He felt a searing pain in his back, accompanied by the dreaded crack of the whip.
"Move quickly, you damm animal," the guard barked at him.
Enduring the pain in his back, Ramja walked a ltitle bit faster, head lowered to avoid meeting the whip-wielding guard's gaze. He clung tightly to the rake in his hand, and behind him, are more agonized cries with the sound of whip.
"Ramja..." A voice called out from his side. A demi-human like him approached. On his head were two black horns pointing upward. His eyes were blood red, his back covered with a mix of red and brown hair.
"Ramja, show me your back," his voice was stern, matching his robust physique. He approached Ramja, with an ax in his hand.
"It's alright, Ramu.''
But Ramu was already behind him and although Ramja couldn't see his face, he know very well what kind of expression his brother had on his face.
"A single lash from him means nothing. Besides, this guy is like, what,fifty? He is just an old fucker. I hardly felt a thing,"
Ramja winced as Ramu touched the red welt on his back.
"I'll kill this fucker"
"For heaven's sake, Ramu, how many times must I tell you? We're powerless, we're slaves..." Ramja's hand gently brushed against the horn on Ramu's head.
"We are no more then animals to them. Whatever you do now, will be in vain, no matter what."
Ramu's anger subsided somewhat, yet his face remained tense.
"Then what am I gonna do when my brother is hurt. What kind of brother would I be if I can't even portect my own damm brother!"
Ramja tried to confort his brother but...
"You two, Split up and head to your respective duties!" The guard, with a sword at his side, shouted, and they both went their separate ways.
The farms stretched across hundreds of acres, bordered by dense forest. Thousands of demi-human slaves including some monsters like goblins and orcs whom can be used for hard labour live there. The slave camp was adminstered and guarded by a Camp Commender and a few hundred soldiers.
"Mother, have you ever been beyond these fields and into the vast forests?" Ramja asked this question to his mother when he was young. There was no answer, just a broken smile in response.
In the sky, the red sun hung. He'd been working under the scorching heat for hours. His hands are hard as rock from working hard labor since young age. Ramja looked over to the guards under the tents. Seeing them laugh, drink, and enjoy themselves ignited an unfamiliar feeling in his chest. He didn't know how long he stared, but he quickly averted his gaze when a guard locked eyes with him. He clutched the rake with trembling hands, and started working again. But this time, when he looked over his head again, he saw a guard was walking toward him. Ramja's heart raced, its pounding deafening. Sweat dripped from his face, and his mind couldn't think anything but....
'fuck fuck fuck. why is he walking to me?'
No one know what kind of thought crossed his mind at that moment but he removed the water bag from his waist, opened the cap, and drank whole in a gulp. And this eased his mind a little.
A shiver ran through Ramja as a hand touched his shoulder. He slowly turned over and there, he saw, a guard standing with sword in his waist, and smile on his face. He didn't know which is more dangerous, but surely, both of them can make him piss his pant.
"Can I have a drink?" The guard asked with a friendly smile, reaching out for Ramja's water bag.
Ramja was initially startled, but then, with atrembling hand, he handed over his water bag. The guard eagerly drank from it and returned it with a smile.
"I saw you were watching us..." The guard's smile was warm as sunshine. "Is there something you want?"
Ramja shook his head, his head lowered to avoid eye contact.
"Have you had your lunch?"
Did the guard not realize slaves are not allowed to have lunch and was pretending not to know? Ramja was so confuse and afraid that he forgot to answer.
"Why aren't you answering me?"
"I haven't eaten yet." He answered quickly.
"You haven't eaten yet, so you were watching us because you're hungry?"
"No," Ramja quickly denied. Truth be told, he wasn't even sure himself why he had been watching them for so long.
"You must have want something. You've been watching us for quite some time," the guard pressed, taking a step closer to Ramja. "Or is there something that's bothering you?"
Fear filled Ramja's chest, and his heart sank.
"No...No sir"
"So you're hungry!" Soon the smile returned to the guard's face. Then he put his hand on Ramja's back and
"If you're hungry, you can come to us."
