-Break-

Φ Swinging my father's spear up and around repeatedly I hear my mother say, “Nero what are you doing with your father’s spear.”

“Practicing so I can one day surpass him.”

“Why would you even want to do that?”

“So I can protect you Mom, and everyone else here. I won’t let anyone in our clan suffer now or ever.”

“That’s wonderful my son, but.”

Grabbing me by my arm my mother pulls me towards her and says, “But you failed!”

Suddenly around me and my mother, the ground is dyed red as it is covered in the corpses of everyone from the village. “Nero, how could you let this happen, how did you let us all fall.”

With tears appearing in my eyes, I say, “I am sorry.”

“THAT ISN'T ENOUGH. DO YOU THINK I’M SORRY WILL HELP ANYONE? ALL OF US HAVE BEEN TAKEN, ALL OF US ARE LIVING IN HELL, OUR BODIES ARE THEIR TOYS, ARE LIVES ARE NO MORE THAN TRASH TO THEM, AND EACH ONE OF US WITHERS AWAY. SO WHY DID YOU LET THIS HAPPEN? THIS IS ALL YOU’RE WEAKNESS FAULT, I HATE YOU!”

Jumping up I snap out of my dream and look around to see Charles sleeping beside me. “Another nightmare,” I say while trying to keep my vomit in.

-Break-

As me and Charles finish our morning prayers, we hear one of the beastkins say, “Open your ears, you slaves. Our great Marqis Bricriu has decided to spare some of his resources to be used as food for you all, but this food won’t just simply be given out, it will be a reward for the work you have done.

Due to this change, you will all lose your quotas as a group and will be given individual quotas to meet. Stellar work will give you more food, but piss-poor work will result in the food you have been given being taken away. Make sure to work with all your hearts, and if you try to help your fellow slaves we will be watching you so don’t try such a thing.”

Suddenly Charles turns to me and says in his tasteless voice, “Isn’t this bad for you Nero?”

Dumbfounded I say, “Yes, yes it is.”

-Break-

Location: Scortha fields

As I hand back the remaining seeds I didn’t plant today, I see one of the beastkins say, “You’re not getting any more food tomorrow, in actuality I think this caused it to reduce.”

In my mind, I say, “FUCK!”

-Break-

In front of me, I am bound down by a beastkin as I hear both Aurelius and Lillian scream with all their hearts and souls after one another as they are pulled away.

Powerless I just lay there as they are pulled far away from each other. They look at me and scream, “NERO HELP ME, NERO SAVE US!”

But I am incapable of doing anything other than crying, and screaming, “LEAVE THEM.”

As Aurelius and Lillian are pulled closer towards the beastkin, I see the monster grab their bodies and rip them into pieces.

The shock from the sight in front of me causes me to jump up and wake up from bed. With my hands, I try to hold in my vomit.

-Break-

Holding out my hand, I am given half a potato and some water. Surprised by the food I was given, I look up towards the beastkin with a shocked expression.

Then moments later I am told, “That’s all you're getting, so get your ugly human face away.”

Taking my food, I walk away with my head hanging low in shame. “I guess I need to find some way to make it work.”

From behind me, I hear Charles say, “Here.”

Turning around, I see Charles with multiple potatoes in his arms, and not only that but meat as well.

With a face trying to hold back my jealousy, I say, “You worked hard, enjoy that food.” As I finish my stomach lets out a ridiculously loud rumble.

Charles holding out a potato, says, “I made sure to work extra hard yesterday because I knew you would fail, so here.”

Poking my finger into his cheek, I say, “What do you mean you knew I would fail?”

Confused he says, “The sky is blue, the night is dark, the sun rises every day, and you always fail to meet your quota.”

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

His words are like a sword that slices through my gut, the pain of it brings me to my knees.

Kneeling down beside me, Charles asks, “Do you need to go shit?”

“No just need to rest for a moment.”

“Here have this potato.”

A beastkin screams towards us, “No sharing of food, or it will all be confiscated.”

Hearing this, I grab Charles's potato and stuff it in his mouth then say, “No sharing of food going on over here.”

As the beastkin looks away, I say to Charles, “Don’t mind me just eat your food.”

With food stuffed in his mouth, Charles says, “What about you.”

Taking the food chunks that get sent all over my face by Charles eating with his mouth open, I put them in my mouth and then say, “I will be fine, I am resourceful.”

Grabbing my half potato I start to chow down on it, whilst saying, “See I am fine.”

But as I eat away, the voices of men filled the area where we were eating. Two men are fighting in the distance, with one on top of the other punching him.

The one on top says, “Fuck off I worked to get this food for myself.”

“I helped carry you back after you fainted back on the mountaintop, I was just asking for a favour.”

“Don’t fuck with me. You heard what they said, I am not betting any of my food on you so fuck off.”

Getting off the other man, he says, “And that goes for the rest of you, my things are mine, so if you want to live fend for yourself.”

As the air in the area becomes tense I continue to chow down on my potato, but then beside me, Charles says, “This is strange.”

