Livestock

"Yo kid wake up."

I feel multiple soft slaps on my face, I open my eyes and notice that I'm laying down on my side and it looks like I'm inside some cell, I then turn to my other side and see a guy who looks old enough to be my dad staring at me, I slur some words.

"whaz gon un?"

the guy starts laughing hysterically and shouts.

"ah so you are alive and well, huh kid!"

damn this guy is loud there is no reason for him to be shouting, and besides this guy's voice has a lot of gruffness to it and it is getting on my nerves already, I sigh and ask him politely.

"can you please not shout?"

the guys sits next to me and puts his arm around me and places his hand on my shoulder and gleefully says.

"come on kid you don't need to be so serious."

I don't say anything, he then takes his arm away from me, then extends his hand for a handshake and says cheerfully.

"the name's Sid, what's your name kid?"

I hesitantly shake his hand and reply.

"Collin, my name is Collin."

we stop shaking hands and then Sid goes from his playful meaner and changes into a more serious demeanor and says.

"kid I hope you are prepared for this hell hole."

he stands back up and starts walking around the cell and then after a few minutes of watching him walk around in the cell, I ask Sid.

"do you know what's going on and why we're locked in here?"

Sid replies.

"the cult are keeping us here until they are ready to eat us."

I reply

"eh?"

Sid breaks out laughing, points at me and says.

"come one kid what's with the expression on your face?"

I ask myself.

"did he just say what I think he said?"

I clear my throat and ask him with a serious tone.

"Did you just say they are going to eat us?"

he nonchalantly replies.

"yeah these fanatics eat humans."

I stare at him with dead eyes and ask dispirited.

"so those crazies are cannibals?"

Sid slowly walks up to me, and then puts his hand on my shoulder and says smiling.

"kid I like you, the expressions on your face are really the best."

I plead to Sid.

"please stop making light of this and take it seriously."

he sits back down against the wall and then says.

"well there is not much we can do kid, that green liquid they give us, blocks the flow of our mana."

he pauses and continues.

"the effect of that green stuff lasts for about a week or so, at least that's how much I've counted since the two weeks I've been here."

I think to myself.

"so they dont eat us right away?"

even with this information, I wonder how does a cult have something like the green stuff in their possession, I then ask Sid.

"the green liquid they are using, isn't that the stuff they use for prisoners with dangerous levels of magic power to prevent them from using their magical abilities?"

Sid nods and replies.

"yeah and now these freaks somehow managed to get some in their possession."

I follow up with another question.

"how long to they a keep a person here before they get eaten?"

he replies.

"the guy you replaced, was here for about two months before they took him away."

I reply.

"so what? we just sit in this cell until we meet our end?"

Sid, was about to open his mouth to answer my question, but then we hear shouting outside of outside of our cell.

"time for food."

I look at Sid and ask surprised

"they feed us?"

he nods and casually replies.

"yeah that is what you do with when you have livestock."

no words escape my mouth, as I'm shocked beyond disbelief, I then give him a look of pity and said.

"it's okay to be afraid you don't have to put up a tough guy act."

he shoots a scary looking expression directly at me and replies.

"what are you saying kid? who's scared?"

even though he is giving me a scary look, I can clearly see that he is trembling, I then reply.

"your words and action don't match up at all."

but then he replies seriously.

"I'm not afraid of dying, I'm just afraid of what might happen when they eat me."

before I get to say anything, me and Sid get interrupted by someone wearing a red hooded robe, and with a face mask that's painted white, and then the male voice behind the mask says.

"here you go eat up."

He drops two loafs of bread through the cell, Sid heads over and grabs both of the breads and hands one to me and jokingly says.

"eat up, they need us good and fat for when they decide to eat us."

I reply to him frustrated.

"stop saying scary things so casually."

we finish eating and the same male voice from earlier shouts at every cell including ours.

"time to sleep!"

I lay down on top of a blanket that is on the floor,

I then think to myself.

"I can't stay here I need to escape from this place."

Sid whispers to me.

"don't worry too much kid, I'm sure people from the adventurers guild will eventually find this place."

I appreciate that he is trying to put my mind at ease, but thinking about how the guy who was here with Sid before I arrived and how he has been here for two months doesn't really put much confidence that the adventurers guild will know about the existence of this place, I then think to myself.

"I'm sorry Rosie, I don't think I'll be seeing you again."

I lay flat on my black and stare at the concrete ceiling, and also say under my breath.

"mom, dad, I guess you were both right about me not leaving, and I'm sorry."

I close my eyes and slowly drift to sleep.