower back.

My friend gave me a death glare, before moving away from underneath the table and out of my sight.

“A little, umm, help, over here?” I called out after him, hoping he wouldn’t leave me strapped here for whatever reason.

“Yes, yes,” he muttered and sputtered a little, before again appearing in front of my face. “Kočpej,” he said.

“Coczpay?” I repeated, tasting the word.

He sighed, before carefully saying in Balderdash and gesturing along, “I –” he jabbed a talon at himself  “– go.”

Then he pointed in some direction to the left. I nodded before he continued, “You –” he almost poked my eye out “– Kočpat here.”

He raised his... index talon, I guess, then pointed to the ground. I guess he wanted me to stay or something. Not like I had the option of going anywhere. Speaking of going somewhere, my bladder was killing me.

Still, I nodded but inquired in an urgent tone, “Hurry! I need to pee. Psst psst, aaah! You know?”

Paul nodded uncertainly before moving away. Soon there was the sound of a door being shut. Silence reigned once more.

Not a moment too soon the sound of a door opening woke me from my reverie. Two voices engaged in a conversation drifted into the room, coming closer to me. One I recognized as Paul’s, the other I didn’t know.

About damn time. Another half an hour and I’d probably let it out right there and then.

“Robdé náro,” said the unfamiliar voice.

“Hello,” I replied, not really knowing what the unfamiliar gryphon said. Well, I assumed it was a gryphon. In my reverie, I’d started assuming I was back in the lumberjacking village, in some kind of clinic perhaps.

The straps binding me loosened up, and I would’ve risen up immediately if something didn’t start holding me down. No, that’s not the correct phrase. It felt more like something pressed against me from all sides, holding me in place. There was also a strange faint light of mint green at the edge of my vision.

The something took hold of me, and it moved me into a sitting position without ever letting me go. As the elevation changed, my vision darkened while blood came pouring into my brain. It made me dizzy and sick again, but not enough to start projecting my inner self into the surrounding world.

When my mind cleared, I noticed something. I couldn’t move my head, body, nothing. Couldn’t even lift a finger. That got my fear meter rising again.

“Hms hin hon?” What’s going on, I tried to ask, realizing soon that my mouth was out of my control, too.

But now, at least, the whole room and its additional two occupants beside me were revealed.

The room definitely had the “hospital” kind of feeling to it. White walls that weren’t surprisingly wood. The floor wasn’t either—large, white tiles covering every inch of it. The daylight was coming from my right, so I assumed there was a window or two there. Unless there was more space behind me, the whole room wasn’t really big, but could fit another patient nonetheless.

The big surprise, however, was the small ochre unicorn wearing a labcoat dwarfed by the bigger gryphon standing beside him, who was also shooting me a happy grin.

His horn was glowing with light green aura. The same color I could see in the corner of my eyes was enveloping me.

So, this is magic? More curious than afraid now, I studied the curling light around his horn as he slowly stepped in front of me, then behind me.

Suddenly, there was a jab of searing pain in my left lower back that overshadowed the dull ache of my entire body. Yelping with my mouth still closed, the aura held me still, thus preventing me from jerking from the pain.

There was a silent, “tsk!” from the doctor’s direction, then a slightly louder, “hmm!” I hmm’d in return.

The aura suddenly disappeared. I could feel myself being released. That meant now was the time for something else to get released. Since there were no doors in front of me, I turned my gaze left as the doctor went back to Paul, with whom he started chitchatting.

There was a door there, plain and white. Those probably led outside, because as I slowly looked behind myself – while the pain in my lower back returned as I did so – there was another door, but this time with a big water drop painted on it in black. No guesses there.

Not wasting time I slowly got up. However, as soon as my feet hit the ground, my legs kicked into overdrive and my entire body basically flew to the bathroom door. There was a shout from behind me, but I paid it no mind. Almost tearing the door off its hinges, I scrambled inside, slamming it shut behind me.

For a week I’ve been constricted to a bed. For a week I wasn’t allowed to leave the room for some reason. I guess it was for my own good, but still. Damn was it boring without technology to occupy my infinitely free time.

So it was that Paul would come every time he could – though I didn’t know what else he was doing that required him to be away so often,  – and teach me some new words and grammar. The progress I’ve made in the week was absolutely... non-existing. With pain occupying my every waking second, it was really hard to stay focused and not doze off from constant fatigue. The lower back rib, fractured I guess, was making my life difficult. Not to mention that my feet and legs still hurt from walking for a few days straight. But I did learn something: hiking is not fun.

