"Well, well. Would you look at that?" Scar face chuckled, dark menace glinting in his eyes as he surveyed Lia and me. He reached out his arm, aggressively seizing my collar and lifting me entirely off the ground, his glare piercing through me.
"Hey, ugly," I taunted with a mocking grin, "I still count five fingers."
Veins bulged, rolled, and coiled on his big bald head and ugly face. He gritted his teeth in rage, raised his free arm in an attempt to strike me, but then abruptly halted, his vicious face contorting into a disgusting grin.
"Another one with a mouth, eh? Let's see if you can hold that grin longer than your pal did." With those words, he forcefully threw me back to the ground with a resounding thud.
I hit the ground, absorbing the impact, while my focus shifted to Scar face's words. 'Pal?'
"Reo?" Lia rushed over to help me.
"Hey, doofus. Chain 'em up and let the boss know we got all the brats back."
"Who the hell are you calling a doofus?!" Shorty retorted, grumbling as he reluctantly followed his brother's orders. Yanking aggressively on the chains, he pulled us along forcefully.
I almost stumbled from the chains binding my legs but managed to prevent myself from falling. At the same time, I caught Lia just as she was about to lose her balance.
"Just play along," I whispered to her during that moment.
Lia's expression displayed a mix of bewilderment and worry, but she nodded mildly and continued forward.
"Oi! Don't loiter!" Shorty, seemingly irritated that he had to follow his brother's orders, took his frustration out on us by pulling harder on the chain and yanking us forward.
"Kugh-!" I grunted, feigning a struggle and reluctance to move.
"Fucking runt!" A heavy force struck my back as Scar face's kick sent me flying face-first into the ground.
'Fucking bastards!' I seethed inwardly, suppressing the desire to curse aloud.
Lia and I were then pulled along by the chains, led deeper into the cave. Despite the darkness, my eyes soon adjusted to the gloom. The low ceiling and narrow walls signaled that we were back in the same cave we had escaped from earlier today.
We had decided to attempt to rescue Don and the others before the first moonlight. To accomplish this, Lia and I had intentionally allowed ourselves to be captured. It wasn't pleasant, but it was the only plan that seemed promising, considering our limited options.
The two thugs navigated the extensive cave network with the familiarity of frequent visitors. However, something began to change, though it took me a moment to notice.
I ran my fingers along the wall's surface and realized it had transitioned from natural cave formations to a smoother, more structured texture. The deeper we ventured, the more apparent this transformation became.
Wooden scaffolds lined the walls and ceilings, and even the rough, rocky surfaces became slightly less irregular. We had shifted from natural caves to what appeared to be an ancient underground mine.
This revelation wasn't entirely surprising, as our previous escape had revealed these tunnels as an extension of an abandoned mine. However, the vastness of the network was still astonishing and didn't explain the mysterious chapel we had encountered earlier.
"Perhaps the chapel used to exist above ground many years ago and sank due to an earthquake?" I mused as we ventured deeper into the tunnel. My primary concern was securing our escape route after rescuing the others.
"If we're not too late," I thought with a sense of urgency.
But I was confident that we weren't too late. We had acted swiftly after sunset and still had roughly fifty minutes before the moon would rise.
As I estimated our remaining time, Lia's footsteps in front of me abruptly stopped. I raised my head to see what had caught her attention.
'...Fire?'
At the end of the long passage, a flickering light cast shadows on the walls. It emitted a soft, pale yellow glow, suggesting it was the light of a flame torch.
"Get a move on, you brats!" Shorty snapped impatiently, violently pulling on our chain from his end.
We turned a corner and found ourselves in a strange passage lined with torches. They illuminated the path with a warm, pale yellow glow.
At the passage's end, an unusual corridor revealed itself. It was apparent that the underground cave or mine had merged with what used to be a sunken building.
'Or a dungeon...' I observed unconsciously.
The corridor featured various cells on both sides. The steel cages were low and mostly rusted from the passage of time, losing their color and splintering into jagged, cracked textures.
Despite their poor condition, most cell hinges were still intact, wedged into the walls. The corridor seemed to extend endlessly into darkness, where the pale light and torches' glow failed to reach. An eerie shiver ran down my spine as I stared into the dense, ancient shadows, almost like a mass of consuming darkness.
Then I realized it wasn't that the torches' light failed to reach; instead, the darkness seemed to absorb the light.
We were pulled toward one of the many cells farther down the eerie corridor. The rattling of our chains and metal binds echoed through the thick stone walls, almost as if announcing our arrival to something or someone.
Indeed, the darkness of the corridor appeared to shift, receding for our passage.
