Olly, Olly, Oxen Frey (The Curious Land of Frey Book 1) by Paul Manchester

Author:Paul Manchester [Manchester, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: LGBT coming out, individuation
Publisher: Wil Whimsey Publishing Co
Published: 2020-06-29T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 34

The Prisoner

Jack stared in shock at the prisoner on the other side of the cell. He was human. The older man returned his gaze with a curious excitement. He would have been handsome – if not for the crazy glint in his eyes. The prisoner was dressed in rags – which seemed odd next to the clean shaven face. The ragged blond hair needed a good washing. There was a glowing blue metal donut locked about his neck. It didn’t look very comfortable.

“Welcome ta my humble abode, young ‘un.”

“You’re human.” Jack observed.

“Well, I try ta be.” said the man. His jaw was limited in its movement by the neck device. His mumbling lips gave a sort of ventriloquist quality to the voice.

Now that he found himself with an adult human, all the horrors of the last week rushed upon Jack. Tears sprang uninvited to his eyes. Jenny’s disappearance, losing Finn underground, being kidnapped by horrible creatures and waking up on a wall of half-dead kids! A gigantic, reptilian blue lady! He hadn’t a clue as to where he was or how he got here! He’d never felt so alone in his life. But maybe this adult would know what was going on.

“That Doritte creature wants to cook and eat me?!” Jack asked.

“Yup. That be pretty much the gist o’ it. I’m sure she be rustlin’ through her cookbooks now, afore she somehow misses d’opp’rtun’ty,” quipped the man as he eyed the boy in diapers.

“This whole place is a loony bin.” Including this strange guy, Jack thought. He sank to a bench on the other side of the cell. It seemed best to keep a healthy distance from this man who was staring so intently at him.

It was a large cell – dimly lit through the barred window. Prisoners must come in all sizes judging by the large cot on the back wall below the window. The wall behind Jack was rough rock, but the window wall, door wall, and the wall opposite wall (where the man was sitting) were mortared stonework like the rest of the castle. He wondered if there was a way to escape. Adventure books always had convenient loose bits of mortar and a secret passage.

The man now was examining his long, dirty fingernails as he casually asked, “Does the Queen know you’re here?”

Jack sighed. “Not exactly. Hopefully, she thinks I’m still in the cage in her bedroom.”

“Ah, ya came in by one of de Queen’s traps? She got ‘em all over the human world ya know - ta get her young ’uns. She switches the kids out wi’ changelin’s so the parents don’t know the kids are missin’!”

Jack reflected. “Changelings? Like in the old fairy stories? My little sister, Jenny went missing about a week ago. Didn’t see any changelings of her running around. My buddy, Finn, and I fell through... maybe the day before yesterday? Not sure. We hoped we’d find her, but then we got separated.”

“Finn, ya say?” The man was suddenly more intent.

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