Vance opened his weary eyes to the squeaking of rats.
'Where am I?' He wondered, staring at the shackles around his wrist that bound him to the rough stone wall.
Moonlight slipped through cracks in the cave ceiling, illuminating only a small pond just beyond his reach while the rest of the cave remained dim.
He stared at the water as rats drank, without a care for his presence.
'Maybe I should've listened to Ceal,' he thought with a bitter smile while leaning against the cold stone wall.
'No.' His gaze shifted to the dark passage across from him.
'Joining a church would have done nothing but..' He stopped himself.
Looking around the cave, he couldn't help but wonder if he would have be here even if he had chosen a path.
'What do they even want?' He sighed staring at the moonlight reflecting across the pond.
'That women from the mage tower wasn't after money,' He licked his dry lips eyeing the water.
'And the women with Tooka mentioned something about assigned duties.'
"Grrr..." his growling stomach interrupted his thoughts, startling the rats.
'It has something to do with my gift. There's something Roxy didn't tell me or something I failed to ask.' He licked his lips looking at the rats drinking water.
He turned to bones scattered besides him. 'Am I really going to die here?'
"Grrr..." his stomach grew louder.
He picked up one of the bones and struck it against the wall. "Thud. Thud. Thud"
'Its too hallow.' He tossed it aside and grabbed another, pushing skulls out of the way.
''Thud. Thud. Thud.'' Again, hollow.
One by one he tested them before throwing them back onto the pile.
He sighed, finally leaning against the wall again. 'They haven't used this place in a while. All these bones are too brittle to pick a lock.'
"Grrrr..." His stomach twisted in pain.
His gaze locked onto the rats. 'I can't die from hunger.'
'I still have to find my debtor.' His eyes narrowed, 'I should add Tooka and that women to the list too.'
He shut his eyes and pretended to be sleep against wall.
'Even those things Ceal calls gods owe me a life.' He slightly opened his eyes to see if any rats were approaching.
'Since Tooka and that women are the one's who put me here, killing them wouldn't be a fair compensation.' One rat looked his direction.
'I should find their families. I hope they have families.' The rat moved closer as he slowed down his breathing.
The rat stopped near his feet.
'If they don't have families, what can I do to get even?' His nearly closed eyes followed the rat's every movement.
It moved past his legs. 'But I should be patient this time.'
'I'm only here, because I was impatiently trying to adjust to this world.'
Vance pushed every other thought aside as his meal came closer.
"Do you think he's awake?" a feminine voice echoed from the passage.
The rat fled instantly.
His jaw tightened, 'I should add them to the list too.'
"He should be," Derrick replied as they stepped into the cave.
''He's not awake,'' Lez commented.
Derrick approached the body laying against the wall.
"I don't understand why isn't he awake." Derrick frowned standing at Vance's feet.
"Thud." He kicked Vance's foot and it limply rolled aside.
"What are you doing?" Lez asked.
"Did we leave him like this?" Derrick asked looking up at her.
Lez sighed turning toward the pond. "Stop wasting time and check if he's stabilised."
Derrick crouched beside Vance and put two fingers against his neck.
Through the darkness, Vance's slightly opened eyes could barely be seen.
Derrick turned to Lez, "his pulse has stabilised. We can wake him u..urk"
Vance lunged forward. His shackled hands wrapped around Derrick's neck.
"What did you say?" Lez asked casually staring at her reflection in the water.
Derrick opened his mouth to scream, but Vance tightened his grip around his neck.
Vance's jaw clenched as Derrick's claws dug through his clothes into his flesh.
He tightened his grip further, lifting Derrick off the ground as Derrick desperately kicked at the bones below.
"Are you done?" Lez asked, still facing the pond.
Derrick's movements weakened then.
Vance's eyes widened as Derrick grabbed the chain connected to his wrist.
"Cling. Cling. Ching.." Derrick shook the chain with the last of his strength.
"What is it?" Lez turned around.
"DETAIN!" She screamed as she rushed back.
'Damn it' the chains violently snapped backward toward the wall pulling Vance's hands.
As his grip loosened, Vance lunged forward with an open mouth.
His arms jerked backwards.
"Noo.." She screamed as Vance bit down into Derrick's neck midair.
The chains yanked him backward with brutal force.
"RIP!" Derrick's throat tore free from his neck as Vance flew back to the wall.
"THUD!" Vance slammed into the rough wall.
"Agh!" Blood flooded his mouth, but his jaw remained clenched tightly around the severed flesh
"Urk. Urk. Urk" Derrick collapsed while blood sprayed from his torn neck.
"What the happened?!" Lez crouched down beside him as light formed in her palm.
The bleeding slowed down under the light but it didn't stop.
She looked around the floor frantically asking, "where is it?"
Vance smiled while chewing.
Lez slowly turned to him, her eyes widened.
"Gulp." Vance swallowed.
"I've never eaten a man's throat before," he grinned with blood soaked teeth. "But there's always a time to try new things."
"Hahhahhahha" Vance laughed as Derrick's body finally went limp.
Lez stared at him with tears slowly filled her eyes.