Time stood still.

Either die now or die later.

It wasn’t a choice. Zeph would need to figure something out, but he would have to pledge for now.

“I will..” Zeph said, almost shaking. He was trapped now. Enslaved until death. It made him sick.

“Haha, didn’t care; you didn’t have a choice, to begin with,” the man said and waved his hand.

“Aria, take your pet to Carlo. He needs to be fixed up, and make sure he stays until we get back. We need him if something goes wrong.”

The woman nodded.

And just like that, it was like zeph wasn’t even there. They began running and getting ready to leave for their mission. One thing Zeph knew, though. He didn’t like Dante. Zeph didn’t even understand what happened, but in less than a few minutes, it was just him, Aria, and the man he was supposed to patch up. Everyone else had left in the blink of an eye. There was silence now, and he finally had an opportunity to look around.

Their underground layer was large. It seemed to be around the same size as the entire building upstairs, with no holes in the wall. The soft cloth was hanging around every wall, so there were soft brown blankets to look at instead of grey concrete. Even though it was the house of criminals, it was soothing. The place was large, with one large room filling the entire area and four small doors leading to rooms he couldn’t see. Zeph was still slightly in front of the door, too afraid to move. He knew the woman wouldn’t try to kill him now, but he didn’t know if he was in danger of getting injured or brutally mutilated. So he waited until the woman told him to do something. The floor wasn’t just concrete; it was a softer material with a plain grey color. The hideout, or whatever it was, had been taken care of; they must have been here for a while.

“Up,” Aria finally said.

Zeph gave her a defiant glare, finally having the resolve to do something other than just mindlessly hold his head down now that he knew he wasn’t going to get killed. Yet.

As he rose to his feet, Aria said, “follow me; the man you tried to save hasn’t completely recovered yet.”

She began walking toward one of the rooms, a carpet covering anything inside. First, aria went in, then zeph.

The room was dark, only lit with a few candles in the corners of the room. He knew straight away this was where they slept, a small section being lifted from the ground, with the single mattresses on them. On one of them lay the man he had tried to save. “AArrgh” the man made a noise turning in his bed. Aria hurried to his side.

“I’m here, Carlo; we brought the man that tried to save you from before,” she said.

Zeph walked up to their side, and he met the eyes of the man that he had tried to save. They didn’t hold any contempt or danger in them. This man’s eyes were gentle compared to the others. He could see it, almost that of a child with far too much hope in the world. He wondered how the man still had eyes like that in a group like this.

“Thank you… for trying to save me before,” the man said, barely getting it out. It through zeph for a loop, his demeanor being so different from the rest of the group that he didn’t know if it was fake. “….your welcome,” Zeph said with a smile. A genuine one. He would not take compliments he got from his patients, no matter who they were. The thought that he was just a little helpful made his current situation a little easier. And for that, he was happy.

“You shouldn’t thank him, Carlo; he didn’t even know who you were,” Aria said. “He was just an idiot.”

Zeph could feel himself getting angry if it hadnt been for him. This Carlo wouldn’t even have the chance to be in pain; he would be seven feet under.

“Easy now,” Carlo said. “I wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for him. And for that, I will be eternally grateful. ” The man took to his side and winced. “Hopefully, I will be here even longer, ”

The woman suddenly looked panicked seeing her distressed friend

“Get to work!!!” Aria shouted at zeph and pushed him toward Carlo. The man only shot him an apologetic glance. He hated that woman more and more. But now wasn’t the time for emotions. Even if he had been sentenced to die and in the worst position in his life. There was a patient in front of him; that was all that mattered.

“My bag!” Zeph said, commanding. He could only do so because the man’s life seemed to be in danger once more or getting close to being so. This was his domain. The woman didn’t as much as comment on his loud remark but quickly went into the other room where he had been and got it for him. She placed it below his feet. He would need the book if there was something he didn’t know that could help him. “Do you have anything of use?” Zeph asked.

“Use?” Aria said.

“Bandages, stitches, knives, anything that might help.”

“No, the only thing we have are knives, and I am not letting you get close to one,” the woman said. Zeph could only look at her with a side eye, “like I would try to kill the man I almost died trying to save,” he said. She seemed a little aimed at what she said and handed him the smallest knife he had ever seen. He didn’t know if he could use it, but it was better than nothing.

He turned all of his attention on Carlo, “I will begin now,” he said. The man could only make a painful nod.

