I don’t know how much time passed since I fell asleep. I awoke to the sound of my metal door opening. The brightness of the sun floods in the darkroom, along with warmth heating the room. I looked up towards the light to see two or three shadows enter.

The two people who entered the room were average-looking. The one on the left was a guy with spiky blonde hair and orange eyes. He looked like Goku if he was taller, had a beard, and dressed like a hobo Viking. The other one was a young woman with long black hair and brown eyes. She wore a green robe, a light green cape, and carried a wooden staff. The final one who entered didn’t look like any of the rest.

The last one’s clothing looked more advanced than the others. It wore a red helmet with a black y shaped visor. Head to toe; it wore red armor with what appeared to be a black bodysuit underneath. There was a pack on the hunter’s back and a few long guns. Their waist had many tools on it, two black pistols, and some other things I couldn’t make out. A man’s voice comes out from the space cowboy, “Release the chains on her.”

“Her? Did I hear him?” I think to myself. I then say, “Did a cosplayer call me a girl?” At least that’s what I wanted to say, but all that came out of my mouth was high pitch whistling and chirps.

“What did she say?” The man asks.

“She was talking.” The woman said, looking at the cowboy.

“No shit Sherlock.” I chirp at the wizard.

“There are no stupid questions, but Aze. There are stupid answers.” Said the cowboy. “It’s unable to talk like us.”

“So you know what she said?” The man asked the cowboy.

The cowboy, trying not to let the others know how irritated, said, “It doesn’t matter. Let’s just get this over with.”

The man walks over to my legs, lifting me up till my hands dangled like wet noodles. He then removes the cold chains and drops me down. “Beest gentle bacon-fed sir issue.” I whistle at him, rubbing my head. He steps back as I sit up, all their eyes gazing at me. “I should have gotten that rap–”

A sudden gust of wind from the wizard’s magical stick pushed me up and back against the law with a slam. “Ow! Thee fusty beldams! Wh’re didst thee learneth to dudgeon a issue!” I shouted at her.

“She’s chatty today,” Aze said.

“It’s insulting you.” The cowboy replied.

“What did she say?!” Aze’s eyebrows rise.

He approaches me, ignoring Aze’s question. I tried moving, but I was stuck up against the wall, unable to move. I was about to panic before he got up near my face, “I want to–”

“Cucho!" I spit in his face. I look in fascination as my spit is a thick pinkish color that stays in place. “Gross.“

The cowboy pulls out a rag and wipes my spit off. With great speed, he slams his fist next to my head against the wall. Everything went blurry. I couldn’t focus on anything. All my thoughts scattered around as all I could hear was ringing.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Dazed, the cowboy continued speaking, “I want to remind you what will happen if you won’t help.”

I didn’t understand what that meant, but it sent shivers down my spine. Still a little confused, I nodded to show that I understood.

“Good girl.” He said, patting my head, which I found insulting. “Lie down. We’ll be quick.” He then gets up and walks away. I lay down on the ground, which was hard because I couldn’t move my legs. “Secure her.”

The wizard lady chants, “Nature is mine own cousin.” The ground beneath me glows. “The did grind our Shepard.” Wood came up around me. “Maketh a trapeth to holdeth mine own foe!” It then wrapped around my body tightly. It was comfy and warm.

“I wouldn’t mind a bed like this,” I thought to myself as I relaxed.

“It’s necessary.” The cowboy said as he pulls out what looks like syringes full of weirdly colored liquids. “If these precautions aren't taken. You would all be dead, And I would be out of a crew.” He looked back at Aze, “Don’t worry. It only needs to be done once.” He then got up and started walking towards me. He then kneels right next to me.

“How does this work?” The Viking man asks.

“It’s simple. But first, I will answer our patient's question. I bet she’s dying to know what it is?” The cowboy said as he looked at me. I nodded in agreement. “The first one is a sedative. Its primary side effect is that it will be extremely painful.” He pulls out a syringe, but there isn’t a needle on it. “Its effect will last until the counter to the sedative is administered to cancel out the chemical structure.” He leaned over to give the sedative but stopped. “I forgot to mention for it to work. It must be absorbed slowly.”

I pondered to myself what he meant. “So if it’s absorbed slowly... It can’t be through the veins. Since that would be the fastest, and that isn’t a needle at the end of the thingy. It’s not a gas type since it was liquid. That also cancels out a few others.” My mind is blank on what kind of insertion it is. I jolt from the shock of the medicine. A weird sensation fills my body. Followed by a burning sensation. It is painful. It's like my entire body is on fire. My body was sweating intensely, trying to cool me down. I start screaming in pain.

“It’ll be over soon.” The cowboy said.

Aze looked away in shame while this happened. She murmurs, “I’m sorry, child of-” Or something like that, my screams canceling the rest of her worlds.

“Why are you telling a mere child mere nonsense that she couldn’t comprehend? She couldn’t even speak,” The hobo Viking said with authority.

“Well...” His question slightly vexes the cowboy. “There is more than one way of communication than mere words, my dense friend. If you think of her as a child...” He then slammed his fist against the ground, causing the Viking to flinch. He then spoke as if his soul left his voice, “...your arrogance will be your end.” He then stared into the hobo Viking’s eyes. Even though his face hides behind his helmet, the feeling of fear emulated from it. “So, stop asking questions and do your job.” The viking didn’t utter a single word after this.

I am still screaming as this happens. My skin felt like it was boiling. My flesh felt like runny goo. I shake violently to break free from my cage. My body tenses up and releases uncontrollably and violently. My muscles and tissue tear apart over, and over and over. It eventually calmed down after what seemed like an eternity before going limp. The cowboy put away the first syringe.

“This next one will reduce the pain significantly, and they can absorb it fast.” He reaches for another needle. “As soon as this one is over. Your threat level lowers. Anyway...” He continues with his speech as he prepares the shot. “I suppose you could call this a type of poison. It will limit what you can do, causing you to become fatigued.” I thought I was ready, but I wasn’t. I scream as the content of the needle pours into me. It burned like the first one but went away a few seconds afterward.

The branches that surrounded me went back into the floor. As they disappeared, the pain went away. I lie there in pain and tired.

“It’s time to go.” The cowboy said. I watched them walk away. As they left, I saw another person passing. It looked like they had white or silver hair. “This- is just a dream! It will all be over soon.” Soon after, I fell asleep.

“Why do you cower when you can easily fight back? Do you pity them...? Or... is it that you pity yourself...? Maybe you’re just dreaming... Is this a dream...? Yes, keep telling yourself that. This is a dream. Sleep tight... You’ll wake up soon enough... My little daemon.”