章 4: Chained
Tens of puddles of varying sizes could be seen everywhere. While a nauseating smell was spread in the area.
~clink~ Clang~ Clink~
The sound of rattling chains could be heard echoing in the caves, increasing the dread one felt twofold.
When Asher had woken up in the morning today, he had never thought that he would end up getting arrested and put into the Trench Rot Cave. And here he was, chained up in one of the tunnels, unable to do much.
His hands were shackled to long chains that were anchored to the wall, while his legs were restricted with a chain as well. He could move around for about a meter, but not more than that, as the chains on his hands would stop him.
Thankfully, they were just long enough that he could at least sit down. By lying down was not possible… at least not comfortably. One would have to sleep at an awkward angle with their hands stretched above them.
Though lying down wasn't exactly a good option there. Most of the cave was damp, and small puddles of water were everywhere. If one stayed wet for too long, they would get sick.
Many prisoners here experienced it, with several having their toes rot.
If one had a couple of dry spots to keep their feet on, they were considered lucky. Otherwise, they would have to stand on single foot, to let the other dry and then switch it around.
It was a torturous existence that was hard to endure.
"What do I do now?" Asher was feeling incredibly lost. "Maybe Berk was right… I should have just stayed silent." He was now starting to regret his choices.
Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret, and Asher had to deal with the hand that had been dealt to him.
But while he was worried about himself, he was even more worried about someone else.
"Grandma Tess… She won't get the money for rations now…" Asher realized just how big of a trouble he had caused, not just for himself, but also his grandmother.
The only family that Asher had in the world was his grandmother. She had taken care of him since he was a baby and raised him all alone. Of course, when Asher was old enough, he contributed to earning his own keep and eventually made enough so that he could feed both himself and his grandmother.
He had promised her that he would always take care of her.
'And now I can't fulfill that promise…' Asher's eyes teared up.
His first day in the Trench Rot cave went by with him wallowing in sorrow. He had eaten nothing, as no food was brought to him, but he did have water to drink.
The water that was collected in the puddles on the ground was not fit for drinking, as it was dirty and had who knows what mixed in it. But the water that dripped down directly from the roof was safe for drinking. Though it did taste a bit off.
This ensured that the prisoners didn't dry of thirst at least.
~rumble~
Asher's stomach rumbled with hunger and made him wince. The last time he had eaten was the previous morning, before he had gone for work. He was supposed to eat after that, but didn't get the chance since he ended up getting arrested.
With all that exhaustion from yesterday and the struggle after that, Asher was incredibly hungry.
"Since they didn't bring food yesterday, they should bring today, right?" Asher wondered to himself.
He had heard that the food was only brought to the prisoners of the Trench Rot cave once every two days. He just hoped that today was the feeding day and not yesterday.
If the feeding day was yesterday and he had arrived after they were done with it, Asher was in for another day of starvation.
Minute after minute passed by, and Asher could only sit in the darkness, waiting for something to happen. He had no way to judge what was the time in this darkness. Only the distant sounds of other prisoner, rats or insects reminded him that he wasn't dead yet.
In such isolation, it was very easy to lose track of time after all.
Ironically, the only crude method of estimating time for him was his own hunger. The worse it got, the more time had passed.
It was now the third day since Asher had been chained in the Trench Rot Cave. He was sitting on a small dry patch on the ground when he heard the sound of distant footsteps.
It wasn't the first time he was hearing them of course, as the guards would occasionally pass by on their patrols. But none of them bothered to check up on him, as if he had already been forgotten.
~Sigh~
"Do they really intend to let me die here?" Asher couldn't help but question himself.
His words were almost a whisper, and yet in the silence of the cave, they were loud enough to be heard at least a few meters away.
~step~step~step~
"He's there!" Suddenly, a voice was heard accompanied by frantic footsteps.
They got louder and louder, catching Asher's attention and making him lift his head and look at the source of the sound.
"Asher!" A few seconds later, the piercing light of a torch assaulted the teen's eyes, making him wince.
He felt his body being held in a hug by someone warm. A familiar scent entered his nose, which couldn't be hidden despite the stench of the caves.
"Grandma Tess…" Asher didn't need his eyes to know who was hugging him right now.
"My poor boy…" The old woman couldn't help but sob seeing his condition.
"We should let him eat first, Tess." Another familiar voice spoke.
Asher finally opened his eyes and looked up to see none other than Berk standing there with a torch in his hand and a small sack on his back.
"YES! You need to eat!" Tess said, taking out a couple of roasted yams from the sack.
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