First Day – Revelation
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As surprising as it was, the eerie gate I thought was a portal leading to hell was actually the entrance to a very long cave tunnel. The passage was dark and sprinkled with a touch of dampness, completely shrouding our line of sight and making us unable to see where we were should put our next step.
I heard a few shrieks both behind and in front of me, by people who had sprained their ankles or fallen head first into the rough ground because they were unlucky with foot placements. But even though some people wanted to stop and turn back, including me for a moment, those who sought to do so were pushed onward by the others in the group.
So what if you sprained your ankle? The demon man was right behind us, constantly telling us to keep moving or he’ll kill us. He had already killed a few by looking at them, whereafter they fell lifelessly down the ground. After that, no body dared to go against his orders, so why would we want to gamble with our lives for the small risk of getting a sprained ankle?
Time passed unknowingly, and the air started to become heavy, why is uncertain, yet I could smell a faint metallic taste, one which could only have one origin. Blood. A lot of blood.
The further we marched, the heavier it became. If I would have to give one comparison that would be during the seventh month of the Wasteland War as I and my father were ordered to stand tall as the spearpoint of the grand duke’s cavalry. The smell of blood permeated the surroundings, and far in the horizon, we could see black vultures gather like thunderclouds. The black vultures flew past us and dove down toward the dead corpses that lay stacked to be buried.
At first, we tried to drive them away, but we then understood that it was pointless. Just like jewellery is impossible to resist for a thief, dead corpses are for vultures. No matter how many times we chased them away with swords and spears alike, they came back. And no matter how many vultures we killed, they refused to leave the corpses behind.
In the end, we just stopped. Though it went against the principles of the empire to not bury one’s fellow countrymen, the war was more important. Because if the war ended with us losing, everyone in the capital would be slaughtered.
I don’t know when my thoughts began to drift astray, and it was only once light woke me up from my dream-like state when walking forward as I became clear-minded. The view of a broken down city became vivid ahead of us. It seemed to be the glory of a once glorious past, yet now, only mottled houses built from clay and thatched huts from where smoke rose remained, supported by what was left of the original buildings.
As the view unfurled itself, I looked up to see where I was, to see if I could calculate if I was in the west or the north, yet my eyes constricted the moment I bent my neck down, my face up.
Glittering rocks, like the finest jewels of a western trader, met my gaze, and that’s when I understood– we were underneath the surface of the earth. I could not remember the tunnel being a downward slope, and, on the other hand, I couldn’t remember a thing, so it wasn’t very accurate to say I should trust my memory.
As we exited the tunnel, happy to finally have light, I wrinkled my forehead. I had a strange sense of foreboding that something bad would happen. And well, I was quite correct with my line of thought.
People started to come out from the thatched huts and mottled houses, walking towards us. What was terrifying to see was how they looked like, and that most of them were men, gruesome-looking men, dirty and filthy and dressed in ragged clothes. And some of these men, within their hands, pulled chained women along with them.
These women who were imprisoned with rusty chains were even more poorly dressed than the men, most not even having a piece of clothing to cover their private parts. I could see within their eyes only death. Dull and grey, they seemed to already be without the will to live, just like slaves in the black market.
As they got closer to us, I noticed the ill intent in the men’s eyes. Like how a wolf looked at a sheep, that was how they looked at us as if we were but prey for them to devour. As if we were but the ants a child crushes for fun when bored.
I subconsciously took a step back, but stopped, blocked by the others behind, people who were just as terrified and shaken to their core me. And that’s when some of the men opened their mouths and began to talk, spewing out words that made my blood freeze all over, words that shouldn’t be allowed to come out in whole sentences.
"Finally some fresh blood!
"Hey, you! Come! From now on you're my property, got it?
"The last ones broke too quickly before I had a chance to truly enjoy myself! Thank you, venerable master, for blessing us with new toys!”
"Come here, cutie, let uncle take care of you. I will protect you. Hehe...
Some of the men laughed menacingly and walked over to the group, grabbing various people, mostly girls. It was clear to me that the men with captives were the strongest of the lot, not only because of their appearance but because of the aura they radiated – like wild beasts who would bite if one got too close.
As my glance darted around the place, I heard a scream not too far away. The scream came from a girl from out group, a small, petite one who had been standing by the edge of our group of people that consisted of about hundred or so.
She was getting dragged away by one of the men, a red-haired man with crazy eyes and bulging muscles. Scars were evident on his forearms which were as wide as tree trunks, and his fierce grin was almost impossible to look at because of how disgusting it was.
The large man who pulled her away held a rusty, half-broken sword in his arm, and now a lump of her hair in his left.
“Stop!”
A teenager whose age couldn't be more than my age, twelve or so, shot up and tried to defend the girl. Perhaps he knew her, I never got to know that, and since the dead can tell no tales, I will never get do so in the future either.
Nonetheless, It was a heroic act, to say the least, and I might have done the same if I knew the girl, or if I didn't know where we were and how bad the situation was. I quickly yelled out to him in an attempt to save him. But it was no use.
"Hey! Leave her alone!" the boy shouted furiously without heeding my words.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
As the boy punched out at the man, it was already too late. I saw through the corner of my eye how the man swiftly turned his burly body around in one movement and drove his sword straight through the boy's abdomen.
The boy looked at the man with widened eyes, then glanced down at his stomach. He clutched the open wound with his hands, trying to stop the blood from flowing. But it was too late. It spilt through his fingers, like a dam breaking loose. He coughed, tried to say something, but no words came out. Then he took one last step and fell down.
Head first with a dull thump, followed by a silence.
As I was thinking of what to do, the boy who stood beside me started to shiver. He looked like my brother. Well, what my brother used to look like before he died, slaughtered that night when the Karamadin empire invaded.