He took off the blanket covering the man’s body and examined what he would be working with. A glance up his body showed they hadnt taken very good care of him. Probably not, because they didn’t want to judge by the woman’s reaction every time he made a move to touch the man. No, because they didn’t know what to do. It was clear they had no experience treating injured people. That scared him because he suspected the mission they were doing was related to some form of combat. And for them not to know any kind of medical knowledge, well, it was a sad thought.

Everything else left Zeph’s field of vision, but the man was lying on the bed. Now his operating table. He gently took off the bandages the man had applied and saw the wounds hadnt been properly healed. And with this many, well, it wasn’t looking good. He shouted at the woman to get him water and some cloth. She did so in an instant. “This Is gonna hurt, and it’s gonna take a while,” Zeph said. He could see the obvious pain in the man’s eyes, but zeph couldn’t feel any sympathy at the moment. Rather, an angry alive patient. “You might want to step out for this,” Zeph said, hoping the women would oblige.

“Never,” she said.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

He knew she would say that, and with that, zeph got to work. He had a long afternoon ahead of him.

Zeph walked out of the room where he had been treating the man. Carlo had passed out ten minutes into his treatment; the pain and his body were too weak. The woman had walked out half an hour later, knowing Zeph wouldn’t hurt the man, and the pain of seeing her friend’s body in such a condition was too much. As he walked out of the room, he felt his confidence instantly shrink back down, almost like his entire worth lay in there. It did; it was his only way of survival at the moment. The woman was up from her spot in an instant, “Is he gonna be okay?” she asked.

Redness surrounded her eyes, and she looked tired. Incredibly tired. He hadnt seen it before because he was so preoccupied with his situation, but it was clear as day. This woman hadnt had a proper sleep in a long time. He now wondered about the other’s condition; if he hadnt noticed Aria, well, he certainly hadnt noticed theirs. Stop it, Zeph thought. It wasn’t his problem unless he was asked to do something. Even though it was, it always was. No matter if they thought of him as only a slave, his mother had beaten him. Save anyone, and everyone that you can, son. No matter the cost. He would not betray his mother’s ideal like that.

Zeph released a sigh.

“He will; I just need to check up on him at least once a day for a week,” he said. “And you need to make sure he eats.”

“It looks like he hasn’t eaten in weeks,” Zeph said, and almost added that it looked like she hadnt either.

A sigh of relief left the woman’s body as she heard he would be ok. “I will make sure he eats, even if he has to be forced the food down his throat,” she said. It almost sounded like she respected his advice. He didn’t know what to feel with these people. Feeling so low on the pecking order with some things, but then being asked for advice in another area. It felt weird.

“Good,” Zeph said, not knowing what more to say. He found a spot in the corner of the room and sat down, exhausted. He had been in there for at least three hours.

It was hard to know when you couldn’t count the time, but he knew it had been a while. The woman looked at him as he sat down but didn’t say anything more. She still looked exhausted, but a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. They were close; he knew what it felt like not knowing if someone was gonna be alright and recover. He had never had a friend he felt that way with but his father. He had felt it with his father.

The woman walked out of the room, into another room he hadnt been in, and came back shortly after. With a large plate with the biggest amount of meat on a single plate, he had ever seen. The woman walked up to him, sat the plate in front of zeph, and then sat down herself.

Zeph looked at the meat, which he assumed was a leg from some animal. God knows what leg it was; it was Viel, after all. And it didn’t seem like this group was the most well off if they lived in a place like this. But, he was happy it seemed the woman wasn’t malnourished from a lack of food, but rather too much worry.

“Eat; you need to be full of energy if someone comes back harmed,” The woman said and began digging in on her own. With a single slice of god know what it was, the entire thing had been cut into tiny little pieces. She saw the reaction it got out of zeph when he saw the purplish liquid, and she did nothing but smile.

Zeph wasn’t in the biggest of moods to cut into the food now when she had used well whatever it was. “Relax, it’s not gonna kill you,” she said as he dug in herself.

Zeph saw the woman eat and heard his stomach rumble. He caved in and began to eat as well. “Well, if I wasn’t sloppy,” the woman said with a smile as she ate the food.

Zeph could only stare at her with half a piece of meat in his mouth and the other sticking out.

The woman suddenly began laughing, the lines on her face lighting up. It seemed she got ten years younger. Laughing like that, it almost seemed she was his age. “A joke,” she said.

Zeph continued eating; he did know if this was friendly banter or what. But he had a hard time forgetting the time he had spent with something very sharp pointed at his back for hours. However, the laugh had set him at ease. They ate in silence.