"I'm ok sir. I'm not hungry''
Ramja refused. However, he know very the result would be pretty bad if he refuse to the guard because he'd never go beyond the fields and had been working there since he was born.
"Did I scare you? Haha it's ok. I didn't mean to scare you."
The guard took Ramja by the shoulder and walked him to the tent. Ramja looked back over his shoulder and saw the slaves were watching him with eyes fulled of sympathy. The closer he got to the tent, the harder Ramja's heart beat. The other four guards were drinking and laughing in the tent.
"Guys, I brought this little friend." He started talking as he entered the tent with his arm around Ramja's shoulder.
"What does this little friend of ours want?"said a guard while shoving some meat into his mouth.
"I..." Ramja stuttered.
"He's hungry." The guard who made him came there interrupted.
"Oh, then we must also be hospitable."
The next guard smiled.
"Come sit down."
Ramja sat down. The guard sitting next to him smiled...
"Eat it."
Ramja felt overwhelmed and confused. He lowered his head to avoid the watchful eyes fixed on him. The thumping in his chest quickened second by second.
"Eat it," the guard insisted, pushing a bowl of meat toward him.
With trembling hands, Ramja picked up a piece of meat and cautiously glanced at the guards before taking a bite. All the guards continued to smile...
The grilled chicken was tender and delicious, with a subtle smoky aroma that tickled his senses. Ramja quickly chewed and swallowed. He had never taste this in his life!
The guard gave him beer. "Have a drink."
He took a sip from the cup. Bitterness mixed with a hint of sweetness lingered in his mouth. Such is a life..... He almost thank the guards.
"Is it good?" the guard inquired.
"It's good," Ramja replied.
"Then, take another bite of the chicken."
Ramja complied, took another chicken meat from the bowl. The flavors of the grilled chicken blended with the slight bitterness of the beer. The guards remained smiling.
"You are quite a fast eater."
Ramja noticed there is only a piece of meat left.
"Come on, take the last meat." the guards were quite hospitable.
As he reached for the last piece of chicken meat in the bowl, he felt a sudden impact on the back of his head, his mind went into blur, causing him to topple forward. Ramja found himself lying face down on the ground, stepped over by the guard's foot.
"Are you full now, you fucking beast!"
Ramja struggled but the guard forced the last piece of meat into his mouth.
"Chew, you motherfucker...Chew!"
Ramja chewed and swallowed, but a powerful punch struck his stomach. The pain surged through his abdomen, and everything he had eaten was forced back out. Fist after fist pummeled his stomach, the agony becoming unbearable until he vomited on the ground.
Then, the guards yanked Ramja from the ground by his horns and his face closed to Ramja's.
"Do you think a beast like you can eat with us? Do you think creatures like you can look at us as if we're equals?"
Another punch landed on Ramja's face.
"Do you believe you're human just because you resemble us slightly? Those horns of yours, sprouting from your head, can never be hidden."
Ramja writhed on the ground, growling like a trapped animal.
"You will live like an animal, and will die like an animal. This is your hell, you fucker."
"You don't need five fingers to wield a rake, do you?" A sinister smile crept across the guard's face.
"Stretch out his hand," he ordered.
"No...No'' Ramja's voice had became so thin and weak.
A guard extended Ramja's hand on the ground and pressed it down, while the others restrained him.
With a cruel grin, the guard drew a dagger from his waist. Ramja trembled in fear at the sight of the blade, his sobs echoing loudly.
"I'm sorry, please don't do it... don't do it," Ramja pleaded, but his pleas were futile.
"You are an animal! Say it!"
"I'm an animal... I'm sorry... not a human... don't do it..."
Then...
"Ahhhh!"
At the culmination of Ramja's soul-wrenching scream, his pinky fell to the dirt. Crimson blood oozed from the severed stump. The agony was so overwhelming that Ramja's thoughts became a chaotic blur, nearly unconscious.
"Please...I'm sorry..." Ramja's tear-stained pleas were feeble, mere whispers.
"Another one."
This time, Ramja lacked the strength to resist. They severed another little finger. Overwhelmed by excruciating pain and drained of strength, Ramja finally lost his consciousness.