RE:volt! Chapter 24: Piss
Ark Age 11: 4 Years later.
"Six-Two-Six!" Ark spun at his name being called, just in time to run his short-sword through a humanoid monster, slicing open the green-skinned creature's belly but not stopping the monster's momentum.
The monster with scales fell on Ark, it's cold intestines pressing against his body as the lizard-faced monster sputtered and began to claw at Ark, cutting and scraping him with its sharp claws.
Suddenly the monster's eyes bulged from its socket as a rusty spear found its way through the side of its skull, spilling brain matter and blue blood across Ark who swiftly rolled the dead sauran off him.
"Are you ok?!" The long-haired Thirty-Four asked, helping Ark to his feet.
"I'm fine! Help the others!" Ark directed, pointing to a formation of children that had cornered a sauran with their spears but were struggling to kill it.
"Go! Now!" Ark ordered, getting up and picking up his shortsword, eyeing a pair of saurans climbing out of the nearby riverbank to attack.
Ark and his cadre of slaves were being used-tested, according to Bruno, made to fight an infestation of saurans, lizard-like creatures that were polluting the water upstream of the Constantine Estate with their acidic scales. Due to their biology, saurans preferred to live near water, unfortunately their presence tended to make crops fail and fish die as they shed and poisoned the nearby areas.
So Ark and his cadre were being put to use, a test that was secretly another form of culling, thinning the herd to ease the pressure on the Estate's pocketbook.
Thirty-Four ran off, joining the others to finish off their sauran as Ark took a breath.
He took off, racing through the trees with his shortsword in hand and leaping, stabbing a sauran in the head as he landed on it's back and spun, gripping his blade with two hands and pulling, performing an underhanded slash that slit the throat of sauran that stood on all fours in an attempt to flatten him.
Ark sidestepped the body that landed in the dirt and began to roll back and forth, the lizard clutching its own throat as it leaked blue blood across its deceased companion.
Spinning his blade into a reverse grip, Ark stood over the monster, plunging his blade into the base of its skull where it died instantly, its body spasming as nerves sent out their final signals from the brain. Ark took a breath, taking in his surroundings.
Bodies… lots of bodies. Both human and Lizard. Children mostly… the soil beneath the canopy of trees stained purple as human and inhuman blood mixed together.
Ark clenched his jaw, a certain hollowness inside as his gaze swept the battlefield.
A sudden clap of applause sounded out, ripping Ark away from the carnage.
"BRAVO! BRAVO!" Manfrey called out, the yellow vested man in charge of this training exercise with Bruno nowhere to be found.
"You!" Manfrey pointed at the blood covered Ark. "What's your number?"
"Six-Two-Six sir." Ark hissed, his hand tightening against the blade that began to rise from the corpse of the monster.
"No." Irelix said, the voice shimmering into Ark's point of view with a scowl on her face. "Not yet."
"You got a problem with me boy?" Manfrey said before backhanding Ark. "Don't you ever look at me like that again. Do you understand?!"
"S-s-sorry sir." Ark said, casting his eyes downward.
"I was coming to praise you, but it seems you've grown a bit too big for your breeches. Not to worry, I still have a reward for you." Manfrey said before something wet and warm hit Ark on the head.
Piss.
Manfrey… the overseer was pissing on him, laughing as he did so.
"There you go, all nice and clean boy." Manfrey said as the bald man broke out into a smirk upon eyeing Ark's hand twitching around his sword.
"Heh… you want to hit me?" Manfrey leaned down and whispered, his deranged eyes staring into Ark's downward blank stare. "I can tell ya want ta. Come on PISSBOY. I'll even give you the first shot."
Both parties remained unmoving. Neither saying a word until the smile on Manfrey's face turned sour and he walked off, baton in hand with his thumb over a sigil that would activate Ark's collar. "Can't ever have any fun round ere."
"Promise me that he will be the first to die." Irelix said, standing beside Ark with fury unbridled in her slanted pupils.
"I promise." Ark whispered, a plan on how to mutilate the man forming in his mind as helpers began to collect weapons from the slaves.
****
Marching through the trees, Ark's cadre eventually met up with Thirty-Three's, the group having been split up to attack different areas.
"You smell like piss." Thirty-Three said, the redheaded boy apparently not being a boy, but actually a girl. Puberty had struck exceptionally hard for Thirty-Three, turning her into a well endowed girl with short hair and hips that betrayed Ark's first impression of the now fourteen year old. Another thing Ark had gotten wrong. However, despite her transformation, her manner of speech and attitude were more akin to a boy than a girl.
"Thank you for your astute observation." Ark growled, walking past the red-sashed girl who carried a hammer on her shoulders.
"How many losses today?" Thirty-Three asked, noting Ark's sour look.
"Too many." Ark sighed as Thirty-Four caught up. In comparison to her sister, she was nearly as flat as a board, shorter too but still taller than average. Both still had room to grow, so there was no telling what they would look like in the future.
If they got a future.
"Eight dead this time. Ninety-Three, Eighty-Nine, Thirty-Three, Forty-Two, Fifty-Two, Fifty-Four, Sixty-One, and Seventy." Ark reported as the slaves followed the river back to the estate. Every nameless number engraved in his mind.
"Poor suckers." Thirty-Three said, her voice completely devoid of empathy. Ark didn't blame her, For Thirty-Three, this was just another day. She didn't know any better, nor knew of a world outside of taking orders and fighting for a master.
"Did you get what I asked?" Ark said, eyeing the helpers at the head of the pack before his gaze stealthily shifted to the helpers at their rear, the adults too busy talking to each other to lay attention.
"I did." Thirty-Three said, pulling part of her shirt to reveal a bundle of papers nestled between her binded chest and her shirt. Ark immediately slapped his hand across her chest, glaring.
"Idiot. Don't show me here. Wait until we're at the barracks." Ark hissed, causing the girl to go wide eyed and flush with embarrassment.
***
It wasn't long before the cadre were brought back to their quarters, deposited there until the communal bath which consisted of buckets of water and food could finish being prepped. Most of the slaves left the area choosing to wait outdoors, leaving Ark alone.
Ark stared at the now empty cots. In total, fifteen kids had died today. He closed his eyes, taking a breath as Irelix materialized.
"Draconian. Odd how the term you monkeys use to describe situations like this is named after us."
Can you shut up? I don't want to hear another lecture about how dragons are superior. Ark sighed, taking a seat on his cot as Thirty-Four and Thirty-Three joined him.
"Oh in this, I concede defeat. The way your kind treats your offspring is downright repugnant." Irelix said.
Great. Ark sighed as Thirty-Three showed him the bundle of papers.
"Ninety-Nine says to burn this immediately when you're done." Thirty-Three said, her brow raised.
"Thank you." Ark said. "Put it in the usual place."
By usual place, Ark was referring to a tree nearby that had a hole. A place where Ark would recover the documents at night.
Ark paused, looking around, realizing that a certain blonde girl was missing.
"Where is Thirteen?" Ark asked, referring to Nine and stopping Thirty-Three from leaving.
"Hm?" Thirty-Three said. "Oh, she's been moved to the big house. She's a house slave now."
"Huh…"
"What? Missing her?" Thirty-Four quipped, laying across Ark's lap as a bell rung, indicating it was time to bath.
"Just thinking." Ark replied, wondering why Thirteen had been moved.
"Any of those thoughts about which words you'll be teaching me?" Thirty-Four asked, referring to their late nights where Ark had begun teaching her to read instead of fighting. In secret of course, but something that had built and hooked her rapport.
Ark sighed.
"Careful. You almost seem happy." Irelix commented.
Shut up.