With the rickety creaking of wheels and the damp sensation of wood, my eyes opened to a world I had not seen before.
I was in the same cage I once looked into. No longer merely an observer, I had become the object of pity and disgust.
Rough and unending coughs, those religious, mumbled unending prayers, and others looked as though they had already died.
They all wore the same scraggy clothes, same buckled restraints, same dreadful expressions.
.
I too wore their scraggy clothes, I too wore their buckled restraints, I too had that same… dreadful… expression…
"You think the slaves this time are worth much?", a voice spoke from beyond the cage. He sat at the hem of the mobile cage, making small talk with his mates at the front.
"The women don't look like they'll sell well. That guy we had trouble with might fetch a good price, he's got a good face after all, who knows what kinds of perverted nobles would want to get their hands on him".
I recognised this man's voice, he was the one who sent me on that wild goose chase. Though, it was still my mistake for following through with it.
"Yeah hahaha".
"What about the guy who punched the boss?".
"He'll probably get sold to some weirdo, the boss will want to ensure that he doesn't get off scot free".
"You're probably right about that".
On the inside of the carriage, another had shifted his attention towards me.
"If it weren't for you, neither of us would be in this situation".
I had nothing to say, he was right. The man whom I ran after, fought and captured, sat beside me.
"What I didn't expect was to see you here with me, I don't know whether to laugh or cry".
…
"I'm sorry".
…
"Tch".
The damp wood had come about from the rain that poured just a few hours ago.
It was no wonder why they always looked so sickly.
"Where are we going?", I asked, trying to keep the conversation going rather than be kept to my own thoughts.
"To hell".
"Doesn't sound nice", I tried to laugh, but neither the situation called for it, nor could my body handle the pain.
"Hell was never meant to be pleasurable".
"Yeah…".
"If you don't mind me asking, how'd you become a slave?".
…
"You don't have to answer, if you don't want to-".
"Sigh no, no.. it's fine, he pushed his nails into his palms. "The worst mistake a man can make is trust the wrong people, just like your dumb ass did. In the end, everything turns out the same way, in the end, no matter how hard you try to kid yourself into thinking they'll change, or that they would never hurt you… you're wrong. They should have never left you guessing in the first place".
"Was it a lover?".
"It was everyone".
…
"I'm sorry".
"The only ones who will be sorry are them, they will beg for forgiveness when I've pulled my dagger to their necks".
He had this red glow in his eyes. I don't know whether this was just my imagination or whether this was his rage personified. Did I look like this once?
"What's your story?".
"I believed in myself, turns out I wasn't strong enough".
"We're never strong enough, that's why we keep growing. You trust the fact that tomorrow will not turn out the sam as yesterday".
"Yeah… but I let go, it was too much for me to handle".
"What…?", he looked at me as if he were looking at something disgusting. "'You, 'let go'…?".
"Well, what I mean is that I found out that I'm no one special, I didn't want to see the people around me die".
"'The people around you die'? What bullshit is that? If your friend was going to die, would you die in his steed?".
"Yeah… probably", I smiled pitifully.
"Wrong! You kill the man who even tried to do such a thing, if your friend dies so be it! But you kill them, even if it kills you, even if the entire world will die because of you, even if you're crawling on the ground, torn to shreds, almost dead… they have to die. You're friend might be six feet in the ground, but at the very least, you didn't betray their trust".
His tone turned glum, "And if your friend throws you to the wolves to live, they're better off devoured themselves".
I don't know where this sudden burst of emotion came from.
He had his hands on my shoulders, gazing into my eyes as he spoke, the combination of every emotion he felt at once, pouring out into his words.
"I…"
A fire has reignited itself in my heart.
"What is your name, I forgot to ask?".
"Ford".
"Hello Ford, I… am Viktor".
- - - - -
Only a few more hours passed before we finally came to a stop.
Outside our cage stood a tall storefront. Hogwinter's Jewellery.
While slavery was indeed, widely accepted. People still couldn't stomach watching slaves being sold as openly as clothing.
"Oy John, grab the keys and take the slaves down to the basement".
One of the henchmen called out to another, sitting lazily in his seat.
"Why do I always gotta do the work?".
"You know the rules, I am your superior so you do as told, now get back to fucking work".
He tossed some keys to the man, named John.
Although he was clearly getting pushed around, John did as he was told.
"Come here slaves".
Some of the girls trembled in fear, unable to move.
"I said come, HERE!", he climbed up into the cage, pulling one by the hair, dragging her outside.
He threw her to the ground.
"The weak bully the weaker", Viktor spoke as he walked down the cage and towards John.
"You of all people must know what it's like to get pushed around".
"How dare a mere slave, talk to me like that-?"
"…I am not your slave…", in the next moment, Viktor swung around him, pulling his cuffs around John's neck. He pulled John to the ground, wrapping his legs around, to prevent John from kicking about.
John was no longer breathing.
"Oi oi, I knew this would happen… sigh, I told them to administer the medication first. If you want something done properly, do it yourself".
Viktor stood up, cautiously observing the man who had come out of the store.
Tall and skinny to the point of looking dead, the only thing that stuck out was his monocle sat on his left eye.
"Don't make me do this Viktor".
Viktor ran towards him, ready to attack, "Malcym, you piece of shit".
"Well, that is very rude to say".
In the next moment, Viktor was on the ground, unconscious.
"Greetings newcomer, I'm sure you will find your stay with us, most memorable".
It all ended so quickly.
Viktor, whom I had taken a while to finish off, still managed to harm me. If he was no match for this guy, then what chance did I have?
Who was this monster and why couldn't I have just minded my own business?