Luell sat at the edge of the cage, hunched over, fingers absentmindedly tracing patterns in the dirt. She was somewhere else—trapped in her thoughts, her world. I swallowed, my throat still raw, and called out to her.
"Luell?"
No response. My voice cracked, weak from disuse, barely more than a whisper. I licked my lips and tried again, louder this time.
"Luell."
Still nothing. She didn't even flinch. It was as if my words couldn't reach her, as if she had wrapped herself in something too thick for me to break through. Or maybe my voice was just too rusty, still scraping against my throat like sandpaper.
I pushed myself up, moving carefully through the mess of bodies that filled the cage, prisoners curled in on themselves like wilted flowers. My legs felt weak, but I ignored it, stepping lightly until I was standing right behind her.
She was so caught up in whatever thoughts had swallowed her that she didn't even sense me.
I smirked.
Without warning, I reached out and tapped her shoulder.
Luell shrieked, her entire body jerking so violently that she nearly toppled over. She twisted around, wide-eyed, her breath coming in sharp gasps.
The entire cage tensed. Some prisoners shot upright, others flinched away, startled from whatever little peace they had found in restless sleep.
But I— I burst into laughter.
I clutched my stomach, doubling over as uncontrollable laughter wracked through me. It was stupid. So, so stupid, but I couldn't stop.
"Y-you should've—" I gasped between laughs. "Should've seen your face!"
Luell turned red, her expression shifting from shock to pure, burning indignation.
"That wasn't funny," she hissed, her face still flushed as I wiped tears from my eyes.
I threw my hands up in an exaggerated imitation of her flailing, still breathless from laughter. "Aah!" I mimicked her scream, my voice high and panicked.
Her glare deepened, and I swear steam could've been rising from her ears.
The ridiculousness of it all hit me again, and another wave of laughter tore through me. I wasn't even sure why—maybe it was the delirium, maybe it was the fact that everything else in this place was suffocating. But for a moment, you'd never believe we were encamped in a slave cage. You'd never believe we were prisoners, bruised and battered, being hauled off to god knew where.
For a moment, we were just two kids, laughing like we had no reason not to.
That moment shattered like glass.
A sharp bang rattled the cage as something struck the bars.
The laughter died instantly.
I turned my head slowly, my stomach already knotting itself. A guard stood outside the cage, a lazy scowl on his face, one hand resting on the steel baton strapped to his belt.
"Keep it down," he muttered, knocking his knuckles against the bars once more. "And stop moving. We wouldn't want to make our jobs hard, would we?"
His fingers ghosted over the baton.
Luell and I shuddered in unison.
I swallowed thickly and nodded, barely breathing as I grabbed Luell's wrist and pulled her with me to the corner of the cage. We huddled together, pressing our backs against the cold metal.
"You okay?" I whispered after a long, heavy silence.
Luell hesitated before nodding. "Fine. Apart from the throbbing in my neck." She rubbed at the spot, her brows furrowed.
I frowned. "That was the man in the black mask. He knocked you out."
Her eyes darkened, her fingers still lingering over the sore spot.
"Though," I added, shifting slightly, "it looked like he scared the creatures from messing with you. They wouldn't go near you after that."
Luell's gaze flickered toward the other cage. I followed her eyes, and a chill crawled up my spine.
They were watching.
Not just watching—staring.
Every single creature in the other cage had its gaze locked on us, unblinking, unmoving. It wasn't curiosity. It wasn't fear. It was something else entirely.
A shudder passed through both of us.
Luell turned back to me quickly, as if looking at them for too long would make them do something. "What else happened?" she asked, her voice quieter.
I exhaled, pressing my lips together before speaking.
I told her everything.
About the stars fading into morning, about the masked man watching the sky, the restless prisoners, the soldiers preparing to move. I told her about how I couldn't speak.
Luell blinked, glancing at me.
I flexed my fingers, staring down at my hands as if the words I wanted to say were written in my palms. "Last night. The man in the black mask—he took my voice. Just… stole it, like it was nothing."
Luell's brows knitted together.
My throat tightened at the memory.
"It wasn't just silence," I continued voice barely above a whisper. "It was like a hand had clamped over my mouth, but inside. I could feel the words—wanted to scream—but nothing would come out. Like my voice was trapped in my chest, swallowed before I could even shape the words."
Luell stared at me for a long moment. Then, she spoke.
"Magic?"
But before she could say anything else—
The floor shifted beneath us.
A groaning creak filled the air, and then, with a sudden jolt, the entire cage lifted into the air.
Luell tensed immediately, her body stiffening as her hands shot out, gripping the bars for balance.
"What the hell?!" she gasped.
I barely moved, my eyes flicking toward her in confusion. "What?"
Luell's breathing was sharp and fast, her knuckles white as she held onto the bars. Her head snapped to me, wild-eyed. "Why is it moving?"
I blinked. "It's a truck."
Her expression didn't change. If anything, it twisted into something even more bewildering.
I tilted my head slightly, suddenly wary. "Luell… have you never been in a truck before?"
She looked at me like I had just started speaking in another language.
My stomach sank.
"…You've never been in one?" I repeated.
Luell swallowed, turning her gaze downward. "I've heard of them. Seen them once or twice. But those were for the nobles." Her voice was quiet. "Why wouldn't they just use the normal carriages for us?"
A sick feeling curled in my gut, the same one that had been creeping up on me ever since I heard that damned sentence back in camp.
I met her gaze.
"You heard the captain," I murmured. "We're precious cargo."
The words left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Luell didn't respond, but I saw the way her jaw clenched, the way she looked like she wanted to deny it. To say no, that's not what this is.
But we both knew.
The world outside blurred as the cage was manoeuvred into place.
Then—
SLAM.
The truck's doors closed, sealing us in.
Only thin slits of light filtered through the tiny windows above, barely illuminating the cage.
We were trapped. Again.