"One… two… three…" Kai whispered, carefully moving the small pebbles he had found on the cold stone floor of the cell.
Beside him sat his sister, Mei. She didn't move, only stared at the ceiling, tracing the cracks in the stone blocks, listening to her brother's counting.
It had already been seven days since they were locked inside that cold, damp cell. Seven days without sunlight or fresh air. In all that time, they had only been taken out once — for torture.
There was no food. Not even a crumb of bread, not a drop of water to moisten their cracked lips. With every passing hour, the thirst grew stronger, and the hunger more painful. Their stomachs rumbled, and their strength slowly drained away. Their bodies were weakening.
