Time slowed to an unbearable pace as I found myself imprisoned in a dank holding cell. I wasn’t alone.
My body was sardined between children around my age or younger. A bunch of scrawny, miscreants with expressionless eyes. Whiplashed hands. Bruised and scarred limbs. Some scars looked so deep set and aged, like they had lived with them all their lives.
I wanted to close my eyes to the sight, but I felt to do so would be an injustice to the life before me.
“Demoralized would be an understatement.” I sighed and steadied my short breaths.
Sure my body I was young, but I felt I had lived a longer life. Most of these kids encumbering my space were too young to face such cold and harsh reality.
“This world is wrong,” I hissed beneath my breath.
“Idiot. You only complain about that now when you’re in this mess,” the girl pressed next to me grumbled.
I glared at her pretty-girl face; ready to retort. My reaction changed to one of interest. The proud expression behind her doll-like blue eyes was intriguing. No one else carried such strength of character. Something felt familiar about her airs. Like a comfortable energy.
“Don’t I have the right to complain?” I huffed.
“None of us have rights, if my theory is correct.” She responded with an attitude that contrasted the vibe from the other kids.
Her manner was imposing, which made the other kids shy away from us or glare with warnings. Not noticing, she carried on with her retort.
“Honestly, if we were part of families, we’d be protected under Section 46-1A of the Civilian Imperial Rights Act.” Her voice lowered to a sad whisper.
But her comment piqued my curiosity. She was obviously no mere commoner.
“How yah know about laws? Wait, are yah an orphan?” I stifled my gasp.
Her eyes narrowed with a nasty glare. It highlighted the color to her smooth pale cheeks and shine to her otherwise dull blond hair; held up in a messy ponytail. I frowned at the smooth skin of her hands. It was clear she had never suffered more than a day of hard labor before. She was likely recently orphaned and this was her demise.
“Sorry for yah loss,” I expressed my remorse to her.
Her glare transitioned to a look of confusion and surprise.
“Why would you say that?” Her voice softened with an feminine charm far more than my crude tones.
“Well, ain’t yah a sad orphan like the rest of them? Because I can’t see yah robbing a food stand.” I concluded of her situation.
“Huh? I have you know that I wasn’t made...” Her voice stopped short. She turned away from me.
“Leave me alone.”
I scratched my head. “Well, okay. Sorry then, I guess.”
The cell resumed its uncomfortable silence and waiting.
When it was clear no one was coming for us, some of the kids began braving the silence with chatter.
“I want to go home.” A younger kid whimpered in a corner and was told to shut up by another.
I sighed, feeling the weight of their despair. But what could any of us do in the given moment? We were just weak and useless kids.
“I don’t think this cell is governed by law. It’s likely one of the underground gangs.” The blond girl mumbled to herself.
“Yah seem smart about these things.” I peered at her.
“It’s not as if I’ve got no clue about some things in life. I’ve heard enough to know enough.” She huffed with her snooty airs again. But it seemed to add to a unique charm to her character.
Stolen novel; please report.
“Anyway, judging by movements of light from the small window, it seems we’ve been here for a few days.”
My eyes widened with awe at her knowledge. Simply marvelous. Who was she? I wanted to know more of her.
But glancing at the other kids, they found her a problem to avoid. I felt her way of speaking was going to get her and, likely, a lot of us in trouble once adults came to claim us.
“Hey, sister. If yah want to keep yah pretty head on, it best yah don’t talk like that.” I gave her my solid advice.
It had other kids nodding with agreement.
“Humph.” She huffed and looked away.
“Shame. I’ve been liking her talk.” A boy nearby perked up. “Been keeping my mind from thinking dark thoughts.”
I yelped when he pushed me to one side to press his face closer to the girl’s. She yelped and stumbled slightly backward.
“Oi. Boy, get yah face away. Yah freaking her out.” I snapped at him.
“I’m Troy, not boy.” He grinned in response.
I groaned at his way too perky looking face of baby cheeks. The way his animated green eyes and silver hair shone beneath the pitiful stream of light was a bit too chippy.
“That’s nice. I’m sure yah’all be the first to get flayed by some nasty overlord for being way too perky.” I nonchalantly responded.
He chuckled. “Likely, I’ve survived worse.”
Wait. He had been flayed before? Damn!
“Being a slave or a prisoner doesn’t stop me from being me.” His grin widened, making his face look slightly weird.
“Yah one creepy dude, yah know that, right?”
“As I said before, my name is Troy and you are?”
I sighed. “Good question.”
“You don’t know your name or not going to give it?” The girl piped up. It seemed she had been paying attention.
“Even if I did know my name, like I’d give yah the benefit.”
Troy and the girl shared an odd look.
“Did you hit your head on something hard?” She impassively asked.
“Not quite. I got fished out of waters and long story short ended up here. I don’t know who I am,” I wryly answered.
“So, you’re like a neven,” Troy said with a pensive frown.
“I guess. No name me for now.” I shrugged.
“But you must have a name?”
“Like any good that would do here. If I’m right, judging by our treatment, we’re imprisoned. So we don’t get the right to human identity anymore.” The girl looked downward with sadness.
“We’re still people, right? No one can deny a human right while a human is standing.” I responded to her sadness with conviction.
I felt everyone’s focus on our conversation.
“We’re still... people?” A young boy muttered his question toward me.
I nodded. “Yah heart beats human, yah be human and no matter how much yah get beaten, yah never can have that denied from yah.”
Somehow, my words made the boy’s eyes more animated. Did I give him a spark of hope?
“For a no name, you sure speak boldly.” The girl soberly noted.
“Yah sure speak smart for a commoner.” I noted of her.
“Well, rank matters naught here. We’re all trash now.” She lapsed into her pensive silence.
I decided it was best I do the same and reserve my energies, whilst trying to figure out where I was and next steps.
Not sure how long we had been stinking in the cell. It was concerning on how much I had grown accustomed to the malodorous urine and the numbness to my limbs.
“Are they going to keep us here forever?” I mumbled my question.
“If only it was that easy.” Troy sighed.
The spark of hope that had lingered earlier was now sentiments of foreboding. Many of the kids feared that any day now, we would face a harsher fate than what we were already experiencing.
“Do you think we’d be sent to the salt mines in Gonade Coast?” A kid whimpered.
“Gonade?” It was the first time I was hearing of a location, and it triggered my questions on where I was.
“Where am I?”
“You don’t even have memories of that?” the girl said.
I shook my head.
“I’m not sure myself, but I think we’re somewhere near Port Culcuth from what I overheard on the way here.”
“Port Culcuth.”
“I think this place is on the coast near the island of Minoa. That’s as much as I can tell you.” The girl sighed.
“Minoa.” I looked at her with an expression of thanks and nodded.
An abrupt shifting of steel and a curt bang jolted our attention back to our situation. Something was finally about to happen.
I squeezed my eyes closed to block the stinging daylight that had streamed into the cell. The door opened to stir a cacophony of groans and sighs.
“Get up yah snot-nosed brats!” A soldier stepped further into our view and started hauling kids to their feet like cattle.