Ty's POV
The sharp pain raced through my spine way too suddenly.
I couldn't hold in the shout of pain, but I managed to shorten it by quite a bit.
Not quite enough, it seemed.
I could hear Sky's voice through the thick walls, concerned and almost panicked. He was asking if I was fine. Oh, how I wanted to scream, shout, yell that no, no I was not okay! but I couldn't.
He'd run away, he'd be scared, he'd fear me, just like they all did.
Willing the fat, salty tears away, I whispered back to him that I was fine, even though my voice cracked and sounded way too weak.
My body shuddered, I could feel the blood running down my back, hot and sticky.
Sky, thankfully, seemed to let the matters go. I sighed in relief, curling on my side on the cold stone ground, at least a bit numbing the searing pain.
The extra appendages wrapped around my body like a protective shell as I closed my eyes, trying to drown out everything and go to sleep.
The morning rolled in way too soon for the likes of anyone. Except the Warden, who seemed to take immerse pleasure in walking from cell to cell and waking up the fugitives by banging his batong against the metal bars.
Ty stirred, rolling onto his back. He hissed in pleasure as his scarred flesh met the cold stone. He sat up, grabbing his shirt from where he threw it before, pulling it over his head.
He looked out from the little window at the top of the opposite wall, gazing up at the dark sky. It must've been just a little after sunrise, as the small particles of ash glimmered in the soft, broken sunlight.
He sighed as the door opened, hideous screech coming from the hinges that weren't oiled in a way too long time.
The Warden grasped his arm none-too-gently and yanked him up onto his feet, shackling his wrists behind his back.
Ty snickered under his breath. No matter how much he'd try now, he had no chance of breaking the metal. It seemed too silly to him that the zombie would restrain him, even though he didn't need to be restrained.
To be honest, he was just happy that he could even stand on his two wobbly feet.
Seto grasped two picks from Sky when he attempted to bring them all down in one go. The mage seemed to be much, much better now that the collar was gone. In fact, he floated all of the tools, bringing them with them down the stairs.
He seemed to have too much energy now, but Sky guessed that was to be expected. There was a soft smile plastered on the short brunet's face. That was the first smile Sky had seen in months, and seeing it on Seto's face was… weird, for the lack of a better word.
Down in the mineshaft, everything seemed exactly like they left it. No surprise there. They got to work, chipping away at the exposed vein of gold.
The clattering of metal, unlike the minecarts' sounds, brought their attention. The Warden was tugging on Ty's bound hands, pulling him down the stairs harshly. Sky was surprised the lanky boy didn't fall.
He unshackled the boy when they reached the bottom and the Warden left with a sneer, leaving only a stench of death behind.
Ty smiled gently at them, almost matching Seto, even though his eyes were hollow.
"Good morning!" he said, picking up a pick.
"Ty…" Sky mumbled, stopping. "What happened to you yesterday?" he asked, leaning onto the metal tool.
"What do you mean?" Ty asked, cocking his head slightly. "Nothing happened."
"You fucking cried out," Sky said. "The whole prison heard it, don't act dumbfound."
"Everything's fine, don't worry."
Ty's POV
I bit my lip.
Please stop.
I averted my eyes.
Don't ask me.
My shoulders slumped.
I don't want you to hate me.
"Don't worry about it!"
Please.
Please.