The fire in the middle of the corridor connecting the cells was burning, without it, no one would wake up the next morning. Nothing was heard in the place other than the occasional sparks of burning wood, everyone was exhausted from the hard work that accumulated over the days. Ezer felt headaches and weakness all over his body, and even though Nataña was giving him extra food, he can't imagine how little strength the other inmates must have left.

It was late at night when the heavy door leading to the cells opens with its characteristic creak. Nataña emerges from it escorted by a soldier, one couldn't see the expression because of her lowered head, but Ezer knew that something was wrong by the way she walked.

Now it is the turn of the cell to open and Nataña is pushed immediately and then the gate closes.

“You know we don't take no for an answer. It is not the first time, but I hope it will be the last.” The guard warns before leaving, but not before spitting on Nataña.

“Are you okay?” Ezer tries to help her, but she only responds by spitting out a piece of a key.

Ezer suppresses his joy at seeing that the first step of his plan was successful and sighs as he crouches down bringing his eyes to the same level as Nataña's.

“Are you okay?” He asks softly again.

“No, I'm not.”

Ezer embraces her trembling body while caressing her hair without caring about the dirt or the viscous liquid that impregnated it.

"I'm tired... I'm tired of everything. I deserve to be punished, what I did is unforgivable… but this… this is torture. It is wrong, everyone is wrong… the world is wrong.” Nataña's eyes no longer reflected life.

“If you had the power to change the world, would you?”

"Without hesitation, to have the chance to return my pain to everyone who caused it! Let them feel in their own flesh the hopelessness that it means to see a new dawn! That…!” The hate in her expression softens as she spits out those words, then calms completely with a final sigh. “That nobody, who doesn't deserve it, has to live the same as me… Yes, I would.”

"Then I'll make sure to fulfill all of that and that you never suffer again." Ezer puts both hands on Nataña's shoulders, forcing her to make direct contact with his eyes and thus convey the desire to live again.

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She simply nods and hides her face in Ezer's chest letting a single tear fall without him noticing.

Few hours passed and the first rays of the sun could already be seen on the horizon. The fire in the middle of the hall had long since burned out, leaving only a few fathoms. The routine of the last days is repeated again, two guards line up the prisoners and force them to put on the chains that bound their feet.

"It's finally the last day! I was already tired of chopping wood.”

“Yeah, every morning the cold caresses my ass…”

They might all be complaining, but deep down were glad that they had something to do other than be cooped up. They just didn't want to admit that they were taking orders.

“You have it?” Anjani asks Ezer, already holding the ax and a small pile of wood to work with.

Ezer responds by pulling the piece of key out from under his tongue. Only the head, which contained the notches to open the lock, was still in good condition.

“There are five guards, one at each corner and one guarding the door. With the ax... maybe I can take one.” Ezer tightens his grip on the handle, knowing such a heavy tool was difficult to use against a weapon of war wielded by seasoned soldiers. He had already faced someone who used an ax and he perfectly remembered the wide movements that it forced to make and the openings that this left. He only had one move, maybe two, to finish off his enemy.

“I can easily take care of two others.”

“And the rest?”

“That's when we use the other prisoners, don't worry. I've been locked up much longer and I know each one's personality… believe me, there are several killers in this yard.”

Ezer frees his ankles from the chains with some difficulty due to the split key. He then hands it over to Anjani who does the same.

"Give it to me. I free the others so they don't kill each other to see who comes first.” Nataña gestures at what she considered a bunch of brainless brutes.

The shackles were loose now, but they were still on his feet which allowed him to go unnoticed and approach without attracting attention. That is exactly what Ezer does by facing the guard.

“What are you doing? Back to work!” The guard yells with sleepy eyes.

Ezer nods and turns around, showing his back. However, before the guard could understand what was happening, an ax embedded itself in his shoulder centimeters from his neck.

Ezer takes advantage of the half spin to gain strength and kill his target in one hit. It didn't work, his aim failed hitting the guard's shoulder forcing him to fall to the ground as a scream escaped between his teeth. In the midst of desperation, the blade rises again, pointing at the neck. But again, it misses and hits the arm of the man who instinctively used it as a shield.

The guard stops screaming, maybe his brain can't process what was happening to him. Just watch as his arm hangs at an odd angle held only by a few strips of skin. Before his arm is completely severed, his vision is obscured by the impact of the ax on his face.

The courtyard was silent, only Ezer's heavy breathing was distinguishable. He stares in disgust at the battered body of the guard at his feet as lines of blood slide across the snow and mud. He had already prepared himself mentally, it was not the first time he had killed a man. Although ending someone's life in such a grotesque way... it was something he didn't think he was capable of.