By the time the car pulled infront of Prima Prison Centre, my eyes were drooping with sleep. So I didn't protest when Havard asked me to hand over the brown envelope to him. After he took the Royal Pass, he left the car saying he would go out first and 'prepare the Prima Prison Centre to receive me'. I thought it was unnecessary. Havard always had treated me like I'm a Royalty which I was not. But I did as he said. Sitting my Royal Ass down and scrolling through my Royal Phone while Havard went in first probably announcing about my arrival in a very embarassing way.
It took him about 15 minutes to come back to me to open the car door and announce," They're ready, Master." I clumsily climbed out of the car only to have Havard stand behind me and grab my shoulders as if I was going to faint anytime. "You're, such a drama queen," I snorted and made my way through the large iron gates guarded by atleast twenty police officers, who stood in a row at one side of the road with their heads bowed down. Formalities like this had always made me uncomfortable for I knew I definitely didn't desrve such respect. I was followed by ten men in black suits and armed with special gears. Most of them were carrying batons and guns. Them following me made me look more like a mafia leader and less like an in-law of the Royal Family.
As I entered the white marveled building, a man wearing a Bahan Military Uniform studded with many stars stepped in with polite smile. He didn't offer to shake my hands. Instead he gestured me to follow him further inside the prison center.
"I am Tiber Wolfe, Mr. Bale," he informed me, "I am a retired Colonel who had directly worked under the First Emperor His Royal Highness Gabriel Lazar. I will be aiding you my best!"
He seemed like a nice, helpful man. But after living in Bahamut last few years I had ceased having faith in most people, except Havard and Javis. My faith in Hira also, had started crumbling down slowly but surely.
"You need not do more than what I order," it exhausted me to sound so authoraive but I did so having no other choice, "I need to hold a private conversation with my abductor."
Mr. Wolfe did not look surprised, "Certainty," he promised, "I assure you full confidentiality!"
And I followed him further into the prison facility. Wherever we went, people were flocking us from either sides. Guards, maintenance guys and prisoners. I even noticed flashes of cameras here and there.
"Havard," I said, and didn't feel the need to add further. He understood, "I'll take care of the pictures," he simply said, as if raking through the mass of people inside the prison facility to erase all or any pictures taken of me was not a big deal. I loved him so much! He was like my personal Superman!
I noticed the facility had far more underground floors than I had predicted. We climbed into a lift and went five floors below the ground. The number of guards decreased from numerous to a handful.
"By the order of the little Sun of Bahamut (he means Marcus), we have decided to keep your abductor in complete isolation from other prisoners and other people. Only two people interact with him currently. The boy who serves him food and the guard posted directly infront of his room 24/7."
"And is he breaking?"
"He seems like a tough nut."
I followed him through a narrow corridor where about ten heavily armed guards were stationed at various points. It led to a single door. Two guards opened the door for me.
A man sat on a steel bed in the middle of the room. At one corner, there was a latrinal. The room was brightly lit with CCTVs attached at four corners.
"Get rid of the bed," I said.
"I'm sorry??" asked Colonel Wolfe.
"Get rid of his bed, have him sleep on the floor."
"But Sir the Human Rights..."
"I'm not going to call the Human Rights Activists for him," I looked at the Head Jailor and smiled, "Are you going to call them on me?"
"N-no," he stuttered.
I looked back at the man, "Does he go out of his cell?"
"Yes. For only an hour a day."
"From today he won't have any day out,'' I announced.
The man on the bed twitched. "Also, install night vision CCTVs in this room," I added, "Turn off all lights in his room and paint the walls in black. He will stay in complete darkness from now on."
"Wh-what about his food? Do you have any orders to add about that?"
"I don't care what food you serve, nutrious or not, just serve him the same food each and every day."
Now I could feel the prisoner's complete attention befall on me. "Anything else, Sir?" asked the retired Colonel, clearly feeling disturbed.
"Ask Havard to send you a list of drug production companies that want to test their medicines for psychiatric patients," I now looked at the man sitting on the bed stiffly, "Tell them to test their medicines on him. I want his meals drugged with hallucinogens or whatever mericines they want to test."
"I'll starve myself to death," the man simply said, "Then you can tell the court why I starved myself to death before the trial. I've heard you don't have any real power over the government of Bahamut, Mr. Bale and also your brother in law and the Empress herself HATES you," he jeered.
