Our Second World book three: Personal Truth

Chapter 43.2: Miafilellie

(Part two of two)

With a groan, I peeled open my heavy eyelids and glanced around. I was somewhere dark, laying on a hard stone floor. Pain throbbed in the back of my neck as I pushed myself to a sitting position. It was so dark, I could hardly see, but, searching around with my hands, I found a wall close by and leaned against it. When I moved, I heard rattling, like metal across stone. Reaching down, I found something like a chain around my leg.

What happened? I wondered, rubbing my forehead. Through the dank moisture and wet stone, I couldn't smell much of anything else, so I wasn't sure where I was, other than somewhere likely underground. I couldn't tell if the others were with me or not either.

Because of the darkness it was hard to tell how much time had passed since I'd woken up, but at some point, I heard the sound of metal scraping against stone coming from somewhere nearby. A door; footsteps; boots scuffing against stone. They stopped somewhere to my right.

"Hey, you awake?" A boy's voice sounded to my right, emotionless and plain.

"Yes," I answered, pulling my knees up to my chest. The chain on my ankle rattled when I did.

There was no answer and the footsteps walked away. A door scratched open and closed again, then there was silence. A short time passed and the footsteps came back.

"Here," said the voice, and I felt something hit my foot.

"What is it?" I asked, reaching for the object.

Again I got no answer as the footsteps receded. Without much else to do, I picked up the object at my feet and raised it to my nose. It smelled faintly of bread, and I took a small bite. It was stale and tasted awful, but bread was bread. I ate it anyway. It was hard to know how long it had been since I'd eaten last.

"Mia? Was that you?" a hushed whisper sounded from my right.

"Mikhael?" I couldn't see through the dark, but I recognized his voice.

"Oh thank the gods, you're ok. I thought I was the only one here," Mikhael let out a relieved sounding sigh." Do you know if the others are around either?"

I shook my head, forgetting he couldn't see me. I froze, and said," I can't smell anything down here, so I don't know."

"At least you're ok."

"For now anyway," I sighed, my chain rattling." What happened?"

"I have no idea. Last thing I remember is falling asleep. I woke up here," Mikhael answered. I heard a rattle from his direction.

"That guy that was here earlier probably could tell us what happened," I muttered." But it'll probably be impossible to get him to talk."

"True," I heard Mikhael sigh, the clang of a chain, then silence.

Hugging my knees to my chest, I put my head down. After a while, I found myself dozing off.

I woke with a start to the sound of a door slamming open. A dim flash of orange flickered in the corner of my eye and I glanced up to see a familiar white haired boy being shoved past a wall of bars that separated me from a small hallway and what looked to be another row of cells across from me.

A second person, a younger man with yellow blond hair shoved Wolf along. I watched him shove Wolf into the cell next to mine. I heard the sound of a chain being snapped shut before the cell door closed and the blond man marched away, casting us in silence and darkness once more.

A minute passed and I heard Wolf cough before groaning as if he was in pain. I crawled over to the corner of my small cell and called out quietly to the man.