《Black Heart》


 Prologue – The Entrance

    "Everything you once knew is gone... "


    Rising from the ground like a gravestone, the gigantic, black gate in front of us shone with an eerie light. Bone skulls decorated the frame, and within their sockets, purple flames were burning, symbolising their eyes which seemed to be alive, watching with laughter for what was about to happen to us. The only light except for the dazzling, purple flames were torches made from bones that reeked of age, illuminating the crossroad with a white light. I gulped and turned my gaze forward once again, looking at the figure who I would later probably have nightmares about. A tall, skinny man whose whole body was covered in abyss-black bandages that seemed to be loosening and tightening for every passing second; almost as if he was blurring between reality and illusion¨C between two dimensions.


    "Your pitiful lives... are no longer your own... to choose¡­¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    As he raised his voice, a tingling, frightening sensation crept across my neck akin to a spider. I gulped, again. His words were coated with something I couldn''t recognise, but something evil for sure. It was as if he was not human. As if he was something else, something that was not able to fluently speak the human tongue. Perhaps he was the incarnation of a demon. Sent from the deepest abyss to punish mankind for our sins; here to make us suffer a fate worse than death. But in my heart, I knew this wasn¡¯t true. Because my father had told me the story long ago, the story of where the forsaken were taken to be erased from this world.


    And we were forsaken. All of us.


    ¡°So..."


    I could feel the killing intent radiating from the stem of his bones, penetrating through our hope of escape, crushing all that was left of our superficial belief. He eyed us once more, indifferently, as if we were but worthless ants.


    "...be obedient¡­ and follow the rules... or else you will... die!" Those were the last words we heard before we descended into darkness

 First Day – Revelation

    First Day ¨C Revelation


    <hr>


    As surprising as it was, the eerie gate I thought was a portal leading to hell was actually the entrance to a very long cave tunnel. The passage was dark and sprinkled with a touch of dampness, completely shrouding our line of sight and making us unable to see where we were should put our next step.


    I heard a few shrieks both behind and in front of me, by people who had sprained their ankles or fallen head first into the rough ground because they were unlucky with foot placements. But even though some people wanted to stop and turn back, including me for a moment, those who sought to do so were pushed onward by the others in the group.


    So what if you sprained your ankle? The demon man was right behind us, constantly telling us to keep moving or he¡¯ll kill us. He had already killed a few by looking at them, whereafter they fell lifelessly down the ground. After that, no body dared to go against his orders, so why would we want to gamble with our lives for the small risk of getting a sprained ankle?


    Time passed unknowingly, and the air started to become heavy, why is uncertain, yet I could smell a faint metallic taste, one which could only have one origin. Blood. A lot of blood.


    The further we marched, the heavier it became. If I would have to give one comparison that would be during the seventh month of the Wasteland War as I and my father were ordered to stand tall as the spearpoint of the grand duke¡¯s cavalry. The smell of blood permeated the surroundings, and far in the horizon, we could see black vultures gather like thunderclouds. The black vultures flew past us and dove down toward the dead corpses that lay stacked to be buried.


    At first, we tried to drive them away, but we then understood that it was pointless. Just like jewellery is impossible to resist for a thief, dead corpses are for vultures. No matter how many times we chased them away with swords and spears alike, they came back. And no matter how many vultures we killed, they refused to leave the corpses behind.


    In the end, we just stopped. Though it went against the principles of the empire to not bury one¡¯s fellow countrymen, the war was more important. Because if the war ended with us losing, everyone in the capital would be slaughtered.


    I don¡¯t know when my thoughts began to drift astray, and it was only once light woke me up from my dream-like state when walking forward as I became clear-minded. The view of a broken down city became vivid ahead of us. It seemed to be the glory of a once glorious past, yet now, only mottled houses built from clay and thatched huts from where smoke rose remained, supported by what was left of the original buildings.


    As the view unfurled itself, I looked up to see where I was, to see if I could calculate if I was in the west or the north, yet my eyes constricted the moment I bent my neck down, my face up.


    Glittering rocks, like the finest jewels of a western trader, met my gaze, and that¡¯s when I understood¨C we were underneath the surface of the earth. I could not remember the tunnel being a downward slope, and, on the other hand, I couldn¡¯t remember a thing, so it wasn¡¯t very accurate to say I should trust my memory.