"Have you ever starved, Paolo?" I came to stand before him, "That's your name right? I remember it since that day in the car."
"Paolo Cassio," he said proudly, " Remember this name you monster. Remember me cuz I'll be taking your life for murdering my father."
His father. Is Nash Cassio. The fake driver. Over the past month I had read many reports upon Nash and Paolo. How they were one of the very few members who were infamous around world for being active on behalf of the dying flame of FFF. But tonight I wasn't interested in Nash. I knew nothing that came out of his mouth about his father would serve me any purpose.
The only thing I was interested in tonight was breaking Paolo Cassio down.
"Have you ever starved Paolo?" I repeated my question. Paolo's face twisted with hatred and anger, "Unlike your Royal ass licking mouth, I've spent years surviving on nothing but stale breads and expired soda! Something that dickheads like you will never understand!"
"That's not starving," I shook my head, "So it seems I have to teach you about starving."
He fell silent for a second. Thinking. "I am pretty sure you know how I and my fellow comrades were locked up in a cage in the Duni Camp of FFF," I started chatting lightly, "In a few decades, people will probably make movies out of me and my wife after the entertainment industry gets rebuilt."
Paolo was frowning. "They even wrote books about me that they will be teaching to kids," I chuckled at myself.
"Fuck you. I don't care about your books and movies."
"Neither do I, Paolo," I hushed, "For nothing can ever potray the horrors I've faced in your Duni Camp."
"As you deserved! You! Serving the enemy of Democracy! You serving the greedy monarchs-"
"Yet your democracy ended the world by world wars and my Monarchy saved the humanity."
He spat at me, "Don't fucking talk about humanity! You monster! You don't have humanity!"
"Because Vern took it away from me," I grabbed a fistful of his shirt, "Give it back to me!"
There were 64 of us in a 32 square feet cage. After three weeks, my friends had started dropping like flies.
"Berry, what should we do?" I could never forget the suffocating feeling of doom I had felt back in Duni. I could never forget the faces of my comrades I had lost there.
Borius Smith was our Squad leader back then. He was never supposed to be a soldier. Being from a family of well-known smiths, he was supposed to inherit his father's workshop. But he still had wanted to serve a few years as a soldier before taking over his father's business.
"Berry??"
We were not a battle squad. The reason we had 64 members were because we were a scouting squad which was sent into Duni Desert to flag the borders of Surya and get rid of mines and prepare the abandoned Taz Fort, deep into the desert, to be habitable again. Most of us were medics, bomb detectors, tech people, swippers and radio communication experts. Berry, a Smith was put in charge of us. It was supposed to be his last mission before retirement.
"Do we ask for food or blankets?"
I could never forget the hollow look in his eyes. The cage, once crowded, had suddenly started feeling somehow large because of the dead bodies the FFA members would take out everyday, which were of our comrades, to have them fed to their pigs and dogs.
But still we had put our trust in Berry, because he had kept saying the rescue team would come sooner or later. Disappearance of 64 people into the desert wouldn't be taken lightly. That the authority would realise there was a hidden FFF camp right in Duni, right under the nose of Suryan Samrat.
So we had tried to be hopeful. But the starvation had made my head heavy and my limbs weak. Instead of the Samrat, we had started looking up to Vern.
Because Vern had striked a deal with me. After he had discovered my condition, he had said if I entertained him every week he would provide me with simple necessities.
The first week I had cut open my skin on my arm and then stitched it back myself to amuse him. And as promised, he would have his men put a bucket of water near the cage everyday. As the cage became emptier, the bucket was eventually placed inside the cage. My first wish to him was stable supply of water.
The next week, I had asked for a branding iron, hot and red and stepped on it branding myself as an animal. Though it was not flashy as my first stunt Vern had liked it. He had liked the fact I had branded myself like an animal. I was an animal. I was Vern's animal. And as requested, he had given me enough medicines to treat the fatale wounds on myself and my fellow comrades. The third week I had suggested to walk into the fire or drown myself in water, but Vern wasn't pleased with my suggestion. He didn't just want to lose his new found toy.