The food was… actually kinda surprising. The first food they served me – that was also my first lunch – was a large plate with a lot of things on it. Everything possible from grass to meat. Paul probably forgot to tell them what a human eats. So, I picked up some meat, fruit, vegetables, etc. The following days I’d only get what I’d picked up at my first lunch.

Then there were the regular doctor visits. About a thousand different doctors would often check up on me, studying my body, studying my reactions to certain stuff, studying everything. I let them. Though I didn’t like feeling like a lab rat, it was the least I could do to help them help me get better through higher knowledge of my physiology. Plus, it was better than being strapped to some table where they would be free to experiment on an entirely new species they’ve never seen before. Yeah, put like that, I was lucky once again.

Paul would always be present throughout these tests, making sure the doctors didn’t go too far. Not like they ever did, but the notion was still much appreciated. That is, he was at almost every test. Whenever they wanted me to get undressed, Paul promptly left the room. Even now he left, leaving me alone with one of those crazy-ass female pony doctors who always seemed to wear a smile. Talk about uncanny valley.

How do you even call pony males and females? Stallions and mares? But were someone to tell me to picture a stallion or a mare, I’d picture a horse, not a pony. Are there, like, pony equivalents? Hmm. No matter, it’s not like these creatures were Earth-like. Their goddamn saucers peering at me like two abysses that threatened to swallow me up was even more frightening than seeing a beak curl upward in that creepy gryphon smile. Gah!

Anyway, I figured there really wasn’t much harm in getting undressed. There seemed to be some kind of cultural thing for not wearing clothes being the norm, while wearing them was considered a profession or rich thing from what I could gather. The doctors and nurses wore lab coats, yes, but it didn’t really conceal anything. They still had their asses stuck up high into the air for everyone to see no matter if you wanted to or not.

Well, it’s not like I could really stop them or, in this case, her. She was a unicorn, like a lot of the other pony doctors. If they wanted to, they could just rip the clothes off me with their magic, manipulate me in any way they wanted, and I’d be absolutely powerless to do anything. It was better to play it safe. To do as they said.

Thirty minutes later, the pony left my room – still smiling like a plastic barbie doll – and one blushing gryphon came back in.

“What?” I asked innocently, but I knew very well how it must’ve looked. Though, fortunately, nothing inappropriate did happen except for still feeling slightly uncomfortable being naked. Though they had basically unlimited power over me, they still treated me nicely and with respect.

“Inc,” he replied before sitting his feathery background into a comfy chair he had someone bring in. We were going through some words again, but this time he had the luxury of having some books with a lot of pictures. They looked like they were made for a three year old, which is exactly how I felt in this new, unknown world. Like a small kid, but without all the benefits of careless joyful adventures that come with the territory.

By the end of the week, and with the help of all those doctors, the pain had practically faded into nothingness now, but still they kept me locked in there for another week. To run more tests on such a unique specimen – truly an opportunity that couldn’t be passed up – or if they truly cared for my well being, I don’t know. Having to guess, the latter was more likely. All those smiles they gave me, showing real concern. How did I deserve all of that?

The answer came the day before I left.

There was a silent knock on my door, almost wouldn’t have noticed it hadn’t I been awake for quite some time due to my mind being a jumbled mess of emotions and new words that Paul had taught me.

“Come in,” I yelled, not looking toward the door, presuming it was another doctor. But, when the telltale questions I couldn’t answer didn’t come, I looked away from the most interesting ceiling and toward the newcomer.

Pardon me, newcomers.

In came a familiar gryphon and a child, one kinda recognized by my hazy numb mind too. It was the ill gryphon and the small cub near him had to be his child. The gryphon looked much better now, probably thanks to getting help from an actual doctor rather than the presumed changeling one.

The cub – unmistakably male now that my eyes recognized a certain pattern for females and for males – was also pretty happy, beaming up with a huge grin. It was cute and kinda wrong with the smile and all of that. But I got mostly used to it a while ago, so it was more cute than creepy. That thought led to a smile of my own.

The gryphon started talking. He stuttered somewhat, and made gestures that obviously conveyed nervousness or shyness—rubbing his chest, the back of his head, looking anywhere but at me, and so on. Then he finished, looking at me from the corner of his left eye, obviously waiting for me to do something.

Not wanting to spoil the moment, I smiled once again and nodded gratefully.

The gryphon beamed at me with a warmly. That, coupled with  his son happily leaning against him, made my heart all fuzzy. That image alone was enough to calm the storm in my mind. And all was alright once again.

