Austin stood in a world of darkness, he didn't know where he was and he couldn't tell when it was. It was a world of darkness which stretched from ends unknown to ends unseen.
"Am I dead?" He questioned no one in particular. He began walking and after an hour of walking, he saw a faint light at the very end of the alley if what he stood in could be described as one. After half an hour of walking without rest, he began hearing whispers and the light became much brighter than before.
"Who is he?"
"He is the new hire, Sir.."
The rest of the whispers went out of his hearing range, his feet pulled ahead with another falling behind as he walked into the light.
The bright light rendered him sightless for a bit before he eventually opened his eyes. A polished ceiling appeared in his vision before he groggily looked around, he saw two lean men sitting not too far away from him.
The men were conversing when they saw him wake up.
"Look what we have here, the new guy has finally woken up." One of them said, he walked up to the single bed which stood proudly in the centre of the room. The pale moonlight drifted into the room, illuminating the sick countenance of the young man who lay on the bed.
"Where...where am I?" He inquired shifting uncomfortably and painfully in the little bed as he stared warily at the duo who stood before him.
Well, why wouldn't he look at them with caution, these two were well-built men who could kill him before with little effort much less now that he was weakened.
"Who are you?" He asked, trying to keep his voice form and free of caution but it still wavered at the end.
The duo recognized the look he gave them and merely smiled, they had unanimously decided to play along.
"Are you scared? Want to run away?" One of them smiled devilishly, purposely intending to scare the young man.
"Don-don't come close. I...I will shout!" Austin stuttered the words out, pushing back only to be met with the hard wall, his eyes darted left and right looking for something. Something to protect himself.
The room could be called empty if one took away the bed and the two chairs which the duo sat on. Without anything to help him, he punched out, hoping to hit one of them and run away, however, his puch was deflected mid-way by the boys.
Already knowing where this was headed, he shut his eyes waiting for the pain. But, he waited in vain since even after a few minutes, he felt nothing, except the dull pain in his body. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw the men nodding their heads in approval and bits of excitement flickering in their eyes.
"You are not bad. Sir Herbert made a good choice." One of them uttered with a light smile before they made their way out.
Austin stared at them unblinkingly, he was surprised at how things turned out to be. Being the village orphan and the official punching bag, he had gone through a lot of trends like this and he could swear that none of them ended like this.
"Wait, wait. You mentioned Sir Herbert," The men paused and turned to stare at him, Austin gulped at the sight of them. He hadn't noticed it before since he was trying to fight for his life, but they looked terrifying. Scars on their faces and bodies. "Is he the one that brought me here?"
"Oh, yes. You were on the verge of death..." He said, raising his brow questioningly. Austin also tilted his head not understanding anything.
"You know, you could just ask." The other man who stood at the side with his hands crossed said, he turned to Austin who looked confused." He wants to ask what your name is."
Austin made a look of realization before he uttered his name," Austin. Just Austin."
The men nodded and went their way," Welcome Austin. I hope we get along."
It was after they left that Austin remembered that he didn't ask who they were and where he was. He slapped his forehead and tried climbing down from the bed but it was easier said...thought than done thus he leaned back, not attempting any activity. He adjusted the pillow behind him and relaxed.
After all, it was not always that he got such a good rest without having to look for scraps to eat.
He closed his eyes with joy bubbling in his little heart, slowly falling into the warm embrace of sleep.
Meanwhile, the blue-clothed woman jogged in the forest. The thick and tall trees provided a great canopy which shielded her from the intense heat which promised to boil her alive. The sudden coolness which enveloped her made her pull off the bluish scarf which exposed her inky black hair.
Except for the occasional growls and croaks of the animals which habited the forest, no human passed by, neither did she hear the sound of carriages rolling away and it was no wonder to her.
Humans feared the unknown and in this forest which was full of feral animals and things unknown, people would rather sell their souls than come here.
She scoffed, humans always fear the unknown but they do not fear their very own kind. A kind which could degenerate their very own offspring into tools for their use, she thought.
She had walked for quite a while heading towards the middle area of the forest. It was an expansive land of flora which stretched miles away. It was the size of twenty towns put together, this meaning, she had walked five thousand paces into the forest.
Walking ahead for a bit, she paused for a bit, she heard a twig break behind her and she quickly turned but she didn't meet anyone.
She could see the hem of the person who lurked behind the large tree. Looking to her left, she could see a thin, fine wire which was connected to a large basket which was designed in a way to fall and imprison anyone who triggered it.
"It seemed like it was time to start her act," she muttered to herself.
With subtlety, she changed her features, her brows got together while her breathing became shallow and light.
She shivered, her lips were brought together to prevent it from shivering again.
The individual who lurked behind didn't make any move but rather looked around carefully to make sure that it was not a trap for him.
At the opportune moment, a roar reverberated across the whole forest and as though on cue, the woman yelped and jumped back, triggering the trap.
With the whistling of the wind, she bent was encased in the large basket.