//------------------------------// // Man // Story: Shackles // by An hero //------------------------------// Shackles Chapter three After feeding and burping the infants, the creature grabbed a cheese wheel and began scavenging the contents of the kitchen. He took one of the many bottles from the cabinets and read it’s label. ‘Looks surprisingly like english’ the creature thought. After thirty or so seconds, he deciphered the word to be ‘GROG’. He uncorked the bottle and sniffed the contents. ‘Smells like grog’. He undid his mask of rags and took a swig, he winced as the drink hit his throat. ‘Definitely grog. Alcohol could come in useful, disinfectant, firestarter, potential weapon...stress reliever.’ The creature noticed an odor coming from his mask. ‘Urine.’ He looked towards the babies, then looked back towards his mask. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb. He recalled the warmth on his shoulder. He took off the brown rags that comprised his attire. He looked at the brown rags, caked in dirt, blood, urine, and vomit. The union of filth and bodily fluids combined to create a miasma. The creature moved towards the river and promptly threw his apparel into it. The clothes caught in a drain at the end of the river and the riverbank slowly began rising. The zebra took a moment to study the naked form of the creature. Scars lined his skin and fit each other like a jigsaw puzzle. The lack of fur on his body only further accentuated their presence. A mat of black fur rested at the top of his head. As his gaze moved towards the face, he was met with a scowl. “Dude, you might want to move your...clothes. You might end up flooding this place.” The zebra said. The creature walked away. The creature walked down multiple caverns, marking their walls with his knife as he went. He wandered the halls, for hours, the passing of time forgotten, until he finally reached what looked like an administrative room. He paused and stood in the doorway, eyes glazed over, recollecting memories of a darker time, a time when he was little more than a caged animal. Eleven months ago, digging room The man dug. The guards weren’t watching him, so he could work at a slower pace. He turned as he heard the sound of flesh hitting flesh. A white unicorn filly cried as a clawed appendage struck her face. “Why you no dig faster pony?!” A brown diamond dog exclaimed as he brought his paw back for another blow. “I-I’m sorry” The filly cried “I can’t work that hard. I-I’m so hungry, I haven’t eaten in days.” She fell to the ground as another slap echoed throughout the cave. “Are you saying this is our fault pony?” “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to-” She began, caressing a cut that had now formed along her cheek. “Leave her alone!” Cried another voice, this one belonging to a stallion “She’s sick and you haven’t been feeding us for the past few days! Of course she wouldn’t be able to fill the gem quota!” The stallion snorted and stamped his hooves to accentuate his point. The diamond dog laughed as he began stepping closer to the stallion. “What is this filly to you pony?” “She’s my daughter.” The dog laughed and gestured towards some guards that were standing behind him. They nodded and rushed the stallion, effectively restraining him. “Let go of me you bastards!” The dog laughed again. “We will feed your daughter pony” The dog slowly advanced towards the cowering filly. “Get away from her! She’s only a filly! Stop! If you lay one paw on her, I swear to the gods that-” The stallion was interrupted by a spear being run into his throat. He choked, the last thing he heard as his vision began blacking out were his daughter’s screams, and the diamond dog’s laughter. “Daddy!” The filly screamed as she saw her father being stabbed. The man, seeing enough of the spectacle, decided to intervene, however; before he could do anything, a rock was thrown by another slave at the taskmaster. “Who threw that!?” The dog indignantly screamed, the filly below him crying profusely, a red trail snaking out from between her rear legs. One of the guards pointed at the man. “Taskmaster Fido, the monkey threw rock.” The man ran, trying to escape the horde of armored guards that were now rapidly approaching him. Time slowed as the creature saw a paw pop out of the ground. It grabbed his ankle, dirty, untrimmed claws digging into his skin. He cursed as he fell, kicking up a cloud of dirt as he did so. He was dragged by his ankle to the taskmaster. “So monkey, you think you can attack a diamond dog and not be punished?” “I didn’t do it.” The man said. “That guard saw you monkey. Are you calling him a liar?” He brought his face close to the man. “All I’m saying is that I didn’t throw the rock.” “Lying to a taskmaster,” The dog snarled “That’s fifty lashings! And then it’s off to see Alpha Lupine. Take him to the punishment room!” He yelled at the nearest guard. “I didn’t do anything!” He cried as he was dragged off to the punishment room. He heard a metallic clang, pain exploded in the back of his skull, and he slowly drifted into unconsciousness. The guard replaced his club at his waist and continued down the dark corridors. The man awoke to searing pain in his shoulders, and the sounds of grunting, snarling, and crying. He opened his eyes to the sight of a dark room, faintly illuminated by torchlight. He turned his head to see the source of his pain, and found that his arms were facing the ceiling, his hand locked in shackles that were connected to stalactites. He looked down and found that he was suspended in the air, his toes barely making contact with the floor. He tried moving his arms to a more comfortable position; an explosion of agony burst in his shoulders and he grunted from the pain, the chains rattles reverberated off the walls of the cavern. He heard a grunt and the sound of footsteps nearing him. He waited, hearing the footsteps slowly getting