Tainted Scars

Chapter Three

Her eyes shot open and adjusted to the darkness of the warehouse. She slowly sat up and drew her knees up to her racing heart and she wrapped her arms around herself as if she were trying to hold herself together to keep from falling apart. Tear after tear slid along her cheeks and splattered to the cold floor. The dreams never ceased to make her nights miserable. At least she hadn't screamed aloud like before. Or at least that was what she thought for none of the other kids had awoken.
She looked to the boy and saw that he was asleep along with many of the other children.

She lay awake for hours, scared out of her wits that the nightmares would come back to haunt her. Only when exhaustion got the better of her, did she finally fall asleep.

And when she woke up the next morning, Kaleb was gone. Leyna didn't think much about it. She didn't plan on making any friends here. Perhaps she had screamed last night, and he had heard. Perhaps he thought she was crazy for it. But when she looked around she couldn't see him talking with any of the other children. As she was looking she realized something else: everyone had gotten food, and she had slept through it. Stupid. Stupid. STUPID, she scolded herself.

She gazed hungrily at their breakfast and even contemplated taking someone else's food when they weren't looking. She rested her head against the cracked stone wall and closed her eyes, trying not to think about the emptiness in her stomach.

Footsteps approached. Shuffling, limping footsteps. Leyna opened her eyes and widened them in surprise when she saw Kaleb standing in front of her, but now with a newfound bruise on his cheek and a split lip.

"What happened?" Leyna asked, standing up to face him.

"You were still sleeping when they called us for breakfast. I didn't want to wake you up, so I went to get us both food. They thought I was getting more than I was supposed to and beat me for it. Well, now we both don't have anything to eat," he said sitting down, leaning his head against the wall.

Leyna just stared at him. She shouldn't have called herself stupid. She should've been scolding him for being so dense. He could've just woken her up and save them all the trouble. She was about to tell him as much, but held back. "You didn't have to do that, you know."

"You didn't get that much sleep last night. I kind of figured you would rather sleep in," he said after a while.

So he had been awake, she thought. She was about to respond, but was cut short by the loud creaking noise of the warehouse door sliding open.

The men that entered, held what looked like bundles of metal. Chains. The children nearest to the door began to back away.

The boy cursed beside her, making Leyna jump. Her father would've cut her tongue off for using that kind of language, much less for speaking in a disrespectful tone. Well she was only seven and he had to have been around 12.

The crying and screaming began from the youngest of them. Then the swords came out and the children slowly began to comply.

Some tried running, only to be dragged back and for shackles to be clamped down their wrists. That left their legs free to kick at anyone who neared, but they soon learned that it was pointless and that their ankles would get chained as a consequence.

More began crying in fear and despair. They were all too weak to fight against the stronger, armed adults.

Leyna watched as they grabbed a sobbing girl, who looked to be four. His hands were outstretched, as if hoping to grab onto something, anyone to keep her away from those monsters. An older boy, who Leyna guessed was the girl's brother, tackled the man from behind. The man, girl and boy went sprawling on the floor. The man was on his feet in an instant and he drove his foot into the boys side. Once, twice, three times. Each time harder than the one before.