I can still see his face in my nightmares, that delicate, chubby face with big, blue eyes, decorated with oak-brown hair. His smile when I patted his head and gave him a compliment, or took him out for a horse ride through the woods. And then, as his smile becomes the most radiant thing in the world, his eyes constricts, and he looks down only to see an arrow poke out through his chest, having pierced his heart. He looks at me, with those big, blue eyes, asking me what he did wrong.
As if I was the cause of his death.
He begins to cough and blood starts to flow from his eyes, and that's when I always wake up, the moment the nightmare turns at its worst. No matter how much I try, the image of blood flowing out from his eyes, the moment his smile disappears– replaced with an open mouth– is something I can’t erase from my mind.
That moment is even worse than the moment my father died, sending me down the secret escape tunnel, telling me to run and never look back. At that time, I asked him why, why are you not coming with me, and he replied, “There’s something I must do. Listen, you are old enough to know the importance of duty, son, and this duty isn’t something I can avoid. Now go, before they come here. Hurry up!”
I knew what he was going to do. I was not a child anymore with my ten years of age. “But dad,”, I said, “What about your duty to me as a father?” My father looked at me with a tender expression, the kind of expression I receive when I’ve done something good. “Son, you will do just fine. Now go.”
The boy standing beside me is almost like a replica of my brother, except for having pale-blue hair instead of brown. As I started to inspect him more, I saw how his lips trembled and his eyes showed fear.
Then I turned my head forward, seeing a rather lanky man come towards us, holding a few chains with people stuck to them. But the people who are stuck aren't women like the other men have, its boys. Young boys at that, all looking just as dead in their eyes as the women.
"Well, well, you're a cutie aren't you?" the man says with a grin. "Why don't you come along? I'll protect you good."
The boy cowered back but was blocked by those behind him.
It seemed that although the boy was not even ten years old, he had seen what happened with the blond girl and the boy who resisted, making him very afraid for these men. I was myself not quite sure what to do. I was angry for not immediately helping the boy, but at the same time, I was logical to understand I had no chance whatsoever.
"Haha, don't worry, kid." the man continued, still wearing that disgusting smile. I so wanted to rip it off, but my body did not move, didn't respond to my thoughts. Guess it wanted the best for me, fully aware that my death was certain if I as much as tried to block the man, especially so when I saw that the man held a dagger in his left hand, ready to stab anyone who came close. "Don't ya' want to be one of my little pets? I'll make sure you have food, and I'll even... pet you a lot!"
The lanky man in ragged clothes jerked on one of his three chains. "Come here!"
One of the imprisoned boys hurried over, prostrating himself in front of the lanky man. The lanky man snorted and slapped the boy on the cheek. Without screaming or shouting, the boy who was slapped got up from the ground and once again made way to the man and prostrated himself, sitting down on the ground, grovelling under the man's feet.
Just as I decided not to watch, a fishy odour drilled through my nostrils. I turned to the blue-haired boy, my gaze fixating on the ground beneath him. A puddle of yellow liquid had appeared. It was pee. I looked up to his face. Snot and tears were mixed as the blue haired boy saw the chained boy grovel on the ground in front of the lanky man. He was old enough to understand what would happen to him if the man caught and chain him.
At this point, he was mute. I saw a flash in the corner of my eye and then I heard a smirk. The lanky man who seemed almost like a skeleton had gotten in range and grabbed the boy, lifting him up in the air, starting to beat him.
It made my heart feel as if it was cut in thousands of pieces. I imagined if that was my brother, would I be able to force myself to move then?
“Quiet, you little fucking brat,” the man sad and licked the boy’s now bruised face with his dirty tongue. “I said come so why didn’t you fucking come to me when I fucking ordered? Did you really want me to come here and get you? You think you’re worth that much huh? Well, let me tell you, you’re not. You’re just a disposable toy for me to play with until I become bored. And hell, I’m gonna play with you a lot.”
The boy once again burst out into tears.
“Shut up!” the man shouted as spit flew from his mouth. “If I order you something you fucking obey. Next time you cry without my permission, I’ll fucking kill you!”
As the boy heard the man’s words, he finally quieted down. But from where I stood, I could still hear his soft whines. However, no matter how much he whined, he didn’t cry, never once letting more tears come out.
“Huh, you want to become a pet too?” the lanky man turned around and looked at me. “Or why the fuck are you staring at me? Want to die?”
My heart stopped. I could barely breathe from his pressure, those wild eyes looking at me. I choked out with difficulty. “I–”
“Tsk, forget about it. You’re too old, not my type.” the man snorted. “Now if you don’t want to be cut up like a fish, I’d recommend you to buzz away faster than you’ve ever buzzed away before, or I’ll really fucking display this dagger up front."
I took one last glance at the boy. Our eyes met and I saw the fear that reflected back. I closed my eyes to avoid his gaze and turned around and walked away from the man and the boy who now had gotten chained like the other boys.
And that was my first encounter with the hellhole of humanity. The worst place where the worst scum from all over the world had been gathered in. As the first day came to an end, and after the original inhabitants had walked back to their thatched huts and mottled houses, only a couple of people were left. I had a feeling that things wouldn’t end up well if I joined any of the groups so I chose to wander off by myself.
I found a suitable spot in the ruins where I was surrounded by walls and wouldn’t fall victim for an ambush. Well, I guess it wouldn’t matter if they ambushed me or not, I would die either way if I was asleep. But at least it was easier to fall asleep if I felt secure.
As I was about to fall asleep, I promised myself that if I ever got the chance to save that blue-haired boy from the lanky man, I would try to. Correction, if I ever got the chance to save anyone, I would do my best to do so.