He had invited insanity itself in. With every bite he took, his disgust dwindled. Bite after bite, he thought: How can someone feel disgusted by trash when they are trash themselves?
He didn't scream. He didn't shout. He didn't cry. He simply ate. The taste that was once preposterous began to taste like golden wine.
...
As they were forced to mine once again, he noticed something different about the people. The frail-looking ones he'd seen yesterday looked healthier than ever. Some eye colors had changed; some people had grown significantly stronger. Everyone was different except him. Just like always, he was the odd one out once more.
"Hahaha... who would have thought? Even in a place like this, I'll be alone," he whispered while striking the orb.
No matter how many times he hit it, he couldn't leave a dent. He remembered what happened to the beautiful girl—how her body was turned to ash while he watched. He shuddered thinking about it, but it wasn't from fear. It was from happiness.
Clink.
Clink.
He kept hitting the orb, pain aching all over his body from the night before. Every ache, every sore muscle, reminded him that he would die. It could be right now; it could be tomorrow. At the thought, he scratched his neck so hard that blood started to seep from the wound. As he did, he overheard the others talking.
"Be careful of those cans of liquid. If it touches your skin, it will melt you like acid."
"How do you know this?"
"I majored in science, but I can't even explain it. Everything it touches, except those blackish containers, melts into nothingness."
"Yeah, let's not get close to that. But don't you notice something different about this place now?"
"Yeah... it's not the mine itself. It's the people mining. They're more built."
"I heard yesterday someone was able to make plants grow from the cracks in the ground."
"You too? I also heard people calling the tall, green monsters 'Orcs' and the mini ones 'Goblins.'"
"Really? That's news to me."
"Yeah, they are scary. That person who learned to make plants grow was taken to the Incubators to be a 'Life Giver.'"
"Bro, I'm so glad I'm not a girl. There was someone else who gained strength on par with the Orcs. He tried to fight back but he was swarmed by Goblins. They ripped off his feet and hands and took him to some room... all we can hear from it now are screams like someone is being tortured."
As they talked, Keirum understood more about this place. Orcs, huh? Orcs... Orcs... Orcs. As he chanted the word in his mind, he vowed to kill every single one of them in the most vicious way possible. I will make your kin eat you alive. I will cook you and take bites out of your flesh while you watch... just like you did to my mother! he shouted in his mind, the smile on his face igniting like the one in his dream.
Huff. Huff. Huff.
No one died today... hahaha.
"So, where are they taking us?"
The prisoners were chained together, walking into a room guarded by two Orcs. Everyone gasped.
What is this? Keirum asked himself.
It was a room with seats, and on those seats sat Goblins and Orcs alike. In the middle of the room was a stadium. No... a coliseum.
"They're not going to make us fight each other, right?" someone whispered, and the people in chains shuddered in fear.
They were guided to the edge of the ring.
"You two. Move!" an Orc barked, pointing to two people.
The crowd was filled with a heavy sadness. One was an elderly gentleman with wrinkled skin and pure silver hair. His opponent was a child with light blonde hair and big brown eyes. She looked like she wasn't even eight years old yet. She reminded Keirum of Iris.
As both were forced into the middle of the stadium, the chants started to become loud.
"KE AH JU JU! KA AH JU JU!"
The humans couldn't understand the language, but deep down, they knew what it meant. No one wanted to admit it, not even Keirum. They all knew. The monsters were telling the man to kill her.
Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.
Unable to take it anymore, the old man began to walk toward the girl.
Thump. Thump.
The world shrunk until it was only the two of them. The young girl didn't know what was happening; all she could feel was a paralyzing fear.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
As the old man stood in front of her, tears fell from his face and hit the ground. It was like a melody only they could hear.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry. I have three young nieces and an older boy... I can't die. I'm sorry."
As he lifted his hands toward the young girl's neck, her eyes finally understood. She tried to run. She tried to scream for help she tried to claw at his arm but it only drew a bit of blood that also hit the ground. in her attempts to be free it only added to the "beautiful" melody. He pinned her to the ground.
"HELP ME! BIG BROTHER, HELP!"
Hahaha... Keirum thought. I wonder... did Iris scream the same way for me while she was eaten alive? would i watch her just like i am now .
As the old man wrapped his fingers around her small neck, the tears came down like a storm. She squirmed and scratched at his wrists, his face, anything she could grab. Then, the screams began to soften. Her face was a mask of agony, her body deprived of oxygen. Her eyes, once so colorful, began to bulge as if they were about to pop.
As the spark in her eyes disappeared, the melody came to an end. Lying there in the middle of the stadium was a child, choked to death by a man who could have been her father.