…
"Get up."
"Get up!"
Julian suddenly snapped awake when he was hit in the back with a wooden rod. He found himself in a completely unfamiliar situation. Before, he had just been shot. As a matter of fact, he was surprised to be alive. He had just been shot, bleeding out on the pavement. Here he was, breathing.
The first difference he noticed was a pounding, aching sensation in his head, like a hammer banging at the walls of his skull. He immediately slammed his hand toward his head for comfort. But his movement was heavily restricted by steel chains.
I'm walking. My feet are moving. There are shackles at my feet as well. I hadn't even realized that I was walking.
There were several slaves in front and behind him, all shackled and chained up similarly. The sweltering heat and moist air suddenly became more noticeable as he came closer and closer to his senses.
Unlike the other slaves, who were dressed in rags and barely had sandals, Julian was lucky enough to keep his clothes, albeit a little muddied.
Guiding the row of slaves were a few armored individuals, holding heavy weapons. The ones who whipped and hit the slaves were dressed much more lightly.
"New guys first time being a slave, huh?"
The chains behind Julian rattled. They were considerably loose, but still restricting in some parts. It allowed the man behind him to walk beside Julian.
"Yeah…"
The voice was cheeky and feminine. Low, coming from down near the ground. A short girl. Julian turned his head to the side.
And she was exactly that. A short, brown-haired Demi-human girl with big brown eyes and catlike ears.
Her face appears so innocent. For some reason, I feel as if she's the cheeky type. Irritating.
"Well, lucky for you. I've been caught more times than you can count on two hands."
Eleven times? Twelve?
Julian stared at her small hands.
"This'll be as easy as the last time. So just sit tight, alright? The names Veind," she said. She promptly returned to the space directly behind him.
All these people, and not a single one can use magic. Either these chains are nullifying our power… or someone is. I think.
Julian took this time to reassess his situation. The sun blazed, and you could see the heat quivering in the air. He was at least familiar with that.
The slaves were being carried, walking across a winding road of packed dirt. Horses, camels, and other animals that were no longer familiar to Julian were also being carried.
Slave trade of this caliber.. It's legal then.
He also observed a variety of different humanoid species. They all somewhat resembled humans, though. Sharp ears, furry tails, claws.
"Perhaps this is hell," he muttered to himself.
The slaves passed through a few villages. With this passing, Julian took note of several things. All of the towns were small and spread out sparsely from each other, so whatever country… or kingdom he was in, he must've been on the outskirts.
The housing followed a similar pattern throughout. Wattle and daub structures, specifically the European type. A medieval feel.
Familiar crops were grown. He saw fields of wheat, some spots being rolled into barrels. Rows of corn, squash, and pumpkins. He even saw apple orchards with those red dotted trees.
But he noted unfamiliar things. Discolored apple-shaped fruits are light blue. Almost star-shaped pumpkins have a slight glow to them that would likely be seen much more easily at night.
This isn't hell. So I've been transported to another world. Why did I have to get thrown into a spot like this?
Julian silently sulked. He understood there was no point in whining, though.
There were some disturbing scenes he had encountered, that had effectively "sobered him up", though he had never been intoxicated before.
A slave stumbled onto the ground. Out of breath. Her legs trembled, her arms shook. Her even falling was like a single branch falling onto the forest floor. Naturally, it caused a chain effect. Several slaves stopped.
There was no conversation. Nobody even tried to help her get up.
A heavy man walked toward her, waddling was the better word to describe it. Each step was more and more nerve-racking to Julian, since he was directly behind the girl.
"…"
That big-bellied man lifted his knee up.
Crsh!
Julian, had of course seen videos of watermelons being crushed by rubber bands.
Her eyes squeezed out of their sockets, rolling onto the ground. Shortly after, blood seeped out of all of the orifices.
Finally, he pushed his whole foot down. Brain matter, cheek muscle, all splattered onto the ground. Bones poked out in places that were unappealing.
"!"
His eyes were stuck in place. Shot wide open he watched as the body was dragged away, and someone quickly went to attach the chains back properly.
It took all of his strength to not throw up. To not cry, either.
Hold it in. Hold it in.
The idea of a magic fantasy world sounded nice to Julian. A way to escape from his struggles. But right about now, some homework sounds nice.
Night fell, and it was still humid. Julian did not get a single moment of a break. His soles ached, along with his head that still felt strangely tender.
He looked ahead for a moment. There was a man, one of the whip holders. He went down the row passed everyone a dirty metal cup of suspiciously colored water. Which was better than nothing. Julian wasted no time, drinking the nasty water in three gulps. It left a sour taste in his mouth. Another man came by a collected all the cups.
"All of you who didn't sell in the other villages, we'll be arriving at the camp in 7 hours!" a loud, yet cold voice yelled out.
Julian groaned. Mentally. He began to wonder if it would be better to die or to suffer. But he didn't ponder for too long, and immediately got to walking.