“I don’t see what is strange about this. If someone tried to steal my potato I would do worse.”

“Usually after Bricriu does his executions in the seventh month, people tend to get along.”

“Well, I guess that makes sense since everyone seemed to be helping their new roommates during that time. Also now that I think about it this whole Samhain thing probably brings everyone together, well except us.”

“That’s how things have always been, but now it seems that people aren’t getting along so well.”

“Ehh I just think it could be because the slaves who they brought in with me were not the friendliest bunch. I tried to make conversation often and they just replied with the most boring shit time and time again.”

“I see, knowing you that makes sense.”

Charles's words shock me to the point I stop eating my potato and say, “Wait a minute it just sounds like you insulted me.”

“I di-.”

“YES YOU DID. And the fact you don’t think that was an insult makes it all the more insulting.”

“Doesn’t that make it the truth the-.”

“NO IT DOESN’T!”

-Break-

The next day

In front of me, I see the bodies of my parents and friends being held down by beastkin, so I scream, “STOP!”

But my cries are ignored, and then moments later the beastkin makes a gesture and all of their heads fly off towards me.

All I can do I scream with this sight laid out before me.

As my screams reverberate throughout the area, the heads start to say, “Why didn’t you save us.”

“I didn’t want to die.”

“Why haven’t you come to look for us.”

“This is all your fault.”

“I hate you, Nero.”

With fright, I jump up from my bed and feeling the all too familiar sensation, I prepare to hold in my vomit.

-Break-

Location: A few meters away from the River Lúide

As I dig up the ground with my spade, I say to Charles beside me, “You should head back now, you have already hit your quota and don’t need to wait up for me.”

“I see,” Charles says as he begins to walk away.

While he is out of sight, I say, “I wish he would have protested more, but the fact that he planned to do it anyway tells me how much he cared. I need to try my best as well.”

Continuing to dig up the ground, I say, “Well it is not like I am going to be lonely with all these people around me.”

Usually, by this time most people have hit their quota but it seems they are sticking around to get the most food they can possibly get. It is a smart idea, but in practice, it doesn’t go well because this keeps happening.

To my right, I hear a man scream, “This is my area piss off to yours.”

“You just had so much land high up as necessary so I decided to help you out.”

“I don’t need fucking help just stay in your area.”

The land here isn’t all soft, some parts are quite a bit harder than others so digging up all the softer land can allow one to reach their quota faster than possible.

I kind of ignored Charles word’s but it seems he was on to something. Everyone is a lot more aggressive than usual, it really does feel like someone has planted a tree of discord among us.

-Break-

One week later

Little by little the beastkin in front of me breaks the limbs of Aurelius as he screams. The boy who I had always looked up to as an older brother looks pathetic, like an ant being played with by children.

“NERO PLEASE SAVE ME, SAVE LILLIAN.”

My feet are frozen in place I can’t move all I can do is stare in horror.

“NERO YOU COWARD!”

I just from my bed and moments later the contents of my stomach surge forth uncontrollably.

Taking deep breaths in and out, I say, “I need to clean this up before Charles gets up.”

-Break-

Location: Centre plain

Pulling our axes back me and Charles swing them directly into the two thin trees in front of us. My axe leaves a very small dent, as Charles rips right through the tree.

Charles looking at me sticks his thumb at a 45-degree angle and says, “Good job,” With a failure of a smile on his face.

Throwing my axe to the ground, I say, “WHY DO I EVEN TRY?”

“I think I should just do all the work, Nero.”

“NO! I refuse to give up or give in.” Picking up my axe I say, “Just you watch I will rip through this tree.”

Running towards the tree swinging my axe, I say, “TIME TO BE CHOPPED DOWN.”

-Break-

Two weeks later

Lillian in a voice so pathetic I didn’t think it could ever be hers says, “NERO, PLEASE DON’T LET THEM KILL ME, I DON’T WANT TO DIE.”

“I am coming just hang on.”

The beastkin holding her starts to tighten its grip around her neck as I run. Her face loses more and more life until eventually, the beastkin snaps her neck killing her.

I scream from the bottom of my lungs, then I hear her say with her head hanging from her broken neck, “You were too slow Nero, that’s why I died, that is why we got taken. IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT!”

I jump from my bed and run out of the room at full speed, then vomit.

-Break-

Location: Íogair grassland

Getting knocked back on my ass, I say, “These flowers seem to be even more violent against me today.”

“They get more violent and cocky against those they see as below them.”

“That annoys me even more.”

Looking at me with a slightly more considerate than normal expression, Charles says, “I can just give you my seeds because if I don’t, you’ll starve. Your body is already much thinner than before.”

Smacking him on the head, I say, “Don’t be a fool, you could get in serious trouble for that.”

“but you’ll-.”

“Shut up already and practice your smile like I told you, I will be fine.”

Getting ready to run towards the flowers, I whisper, “I refuse to be a failure any longer,” And then charge directly at the flowers.