Shadow Slave

Sunny looked at the stream of blood that was getting closer and closer to the cage, then glanced back at the door and waited, wondering if someone… or something… would burst through it and enter the cell.

But nothing did. After that first loud bang, everything stayed eerily quiet. Seconds passed, then minutes. Finally, he slowly turned away from the door and looked at Cassie.

"Do you smell it?"

She lingered for a moment, then nodded.

"...Blood."

Sunny remained motionless for a bit, then walked back to his usual place and sat down. His face was grim. After a while, he said in a dark tone:

"We are going to need to start rationing water."

Humans could survive for a long time without food, but water… water was much more precious. Without it, a healthy human could die in a matter of days.

And there were very few more agonizing ways to go.

Cassie turned her head, then asked somberly:

"Why? Do you think that they are going to just leave us here?"

Sunny opened his mouth to retorn that she was the one who could see the future. But in the end, he held his tongue.

"...Just in case."

able to last longer without water than mundane humans —

that be long

no way to

closed his eyes and exhaled slowly,

no one came to bring them food. With their last connection to the outside world gone, it was impossible to tell what day it

their water ran out. The waterskin wasn't that large, to begin

...Then, came the thirst.

felt like, but after spending several days — at least he thought that a few

maddening, torturous, and suffocating. His throat hurt as if it was being cut, his lips had dried and cracked, and so did his

and discarded. Maybe one day someone would open the heavy door, and find

think of to get out of the cage, but nothing he had done helped. The only

his throat and mouth felt as though they were on fire, and his entire body ached terribly. He felt weak and lethargic, and his vision was starting to blur. Sunny spent most of his time staring at

Then, it disappeared, too.

the ghostly, dim glow of the runes illuminating the iron

'...The oil ran out.'

Sunny closed his eyes.

Was it really hopeless?

give up… he

somewhat sane was the fact that Cassie was right

pain with someone had made if not bearable, then at least a little easier. Neither of them would have been able to endure the agony and the terror of not knowing whether they were going to live or die, the fear of the unknown, alone. But together, the two of them managed to persevere, somehow. Maybe just

lantern died out. Time lost its meaning a while ago. All he knew was the thirst, the pain, and the