Escape from the cage Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Escape from the Cage

The forest was thick with silence, save for the occasional rustle of leaves under the weight of some unseen creature. A breeze whispered through the trees, and with it came the soft scent of pine and damp earth. Somewhere deep within this vast woodland, a girl crouched beside the gnarled roots of a great oak, her breath uneven, her pulse racing.

Her name was Elara, and she was blind.

It wasn’t always this way. There was a time, long ago, when Elara could see the world in vivid colors, when the sun had warmed her skin, and the sky had been a brilliant expanse of blue. But those days were only memories now, faded and distant, just like the light that no longer reached her eyes.

She had lived in the cage for what felt like an eternity, surrounded by darkness and chains. Her captors were unknown to her — voices in the shadows, cruel hands that kept her locked away in the heart of the forest. She didn’t know why she had been taken, or what they wanted from her. All she knew was that she had to escape.

Tonight, the opportunity had come.

The key to her cage had been left carelessly on a nearby rock, a mistake that her captors would regret. Elara had listened for hours, waiting for the sounds of their retreating footsteps, her fingers trembling as they reached out to grasp the cold metal. She had learned to navigate the world by sound and touch, mapping the small area of her prison in her mind, counting the steps, memorizing the texture of every surface. When the moment came, she moved without hesitation.

Now, she was free. Or at least, as free as one could be in the middle of a vast, unfamiliar forest with no sense of sight to guide her.

Elara’s hand skimmed the rough bark of the tree as she stood, ears straining for any sign of pursuit. The forest was eerily quiet, as though it were holding its breath. She knew she couldn’t stay here. She had to keep moving, even if every step felt like a gamble in the dark.

Carefully, she placed one foot in front of the other, her boots sinking into the soft earth. Each step was slow, deliberate, as she tried to make as little noise as possible. Her senses were heightened, attuned to the subtle shifts in her environment — the way the air cooled slightly when she approached water, the scent of wildflowers that occasionally drifted by, the low hum of insects in the distance.

Suddenly, a twig snapped to her left. Elara froze, her heart pounding in her chest. She couldn’t tell how close it was, or if it was just an animal. She crouched low, one hand resting against the ground, feeling the vibrations through the soil. Nothing moved. The silence stretched on, oppressive and thick.

Then came the voices.

Faint at first, but growing louder. She recognized them — the men who had kept her locked away for so long. They were coming for her.

Panic surged through her, but she forced herself to stay calm. She had to think, had to be smarter than them. They could see, but she had something they didn’t — an intimate knowledge of the forest floor. She had spent every waking hour in that cage listening to the sounds of the forest, committing its rhythms and secrets to memory.

Elara rose to her feet, moving swiftly now, her hands outstretched to brush against trees and shrubs. She avoided the open spaces, staying close to the thickest parts of the forest where she could easily hide. Her breath came in short, sharp bursts, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop.

She heard them behind her, closer now. Their footsteps were heavier, less careful. They weren’t afraid of being heard — they were hunters, and she was their prey.

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