And I had raked my brain until I had come up with the brilliant idea of asking for a poisonous snake and a injection syringe having the anti venom medicine inside of it. The thrill of having it bitten me and me taking the injection within few seconds must be a good entertainment. And Vern had agreed. Though he had said he didn't want me to take the medicine immediately. He wanted me to wait a minute. Sit and chat with Vern about how I felt after getting bitten by a poisonous snake. He also asked me I could choose the type of snake I wanted, except it must be a snake available in Duni Desert. But my knowledge about snakes had never been vast and also, knowing the breed of the snake had somehow felt more terrifying. Hence I had told him, I didn't care what type of snake he would find me, as long as it would give me a minute to chat with him before dying. He had laughed, as if he had liked the sick joke I had made about my life.
I had tried not to think about the nightmarish stunt I was going to pull. Instead, as a good soldier, I had wanted to discuss our next step.
Borius was sitting with the head of a young girl, one of our radio communication experts, on his lap. The other girl, a medic like me, had died in the first week after getting tortured and raped by the FFFs. After the FFF had dragged her out, others had hidden the other girl by sitting in a circle around her. And I had announced my health condition to Vern to draw his attention to me. After another week, I had noticed Johanna, our radio communication expert, had almost a bald head with a few lose strands behind her ears and back of her head. Her scalp was red and bleeding. Her nails broken and ununiform, her eyes red and face covered in swoot. She had pissed in her uniform and did everything to look unapproachable. Her hard work had paid off but FFA had dragged out a young boy, Liam, the youngest one in our squad to be their next sex toy. Liam was leaner and shorter than most of us. A few hours later, they had thrown Liam back into the cage. He was fully naked, his penis chopped off, his back bruised and he was bleeding from his behinds and his mouth, a wig glued to his sculp. It hadn't taken him long to die from profuse bleeding. The FFAs had come back and dragged his deadbody out. Vern had raped Liam's deadbody right infront of our cage. His followers had come one by one, and put their dicks in his mouth to jerk off while we had watched with mute horror.
Liam hadn't been the last one we had to send away like this. He had only been the first one.
And now Johanna was dying. I couldn't tell from what. "We should ask for food," I asked Berry for the upteenth time, "Right, Berry?"
Not much time was left. Vern could appear any time with the snake and the medicine. As I said food, immediately a fight broke out.
"We would have food tonight anyways! You should ask for blanket!"
By having food they meant the bones and half chewed salads that Vern and his friends would throw into the cage whenever Vern would come to watch my 'show'. He would absent mindedly throw bread crumbs and practically anything that he didn't like on his plate. And often the FFFs would throw in rotten meat, yeast infested vegetables and other foods that had gone bad.
"We have food? WE HAVE FOOD?? You call those food?! Most of us are fighting for life when they throw those craps inside the cage!"
"It's still better than nothing!"
"You gobble everything they throw inside! Weak people like us barely get anything after you have your fill!"
"Then you shouldn't be so weak! Don't you know most of us are already dead because of how freezing cold it is here underground?"
"They're dead from starvation, you motherfu-"
"Stop! Stop all of you!" Berry finally snapped, "We won't have neither food nor blanket. Sayak will ask for fire, a hearth to be built inside the cage!"
Because of my condition, I hadn't noticed it must have really been very cold in that cage. Having fire could help.
"But it's also true we need food-" I had squeaked.
"Just trust me," Berry had said calmly, "Johanna has a plan."
Atfirst nobody had understood what he had meant. What plan. What was he talking about? Johanna had looked barely conscious. Seldom she would whisper something and Berry would lean in to listen.
Vern had come with the snake. And I had done my best. Infact I might have overdone it. I had barely slurred out a hearth of fire to be built inside the cage before dropping to my side. Vern hadn't answered. He had seemed displeased. As I had stabbed myself with the syringe I had heard Berry talking. Something about how he had planned another entertainment that Vern would absolutely love. And the fire was necessary for that. He was also asking for knives...
Vern's eyes were full of glee. Their sentences had stopped making sense to me. I wasn't even sure if I had properly administered the medicine in my vein.
Vern had sat down on the other side of the bars, with his face close to mine, "I must say your friends are going to outdo your stunt. They're more interesting than you are."