Zeph anxiety continued to grow and grow as time continued to pass. This was going to be a very big problem with no way of telling the time and minimal light exposure in here from the outside. He was screwed; he just knew Santina and Vinnie were gonna be worried dead in the water. And then he was going to have to get home as well, and judging by the time it took for Aria to transport him here, it was going to be a long journey. The woman was sitting on the other side of the room, a book in her hand. She hadnt taken her eyes off the thing for at least twenty minutes, and the thought of trying to escape entered his mind. But he knew it was pointless. He was never going to escape, and even if he did. Well, there would be no point; they would track him down and then kill him later. Or worse, torture him and then force him back to them.

No, he would have to find another way; he would not leave Santina and Vinnie hanging. He would have to find some sort of solution. With three deep breaths, he readied himself.

“When will t-they be back?” Zeph asked, he tried to sound confident, but his voice broke in the middle of his sentence. If the woman thought it was funny, she didn’t show it. “Don’t know,” she said, not taking her eyes off the book. It reminded him of an earlier conversation, making him angry. “I—” he paused, thinking of what he should say. Fuck it, what else was there to lose. They wanted to kill him anyways. “I need to get home; I have people waiting for me,” He said.

“Well, they are gonna have to wait; you can’t treat anyone from where you live, can you?” she said, lifting her eyes off the book, her purplish eyes staring into his. “No— but I can’t leave them worrying, not after. Well, a certain night.”

The woman sighed, “I understand, but there is nothing I can do. You are just gonna have to find a good excuse,” the woman said, “and if you don’t, and you expose us?” she said.

Her pupils turned white and emotionless. “They will die as well, with no option for an extended contract,” she said.

It sent a shiver up his spine. Zeph clenched the fist the woman couldn’t see, drawing blood from it. It was one thing to say he would die but to threaten the death of Santina, the woman who had saved him. Vinnie…. Vinnie. If he told them anything, they would die. It made him sick to his stomach. The thought of a good relationship, or maybe them warming up to him, was out the window. These people might be able to joke and laugh. But they were killers, cold-blooded killers. Their world was kill or get killed. He would have to find a way out of that system. No matter the cost. He would not allow them to kill him, so he needed to be useful. Extremely useful.

As zeph stopped talking, the woman returned to her book, her neutral expression on her face. Zeph began plotting.

Two men fell through the door, with a woman following behind them. They were back. Zeph immediately scanned them for injuries. The faster they were treated, the faster he could get home. The woman looked mostly unharmed, but she had some minor cuts that didn’t seem like they needed major work. Though he doubted they knew how to ensure, an infection didn’t occur. He would have to talk to each of them about that. Death by infection was not a fun way to go. The two laughing men on the ground didn’t seem injured either, but when Dante stood up, he saw it. A broken hand and some fingers as well. Fuck, that needed to get treated. Here he hoped he would have a quick night. Dante’s eyes immediately found his. “You were lucky this time; none of us were injured,” He said. Zeph stared at him like he was stupid. Couldn’t he see his dangling hand? “How is Carlo?” The woman and Dante asked at the same time.

“He’s fine; he treated him for three hours,” Aria said. He was thankful she said three hours, which made it seem like he did it diligently. Even though he did, he needed to seem like he was doing a lot.

“He just needs to get checked up on for the next week every day by him, and then eat plenty of food; he will be fine.”

“Thank god,” Dante said, falling to his butt. His rough exterior evaporated.

“Well, it seems you aren’t jumping the pecking order just yet, Marco,” the woman said to the other man beside Dante. He seemed more like a boy; he was sure younger than him.

“Shut it, Sofia,” Marco said.

Everything was said with a smile; they were killers. But it seemed they valued their own. It made sense; it probably created the strongest of bonds if you could only rely on the very select group of people around you.

“Sofia, can you take…” Aria paused. “What should we call him,” she asked.

Everyone turned their eyes to him.

God, It was awkward; zeph just wanted to crawl under a rock. “Litte nurse is fine,” Dante said. Zeph wanted nothing more but to punch the man as hard as he could in the jaw. Though he knew he would just get killed. The others didn’t comment, so it seemed that would be his name. Lucky him.

“Fine, Sofia can you transport our little nurse close to home,” Aria said. Finally, Zeph thought, if they began walking now, he would be home in an hour if he was lucky. If it was just in an hour, he should be able to say he forgot the time when he was studying. He hoped it would work. It needed to.

“Fine,” the other woman said, bright orange hair sprouting from her ponytail.

“Good work, little nurse,” Dante said, waving with the hand that he had seen was just broken two seconds ago. But before he could even formulate a response or begin to stand up. His entire world wrapped around itself until suddenly, his ass hit hard concrete.

His eyes couldn’t believe it, scanning his surroundings.

He knew this alley!