    As we exited the tunnel, happy to finally have light, I wrinkled my forehead. I had a strange sense of foreboding that something bad would happen. And well, I was quite correct with my line of thought.


    People started to come out from the thatched huts and mottled houses, walking towards us. What was terrifying to see was how they looked like, and that most of them were men, gruesome-looking men, dirty and filthy and dressed in ragged clothes. And some of these men, within their hands, pulled chained women along with them.


    These women who were imprisoned with rusty chains were even more poorly dressed than the men, most not even having a piece of clothing to cover their private parts. I could see within their eyes only death. Dull and grey, they seemed to already be without the will to live, just like slaves in the black market.


    As they got closer to us, I noticed the ill intent in the men¡¯s eyes. Like how a wolf looked at a sheep, that was how they looked at us as if we were but prey for them to devour. As if we were but the ants a child crushes for fun when bored.


    I subconsciously took a step back, but stopped, blocked by the others behind, people who were just as terrified and shaken to their core me. And that¡¯s when some of the men opened their mouths and began to talk, spewing out words that made my blood freeze all over, words that shouldn¡¯t be allowed to come out in whole sentences.


    "Finally some fresh blood!


    "Hey, you! Come! From now on you''re my property, got it?


    "The last ones broke too quickly before I had a chance to truly enjoy myself! Thank you, venerable master, for blessing  us with new toys!¡±


    "Come here, cutie, let uncle take care of you. I will protect you. Hehe...


    Some of the men laughed menacingly and walked over to the group, grabbing various people, mostly girls. It was clear to me that the men with captives were the strongest of the lot, not only because of their appearance but because of the aura they radiated ¨C like wild beasts who would bite if one got too close.


    As my glance darted around the place, I heard a scream not too far away. The scream came from a girl from out group, a small, petite one who had been standing by the edge of our group of people that consisted of about hundred or so.


    She was getting dragged away by one of the men, a red-haired man with crazy eyes and bulging muscles. Scars were evident on his forearms which were as wide as tree trunks, and his fierce grin was almost impossible to look at because of how disgusting it was.


    The large man who pulled her away held a rusty, half-broken sword in his arm, and now a lump of her hair in his left.


    ¡°Stop!¡±


    A teenager whose age couldn''t be more than my age, twelve or so, shot up and tried to defend the girl. Perhaps he knew her, I never got to know that, and since the dead can tell no tales, I will never get do so in the future either.


    Nonetheless, It was a heroic act, to say the least, and I might have done the same if I knew the girl, or if I didn''t know where we were and how bad the situation was. I quickly yelled out to him in an attempt to save him. But it was no use.


    "Hey! Leave her alone!" the boy shouted furiously without heeding my words.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    As the boy punched out at the man, it was already too late. I saw through the corner of my eye how the man swiftly turned his burly body around in one movement and drove his sword straight through the boy''s abdomen.


    The boy looked at the man with widened eyes, then glanced down at his stomach. He clutched the open wound with his hands, trying to stop the blood from flowing. But it was too late. It spilt through his fingers, like a dam breaking loose. He coughed, tried to say something, but no words came out. Then he took one last step and fell down.


    Head first with a dull thump, followed by a silence.


    As I was thinking of what to do, the boy who stood beside me started to shiver. He looked like my brother. Well, what my brother used to look like before he died, slaughtered that night when the Karamadin empire invaded.


    I can still see his face in my nightmares, that delicate, chubby face with big, blue eyes, decorated with oak-brown hair. His smile when I patted his head and gave him a compliment, or took him out for a horse ride through the woods. And then, as his smile becomes the most radiant thing in the world, his eyes constricts, and he looks down only to see an arrow poke out through his chest, having pierced his heart. He looks at me, with those big, blue eyes, asking me what he did wrong.


    As if I was the cause of his death.


    He begins to cough and blood starts to flow from his eyes, and that''s when I always wake up, the moment the nightmare turns at its worst. No matter how much I try, the image of blood flowing out from his eyes, the moment his smile disappears¨C replaced with an open mouth¨C is something I can¡¯t erase from my mind.


