At the end of all the chaos, Reminor turned to Kiya and the others.
"Come in, if you intend to."
"Will they give him first aid? Will they help him?" Kiya asked.
"Of course, that's why I agreed, right?"
"Where did they take him?" Genzo asked.
"There are health facilities inside the fortress prison. Don't worry about him; they will take excellent care of him."
"Well? What are you waiting for? Come in."
Reminor walked towards the gate of the fortress prison. He then gestured for them to come in. As he neared the gate, he suddenly paused, as if remembering something. He turned back and walked toward the unconscious guard. The horse ridden by the guard was also standing still, for an unknown reason.
Thomas was on his knees, scared to his very core. He was equivalent to a sitting duck in front of Reminor.
Even the gods and the angels could not save him. Reminor's wickedness terrified him. In Reminor's mind, Thomas's life was as puny as an ant.
The master's wishes were his purpose; a dog's life was the master's circus.
"Master wants to see you, and he has entrusted me with that task. I can't fail him, you know? Wake that dog up in under a minute, or it's the end of both of you."
Thomas found himself in a trance, his mind racing with a thousand memories. Upon hearing Reminor's words, he was stunned and reluctant to confront this predicament.
"I'm facing death no matter what… So why should I even try?"
Tears were not an option. Sadness was all he could experience. He slowly turned towards the guard; his face was curled up with a hint of anger at his fate.
Fate has betrayed him, but what could he do except watch?
The clock struck twelve again, indicating the passage of a minute.
"Oh, you pitiful soul, your fate is sealed. Death shall strike and pierce through your heart."
Reminor's next thought was their death as he swung his hand from the top. As they got closer to it, a voice emerged inside Reminor's mind.
"I WaNt ThEm AlIvE." The voice was distorted.
The voice resembled the mountain's roar and the ocean floor.
"Yes, Master. I guess you escaped… for now."
'I…' He silenced his thoughts, for what the future had in stock was far worse.
Reminor walked towards the guard and kicked him in the face, prompting him to wake up.
"WAKE THE HELL UP."
He kicked repeatedly, almost as if he was enjoying it. After a while, the guard opened his squinted eyes to a boot in his mouth. He slowly looked up and hurriedly backed away from him.
"Apologies, sir, Please spare my life."
He hastily wiped the dust from his trousers, then stiffened, his shoulders squared, as he waited, watchful, for the other's move.
"I suppose I could forgive you…. Worthless dogs beg for anything, right? Pathetic."
"Yes, sir… I'm your dog."
The guard's pride dropped, as well as his knees, as he started begging. Reminor gazed at him with disgust before walking off.
"Tch, Get out of my sight before I kick you again and guide them inside."
Reminor walked inside, disappearing into the shadow cast by the enormous gates, but what lurks in them is a mystery.
The room had facilities not usually given to slaves.
"Tch, these slaves made me lose my pride. But I may get a promotion."
"Hey, uh… Where is Hit being taken care of?" Kiya and Fred both asked, feeling awkward talking to the guard.
"Why would I tell you?" They were slaves, after all, so why should a guard obey them? These were the guard's thoughts.
Fred was clenching his fists and narrowing his eyebrows. His anger radiated through to the guard. The guard didn't want to mess with someone who had the ability to compete with a superhuman.
"Shit." The guard mumbled to himself.
"Fine, but. What will you give in return?" The guard asked, holding his hands out. "
"We didn't have anything to give," Kiya said.
The guard believed he had made it perfectly clear why he couldn't take him to Hitleck, but Frederick didn't care in the slightest. He darted at the guard, seizing him by the collar.
"Listen here, I don't care if you are a guard or a god. You either show us Hit or walk around toothless. Now choose."
"FINE, I will take you to him." The guard said, overwhelmed by Frederick.
Genzo and Cameron looked at the chaos and sighed. They were talking for a while; now, they know a bit about each other. They continued their conversation while Frederick threatened the guard.
"Mm, good," Frederick said.
"NOW, WILL YOU TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF ME?" The guard shouted at Frederick, who was still holding him.
He took his hands off of him.
"This way." The guard said after settling down. His tone was filled with hate. Genzo and Cameron also saw them heading out the door. They were curious as to why the guard was leading the way. Kiya informed them about the reason they were going out.
They followed the guard; the building was full of ends and turns.
"You are not tricking us, right?" Genzo asked, his eyes suspicious of the guard.
"No, even if I did, I would go down with you." The guard spoke, gazing at Frederick, whose hands were glued onto the collars of the uniform, preventing him from running away.
"Yeah, you better be." Fred said, asserting his dominance.
They gazed at the decorated walls; the ceiling was also painted, the painting seemingly never ending. They walked, admiring the effort.
At that moment, something caught Kiya's attention. It was some sort of bug. The bug was not like the one used by the warden but something different. It was used by someone else.
"We are here." The guard said.
They stood in front of two wide doors, resembling one from a hospital. It was clear that people were inside; because of this information, they were reluctant to go inside. But Kiya was just afraid to see Hitleck, afraid that his forgiveness would not befall him.
Kiya's heart started beating fast, afraid of facing his victim. It was his wish to see Hitleck, but his heart was raging. He stopped, unable to go inside.
"Come on," Genzo said after observing Kiya.
"I… I can't… I just can't. What I have done to him is—"
"Hey, it's behind us now. And wouldn't it be disrespectful to not thank your savior?"
Fred also looked back.
"Look, even I am over it by now. Just apologize." Fred said, looking at Kiya with comforting eyes.
"Alright, I… I will."
Kiya accumulated courage and decided to go in; after all, it was rude to not thank your savior.
He took a step, fists clenched; he was smiling, looking at the door. The guard finally opened the door, and there it was, the curtain that hid Hitleck.
Regret was not an unknown emotion, for what he will do will make it a drop in the ocean.