DEVYN'S POV
Mmmmm. I groan as I try to move. My body aches. I open my eyes to see darkness. My hands are bound. A thick chain is clasped around my neck. The rumbling and vibration surrounding me suddenly stop, the momentum throwing me into the back of someone's body.
A door opens, and a white beam from a flashlight floods the compartment. I lift my hands to shield my eyes. The beam eventually moves on, and I turn my head to see several other beings connected to the same chain.
"All right! Everybody out!" A loud, harsh voice yells.
Our chain is pulled, and we are dragged out of the transit vehicle. Cold wind whips against my bare skin, and I realize my shirt and shoes are gone. The planet is dark and wet, and the black rock serving as the ground is sharp and slick.
We are grouped together and pushed to our knees. I look around to find I am the only human man. Most of the captured victims are either female or of a different species. I lower my head as a gush of wind blows past.
A few minutes pass before customers start appearing. One by one, slaves are sold off. A female gahen screams and fights the dendrum when she is sold. The gahen is rendered unconscious and given to a demon, demonstrating the power and ruthlessness of the dendrum.
Several customers point at me, but the dendrum shake their heads.
"He's reserved," one dendrum tells a customer in Earth's common language, which I, thankfully, understand. The customer scowls and walks off.
Reserved? What? Why am I reserved? I am just a mere human. I am not as strong as other beings. Why would a demon want me? ...Unless...
My heart drops as I think of a possibility. No, no, no. Let's hope that is not it.
My knees ache from kneeling on the hard rock, but every time I move even slightly to try to shift positions, I get whipped. My body grows weak from exposure to the wet cold. Fierce winds, lack of food, and dehydration do not help my feeble and indisposed state. How long was I unconscious to grow this weak? I begin shaking and struggle to stay awake.
Five hours pass, and the wind does not stop. Most of the slaves are gone; I am one of the remaining few.
Loss of blood from the whip marks makes it hard to focus. My eyes droop. I fight to stay awake as I will most likely die if I fall asleep.
Well...I guess dying is not all that bad. It would be better than being a slave for the rest of my life. Kilo and Castyr are on their way to Earth. I would get to see my parents. Wil can never hurt me again. I will not be leaving anyone I love behind. I have no regrets.
Maybe I should just sleep. Sleeping sounds nice. I would get to leave this miserable place.
As I am closing my eyes, black boots appear in front of me. "I apologize for being late. Is this him?" A deep voice sounds, catching my attention. Is he talking about me? I look around to see I am the only prisoner in the vicinity of the owner of the deep voice. The closest slave is ten feet away.
I look up to see crimson hair as a dendrum's hand grabs my chain and I am forced to my feet. My chain is taken off, and I am pushed towards my buyer. I stumble on the slick, wet rock, but he catches me.
"How long has he been without food and water?!" The man yells at the dendrum as he quickly leans on one knee and rests me in his lap. My head rolls into his chest as he checks my pulse before proceeding to scorn my sellers.
Why does he sound mad? I am just a slave. Wait! Was I just sold to a demon? Ah, whatever, I do not care anymore. Hopefully he will let me die right here.
The demon removes his coat, and I decide to open my eyes one last time. I barely make out grey eyes looking down at me between crimson strands of hair as I am wrapped in a warm coat and a hand is held to my forehead. I fall unconscious as warmth covers me and floods my body.
Gahen - Tall Humanoid being with colorful, glowing skin. Gahen have the ability to grow any kind of flower in any environment using their breath as the flowers' life.