The Unbidden: A Nocuous World (3)

Chapter 1 (Part 2)

***

Some time after we had gotten back to Larashuul, it became known of my unwillingness and resistance to carry out Karnied's orders. It was from that point on that I was taken to a dungeon and beaten every single day. I was separated from the rest of the group and confined to a tiny, dusty cell and given moldy bread to eat.

I hadn't known how much time had passed. The only method I really had to keep track of the days were by the number of scars that formed on my body from the lashings I received. At some points I was waterboarded, and others, nearly suffocated by having my face shoved into sand. It was impossible to count the number of times I blacked out during the tortures.

"Sir Karnied has given you new chance to prove yourself," Larashuul spoke as he walked around me.

I was bound to a chair and in a daze. My right eye had been struck hard enough that the swelling blocked my vision, not to mention the rest of the bruises, cuts, and lacerations all over the rest of my body. Had I been able to look in a mirror, I wouldn't have recognized myself.

"Thank him!" he shouted out, striking the back of my head.

My vision rapidly faded before coming back moments later. A wave of nausea washed over me, and I heaved onto my lap.

I vaguely heard the sound of another voice – Karnied's – before being struck again.

"Th ... thank you," I muttered.

As much as I wanted to keep resisting, Tank was right. There came a point where any man would break. The pain my body was constantly being subjected to finally became too much.

"T'was not so difficult, now was it?" he spat.

Larashuul moved to stand before me.

"You will have the gracious opportunity to partake within the gladiator arena in order to attain the title of 'Suf'. Should you succeed, your living conditions will improve."

Karnied spoke a little more. There was a pause before Larashuul continued.

"Not only that, but you may have a chance to become less than the sand the city sits atop. Sir Karnied sees enough promise within you, that he is giving you thus."

"Th ... thank you," I muttered again.

His words didn't fully register as my mind was in a continual haze. I didn't know what else to say, or if I was even able to.

Larashuul barked orders and had two guards loose me from the chair and carry me through the dungeon into some other room where they stripped me, and doused me with warm water. Two others came in and washed my body, cleaning me up for the first time in God knew how long. Afterward, I was given new clothes and escorted into another room and given food – actual food.

"Sir Karnied expects this should entice you to win," Larashuul sneered.

I hesitantly brought the food to my mouth and took a bite, and before I knew it, I had devoured it all. The taste of actual food brought tears to my eyes.

"Take him to the arena," Larashuul commanded.

The two guards then walked me down several halls, through a large door, and down what must've been the main road in the city. The two muttered about themselves unhappily, not that I could understand them. As we walked, I recognized the building where I met Tank and the others. Maybe it was fate, or maybe it was pure coincidence, but the five of them exited the building as I passed by.

We all locked eyes, but only for a brief moment. The hot, sandy air slowly clogged my nose, but the freshness of it cleared up some of the haze in my mind. A splitting pain in my head replaced the haze, making me wish it never left. Soon enough we had arrived at the arena. I was taken through another set of door and down another hallway before being thrown into a large cell with several other people in it.