    That moment is even worse than the moment my father died, sending me down the secret escape tunnel, telling me to run and never look back. At that time, I asked him why, why are you not coming with me, and he replied, ¡°There¡¯s something I must do. Listen, you are old enough to know the importance of duty, son, and this duty isn¡¯t something I can avoid. Now go, before they come here. Hurry up!¡±


    I knew what he was going to do. I was not a child anymore with my ten years of age. ¡°But dad,¡±, I said, ¡°What about your duty to me as a father?¡± My father looked at me with a tender expression, the kind of expression I receive when I¡¯ve done something good. ¡°Son, you will do just fine. Now go.¡±


    The boy standing beside me is almost like a replica of my brother, except for having pale-blue hair instead of brown. As I started to inspect him more, I saw how his lips trembled and his eyes showed fear.


    Then I turned my head forward, seeing a rather lanky man come towards us, holding a few chains with people stuck to them. But the people who are stuck aren''t women like the other men have, its boys. Young boys at that, all looking just as dead in their eyes as the women.


    "Well, well, you''re a cutie aren''t you?" the man says with a grin. "Why don''t you come along? I''ll protect you good."


    The boy cowered back but was blocked by those behind him.


    It seemed that although the boy was not even ten years old, he had seen what happened with the blond girl and the boy who resisted, making him very afraid for these men. I was myself not quite sure what to do. I was angry for not immediately helping the boy, but at the same time, I was logical to understand I had no chance whatsoever.


    "Haha, don''t worry, kid." the man continued, still wearing that disgusting smile. I so wanted to rip it off, but my body did not move, didn''t respond to my thoughts. Guess it wanted the best for me, fully aware that my death was certain if I as much as tried to block the man, especially so when I saw that the man held a dagger in his left hand, ready to stab anyone who came close. "Don''t ya'' want to be one of my little pets? I''ll make sure you have food, and I''ll even... pet you a lot!"


    The lanky man in ragged clothes jerked on one of his three chains. "Come here!"


    One of the imprisoned boys hurried over, prostrating himself in front of the lanky man. The lanky man snorted and slapped the boy on the cheek. Without screaming or shouting, the boy who was slapped got up from the ground and once again made way to the man and prostrated himself, sitting down on the ground, grovelling under the man''s feet.


    Just as I decided not to watch, a fishy odour drilled through my nostrils. I turned to the blue-haired boy, my gaze fixating on the ground beneath him. A puddle of yellow liquid had appeared. It was pee. I looked up to his face. Snot and tears were mixed as the blue haired boy saw the chained boy grovel on the ground in front of the lanky man. He was old enough to understand what would happen to him if the man caught and chain him.


    At this point, he was mute. I saw a flash in the corner of my eye and then I heard a smirk. The lanky man who seemed almost like a skeleton had gotten in range and grabbed the boy, lifting him up in the air, starting to beat him.


    It made my heart feel as if it was cut in thousands of pieces. I imagined if that was my brother, would I be able to force myself to move then?


    ¡°Quiet, you little fucking brat,¡± the man sad and licked the boy¡¯s now bruised face with his dirty tongue. ¡°I said come so why didn¡¯t you fucking come to me when I fucking ordered? Did you really want me to come here and get you? You think you¡¯re worth that much huh? Well, let me tell you, you¡¯re not. You¡¯re just a disposable toy for me to play with until I become bored. And hell, I¡¯m gonna play with you a lot.¡±


    The boy once again burst out into tears.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± the man shouted as spit flew from his mouth. ¡°If I order you something you fucking obey. Next time you cry without my permission, I¡¯ll fucking kill you!¡±


    As the boy heard the man¡¯s words, he finally quieted down. But from where I stood, I could still hear his soft whines. However, no matter how much he whined, he didn¡¯t cry, never once letting more tears come out.


    ¡°Huh, you want to become a pet too?¡± the lanky man turned around and looked at me. ¡°Or why the fuck are you staring at me? Want to die?¡±


    My heart stopped. I could barely breathe from his pressure, those wild eyes looking at me. I choked out with difficulty. ¡°I¨C¡±


    ¡°Tsk, forget about it. You¡¯re too old, not my type.¡± the man snorted. ¡°Now if you don¡¯t want to be cut up like a fish, I¡¯d     recommend you to buzz away faster than you¡¯ve ever buzzed away before, or I¡¯ll really fucking display this dagger up     front."


