‘OK big guy, this is the end of your journey and probably your life!’
‘What’ I said.
‘Yeah, you will be lucky to survive the flogging by the Bourin executioner, he uses a chain to lash the hell out of you, Ha, you poor ugly bastard.’
I get to my feet in an instant. The reaction is instantaneous panic. I get hit by three blasters set on stun; I went down like a ton of bricks in an enormous sack.
I wake up in the Astral World; in fact, I am in my own bed with my wife stroking my brow.
‘Don’t worry, you will survive the attack, please trust in the Guardians.’ I look around and there is my son, staring at me. ‘You can do anything, Dad, you’re like a superhero but just for now act like a super softie and it will save your life!’ I wake up with a throbbing headache, and a lack of use in my left arm and leg.
‘You’re not so big now, eh, fella.’
I know I have to act stupid and weak. I lay there looking at them with my cat type eyes, even that makes them uneasy. I can sense the feeling coming back into my limbs, also I know it has made me even stronger, I don’t know what has happened but I know I have to be careful of injuring myself. I am too strong even for this body. I have enough strength to squash a steel plate with my two fingers, but it will also squash my bones.
‘Out!’
It is the chief guard. I pretend to limp out of the shuttle, but in reality, I can jump fifty yards if I want to, and I want to. I want to smash everything in a mile radius.
‘In,’ shouted the same guard. An open top vehicle with a cage around it is parked nearby. I get in, but I have to squeeze into it, I feel claustrophobic, I never liked to be in small places when I was a teacher so I guess the fear stems from there. The other guards got into a large bus type vehicle nearby while two more sat at the front of my vehicle. The panic is now setting in, I feel like smashing the cage to pieces which I can do with ease, but the guards will kill me. I had to squat down and hold myself in check. Just a short time and I will be free. It takes an agonizing three hours to get to the place of punishment. It is a large courtyard with a surrounding wall and a tall steel fence with ugly spikes on top. There are cages all over the place, they are stacked outside and inside with a collection of life forms in them; some are obviously dead, some had been there a long time and were stinking!
What the Hell have I let myself in for? All I can think of is my son saying you’re like a Superhero Dad! When I came out of my nice day dream, I notice some prehistoric birdlike creatures pecking at the corpses in the cages, also rats as big as cats running about between the bars; they sure are a successful species, I suppose you can`t really improve on them no matter what planet you’re on. What am I thinking! I have to get myself together.
“Hey, you, Tourgen, you are to be dealt with right away. We don’t ’t want the risk of you escaping, you are to be flogged by chain until dead. The execution will be long and painful’
‘Wait a minute!’ I shouted, it is supposed to be a punishment and then I’m to be freed!’
‘No’ shouted the guard. The order has just come through, you are too dangerous.
My mind is in uproar, how come Grenwer didn’t know? Or is this some sort of plan. Was I deliberately not told? I now had to think of some way to get out of this hell hole.
Right, they think I’m stupid and easily killed, well I’ll show them, and to hell with the karma.
‘Out,’ shouted the guard.
I squeeze myself out of the cage bending the metal bars of the door doing it. I can see more than twenty guards of different shapes and sizes standing about.
‘Move,’ the head guard said. I can see the executioner about fifty yards away standing on a sort of scaffold in the middle of the area. I notice people are gathering on seats that are being placed around the area. Surely that can’t be for me?
‘You’re the star of the show today.’ said the chief guard. ‘Whenever a Tourgen gets flogged, it’s a special occasion.’
I can see there are dozens of different alien types of people, most are cruel looking but all are humanoid in appearance. The guard said ‘They know it will take ages and be cruel. That is what the people want and so we won’t disappoint them, will we?’ As we approached the scaffold, I can see the executioner is a large troll-like creature known as the Bourin. He is about fifteen feet tall and about sixty stone. If I stand a chance it has to be before he strikes with the chain.
‘Get on the scaffold,’ the head guard said. I start to climb up. The Bourin said `I’m going to enjoy this.’
The smell coming from his mouth is terrible, worse than anything on Earth!
‘I`m going to cut you down to the bone first and then I’ll start to smash your face. I know it will take a long time, that is why I like to execute Tourgens, It gives me a good workout.’
He fastened me into a metal loop in the floor of the scaffold. I notice there is no cage around the scaffold, maybe they think there is no place to run to or, simply that, there are too many guards, another thing I notice is that most of the guards have their weapons holstered.
‘If you believe in any sort of God, now is the time to pray,’ the security chief said. In fact, I did pray a little, for them!
As I kneel down, I grasp the chains that are around my wrists, I know I can break them easily, the question is, will I be quick enough to stop the guards. The Bourin said, ‘Right, Man-Beast I will cut your suit off first, and then I’m going to start.’ As he took out a large knife from his belt, I pull at the chains; they brake easily, with one swoop I bring the chains and the metal loop around hitting the Troll in the face killing him instantly, I then break the chains around my ankles. In the next instant, with speed that even stuns me, I jump down and onto two of the guards, one being the head guard, smashing their heads together and killing them. I then grab one of their weapons. The other guards are staring in stunned silence, I don’t have time to look whether it is on stun or kill, I just fire, luckily for them, it is on stun, they are out before they can think, I look around, there is panic everywhere. I scan the area for any more guards, but they must have got the message, all I can think of is escape, I look for an exit, I notice a figure on the wall above the area waving to me, I at once, know it is Reeas, the female Tourgen, I run as fast as I can and jump the twenty feet wall easily. ‘Come,’ she said. I know if I am really a Tourgen, and I suppose I am, I could love someone like Reeas, she is unusually attractive for a Beast-Woman, but I suppose it is the beast in me coming out, she said she has a transport a short distance away, she also said we can`t go to the hotel as the security people will be there once they find out about the incident. I said, ‘How did you know I would be given the death-penalty.’ she said she had contacts in high places. I thought, thank God, or rather, Sionn!’