Inside a small dimly-lit room of about six by six metres, a young man sat on a chair with his hands tied behind it. His eyes were swollen and his lips were bigger than usual. At the corners of his lips, dried blood made beautiful lines down his chin. He was struggling to open his swollen eyes but that seemed difficult. His shoulders, chest and thighs were full of fresh wounds. He was breathing quickly. From just a single look, this man had gone through a series of torture. This was apparent from the stone table that was in front of him:
On the stone table, countless abnormal tools of torture were nicely arranged. If not for how weird they looked, a certain someone would have thought that this room was a kitchen. The whole room was filled with stench of blood and sweat.
The man was Ochieng'. He had been brought here two weeks ago by a certain creature. Since then, that creature, claiming to be the law enforcer of the land of beauty had put him through every kind of suffering. The reason was so that he could serve the Lord of darkness, a thing he had refused to give into no matter what was done to him.
Since Ochieng' gained much powers a few weeks ago, recovering quicker than the eyes could perceive was a very easy thing. More importantly, he had known that he was more than capable of controlling this speed and if he was willing, he could slow the recovery to be as good as any other ordinary human. Because of that, he chose to endure the pain he was going through just to know what the people of the dark world wanted with him. So that the enforcer was not suspicious, Ochieng' decided to play as a tough nut to crack, at least for some time.
He was seated quietly waiting for the day's beating. As he did, a figure appeared in his mind: she was a slightly tall girl with a brown skin. She had small lips and long nose on her gorgeous face. Her eyes were her maker's masterpiece for they were at their right place and honestly, they accentuated her beauty. Her dark hair was short and nicely curled to make a beautiful afro style. Damn! Her baps stood nicely on her chest, with nipples pointing sharply in front. She had large hips and protuberating derriere making her figure look like that of a wasp yet alluring. This was the girl he loved most.
"Apeleka, I really do not know where you went. I have tried looking for you but up until now, I have no idea where you are. I can't help thinking about you...I miss you." Ochieng' shook his head worriedly.
...
Kuru and Ochieng's other companions had wandered in the dark world for a few days after Ochieng' had been taken away from them. For about eight days, they looked for him. They met several Black Fiends along the way but they managed to escape danger by a nose. However, Mang'weya had sustained a few injuries and was on the verge of death. It was the weakest amongst the five.
On the ninth day, they met a more powerful Black Fiend and ended up being taken away to a desolate land in the middle of the dark world. Weak and severly injured, they found it hard to stand once they were left there, let alone escape.
Today was their fifth day in that land. Being able to regenerate at a visible pace, the five beasts had recovered fully. Kuru was a wizard and getting himself healed wasn't something unachievable. He was also also full of vitality. What he was now doing was to provide magical food for his friends for they were starving. It must be said that these beasts had become his good friends after being together for about two weeks. Right now, even if it wasn't for Ochieng's sake, he was willing to protect them with his life.
"My good friends, since you look like lions, I have prepared a special meal for the four of you. Jade Eagle..." Kuru was looking at his friends beaming but was interrupted by Ratong' who had never been in good mood since Ochieng' left.
"I don't want to eat," Ratong' said, "Until I am sure that he is alive and doing well, no food is going to enter my mouth."
After saying so, the lion lay on its belly and closed its eyes as if asleep, ignoring everything that was going on.
"You are right to behave the way you do Ratong', but Ochieng' would be more than glad to see a strong Ratong' full of energy...That is why I brought the four of you zebras from Turka..." Kuru tried to persuade the lion.
"What did you say? Where are the zebras?"
Just when Kuru thought that Ratong' would ignore him and he was finding a way to convince the beast, he saw Ratong'suddenly opening its eyes widely before hurriedly getting on its feet before looking around with bright eyes. It was even salivating.
"But... I thought you will only eat after you are sure Ochieng' alive?" Kuru rolled his eyes in bewilderment.
"Just cut the crap and bring out the zebras. Are you not the one who said I need to be full of energy for Ochieng's sake. Bring the food over here!" Ratong' frowned disapprobation.
The others turned their heads towards the beast in incredulity. They knew how tasty zebras from Turka were. Those were not normal zebras but beasts stronger than normal animals. It also had a top notch intelligence giving it abilities far beyond what humans could comprehend. The beasts originated from Turka and lived in a specific swamp there. They fed on medicinal grass there granting them delicious and refreshing flesh when consumed. No lion beast could resist that beast. But, this Ratong' had already declared that it won't eat until it confirmed that Ochieng'was fine, what happened to its attitude for it to change that fast?
Kuru had no choice but to bring out the food for the animals. Jade Eagle was given what it loved most-some special rodents that were only found in the mangroves. He also served himself with a beautiful meal.
The five beasts and the human had just started eating when a creature flew over.