(You know, things tend to work out pretty well most of the time... until they don't... but we all find that out the hard way I guess. The trick is how we deal with it when everything falls apart... Do we give up? Do we rely on others? Or do we try to push through on our own? What do we do when things are out of our control with no clear path forward?... I guess it all depends... on what kind of person you'd like to be... What it is you want to achieve and how far are you willing to go to get it. The choice is yours... the power is in your hands.)

Ahhr… my head hurts… mouth is dry… I can't move… are my hands tied?... feet too? Is this another prank? GAHH this sucks!

Where am I anyway?... Everything's dark… My face is scratchy and I can smell straw and potatoes… blech, I hate potatoes.

I can hear horses, am I moving?..

… It feels like I'm moving.

Ahh I feel sick… What is going o-

I hear a man's voice "so, how far out are we?"

"Meh, around 6/7 days till we get to the warehouse, then another 2 more to the port if all goes well." another man replies, the voices are muffled.

"Ya think we'll pick up anymore on the way?"

"Nah, we'll be getting a bit close to civilization soon so let's not attract any more attention than we have to… We got a pretty good haul, let's keep it that way."

"Yeah, true… by the gods I cant wait till we get back home, I can hear the tavern calling haha"

"Me too brother, me too ha!"

Home?... Who are these guys?...

Home… yeah, I gotta get home.

Lets see if I can get these binds off-

"How much ya think we'll get for the squirts?" the muffled men continue.

"Not sure… hard to say, it's been a while since I sold a kid… they fetch a bit more than women in certain markets to say the least"

"Certain markets?"

"Yeah, they usually put the boys to work in mines or something similar, they're easily broken, retrained and should last a few years if looked after properly"

Sold… mines? Ahh this isn't goo-

"What about the girl?"

Girl?

"Aha! she'll make a small fortune to the right buyer, there's plenty of uses for a pretty one like her…"

Girl? Wai-

"Mnah!..." a girl's muffled whimper breaks my attention.

Nah, this can't be real…

"Áine?.." I whispered.

"Maah! ama gah… uma…" muffled words then the girl broke back into silence.

Is she gagged? It is her, right?

What the hell is going on! I can't remember anythi-

A nudge comes from my left side?

"Connie… you okay?" said a boy, in a warm hushed tone.

I whispered back "Taran?... that you?"

"Yeah it's me, You've been out for a few days…"

"Days!! Bu-"

"Shhht, ya damn fool…" stern, almost a growl. Then continued softly "... you took a hard hit, how's your head?"

"Killing me… what's going on? I can't see…"

"Me either, our heads are bagged and hands bound… seems we're gonna be sold."

"So this is real…"

"Yeah… unfortunately."

"... Can you help me up? My feet are tied and my stomachs numb…"

"Yeah, sure. Try rolling over and lifting your head, I'll give you a boost."

"Thanks"

After some fumbling about and taking a knee to the ribs, I found myself sitting upright and a little disorientated.

"You good?"

"Been better…" I replied softly with a weak snigger.

Ahh, I'm thirsty and my head is spinning… none of this feels real… shit, I almost forgot.

"Wait, is Áine here too?

"Yeah, that was her just now, she's frustrated and not going down quietly to say the least… they gagged her for making too much noise, they even threatened to cut out her tongue if she kept it up… sick bastards…"

Everything fell silent for a few moments, nothing but the sound of the carriage wheels grinding on rocks, sounds of the horses hoofs and the squeaking of the surrounding timber. Then a light sniffle from a girl a small distance away…

"Áine, it'll be okay, we'll figure this out" I said with a smile, not that anyone could see it.

"Hmn" she replied with a muffled grunt. Is she pissed at me?

I rested my head against the wall of the carriage and peered into my own thoughts, racking my brain trying to figure out how we got here… but more importantly how are we all going to get out of this? the last thing I remember was… my birthday, I think… nah that was ages ago. The hunters initiation… No it was... Gah! Everything's jumbled and it hurts to think… nothing makes sense…

"Taran?"

"Yeah?"

"When was my initiation?"

"Last fall?…"

"Last fall?... I am still 12 right"

"Yes, you're still 12… are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, just a little confused is all."

"Hmm okay… Well anyway, we got to figure a way out of this. There's a chance we may get separated if this goes on to long and there's no telling where Áine may end up,"

"Hmph" Áine grunts in agreeance.

"So what you got in mind?" I replied.

"Well I'm not to sure yet… still tryna figure that out-"

'BANG! BANG!!' The whole carriage shook, the hairs stood up at the back of my neck and my stomach turned.

"Keep the damn noise down! We already told you what would happen if we heard a peep outta ya!" the voice of the man thundered through my bones.

I went stiff and let out "sorry!" an instinctive response. I got too comfortable talking, so foolish.

Everything fell quiet again for what felt like a lifetime, all I could do was hold my breath…

Okay… Nothings happening, everything seems okay… I'll have to be more carefu-

murmurs of the men came through the wall…

"So he's up?" one said

"And already giving backchat…" the other replied.

