"KAL!!!"
A male voice called urgently in the loudest whisper the person could manage, and Kalani felt someone shake him gently. As his groggy mind awakened, Kalani was hit by a wave of chilliness that seemed to seep into his bones.
Who? Kalani's eyelids fluttered open slowly, only to be greeted with pure darkness; however, while his emerald eyes were adjusting to the dim light, Kalani couldn't mistaken the rough, uncomfortable sensation of cold stone beneath his laying body. With stiff fingers, he made contact with a small object and gradually curled around it.
A rock for sure... Kalani mused before panic set in, Where am I...? Mom? Dad? His initial thoughts were that he was kidnapped, but he quickly realized his memory didn't quite add up.
"Kal, get up; the guards are almost here!" the voice once again whispered to Kalani, breaking his train of thoughts. Training his eyes at where he assumed the voice came from, Kalani observed the unclear outline of a human teenager, and once he squinted, the person's features became more evident.
With piercing blue irises, the teenager was gazing at him with concern and worry etched on his grimy face; rags hung off of his thin frame as his brown hair appeared unkempt and long.
Once Kalani saw the guy, memories rushed like a torrent into his brain, giving Kalani a massive headache. With his now unfrozen fingers, he massaged his forehead as he scanned the low, rocky ceiling and the stacked rocks acting as walls that formed his 'abode'. His eyes then landed on the guy at the only entry of his place.
"Nelson— don't— disturb me..." Kalani uttered brokenly with a hoarse voice. Sitting up, he could hear Nelson let out a sigh.
"Can't say I didn't warn ya," Nelson mumbled dejectedly as he got up. Kalani stared at the teenager's retreating back for a moment but then turned his gaze to his palms, calloused and smudged with black streaks.
Wrinkling his brows, Kalani rubbed his dirtied hands onto the tattered clothing dangling off his body, I wish that wasn't a dream; it's not often that I would become relaxed and forget... what happened... His eyes dimmed as he recalled the smiles his dad and mom had at the table. Has it been several years now?
The rattles of chains echoing the cavern brought him out of his reminiscing, and he peered out of his home's 'entrance'.
Children, teenagers, and even young adults were gathered in the cavern, similarly dressed in rags like him and Nelson. Huddling against the walls, some even appeared to be only skin and bones if it weren't for their chests slowly heaving up and down that indicated they were alive, though not all of them were human.
Pointed ears, tails, and even wings were prevalent among the slaves, which gave the impression of animal parts being grafted onto humans, but they claimed that other than their unique characteristics, they were just like regular people. Hence, they called themselves 'humans'.
Though, Kalani wasn't interested in anyone, much less these 'humans'. He skimmed over the crowd before fixing his gaze on what everyone else was looking at: silver, armored men with sword sheaths hanging off of their belted waists filed into the cavern.
With smug grins, the guards walked through the barred doorway, and a dense, gloomy atmosphere permeated the cavern. Behind the guards, their apprentices carried baskets of dried bread and began to distribute the food to the slaves. Countless hands stretched forward in a mad scramble as the bedraggled crowd devoured any bread they could reach before it was taken from them.
Kalani watched the scuffle unfold at a distance before reaching over and pulling out a basket hidden under a small pile of rocks in the farthest corner. Lifting the dusty covering, he began to eat the last piece of tough bread inside, which only took about a minute or two to finish.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
After the meal, Kalani crawled out of the entrance and leaned against the rocky wall nearby, his emerald irises following the chaos ensuing in front of him.
"Get up! We don't have all day!" one sentry barked out. When a boy still laid on the ground, the sentry rudely kicked his body: only to reveal a face devoid of color as a stench emerged from the corpse. Everyone including the man near the corpse scuttled far away, afraid of being contaminated.
"What happens if it is us next?" someone muttered. In spite of how quiet the person spoke, everyone could still hear those words as some softly weeped in despair.
Yet, Kalani gazed at the corpse with bleak emptiness clouding his eyes before looking away.
Stepping out from among the guards, a shaggily bearded man yelled sternly, "SHUT UP! Grab your tools and move if you have the energy to cry!" The man pointed to the tools inside the cavern piled near the barred doorway.