    I took one last glance at the boy. Our eyes met and I saw the fear that reflected back. I closed my eyes to avoid his gaze and turned around and walked away from the man and the boy who now had gotten chained like the other boys.


    And that was my first encounter with the hellhole of humanity. The worst place where the worst scum from all over the world had been gathered in. As the first day came to an end, and after the original inhabitants had walked back to their thatched huts and mottled houses, only a couple of people were left. I had a feeling that things wouldn¡¯t end up well if I joined any of the groups so I chose to wander off by myself.


    I found a suitable spot in the ruins where I was surrounded by walls and wouldn¡¯t fall victim for an ambush. Well, I guess it wouldn¡¯t matter if they ambushed me or not, I would die either way if I was asleep. But at least it was easier to fall asleep if I felt secure.


    As I was about to fall asleep, I promised myself that if I ever got the chance to save that blue-haired boy from the lanky man, I would try to. Correction, if I ever got the chance to save anyone, I would do my best to do so.

 Chapter 2 : The Spiders Web

    It''s been a long time since I written anything but this chapter was almost done so I decided to finish it. If anyone is wondering about my other story, I can only say that I will write now during the summer holiday. Enjoy!


    Ps: Do tell if there are any typos or faults in the chapter


    <hr>


    I woke up just in time to feel the searing pain as it took hold of me in the most disturbing way possible.


    With surprise.


    With an intensity that I thought to be not of this world.


    Bang! I was jolted to clarity ¨C groaning, screaming, perhaps a mix.


    I jerked my leg, doing anything I could to escape the pain. There was a crunch. My foot felt the consistency of kicking rotten wood. Then I heard a human shout, just as weak and vulnerable as the crunch.


    My eyes snapped open. There was a figure in front of me, in the midst of his fall. He bled profoundly from his nose. I knew what happened. My foot had hit him, like a sledgehammer, right in the face, crushing his nose.


    My first thought was to head over and apologise but then I remembered where I was. I was no longer in the city. I was no longer around normal people. And then again, what did he want me? Who is he, what was his purpose with me while I was sleeping? I shook my head and calmed down.


    The pain flared up again. I looked down, toward the place just above my ankle, discovering the bloody wound. Fresh crimson squeezed through the minimal flesh of my leg, using the base of my foot as its furrow, the ground below as its mound, filling it up like a cup. The wound itself seemed to be caused by something with rough, sharp edges. It was painful. Very. And I suspected that it would cause difficulties while walking. Did the man cause this? Why?


    The toppled figure didn''t try to stop the flow of blood from his nose as I thought he would do. As I believe most rational humans would. Instead, he screamed crazily, as if he was a wild, mindless beast, throwing spit around for every snap of his bloody jaws. Those bloodshot eyes of his darted around the room akin a gigolo''s dick. It took but a moment for him to settle his gaze in corner of his room and crawl over as if it was the deciding factor to death or life. He grabbed the thing (that I suspected being a piece of my flesh), grinned, and put it in his mouth, chewing while the blood gravy dripped down his dirt-smeared chin. I swallowed hard but couldn''t remove the lump stuck in my throat no matter how much I tried.


    As the man finished chewing, my back hair already stood at its end, and a cold sweat covered my palms. He turned his head up and looked at me, his eyes too ferocious to be human. Before I knew it, I was scared silly. My back was pressed against the hard, uneven wall of a ruin. I looked at him vigilantly. What did he want? To kill me?


    The man was stark naked, filled with scars and bruises from top to toe. While our gazes were locked, mine dropped down to his throat and found a rusty collar, sitting not too tight yet tight enough to make it stay. His black hair was filthy beyond save and his brown pupils were surrounded by crimson red, much like the colour of blood, could I see before being interrupted by an unrecognisable mumble from his mouth. He had devoured my flesh as if it was a delicacy ¨C as if he was eating the most ordinary jerky among all jerkies in existence.


    ¡°Bloooo¨C¡± the man muttered in a louder voice, enough for my ears to pick it up. My expression froze, and I had a feeling of what would happen.