"Well, lets go give him a proper greeting and lay out the law for him haha"

"Sounds good to me, I got a bone to pick with the little brat after last time anyway."

"Well don't break the kid too badly or he won't be worth squat."

"I won't, I won't…"

Last time?... What happened last time?

"Kay… HOOOLD!" the man howled at the horses.

With that the horses let off a 'Ney' and the carriage creaked and came to a slow and steady stop.

The men chuckle as their feet reach the ground, the carriage jolts and screeches, then rocks to a still silence.

On the opposite side from me, one of the men scratches along the outside of the wall, as the other lightly taps against the side my head is resting against.

I feel the sweat building as the cold rushes from my head to the tips of my fingers, leaving a pit in my stomach.

This is bad…

'Tap… tap… tap' coming from the left, it's getting louder…

My hair stands on end as the 'Tap… TAP… tap' passes by the back of my head, making its way quietly to the right… with each 'tap' time seems to stretch, yet moves faster.

The sounds pause, all I can hear is my heartbeat.

Feeling a bit faint, I lick my chapped lips and take a deep breath.

As I do, Taran whispers "nothing stupid this time, just take what they give you and don't say a word. We'll figure this out lat-"

With that the doors swing open with a 'Crack!' the room becomes a vacuum as the air gets sucked out and light seeps in through the bag on my head… It's a woven sack.

Through it I caught the silhouettes of the men, they're large, well built and quite frankly… terrifying… yeah I'm screwed…

"Well, look who's awake!"

"Let's get you up boy, we'd like a little chat outside. We wouldn't want to disturb the rest of our fine guests here"

I see a hand draw closer until it blocks the residual light, I shut my eyes and pray to the gods.

I feel the large hand grip my shirt and with tremendous force he drags me out the carriage and launches me out as if I were a stray cat. I bounced across the ground before I hit something solid and came to a dead stop, the air left my lungs and all I could do was squirm and heave.

Footsteps again draw closer with a hoarse voice cackling. Before I could catch my breath, I caught another overwhelming blow to the chest. This time I hear the cracks… yep, there goes a few ribs… I can't breathe…

"Oi oi! Not so rough Rotri! That's gold your kickin!" the voice came from behind

"Ahh come on! He can take it! The little shit has it comin after the shit he pulled the other day"

What did I even do? Ahh this sucks so hard, I can't see, I can't breathe, I can't defend or even run... What should I do?... What can I do?... shi-

I've been lifted by the front of my shirt, my heads spinning, I can't keep this up much mo-

With a large thud, I received a blow to the guts so hard it tore me from my shirt and I dropped to the ground limp.

Fading in and out of consciousness, dizzy, coughing up what tastes of blood and I'm sure I've emptied my bladder on top of it all… this is shameful…

"Rotri! That's enough, I don't think he'll be speaking up for a while after that…"

"Ya sure? I'm sure he could take a few more licks."

"Nah that's enough, look at the bruises on him… we won't make a penny off him at this rate"

"It's not that bad, I think that one's a tattoo anyway… or birthmark maybe?"

"No matter… leave him be and take that bag off too, give the runt some air before he passes out."

"If ya say so…"

The bag was torn from my head, instantly the light blinded me. It felt like hot needles through my skull, I shut my eyes but within seconds I found myself throwing up with everything I had, squirming around in pain from my injuries. Tears streamed down my face, nothing I did would ease the pain.

This is too much for me to bear. What did I even do? This sucks… Ahrr! my chest! Everything hurts…

"Well done brother… I think you broke him."

"Nah, don't say that! He'll be right as rain by the time we get back home."

"There's no way this runt will survive the trip in this state, look at him Rotri! This is coming outta your share!"

"Don't blame me! You're the one who wanted to teach him manners!"

"And you're the one who took it too far! over a measly arrow to the leg no less!"

"Well it hurt… an-"

"Oh shut up! Get back on the wagon you useless grunt! I'll deal with it…"

"Hmph, ya miserable git… fine, make it quick I'm starving."

Huh? I'm really gonna die… this really does su-

"WAIT!!"

Taran?

"GET BACK IN BOY! The kids done for-"

"NO! He'll be fine… he's tough… he'll pull through… he's been through worse than this! I'll look after him till he recovers… you wouldn't want to lose out on a easy payday would yo-"

"The boy is broken! so deal with it! if he can't handle his own bladder or even breathing, he'll never handle the journey… The best we can do is put him out of his misery like a dog, we can use his meat as bait for hunting later and sell the pelts… Now get back inside or you can join him!"

"But, wai-"

"Shut up boy! Were the ones losing out here!"

So this is it?... I didn't even get to-

"Afternoon travellers!" a weathered, yet cheerful voice came out of nowhere.

"Huh?... and who the hell are you?!" said the man, while drawing his sword.

Who's this?... the voices are getting quieter… I can't make them out…

Gah I can't focus… I'm blacking out…

No stay awake! I got this…

Shit… I don't got this…

Haah… I think I'm done for… (fades to black)