And I had passed out. When I had woken up Berry was sitting infront of me. I had felt my limbs being less stiff and my head being clearer. Even with my blurry vision I could see a small fire in the middle of our large cage. Something was roasting and the overwhelming smell was watering my mouth.
"Berry...." I had choked on my own drool. Berry had sat me up and had ordered me, "Open your mouth."
I had done what he had ordered. "It's.... meat," he had hushed putting something on my tongue.
It was lightly crispy outside and juicy inside. Accurately salted and seasoned. I had moaned because how tasty it had felt.
"Where did you.... the salt....meat?" I couldn't form a sentence properly as Berry had kept putting more pieces in my mouth. And I had let him. Why wouldn't I?
"Vern gave us the salt and the seasons," his voice was trembling.
"You should have some salad. Meat tastes better with cucumber and onions."
I had jumped. I had looked around finding myself at the edge of the cage. Vern had sat on the floor right outside with a bowl of cucumber and onions.
"Here," He had offered softly and put the bowl of salad inside the cage. I had started eating the salad with Berry. Others had come to check. Immediately the bowl had emptied out. Vern had asked his men to bring more 'salads.'
The meat was a bit chewy. But it had been a proper meal we were having after ages. Meat roasted on fire and salted and seasoned properly and eaten with ambit salads. I could feel my strength returning slowly but surely.
After I had eaten properly I had looked around and had started counting heads. There were only Twenty of us left. With my hunger subsided and my head clearer, my 'humanity' had reappeared.
"Where's Johanna? She needs protein to thrive," I had said to Berry. Berry had kept ignoring me, putting the meat inside my mouth and his. Shoving salads in me and himself. "Berry? Is she dead?" I had asked, not shocked or sad, I had been past the stage of feeling shocked or sad about death.
Berry had looked up to me, smiling. But his eyes had been dark and hollow, "This is what Johanna had wanted."
I had been never so confused in my entire life. Berry had kept talking while eating his fill, "She has told me, after her death, once the FFFs drag her deadbody out, they would probably rape her lifeless body. They would probably thrash their dicks in her mouth. Just like they did to Liam.... and others."
I was crying and eating at this point. Vern was gone. The guards were gone. I came with Berry to sit by the fire. "Johanna was very grateful cuz how we hid her when we first came here," Berry continued, "And she asked for a last favour. Both for herself and for us."
"What favour?"
Berry looked at me, "To have me strike a deal with Vern. She knew your stunt won't be enough to have Vern install a fire inside the cage for 24/7.''
"What favour, Berry?" I had asked, already knowing what favour she had asked from him. I had looked finally at the farthest corner of the cage from me. Where I had been avoid trying looking. A pile of bones, limbs, cluster of intestines and organs lied there.
Neel, another boy from our squad, patted my back, "It's better than being raped and eaten by pigs and dogs."
Deep inside my head, I had always suspected we would eventually give in to eating eachother. That would be ultimate entertainment for Vern afterall.
But I hadn't expected this to happen adrupty. Berry kept talking, "Vern said he'd give us the fire only if we roast .... Jo.... properly with season and salt."
Why did he keep talking.
"He even provided us with knives and other utensils."
Stop. Talking.
"He said from now on, we can use them.."
Please.
"Now on, each time any one of us would die," Neel added, "When I DIE, I'd rather have you guys eat me than-"
I had squeezed my eyes shut. Worst part of it was I was still eating been the roasted meat. I couldn't stop myself. I had thought I would throw up but I didn't. Because over my hunger, Johanna's memories had been lost.
I came to realize I wasn't in Duni. I was in Bahamut. In Prima's Prison Centre. Grabbing the collar of Paolo Cassio. But it still wasn't easy to snap out of the memories.
Because in my mouth, I could still taste the meat and salad of that night.
"Master Bale?" Havard was asking something.
"Let me go, you freak," Paolo Cassio growled, "Give back your humanity? You guys are monsters! You don't have something like humanity! You are all animals!"
Being called monsters had not really bothered me ever. But being called animal. However...
Vern hadn't just turned me into his animal. On the night we had feasted on Johanna, everyone inside the cage had truly turned into animals. Having nothing but pure survival instincts.
THWACK. THWACK. THWACK.
I was punching something soft. To get Johanna out of my head. To get Carcel, Arjun, Ratan, Neel out of my head. But they weren't just in my