"I must be going crazy," I mumbled quietly, trying to dismiss my unease.
'Yeah, that must be it,' I thought, refusing to believe the darkness intentionally moved to make way for us, especially when we lacked a torch.
Nonetheless, I was probably imagining things, and I had no way of knowing for sure.
—"Huh? Who is it? Someone's coming. Shhh!"
A familiar voice reached my ears, followed by a cacophony of familiar voices. Lia also seemed to notice this as she raised her head.
Around the same time, Shorty, who had been leading us, cackled and walked forward. He arrived in front of a particular cell, kicking the frail, ancient-looking steel gate. The hinges creaked and shrieked from the kick, threatening to crumble into dust.
Shorty leaned forward with an obnoxious grin, still keeping his left leg against the steel gate. The hinges of the old gate creaked and shrieked from the kick, threatening to fall apart and crumble into ancient dust.
Still keeping his left leg against the cell's gate, Shorty leaned forward with a malevolent grin.
"Kekeke. You have company, you little rascals! Guess who we found!" He bared his brown teeth, casting a quick glance at Lia and me before forcefully tugging on the chain, dragging us closer.
Gasps of shock emanated from inside the cell. The occupants widened their eyes in surprise, a reaction even I had to restrain myself from.
"Lia, Reo!"
Lia approached the steel gate, her hands trembling, tears welling up on the verge of spilling.
"You're okay! You're all okay...!" She wiped her tears and mucus with her hands, relief etching a bittersweet smile on her lips.
"Lia!" Trise was the first to get up, attempting to rush towards Lia but hindered by the chains that bound her to the ground, limiting her movements.
My eyes darted around the dark cell, searching for Don. Despite the limited visibility, my eyes had adapted to the shadows throughout today's events, allowing me to make out vague shapes and movements.
Leon, Trise, Kyle—they were all present. A few unfamiliar faces joined them, pale and sickly-looking kids with blank and empty expressions, not much older or younger than us.
Don lay further inside the cell, chained to the wall by his limbs.
"Don..." My voice escaped unconsciously, my eyes wide with shock.
In response to my voice, four heads turned, and four pairs of eyes fixed on the lone figure hanging lifelessly against the back wall.
His head hung forward, motionless.
His body bore the marks of a brutal beating—shredded clothes, bloodstains, and a canvas of bruises. His skin bore the painful evidence of his ordeal.
As if sensing my gaze, Don moved, a faint twitch in his weakened body. He struggled to lift his head, fixing blank and dim eyes on me.
Those weren't Don's eyes. I couldn't accept it. The vibrancy and passion that once filled his gaze had vanished entirely.
Something within me sank, while another thing surged with anger.
With great effort, Don mustered a smile. At least, that's what I hoped to see in the faint curl of his lips.
"Don...?" I took a step closer, my head tilting to the side as I muttered absently.
'I can't see it,' I thought, searching for any semblance of resemblance. But it was elusive.
The Don I knew, even after the bullies had battered him yesterday, still radiated health and unyielding enthusiasm.
It was overwhelming.
Now, though, I couldn't find a trace of that spirit. It was as if it were a distant memory, nearly forgotten.
Had Don truly been so exuberant and intense? I couldn't say anymore.
My mind went blank, and darkness loomed. Anger bubbled within me.
Taking a step back, I felt the cold steel cuffs on my hands and the collars around my neck. My head seemed to grow colder.
At that moment, Scar face approached me from behind and seized my cuffed hands, detaching my restraints from the chain connecting Lia and me.
"What did you do to him?" I demanded, my gaze fixed vacantly on him.
Scar face remained silent, a faint smile playing on his lips. He reached for the collar around my neck.
"You're about to find out," he said with a twisted grin, then proceeded to pull me away from the cell, dragging me back the way we came.
"Reo? Reo!" Lia's voice echoed. Kyle, Trise, and Leon joined in.
Scar face continued to pull me down the corridor.
"Tsk. Just don't go too far, like you did with the other one, you sick bastard. What will you tell the boss if two of the sacrifices are on the brink of death?"
"Yeah, yeah, I know," he shrugged absentmindedly in response to his brother's warning, continuing to drag me along.
He shot me a twisted smile and spoke to Shorty.
"I'll be quick."
***
Authors' Note:
I'm back, and done with my exams. And I want apologize for the very late chapter. I was considering changing up the release schedule but decided against it, for now. I'll be back to the usual time from tomorrow, and we'll see from there what happens.
Please vote power stones and do add to collections if you've come with us this far. It shows my work is actually appreciated and motivates me to do better.