Born of Life and Death

Ha Ha Death Again

"No! No! Please don't take her." Libitina woke up to the sounds of a woman screaming thru her own cries of pain. "Esma!" she shouted.

She got of her cot and walked over to the door were all her cell mates were peeking thru the bars. Outside was a little girl was being dragged down the hallway while her most likely to be her mother was frantically trying to get to her.

This young child was almost certainly the next victim of the prisons hunger for murder. At the same time others would be picked at random to join her.  After that a few more would be chosen to watch their prison mates death. This happened every day for as long as she could remember.

It was a miracle how she had never been chosen to die. Most people here don't last more than a week She was born here and for and for 19 years had lived here. Every day was the same thing wake up, watch death or sit for a few hours, eat, nap, do something, sleep, and wake up again. Not all that much happened other then an occasional attempt to escape or more people joining there "lovely" group from trying to rescue there friends from certain death.

She walked over to a wall and sat down looking around for new prisoners. She spotted one in the cell across from her. A girl with messy brown hair and dark forest green eyes. Her clothes torn and dirty like everyone else's. She was sitting next to a man who also seemed new. She watched the girl scoot in closer to the man and he held her close hugging her tight. He was probably an older brother or her dad. He also had brown hair but instead of green his eyes were brown. She had seen families do this before after someone was sent to die, but she had never really understood why. She touched her necklace, her only connection to any family. It was the necklace Sancha had given her before she died. Libitina didn't know whether Sancha was her grandma or just someone who took care of her, but she was too old to be her mom. The day they took her she was sitting in this cell talking to the woman she thought was her mom. All of the sudden Sancha stops and stares at the wall. Then she hurriedly takes of her necklace and puts it on Libitina. In the next minute or so people dressed in full black their faces covered take Sancha away.

The necklace was small tied to her neck with a thin rope. Inside was a flat thin yellow-white thing of some sort. On it where a bunch of weird symbols she didn't understand. It looked something like Etherem Canergioa.

The sound of the door opening brought her out of her thoughts and into what was now happening. A man carrying a list walked into their cell. This was a pretty normal thing to do on days like this.

"Libitina" he said. "You have been chosen to watch the events for today. Come with us"

She walked out of the cell and started down the hallway. They stopped at several more cells before she found herself tied to a chair in front of a thing that they hanged people from. She didn't know why they brought prisoners out to watch, it didn't seem very efficient. All that effort just to get a few prisoners to watch a few deaths. Why not just kill everyone? Or at least make them work, it might get away some of the boardroom and help build more muscle. On the other hand, she wasn't so sure that she could be much help. It was hard enough to walk. She was never able to get much exercise except for walking in circles around the cell. If it hadn't been for that she wouldn't be able to stand up. Another problem is the fact that her food source doesn't have all that much nutrients in it. So again, a wonder she is alive.

16 prisoners were brought out of a doorway to their left. 9 females and 7 males, two of them children. She didn't see the girl from earlier that her mother woke her up by screaming. She wondered what they took the little girl for. She wasn't here with the watchers or with the people about to die. Libitina would probably think about it later anyways. For now, it was time to be forced to watch people die.

                      Back in the cell

The deaths today where as usual cruel to the people watching them and at the same time gave her this strange feeling that she was so close to something but couldn't reach it. Like something waiting to burst out as if it was holding its breath but couldn't do it any longer. Sometimes she almost enjoyed watching these deaths.

Today it was hangings. Someone stepped up the steps to the platform. A specially tied rope was slipped over their neck. Than they waited for what probably to them seemed like an eternity before a lever was pulled and a trap door was opened beneath their feet. It was simple and easy, but not as fun as watching someone burn to death.

Creek! The sound of her door opening for incoming food. A person walked in, most likely a servant or guard, with their food. When they set it down, she was shocked to see it wasn't the watery stuff. It was a good smelling brown lump of something she didn't recognize.

"Bread?" said one of the other prisoners.

"Yes bread. Don't ask me why." said the person who brought it in. "I don't know why they bother feeding  you at all. Its not like your going to live long anyway." After they said that they left.

"This can't be good." said some other prisoner. "If there giving us something good to eat something bad could happen soon."

"What do you guys usually get." said a prisoner who had arrived yesterday. Then a thought came to her mind.

"What if all of us are going to die soon, so for some reason there being nice for once." she said. A moment of thought before someone said.

"Or it's poisoned and we all die slow painful deaths."

She didn't know what "poison" was not that it made sense anyways. Why would they do that? They've never done that before.