My laptop died on me and ate like three chapters...
I recovered one but had to start from scratch on the others.
Enjoy.
Benjamin swiped at his sweaty face, a long dirt streak left from his hand. He stopped for only a moment, his back sore from hours of toil. He had been unfortunately chosen for the construction of their new lodgings.
His second day was drawing to a close but already he had felt the cruel kiss of the lash. His fellow prisoners kept him from resting too long. Tied together like beads on a string, his chain yanked every time one made a move.
He peered into the sky, no merciful cloud anywhere in sight. He picked up his ax, leveling it at the helpless stump of wood before him. He felt the powerful shudder of the blade sinking into the wood. His arms ached but he gritted his teeth, 'think of Lucy and Johanna.' he commanded himself.
He passed the nights seated in his cell, drawing pictures on the dirt. Anything to occupy his time and stop the pain of the daily brutal beatings. This mornings had been particularly bad, he had been in charge of repairing the cistern that housed their water.
Halfway through the stonework, his chisel had slipped causing a spider web crack that spread through half of the already completed work. His fellow prisoner a man named Ryed had not appreciated his clumsiness.
"Oy, watch what you doin', stupid bastard." he had shouted at him. Benjamin had turned just in time to see the scope of the damage. "Oh no," was all he had managed to utter. Ryed scrutinized the work. "I ain' gonna spend one more hour in this stinkin' sun cause of you." he had shouted before knocking Benjamin to the ground.
Benjamin had not seen it coming and was toppled with Ryed trying to choke the life out of him. "Please," he gasped, "It was…a… mistake." he pleaded his fingers vainly pulling at the man's ham like hands. "You last mistake." Ryed smirked, his grimy face enjoying the terror on Benjamin's face.
The edges of his vision had started to darken and images of his Lucy and their daughter danced before his eyes. He was brought back by the weight of Ryed falling heavily on him. A guard had seen the commotion and decided not to let them kill each other.
It was too hot to have to bury any bodies was this guard's opinion.
Ryed was dragged away and shackled to the columns standing in the center of what passed for a courtyard. Ben sat up, rubbing at his sore throat. Ryed was woken with several slashes, Ben had no time to contemplate the turn of event as he was soon to follow.
He was raised to his feet and dragged to second set of columns.
"What have we got here?" asked Nathaniel, one of the head guards. "This one here was being choked by that brute over there, barely pulled him off before he finished the poor devil." the guard finished. Benjamin raised his head, it pounded from the imposed lack of oxygen as well as the heat.
"Well we have to punish them both." Nathaniel replied. "Both, sir?" the other guard and Ben echoed. "It's a rough world, you must learn to defend yourself. We cannot play favorites, otherwise others will take advantage of you." he replied lifting Ben's head. "There are worst things than death in this place." Nathaniel walked away signaling for the whips to be brought forth.
The guard who rescued him, eyed him pityingly. Benjamin bit his tongue, determined to not give them an ounce of pain. The first lash broke his skin and he nearly bit clean through his tongue. He gasped as the second lash dragged bits of skin and blood from him. By the fifth lash he was ready to pass out, he had never felt such pain in his life.
He was revived twice by the time he received the eighth lash. Buckets of cold water kept nearby were thrown on his blood coated body to keep him conscious. He coughed and forced saliva and blood from his mouth. Dry tears coated his face, making it feel like a leather mask in the airless heat.
The tenth lash made his teeth rattle in his head as is body was cut from the columns and let fall to the dusty stone floor. He lay facedown for a few seconds before two burly guards roughly grabbed him around the arms and dragged his screaming body to his cell.
He was unceremoniously thrown into a solitary cell. Ben dragged and crawled through the mud encrusted floor and lay on the dirty pallet. Every breath bringing more excruciating pain than the last. He lay curled, his back to the smooth stone wall. Its iciness bringing comfort to the fire that hours ago had been unblemished skin.
He dreamed of his freedom, of his wife and daughter and the landlady that would surely watch over them. He gave himself over to that dream every night, one day he would see them all again.