The air grew heavy again.
Grey finished the final briefing for the gang and let out a long, strained breath.
He truly worried about what would happen to them, but not enough to risk his own safety, or Lily's and Sheryl's, for the sake of people he had only just met. Their bond was not that strong. The fact that he had done anything at all for their sake was already an act of rare goodwill.
With those thoughts, he slowly wandered across the resting grounds, feeling as if the earth was slipping out from under his feet. That was how anxious he felt.
Dirty gray clouds thickened over the horizon, swallowing the last streaks of the setting sun. The wind carried a dry scent of sand and something rotten straight from the bustling city. Only the dim and dusty sunset bore witness to his final day as a slave.
The exhausted overseers no longer shouted, and the slaves themselves whispered in short, wary murmurs, like beasts before a storm.
The entire camp felt quieter than usual, though Grey desperately wanted to blame it on his own imagination.
He stopped in the shadow of the crates where Sheryl and Lily were resting.
Though their appearance spoke of exhaustion and complete fatigue, he could clearly see a smoldering spark of determination in their eyes.
They were ready.
At the very least, none of them were trembling. Perhaps they had learned to hide their fear, just like he had. Watching the faces of his two cellmates, deep down Grey could not help but feel a little calmer.
"The time is almost here," he said quietly, lowering himself beside them, "This will all be over soon. Let's go over the plan one last time."
Lily nodded, tucking her legs under herself. She was in no mood for stupid jabs.
Sheryl looked up at him with her big brown eyes, her small fists clenched tight.
"The tunnel to the kitchen is ready. The passage is stable. Sheryl took care of everything," the rabbit girl said firmly, as if convincing herself more than anyone else.
"The old man... I'll make sure he sleeps like the dead," Lily added, biting her lip, "Good thing you won't have to disable the magic circuit today. I took care of it yesterday. Hehe."
"After he falls asleep, I'll be the first to go down into the tunnel," Grey continued. "The wine for the overseers is by the southern wall. I'll mix in the sleeping powder. Then I come back. We wait."
"As soon as it takes effect..." Sheryl began.
"Then we move," Grey finished, "We head back to the kitchen. I go first, Sheryl behind me. I throw the bones we've prepared through the window. Lily, make sure the old man is unconscious. I set it on fire, you come out. We move to the fence, stay in the dark."
For a moment, he fell silent, picturing every movement, every next step.
"I'll disable the protective magic circuit. Two minutes, no more." he finally said. "During that time, you weave a rope from the bed mats. Three meters at least. Sheryl, you go first. Lily after her. I'm last. Stay quiet, the overseers should be exhausted today. Then we head into the city. Keep your heads down and stick to the shadows."
"I found out that 'Venus' Embrace' is five blocks from here. Closest to the magic tower. We'll figure out the way from conversations," Lily added, a faint spark of anticipation in her voice.
Silence hung for a moment, broken only by the wind tearing dry dust through the grim camp. Even breathing felt difficult, though that was nothing unusual.
"It will be fine," Sheryl said softly. Her long ears instinctively pressed against her head, betraying her inner fear and turmoil.
Grey silently placed a hand on her shoulder. There was nothing to say.
Time dragged on agonizingly slow.
Accompanied by Gracchus, who was in high spirits at the thought of an upcoming drinking session, they returned to their cell.
The bars slammed shut with a familiar clang.
The children could barely stay on their feet from the tension. Tonight, they would take the most dangerous step of their lives.
From the moment they entered the cell, not a single word was spoken. Lily took her usual place in the corner and began fiddling with the frayed edge of her worn tunic. Sheryl, curled up in the opposite corner, wrapped her arms around her knees and pressed her forehead against them, rocking back and forth as if trying to warm herself.
Grey's fingers tapped rhythmically against his thigh, as if warming up before disabling the magic circuit in record time.
A dull hum filled his head. Every minute felt like an eternity.
The entire camp seemed to hold its breath with them. No footsteps, no shouting, even the floorboards had fallen silent. Thoughts looped in his mind like a broken record, each step of the plan repeating again and again.
Grey sat down, then stood up again, feeling the fear grow as the appointed time drew closer. His lips moved soundlessly, as if in prayer. But he was not praying to unreliable gods. He was praying to himself, for the strength to endure. To get Lily, Sheryl, and himself out alive.
He forgot everything. The uninvited presence in his mind, his mother and sister, his injury, his plans for the future.
There was no room for distractions today. There was only him and his duty. He had to survive.
Grey closed his eyes, listening to the rush of blood in his ears. The world shrank down to the small cell and the two girls beside him. At times, it felt like hours had passed and they were falling behind schedule, but each time he glanced through the barred window at the sky, he realized only a few minutes had gone by.
At last, what felt like an eternity later, a clear voice sounded in his head: "Time."
For some reason, the old man was absent. Though unexpected, it worked in their favor. The fewer obstacles, the higher their chances.
Grey walked up to the wall where the passage was hidden, dropped to his knees, and felt for the loosened boards. His movements had been drilled over long weeks. They had done this hundreds of times, yet now everything felt different.
He pulled at the first board.
And froze.
Sand.
Dry sand crumbled beneath his fingers.
He leaned closer, hurriedly clawing at the ground with his hands.
The tunnel was gone.
Where their carefully dug passage had been, there was only compacted earth. Nothing but collapse and dust. All their work, all their effort over months, every hope and expectation had vanished just like that.