It was then when Kalani finally moved, walking over into the crowd; however, as he stepped closer, the crowd shied away from him. Being isolated by a sea of children made his figure especially conspicuous to the guards.
"You lot, come here!" the bearded man approached Kalani, gesturing to him and several others. Not bothering to hurry anymore, Kalani was the last person in the group to follow. Picking a chipped pickaxe, he avoided eye contact with everyone and kept his head lowered, as if in fearful deference, which further boosted the sentries' ego.
Once readied, the bearded man led the group through the winding corridors while another guard followed behind. The carved walls were occasionally illuminated by oil lanterns swaying on the ceiling, giving the illusion of shadows peering at them in silence aside from the noisy shuffles their lot made. It was only several minutes of trudging later when they arrived at their destination: a cavern replete with coal.
When the children stayed put behind him, the man snapped at them, "Get a move on chumps. Don't make me punish you with this." He held up a thick, brown whip as a warning, and as if given wings, the group scampered off into the cave.
With his pickaxe, Kalani swung it, breaking off chunks of coal upon contact. After he mined a mound and moved on, another boy shoveled the remains into a wheelbarrow, which was then pushed by a younger girl to a strange contraption: the guards referred it as a conveyer belt. Where it went; no one knew...
As time passed, more slaves arrived at the cavern until it appeared that everyone at the prison was present. Amidst the swarm however, the guards stationed there observed their every movements, discouraging any from attempting to escape.
At around noon, a loud commotion broke out. From what Kalani could gather, a wolf girl had gotten buried alive in a tunnel she was in due to weak support, but only her friends scrambled to rescue her while the guards present didn't lift a finger. After all, one slave, let alone a child, is easily replaceable for another.
To her friends' relief, the girl survived the ordeal with only being a bit shaken and suffering a sprain.
"Who's that?" Kalani then heard a person mumble, and the boy furtively peeked toward the entrance.
In the dim lighting of the corridors, a young man with ebony hair, followed by his entourage, emerged. The man's silver eyeglasses gave him a sophisticated air while his clean, white shirt paired with his black pants and shoes made him appear to be a respectable part of society— if it weren't for where he was.
Smiling as pleasantly as he could, the captain approached them with clasped hands, "We are honored to be in your presence, young master Arjun. Refreshments will be prepared for you right away."
Taking note of the captain for a brief moment, Arjun still ignored the greeting before querying casually, "These are a new batch of children; are they to your liking?"
Sweating profusely, the captain skimmed over the thirty or so chained slaves gathered behind Arjun and wrung his hands nervously, "Yes, good sir, such high-quality slaves like yours are always needed." Then the man paused before asking, "If it isn't too much, I wonder if you could tell me why there is more winged children in this batch?"
While the captain spoke, Arjun perceived the man's apprehension and narrowed his eyes in scorn. A good businessman should always keep calm while negotiating, yet this person was not only lacking in that aspect but also trying to flatter him.
I should tell Sofia to remove this guy, the young man mused as he played with the thin cigarette in his slender fingers.
Quickly hiding his scorning expression before the captain noticed, Arjun replied, "Oh, Klast waged war on the winged tribes last week; hence, we were able to capture more of them this time." After explaining, Arjun lit his cigarette.
The captain then gestured to the chained birds, inquiring timidly, "I see... then— are their wings clipped?"
"Of course, but..." Arjun leaned over to the captain's ear and whispered, "we don't want any accidents like last time do we." Leaning back, he smirked as he placed the lit cigarette against his lips.
"Yes, of course young master..." the captain answered as he paled significantly. "And how much shall we pay you?"
"Just pay twice the usual in Klast's currency," Arjun responded as he exhaled the smoke lazily.
"We shall do as you say," the captain immediately answered. Turning around, the man instructed his subordinates, "Send the young master to the refreshment room."
After saluting, the man's subordinates led Arjun and his entourage away, giving the captain the breather he needed while blissfully unaware of what would befall him later.
Though, Kalani's attention wasn't on the conversation or the new slaves but on the haze of smoke drifting towards the ceiling. Nobody except him observed the normal wisps of smoke taking shape into tiny children.
To his surprise however, the smoke children had also noticed the crowd of people below them and momentarily stilled, but then their blank faces contorted into jeering smiles, as if reveling in the slaves's misery before finally dissipating.
…