    ¡°You¨C¡± I began, searching for a way to stop what I foretold would come. Yet I was too late as my eyes widened and I instinctively threw my body toward the left, past a small wall, to another room in the ruin. His figure came right behind me, crashing into the wall I was pressed against a second earlier. I was able to dodge him by a hair''s breath, no more, no less. What would have done if he caught me? Kill me? Eat from me? Both?


    ¡°What in god''s name is wrong with you?¡± I screamed. I knew it was to no use, yet the human side inside me denied the existence of monsters like this.


    ¡°Bloooood!¡±


    The man followed me over the wall, his scream as blood-curling as a wolf''s howl, lunging toward me again. I was terrified, scared more than witless. I threw myself once again, not to the right, but out of his way, landing on the ground. My knee scraped up, the wound on my leg causing an instant surge of pain to spread all over my body. But my face became ghastly the second after. Not because of pain but due to the fact that the man right after as if nothing had happened. Was he truly, a human being? I was beginning to have doubts, I must admit.


    He roared again, without listening to me. His head bled tremendously from crashing into the wall, and it was in fact not only his head but also his face, covered in blood, smeared out with dirt and god knows what.


    "Oh, so here''s where you are?"


    Just as the crazy man was about to attack again, a voice sang out from behind me. I spun around, coming face to face with a man. He wore a black, rugged coat and had his red hair tied back in a thick ponytail that swung behind him as he walked.


    How get here without me noticing?


    Without thinking, as during the kick earlier, my body retreated a couple of steps and placed a fair share of distance between the two of us.


    This man was dangerous, I just knew it. Better not stay too close, is what my instincts honed from roaming the lands by myself some years whispered in my ear.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    "Relax. Just here to pick up the rat who ran away.¡± the man said with a laugh when he noticed me backing away. His eyes, though of a gentle green, seemed to penetrate my very soul as if they knew exactly who I was.


    I was startled by how different he was compared to the others I had seen yesterday. His clothes weren¡¯t ragged and torn, just a bit used. They were more like luxurious and clean, just like the clothes I wore before my family was slaughtered that night. Before I became the lone wanderer without a home.


    I felt this sort of dangerous aura around him. But not the aura of a beast, purely driven by instincts, no, this was the aura of a cunning predator from the top of the food chain, a camouflaged hunter, a spider, yes, he gave me the impression of a spider, and I wanted to stay as far away from him as possible to not get stuck in his net like a dumb, innocent butterfly just having hatched from its cocoon.


    ¡°What are you doing out here, ole friend,¡± The red-haired man said to the man who attacked me, grinning as he calmly advanced. ¡°They miss you, your friends back home. They truly do. You¡¯ll come back with me, won¡¯t you? Back to where you belong, back to where you are safe.¡±


    I was about to warn the redhead about the quite violent tendencies which the madman displayed earlier but my words were stupid in my throat as I saw what happened.


    The madman seemed very afraid of the redhead and began to cower back, putting his arms around his head, curling up against the wall. I was shocked, to say the least. Not for anything in the world had I expected this to happen, I for sure thought the madman would attack the redhead as he got in range.


    The redhead had miraculously hidden a chain in his sleeve and strapped it into the latch of the madman''s collar. Afterwards, the madman calmed down, as if he was a beast in captivity, and prostrated himself on the ground.


    ¡°Hey, you.¡± the redhead said to me, his gaze following my leg and landing on the wound above ankle. I tensed up, ready to escape at any second. ¡°Did he hurt you?¡±


    I nodded, slowly.


    ¡°Hmm, since he¡¯s one of mine, I owe you an apology if not more. Are you hungry?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked defensively.


    ¡°Hah, don¡¯t misunderstand. I don''t mean any harm.¡±


    ¡°That guy did,¡± I pointed at the madman beside him. ¡°so how can I be sure?¡±


    ¡°Look, kid, If I meant to harm then you wouldn¡¯t be alive by now. ¡± He said calmly, his eye twitching ever so slightly. He then sighed. ¡°You see, I hate to owe others favours, more so to a kid still smelling of his mother¡¯s milk. Got it?¡±


    I stared at him, blankly.


    ¡°Fine, whatever you want. Follow me or not, I couldn¡¯t care less. But if you don¡¯t want to end up like this guy here...¡± the man said, pointing at the blood-crazed man prostrating on the ground like a slave.


