Everything was black he could smell something burning ...and something metallic
His lungs burned with each breath he took. He tried opening his eyes, but it hurt too bad. He was laying in some kind of puddle of liquid that seeped into his clothes and dripped onto the ground beside him.
It burned his nostrils and made his throat feel sore. Pin coughed harshly once more and sat up slowly his arms resting on his lap to support himself. He looked around to see where he was lying.
The first thing he noticed was that the ceiling he was looking at had been replaced by a tin roof. There were also walls, but they seemed to be covered in vines or maybe it was moss. A few leaves fluttered from the branches above him, but otherwise everything appeared relatively intact and unharmed.
"I haven't even gotten to meet the man who started this and now I don't know where I am," He whispered. "I think I'm dreaming."
No, he knew that wasn't right. There was no way this place felt like anything like dreamland.
He closed his eyes again and rested his head back against the wall behind him.
'This liquid…' He thought.
It stung his flesh as if the liquid itself was hot, but somehow it didn't burn. He touched the water carefully with his left hand and brought it up to his lips. It tasted like...he couldn't really describe it. It just smelled nice and sweet all at once. He drank the rest of the liquid and realized that there was more than enough.
He stop horrified thinking about the creatures he saw earlier. His face was wet, and he wiped it with the palm of his hand as he moved to look out over the vines and ivy covering the building. "What is this place..?" He wondered, "How did I get here...?" He trailed off realizing the last part of his question was rhetorical.
Pin had already figured that out from looking at what he now recognized as the sky. This had nothing to do with dreams and everything to do with reality. He knew that much. That meant...he was still trapped? Or had he simply died in his sleep.
"That old man wasn't normal…" Pin said to himself.
The idea of being lost without a clue as to how he got there was frightening, but he knew he had to try and figure things out as best as he could. If only he had time to explore a little further. But he didn't. So instead he would have to make due with his surroundings.
He stood up gingerly and looked around the area he found himself in for what may have been an hour or longer. The vines and ivies blocked all signs of any sort of sun or other light so it was difficult to tell.
Eventually, however, one thing became abundantly clear. He couldn't stay under those vines forever. He needed sunlight to find food and drink. If he stayed here long enough, he might starve to death.
"Rania…" He thought.
The place wasn't very big place to be trapped in thinking how he wasn't chained this time, but that was probably because he hadn't seen anyone come in. Or he hadn't until he woke up in the puddle. Pin sighed heavily and turned to walk around. Hopefully, his luck changed soon or something. He knew it would eventually. He just hoped Rania was waiting at the end of it.
He ran up to the flimsy door at first trying to open it , but it wouldn't budge. Pin walked back and forth several times before he finally decided to take a chance. He ran up as fast as his short legs could carry him and grabbed the edge of the door.
"Come on! Open!!" He yelled.
Nothing happened. Not a peep, not the sound of a click. He pounded the door in frustration, which was met with another dull thud from inside. Pin backed away, his expression contorted into anger He looked up at the doors leading off the courtyard as He was stuck here with no idea how long he'd been out.
Pin couldn't imagine why they would just toss him into a weird vat of unknown liquids like this. He wasn't even sure how he'd ended up here in the first place. Wasn't he supposed to be dead or something? What was going on? Had someone been messing with him? Had they thrown him in there deliberately because of his lack of memory or something?
The world started to spin as he fell to his knees, his head swam as he fought not to puke And he had a horrible suspicion that he might have been poisoned. The liquid had tasted off, but...it looked different when compared to the blood he had seen.
The door finally opened. Pin jumped backwards as the door swung slowly aside to reveal a pair of green eyes staring down at him Pin stared back in shock. He was expecting a stranger, or even worse one of those creatures, but this person was human…
"Hello. You must be the newest member of my family." The strange man smiled slightly.
"Yes..yes that's me...um...hello?" Pin stammered He was scared, confused, and definitely thirsty. He needed something to cool him down His throat was raw.
"My name is Alvaro" the strange man said calmly , "You are the last of my line. You are many to come that will die here, but not today."
Alvaro reached out and grabbed hold of the front of Pin's shirt. Pin yelped as he was hoisted off of his feet and held tightly in Alvaro's hands as he checked him over for wounds "Do not worry child, we are safe. No one can enter here without your permission. Even those monsters outside cannot touch you while inside of the compound" Alvaro explained.
Pin nodded shakily, letting himself believe that this stranger meant him no harm.