closer, the sound of claws scratching along the floor amplified by the cavern’s spacious interior. Eventually he was met with the smiling visage of the taskmaster. “Good morning monkey” He snarled. “I’m not a monkey.” The man spat back. “Lying to a taskmaster again? That’s fifty lashes you’re getting monkey, and another fifty for making me work so much!” The man closed his eyes, he knew what was coming. He clenched his teeth as he heard the whip being unraveled from around the diamond dog’s waist. The first lash was always the most painful. A single line burned across the man’s back and he hissed and it withdrew, only to come back seconds later. “You are annoying monkey! Taskmaster Fido has to do so much work because of you! Fido was “feeding” the filly that collapsed earlier today. Taskmaster didn’t get to finish feeding her because you threw rock! You cause so much trouble! Fifty more lashes!” After Taskmaster Fido finished whipping the man, he left the room and shortly thereafter, canine grunts and crying could be heard yet again. A guard came up to the man and undid his bindings. The newly found freedom in the man’s wrists came with the reintroduction of gravity, he collapsed as soon as his shackles came loose. He laid on the ground for a moment, catching his breath, only to have it forcibly expelled by a forcible kick. The man groaned in agony as the guard above him barked orders. “Back on feet monkey! You still have to see Alpha Lupine!” The man slowly rose to his knees, trembling from not only the effort, but from the searing pain in his back, he paused for a moment-only to be kicked down again. “Faster!” The dog barked. The man tried to rise again, more effort being placed into this attempt. The man did not want to be kicked again, he did not have the energy to fight. He stood and waited for the diamond dog’s orders. “March!” The dog yelled, pointing a spear at the man as he did so. The man walked, down corridors, stalagmite and stalactite formations punctuating the otherwise bleak caverns. The torches casting eerie shadows along the walls only made the situation even more unnerving for the man. A bright light could be seen from the side of the hall. The creature paused, unsure of whether to enter the room or continue down the hall; a sharp pain in his side and the guard repositioning himself so that the man stood between him and the room confirmed that it was the former. The creature entered the room and the dog followed, spear brandished. A much larger diamond dog sat behind a desk, poring over a map. He raised his head at the sound of footsteps. “Alpha Lupine” The guard bowed as his eyes rested upon the gray, wolf-esque creature. “Kneel monkey!” He yelled, ramming the man with the butt of his spear. The creature fell to his knees, and the wolf grunted. The guard stood and left. “You attacked one of my dogs.” The wolf stated plainly. “You’re not like the other dogs.” The man began “You look different.” “Yes” The wolf stated. “I am Alpha Lupine. After the former Alpha, now taskmaster, Fido, failed to meet the gem quota, Emperor Canis sent me to supervise operations here. I was transferred here from Nal Mutta. Production has skyrocketed after my arrival, as is to be expected from a Fenrir such as myself, the Familiaris here such as the taskmaster you’ve grown so fond of are naturally inferior to us, and thus are only deserving of lower positions.” The wolf stood and began pacing around the room. “Now as to why you are here...” He began. “You’ve been charged with assaulting a diamond dog, normally this is punishable by execution; however, I question the competence of these Familiaris more and more with each passing day. Thus, I’ve decided that rather than having you executed like most other Alphas, I will instead have you broken.” “Broken?” The man asked “Yes, broken. We will break every bone in your body, and then tie you to a wooden pole in the grotto for a week. Barbaric, yes, but you will make a good example to the others that resistance will not be accepted. Should you somehow miraculously survive, you will be placed in our infirmary and after recuperating, will be put back to work.” “Isn’t there anything-” “I’m afraid not” The Alpha interrupted “Assault is a serious enough crime. If that rock injured Fido, you would face a much slower and by far more excruciatingly painful punishment.” The man stood, his mind blanking at the idea of what was about to befall him. “Guards!” The Alpha yelled. “Break this creature!” As the creature was being dragged down the halls towards the grotto, he heard the fleeting voice of the Alpha “Steven! Get me some bitches!” Present Time The creature shook his head, clearing it of his thoughts and moved to the desk that stood in the center of the room. A map with a small bloodstain on the corner greeted him, a bloodied knife along with the head of a wolf kept it in it’s place. The creature took the knife and folded the map, he placed them both under one arm and picked up the head with his other. “Which one of us is broken now?” He asked. He dropped the head and left the room. He followed the wall markings until he returned to the kitchen. He walked to the river to pick retrieve his clothes but found that they were missing. He looked around and found that they were sitting on top of a stove. He went to grab them. “They were clogging the river.” The Zebra said as he walked in, the three infants perched on his back. I put them on the stove to dry them off. The creature removed his clothes from the stove and began dressing himself. The smell and stains on them were gone. He grabbed a cheese wheel and grog, he ripped a large rag from his mask and wrapped them both in it. He took his spear and placed it on his back, he took his shank and hid it in his sleeve. He began walking towards the exit of the cave when the zebra called out. “Wait! What do I do with these kids!?” “Your problem now.” The creature responded.