Ignoring Adachi's protective gesture towards the young Mithra, one of the bystanders dismissively exclaimed, "Don't mind him; he must have gone crazy!" to the slaves nearby who had been eyeing Adachi with suspicion as he walked away, hand in hand with G'em Tia.
As they made their way towards the ship, Adachi attempted to engage G'em Tia in light conversation, hoping to distract the boy from the last event. "When I was younger, I used to find solace inside human-made domes; this cave reminds me of those times," he shared, trying to break the ice and lighten the mood.
However, his effort seemed to fall flat, as G'em Tia, wrapped in his own thoughts and distress, offered no response to Adachi's reminiscence. Before long, they arrived at the ship's docking area.
Upon their arrival, one of the slavers caught Adachi's eye, silently signaling him to join the others in unloading the ship. With his left hand severely limited in movement, Adachi resorted to using his right hand to shift the crates from the ship, repositioning them away from the bascule bridge.
G'em Tia stayed close, lending his support by pushing alongside Adachi. The slavers paid little mind to G'em Tia; his small stature and frail appearance led them to not expect much from him, sparing him from further bullying or attention as they focused their expectations elsewhere.
Despite G'em Tia's earnest efforts, his strength contributed little to their task; the crate would remain stationary unless Adachi exerted himself. Nonetheless, Adachi couldn't help but feel a mix of annoyance and companionship towards the young Mithra, akin to an overly persistent but endearing pet.
Choosing not to dwell on the grim realities of their situation, Adachi focused on the task at hand, trying to push aside thoughts of surrender.
In the dim, shadowy confines of the cave that served as their prison, G'em Tia's attempts to move a heavy stone from one side to the other were met with predictable failure. The stone, stubborn and unyielding, refused to budge under the small Mithra's efforts. Adachi, watching from a short distance away, couldn't help but be charmed by the display.
"Need a little help there?" he offered, a smile playing on his lips despite the gravity of their situation.
Within the somber walls of their stone cell, Adachi and G'em Tia managed to carve out moments of lightness and laughter. One day, G'em's imagination transformed the cave into a mysterious forest.
"We're explorers, Adachi! We have to find the hidden treasure," he declared, his eyes alight with the thrill of adventure.
They crept around the cave, inventing stories for every nook and cranny, a welcome distraction from their grim reality.
On another occasion, they stumbled upon a small, natural indentation in the cave wall. G'em, ever the architect, decided it was the perfect place for a 'secret base'.
"We need to fortify our base, Adachi! We'll need defenses," he proclaimed with all the seriousness of a kid. Adachi played along, helping to gather small stones and sticks.
"What's our strategy, General G'em?" he asked, fully engaged in their imaginative play. Together, they built their fortress, laughter echoing off the stone walls, a brief respite from their captivity.
Their bond deepened through these shared moments of play. The stolen fruit incident became a legend in their small world. G'em, with the stealth of a seasoned thief, managed to pilfer a piece of dried fruit from their meager rations. "You can't catch me!" he taunted, darting away with the prize.
Adachi chased after him, feigning anger. When he finally caught up, he couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, you little rascal. You win this time," he conceded, sitting down to share the fruit.
"Truce?" G'em offered, extending the fruit with a grin. They shared the fruit, savoring the sweetness as if it were a feast.
The peace of these moments, however, was shattered under the cover of darkness. The other captives, their patience frayed to the breaking point, turned their frustration towards Adachi in a misguided act of defiance.
Awakened by the sudden press of damp cloth against his face, Adachi found himself bound and gagged, a prisoner of his own comrades. Disoriented and frightened, he struggled against his restraints. It was only when the faint light of a makeshift torch illuminated G'em's terrified face that the full weight hit him.
"G'em, I AM HERE!," he tried to say, his voice lost against the fabric. Seeing the fear in G'em's eyes, Adachi felt hopeless again.
The air grew tense, charged with an imminent sense of dread. Adachi, his heart hammering against his ribs, caught the shimmer of a glass shard in the dim light. Panic surged through him. He struggled against his bonds, a futile effort met with a sharp blow to his abdomen that sent him crumpling to the ground, pain radiating through his body.
"Stay down!" hissed one of the attackers, a dark silhouette looming over him. Adachi's response was a stifled groan, the agony in his hand where the injury was aggravated rendering him momentarily breathless.
The ordeal took a darker turn when they forced Adachi to watch, pulling him up by his hair. "Look at what you made us do," another voice taunted, dripping with malice.
Before Adachi's eyes, a nightmare unfolded. The glass shard, now an instrument of torment, was dragged across G'em's skin, marking him from shoulder to fingertip. The child's cry, sharp and filled with pain, echoed off the walls before he was quickly silenced, gagged by the merciless hands of his captors.
G'em's pain was palpable, his body trembling. As one attacker cursed and took the violence a step further, cutting into the boy's hand, Adachi's world narrowed to the horror before him.
"Noghhhg, pleaz, stob!" he pleaded through the fabric gagging him, his voice muffled, his plea falling on deaf ears.
In mere seconds, G'em's resistance faded as he slipped into unconsciousness, a small mercy from the relentless pain. Tears blurred Adachi's vision, the sight of G'em's limp form a blow more devastating than any physical wound.
The situation spiraled further when the attacker, infuriated by G'em's unconscious state, discarded the shard in a fit of rage. "This is what happens to animal trash!" he spat, pulling viciously at G'em's arm.
The sudden, terrible dislocation of the shoulder was met with mixed reactions from the attackers, a few voices raising in protest, but the deed was done.
As silence fell, a heavy, suffocating blanket, it was broken only by the ragged breathing of the captives and the soft, pained whimpers that Adachi couldn't suppress. The attackers stood, a momentary lull in their violence, perhaps contemplating their actions.
"We went too far," one murmured, a hint of regret lacing his voice, the line between survival and inhumanity irrevocably crossed.