Grey felt his vision darken as a cold wave ran through his body.
"W-what does this mean? Were we discovered? NO! Otherwise we'd already be in Quintilian's hands. The tunnel collapsed? But how is that possible? I'm sure it was sturdy enough," he thought frantically, digging through the dirt with trembling hands.
His chest tightened painfully with panic and despair.
"No," Lily exhaled, her voice breaking into a whisper.
"This… This wasn't Sheryl!" the rabbit girl cried out. "Sheryl isn't at fault! Sheryl is sure the tunnel couldn't have collapsed. Please, believe Sheryl. Sheryl tried so hard. Sheryl couldn't let you all down. Sheryl wanted to see her mom!" By the end, she was choking on sobs, overwhelmed by the feeling that she had failed the trust of her companions.
The night had not even begun, and their only path to freedom had already crumbled along with the tunnel…
"Calm down, calm down, Grey! You need to pull yourself together! Just think, what happened? How could this have happened?..." Grey desperately tried to regain his composure.
Even the voice deep within his subconscious remained silent.
"You need to figure out what happened. If you've been discovered, you'll have to start killing. The chances are slim, but if you can reach the combat slaves and start a revolt, there's still hope. Calm Sheryl first, she's in no state," that was all the Earth-born mind could come up with.
At last, Grey snapped out of his half-mad state.
He cast a brief glance at Lily, who stared in horror at the collapsed sand, then moved toward Sheryl, who could not stop trembling from despair.
"Sheryl," Grey called softly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "This won't be our end, do you hear me? You're a good girl, Sheryl. I… I'll take all the blame, you don't need to be afraid." He tried to sound calm, but the crack in his voice only made her cry harder.
He wanted to say more, to encourage her, to lie that everything was under control, but at that moment, the basement door creaked open.
The old man stood in the doorway.
He was alone. No guards, no shouting, no heavy boots. Just his hunched, lost figure in a dirty shirt.
His eyes, usually clouded, now looked straight at Grey, tense, firm, carrying an unspoken threat.
The old man slowly descended and stepped into his cell. The bars slammed shut behind him.
He lowered himself to the floor, as if the weight of the entire world rested on his shoulders.
"Yes, it was me," he admitted dully. "I destroyed the tunnel."
The silence felt almost tangible. Grey swallowed, unable to believe what he had heard.
"W-why?" he asked slowly, though he already knew the answer.
He wanted to hear the reason with his own ears. No. He needed to hear it.
Grey did not move and stared straight into the old man's eyes, feeling the blood inside his body begin to boil. For the first time in a long while, his black pupils pulsed, as if trying to swallow the iris.
The old man lowered his head.
"You foolish children. I am so disappointed. Especially you, Sheryl, Lily. That boy is a complete madman, but you… you chose to help him. I have seen how this ends many times. All my life, I have seen it. The master is strong. A slave must be obedient, useful. Then he lives. Otherwise…" His voice broke, and his eyes filled with tears.
Watching the girls look at him with despair and hatred was unbearable, but he did not want them to share his son's fate.
The old man had witnessed them grow up. He had watched them take their first steps. He had even been there when Sheryl was born. Their gazes cut into him, but he was certain he had done the right thing. He had not allowed those foolish girls to make a fatal mistake.
"I. Knew. I. Couldn't. Trust. You." Grey said, stressing each word.
"I saved you," the old man rasped in response. "Saved you from a foolish death. Though I was thinking of Sheryl and Lily first, I saved you as well. You should be grateful, boy."
"Don't you dare call me your son! You're a filthy slave!" Grey stepped forward in fury, his hands gripping the bars. "You've doomed us to die in a ditch, you bastard!"
And then the old man suddenly slapped him.
The sharp crack echoed through the cell.
Grey staggered back slightly, but a smirk appeared on his lips. The pulsing in his dark pupils intensified. His next words echoed through the entire cell, as if spoken by several voices at once.
"Your son died because you are a coward." The old man recoiled as if struck in the gut, but Grey did not stop. "You lived crawling on your knees. You hid. You obeyed. And still, you lost him. A slave will always remain a slave, but looking at you, I don't see a man. I see a dog. No, that's wrong. Even a dog has a shred of dignity! Even a dog will defend its pups to the end. But you…"
"You condemned them to death yourself. Friends. Family. Even your son. You just watched. And you will die here too, in the dirt. Useless. Forgotten by everyone. Alone."
Grey's voice sounded like a devil's whisper. His pupils pulsed with every word.
The old man stared at the boy in exhaustion, his teeth clenched in pain. What hurt him most was the silent confirmation in the eyes of the two girls. His breathing grew ragged, like a fit, and his hands trembled as he tried to clutch his chest.
Suddenly, the old man collapsed to the ground with a rasping choke. Thick foam filled his mouth, and his eyes bulged, as if someone had pumped too much air into his skull.
Grey watched his body convulse in its final throes with a strange, almost sadistic satisfaction. For a brief moment, the irises of his eyes turned black, then just as quickly returned to their natural blue.
In the next instant, the old man went completely still.
Grey was about to say something, but felt his throat tighten.
The cell smelled of dust and hopelessness.
The plan had turned to dust. And the old man with it.
Everything had turned to dust.
Everything.
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I'm squeezed dry like a lemon, but I still found the strength to publish this chapter. Hehe, I hope you'll praise me in the comments.
What do you think? Personally, I had chills all over my body while writing this chapter. I hope I managed to convey the right emotions.