Gutters
Fire crawled over his skin. Tingling numbness engulfed his hands as he fought to free himself from confinement. A task made more difficult by the layers of lash marks and burns that covered most of his body. If he was to ever be free from this hell, now was the time. He could wait no longer. His mind raced as he worked his bloody, swollen wrists free of the shackles.
"Gutter slag, what're you doing!? Get up from there and move back!" A crack of the whip sent the crowd of slaves scurrying back to their posts leaving one alone to face the dangers of defiance. "I said move it!" The Enforcer gave the half-starved male slave several solid kicks to the ribcage. It was a final warning before the individual would be unceremoniously drug off to one of the many torture chambers used for behavior modification.
Wheezing breath was sucked from his chest and he spat blood. He didn't move. On the inside he was weary, and a trembling disaster, but he didn't let it show. Starved, sick and injured, this was his only shot at freedom. If he failed, he would not live to see the future for he would take his own life before he allowed the Overlord to extinguish it. There would only be one Enforcer between this point and the portal. If he could just reach the portal, he would be free. It opened once every hour to allow new slaves to be brought through but once on the other side any sort of pursuit was usually short-lived. There were too many places to hide in the crowded streets of the city above and only a dozen Drivers, most of which had no interest in re-capturing the meager few who managed to escape.
"Get up or be punished!" Another crack of the whip, the sound causing a bevy of screeches and screams from the slaves nearby. The next strike caught flesh, shredding the tattered, blood stained and filthy garment. The strike opened up the back of the one who refused to obey. More strikes came in succession most of which fell short or barely missed. The few that did make contact left gaping, bleeding lacerations over the back and legs of the disobedient.
He squelched a cry of pain. His muscles quivered in shock as hot fiery agony crisscrossed his back and legs. Imperceptibly, his gaze shifted to the end of the corridor, past the imposing figure of the Enforcer. There glowing in the dirty, yellow light, radiated the bluish red hues of the portal. Eyes of despair and fear watched him from dark recesses. The other slaves found a morsel of hope within his plight to be free. A vow he made, in that moment. If he managed to get free, he would come back with help and free those that remained.
The Enforcer shifted his position closing in on the disobedient slave. He let the whip fly once more, the strike slicing through burned flesh and worn muscle on the slave's lower legs. There was a distinctive scratching noise as a charged stun rod slid from the holster at his shoulder. "Get up now!"
The air sizzled as the electrical charge primed the end of the rod with a bright white glow. The mist emitted from the end of that rod could drop a full grown bull elephant. It carried static charge and the jolt was enough to knock out even the toughest men for several hours. The sticks were used to gain control of slaves that refused to obey. It knocked them unconscious so they could be easily carted off to the torture chambers to be punished. Even the end of the rod carried enough punch to paralyze and stun a victim into semi-conscious stupor.
If he took even a glancing strike from that rod, his plan to reach the portal would be over before it began. He would awaken hours or days later chained to a wall in a torture room. In his current physical condition, the initial electrical jolt and resulting beating would extinguish his life. He made a mock effort to rise, shifting to his knees before collapsing again to the ground. The move looked legit even though it was merely a ploy to prevent the Enforcer from getting too trigger happy with that stun rod. His muscles convulsed with the effort and bloody phlegm slid from his mouth as the motion aggravated broken ribs and various other likely unknown internal injuries.
The Enforcer clicked the trigger on the handle of the stun rod, priming the end with a burst of spray. The metal glistened with fire. White sparks arced from the end. The light, like a devilish halo flamed upward. It lit red embers in beastly eyes and made the thick sweat oozing from oily skin visibly glisten. Another click of the trigger and the end of the rod glowed red. A strike from it would immediately incapacitate its victim. "You will be punished! Get up!"
Heart thudding in his ears, he watched the Enforcer take aim with the stun rod. He had watched them for what seemed like years from the dark recesses. Watched and learned the game. Gained knowledge and an understanding of how these scenarios always unfolded. If the usual series of events held true, the Enforcer would-.
It came almost before his weary brain could process and react. The Enforcer let fly with a crack of the whip. The strike intended to create the sound of a cannon echoing over the walls of the tunnels. There came a second crack, the sound making the slaves cringe back into the darkness in fear. Then, deafening silence. His stomach jumped up into his chest at the possibility that he had misjudged this particular Enforcer. Warily, his gaze lifted to see the white glow of the stun rod now aimed at his chest-.
"I said get up and face the consequences of your disobedience or be taken to chambers by force." The Enforcer clicked the trigger on the rod, the sound hissing over the walls like a viper about to strike. "GET UP!" Two slight steps to the side came as the Enforcer's wrist snapped over to coil the whip-.
CRACK! CRACK! The whip lashed out twice in quick succession, the strikes so powerful and fast that the barbed tip whistled as it moved through the stale air. With the last reserve of energy he could muster, he pushed to his feet and like lightning caught the end of the whip. The barb dug into his forearm as he flipped his hand over to take out the slack. In one smooth, succinct motion, he gave a hard jerk over his head and with the recoil allowed it to sling him over the ground and around the Enforcer. His balance faltered. Skidding across the stones, the sharp edges shredded his legs before he let go of the whip. He scrambled wearily in an effort to regain his balance.
"Get back here!" The Enforcer flicked his wrist, recoiling the whip while spinning on his heel to try and capture the fleeing slave. The portal loomed and if the slave managed to penetrate it, there would be little chance of success. He moved with purpose.
"NO!" A hoarse female voice wailed as the Enforcer pulled the trigger on the stun rod. Electrically charged spray netting pulsed from the tip. The sparks lit up the corridor in an eerie white hot glow. She leapt from one of the recesses and grabbed the male slave. Gruffly, she shoved him to the edge of the portal.
He spun, catching her in his arms. Their gazes met as the spray raced toward them, filling the air with heat and crackling energy. "Wh-?" For the briefest moment, he thought she looked strikingly familiar.
She grunted. Her jaw set firm and her gaze understanding, she didn't answer. She jerked from his grip and launched him backward into the now open portal. A split second later, her gaze widened. The breath left her lungs as the spray net engulfed her. Muscles seized in spasm as bolts of fire raced over flesh. Before she could see if he'd been sucked to freedom, the world around her faded into liquid blackness. Her body slumped to the ground in a twitching heap.