Dwellers of the New World Chapter Seven ( Pt 2 )

As we entered the building, three men stood each side of a less than fearsome man. He was gaunt looking almost as if he were diseased, or undernourished. Surely this couldn't be the man that everyone feared?

He looked at me without speaking, then said something to one of the men at his side, who then came over and took the gun from Seth, I had a feeling he would be interested in my weapon.

“Who are you...and where are you from?” the man said, as he took the weapon.

My mouth was dry...licking my cracked lips and feeling an unease I replied. “My name's Dawson and I come from the planet Obsidian. We came here many years ago, I am one of your ancestors.”

The gaunt looking man stood up from his chair and slammed the table with his fist. “I know all about your kind and those do gooders, you are nothing but trouble.” He slammed the table again, his face turning bright red with anger. “Well you don't rule here any more, I'm in charge now. Guards take him away...you know what to do with him, I need to think.”

I could not believe a scrawny little man could hold so much power, if he had been slightly bigger, I  could have understood. The guards led me away and I wondered what my fate would be.

Moving out into the yard once again, I was pushed towards the women who were still plucking chickens. One of them smiled at me, she was of slim build with long black hair that curled down her back. She wore a long dress made of skin, her hair was pushed back out of her eyes, with a scarf also made of skin. I smiled back at her, but the guard had noticed and told her to get back to work.

We moved on towards another building that was much larger, but this one never had any windows or shutters. It seemed to be built in to the side of a rock face. As we approached the guard left me and knocked on the door again three times, this seemed to be a code for, 'you know who I am.' A bent old man, with a greying beard came and opened the door, he was very dirty and had very bad teeth. I felt this was going to be the last time I saw daylight, as the entrance was pretty gloomy inside, I turned and had once last look at the daylight, my instincts told me this was not a good place.

“So what have we got here then Seth?” the old man enquired in a squeaky voice. He held a candle in his hand, he put it down and began rubbing his hands together, as if pleased to be getting another prisoner.

Again another guard I presumed from his beard that he played with, looked me up and down. “The master wants him shackled...he's another prisoner,” he waved me over.

“What have I done to deserve this?” I questioned, not really understanding why I was to be held a prisoner.

“You know why,” said the guard. “Josh told us of your plan to escape with the boys...you thought you had it all sussed out, didn't you? Well sorry to be the bringer of bad news, but nobody escapes from the chamber.”

I suppose it was a bit too much to ask, that these men would feel sorry for any of the boys, but I did wonder about Sam. “So...what's going to happen to the boy Sam, who confessed to my plan?” I had a feeling I wasn't going to find out, but asked all the same.

“That's none of your business. Now get inside, I haven't got time to stand chatting.” The guard pushed me in the door, where the other man took over.

The room where I was led, was dark apart from candlelight which was the only thing keeping the place warm. I turned to the man in charge of me. “Look sir...I'm a diabetic and I need my tablets, so please can I keep my bag? I promise I do not have any weapons, just my tablets.”

The old man looked puzzled and picked up the candle once more. “What you on about...diabetic? Don't know what you be talking about.”

I explained to him, that I would have a fit and I could possibly die if I didn't take my tablets. He just shrugged and gave me a gruff push, letting me know he couldn't care less whether I died or not, but he searched my bag, then said I could keep it.

The building was a lot bigger inside than it looked from the outside, he took me through a tunnel that led into a rock face. There were lit torches placed in cracks along the wall. It seemed the premises had been built onto the entrance to yet another cave. It was cold and damp, nothing like the room we had entered. I felt a shiver run through me as I noticed some cold stone rooms off of the tunnel, they were prison cells, I shivered.

Finally we stopped. The guard unlocked a wooden door and pushed me inside, laughing and spitting on the ground. “You're lucky the master didn't have you killed. He must need you for some reason.”
He then shackled me to a wall with some chains attached to my ankles.

He turned and walked away, keys jangling as he went, still laughing to himself. I couldn't believe how cruel these men were. 'Why hadn't we seen all of this on the screens, on Obsidian?' I thought. It was very strange. Then I remembered the fog. May be that's why our people couldn't detect anything. We also would never have registered underground activity.

The room where I was put was cold and damp, I remembered my metallic blanket. Taking it out of my backpack, I made myself as comfortable as possible and ate one of the food pills. 'Thank goodness
they let me keep the tablets.' I thought to myself.

Luckily my all in one suit was extra warmth for me too. I was soon fast asleep and dreaming of my family. It was a strange dream. There were animals all around us, they seemed friendly and my son was smiling as he petted a goat. My daughter was chasing chickens and myself and my wife were laughing and smiling. Where this place was, I didn't know. It certainly wasn't on Obsidian. There was green grass all around us and trees. The Sun shone through the branches and leaves. My wife Laura looked so beautiful, I didn't want the dream to end. But I was awoken by a gruff voice.

“Grubs up...come on get up you lazy good for nothing.” The crotchety old man approached me with a plate of something that resembled porridge. I could smell his fowl breath as he took hold of me by the collar. “You ain't sleeping now, so eat this...cause it be all you're getting for the rest of the day.”

I felt sick just looking at him. Dressed in rags he picked up a large torch of fire and walked to the door. Locking it behind him, he once again left me in the darkness. I felt sad that things had ended this way and just wanted to get out. Remembering I only had a weeks worth of food and tablets, I was becoming more and more worried about my health.

Dwellers of the New World Chapter Seven ( Pt 3 ) Rumours Are Rife | ABCtales