After those two, mostly uneventful, weeks, I was released. Whatever they did at the hospital seemed to help, because I felt like a new person. The pain and exhaustion were completely gone.

They gave me back my clothes. However, I could see the ponies had some repulsion towards them and were glad when they didn’t have to handle it in any way anymore. The gryphons were cool with it, though. The clothes seemed to have been washed prior to receiving them. It was nice to have them back after wearing some sort of hospital gown they whipped out from somewhere, and which was obviously tailored in haste.

Getting on my boots and wool socks that were smelling quite nice now too, Paul led me down a hospital hallway leading straight out through a pair of glass doors. Behind me the hallway led to a set of metal double-doors with a pair of small circular glass windows in each. The surgery room, probably. Unless there was another branch of the hospital, there appeared to only be ten rooms, two of which had silver nameplates on them. Then there was a small reception and waiting room, after which lay the exit. If the hospital was so small, where did all the doctors come from?

But no wonder it was so small. Bidding the nurse attending to the reception a goodbye, we stepped outside. I was immediately greeted with a familiar sight—the lumberjacking village. Looking behind me, I discovered why such a modern hospital didn’t stand out like a fist in the eye in such a small, backwards village. It was meticulously paneled with wood and thatch to not make it stand out. Why anyone would do that was beyond me.

Again I faced the square, where gryphons bustled about, selling and buying things. There seemed to be some sort of sale going on. Overall, there had to be the entire village cramped there.

There was a yell to my right. Almost instantly, half the gryphons looked toward me. The others, wondering what was going on, followed their brethrens’ gazes. Thus it was that I had the attention of the entire village. More yells started to sound throughout the crowd, and soon I was smothered by a few brave souls that seemed to be really excited upon seeing me for some reason.

“What’s going on?!” I tried to yell at Paul who meanwhile stepped a little sideways to give my… “followers” more space. But alas, my meek yell was drowned out in the sea of excited chatter. Looking at Paul, the smug bastard smiled at me.

Soon I was surrounded, trapped, encircled by a lot of carnivorous predators. However, about half of them were smaller than the regular gryphons, those standing a little behind, smiling at the antics of the younger ones. The other half were all grown up and stuff, looking really grateful for some reason.

The crowd parted a little as the familiar dark grey gryphon with white-streaked chest stepped forward. Unlike last time, though, his chestnut eyes no longer promised doom upon my soul. Rather, he was smiling—something I found uncharacteristic of him in our passing acquaintance. In his right claw he held a large pouch.

The crowd fell silent as he entered the ring, strolling forward until he was in front of me. I looked down at him, and he looked up at me. A sort of strange feeling befell me, as if we were companions from long ago, but until now didn’t remember each other.

“Thank you,” he said warmly before handing me the pouch, I accepted it uncertainly. It was pretty heavy, and a lot of things jingled in it. Before he could withdraw his claw, I clasped my hand around it, and we shook our respective appendages in a sort of “you’re welcome.”

The crowd erupted in cheering, my heart aflutter. Though I’d probably never know for certain, somehow I felt that it was because of what I’d done in the mines. Logically speaking, it was the only reason I could think of. Plus, the pouch had a lot of precious-looking gems in it, so there was that for proof.

After the heartfelt exchange between me and their leader, the crowd dispersed, though I could still feel their eyes on me. Paul toured me throughout the small village. He’d even, with some reluctance from me, lift me up into the air to let me see the entirety of it.

The beauty of it all, the harmony in which the gryphons lived with their surroundings; it was… liberating.

That night we were invited to stay at the personal house of the leader, which was also the city hall. It had a huge room in its forefront which looked to be designed to hold a large number of people. There were two rows of tables and chairs – though they looked more like pillows than traditional human chairs – dominated the entire room. And it was filled to the brim with gryphons and some ponies. A feast was taking place, and Paul and I were invited. My guess was it was held in celebration of all that’d happened—the liberation of the mines, the freeing of slaves, the sacrifice of liberators.

The night quickly became a blur induced by heavy amounts of rough ale that quickly got into my mind. Indeed, the nonsensical conversations I was having with other gryphons who started to look the same. Paul trying to flaunt in front of others with his impromptu dancing number. All of which was followed by more gryphons throwing away their social barriers, joining in on the fun in their own special, drunken ways.

For a single night, I was truly happy again, all my problems simply leaving me. For a moment, I forgot about my journey, my brother, and my justified crimes.

Yes, all was indeed alright once again, if only for a single moment.