    ¡°Fine,¡± I said, cutting him off, still a bit hesitant.


    The man smirked at my response and began walking back the way he came from, keeping a tight leash on the blood-crazed man, without giving me a single further glance as his back figure crossed ruins after ruins.


    I followed him, staying a couple of meters away at all times, still careful about his intentions. The blood-crazed man was dangerous by himself, and this man made me feel even more threatened. I knew that the best option was the stay by myself, yet the powerful noises from my stomach made me rethink. Perhaps it was impossible to stay alive here without having a clear grasp of how everything was. I had no food nor water, and now had trouble walking.


    After a while, we came out of the ruins. We passed the area where I and the group had entered this hellhole. The other people who greeted us yesterday were not to be seen, perhaps hiding in their tents and meagre huts as I and the red-haired man walked passed. When I think back, there was another red-haired man yesterday. But these two, the one who ¡°owned¡± the blood-crazed fellow, and the one who killed the boy and abducted the girl, were not the same. And somehow, I had the feeling that this one, who I followed, was more dangerous than the latter.


    As we came to a stop, we were in another region altogether. This area was not as poor looking. Men were walking around with slightly better clothes, almost as if we were in a real city. Houses were erected with clay and brick and we stood in front of a very small house on the main road. Those who walked by looked at me with scorn, but as they saw whom I was with, their eyes froze and they hurriedly scuttled away, as if the man himself was a monster.


    Why I did not know, but I understood that I would soon find out.


    "Open up,"


    A small hatch in the door opened up, revealing a pair of brown, ice-cold eyes. "Password?" a voice from within said.


    The red-haired man whispered something unbearable. I wondered what it was.


    The hatch closed and the door opened. "Enjoy your stay."


    We entered the small building as the door closed behind us. It was more spacious that I expected. The air was damp, and the smell of blood and sweat congealed, burrowing into my nostrils, making me slightly nauseous. As I continued to follow the man, we squeezed through crowds of men, through filthy and dirty bodies. I wondered where everyone came from and how it was possible for so many to be here. Did everyone come to this place like I did? Because of the consequences of that deal? Or rather, deals similar to that deal?


    "Been a long time, Hellfire. You good?" said a voice. The red-haired man turned around, a smile surfacing on his face. "Crow, just the one I was looking for."


    Following the red-haired man, we sat down around a round table, sitting opposite to a man shrouded in black, clothes hiding all but his face where a white scar was evident in the upper half of his cheek. His eyes were blue and emitted a piercing chill, making me nervous.


    "This is...?" asked Crow with uncertainty behind his voice, perking his eyebrow when he noticed me by Hellfire''s side.


    "A new friend." Hellfire grinned


    "Oh, I see," Crow broke out in a smile. He turned to me.


    "Since my good ole'' friend brought you I guess the best I can do is to offer you some grub," he said, his white teeth glimmering in contrast to his dark clothes.


    I held my tongue, waiting for him to speak again.


    He didn''t.


    Instead, Crow left his seat and disappeared among the crowd of people, only giving me a smile before turning his head elsewhere. After a moment, he came back, full of smiles as he sat down. "All ordered," he said.


    I was a bit suspicious about why offered me food. Was it a trap? Did they have any ulterior motives? I bit my lip. Should I get out or should I stay?


    With a deep breath, I began to push down on the floor with my legs, to rise from the chair. I decided to leave.


    But then I felt a firm hand push me down.


    It was hellfire, looking at me with a wide grin.


    I immediately felt something was amiss. I tried to shrug his hand away with my shoulder, only to be pushed down another time.


    Hellfire''s face still wore a terrifying grin.


    "What''s the meaning of this?" I asked.


    "What do you mean," he said back. "I told you to treat this as my apology."


    "I changed my mind," I said. "I need to go."


    "Don''t be hasty," he said. "the food is already ordered, Sit still and be patient. Food is more coveted here than what you think, so if I''d be you I''d damn appreciate it!"


    "I don''t want too!" I returned. "I''ll scream if I must!"


    "Really?" Hellfire laughed maliciously. I felt a sharp object nudge my side as his voice dropped. It was a knife. His knife.