Flashback Just a step, just a fall [Warning inside]

[Kaden Swift]

Autumn, 511 AV Day, 31-62 (Two months)

Warning and note :

Please understand, while I have taken some scenes and detail's out; this flashback is still bloody. If you are uncomfortable about the passing mention of nudity, and some bodily fluids then please don’t read. Blood, torture and cannibalism is heavily present and further implied throughout. Again, while details have been removed to make it kinder; it is still mentioned!

If you do not like or uncomfortable with any of this, please don’t read. I hope the story doesn’t lose too much by the deletion of details and scenes but I realized that a greater amount of people could read this with the loss of those things. So hope you enjoy. Side note, the deleted stuff equaled to another 2k words and I will /not/ be posting them. Scratch that, 3.267k words.

It had been days, maybe weeks. He didn’t know why would he? There was no light to see by but small windows to high up to look through. He woke up to the cries of pain and fear; men and women screaming and crying; cubs keening the pain and loss of a littermate who died in the darkness. Kaden was numb to it, too cold and hungry to care. All the voices were cubs, none of the older ones cried any more. Some like Kaden had been taken young and learned early not to cry; others were stolen already old enough to know. Those were very few.

The stern strangled voices of men came through the din and everyone went quiet. ‘Get up; stop these wretched noises you disgusting animals. You lucky we treat you so kind to allow you a tongue! Get up, working time.’ All of them struggled to their feet; Kaden rose easily and soundlessly, so did a few other males. You could tell them apart, the ones meant for fighting. Kaden was young still, the others were older but no one had time to care. More of the humans came down grumbling and complaining about lazy animals.

The whips sang, but none of the ones standing did anything, it made it worse if you did something. Soon they were all standing and swaying, some looking dead on their feet. ‘You know your jobs now get to work!’ The Kelvic were made to care for the animals, to repair the floors and ship railings, to fix the sails and to spread tar across the floor to help seal the hull and wood from water. They all scattered. Kaden didn’t move; he was chained to tightly. The collar was cutting into his skin every day. One of the slavers went to him and gave him a harsh kick but he didn’t make a sound. ‘You get to stay here beast, work with the animals there and one dies you die.’ The slaver waited but Kaden didn’t react. Sneering the man struck the young Kelvic at the side of his head but aside from falling no noise escaped.

Kaden never reacted to their taunts or blows. He learned very young that if he were silent they would leave him alone after a while. Sometimes it didn’t work, they got mad if you didn’t scream or whimper, but Kaden never did and they hated him for it. They broke bones they tightened his collar or they starved him but he never begged or cried. Why would he do something to make them happy, and they were. The men were happy to see any pain they could force on him and it was only a matter of time before he did scream and Kaden wondered if they would be happy then, he wouldn’t.

When the man stomped away Kaden got up and as the door closed everyone relaxed just a little bit. Kaden moved to one of the crying cubs and picked her up. Gently he looked over the wounds before his gaze went to the oldest of them. The man claimed to be a whale but no one knew what that was. He was gray skinned and dark colored hair, but his eyes were warm and brown. The old man made a small motion and Kaden shook his head. The cub would die today, the whip torn the meat to the little female’s spine. He turned back to the cub and made soft crooning sounds, he couldn’t talk. He didn’t know how to make the noises that others seem to understand. He had only been in a human skin for a short time and most of it was spent working. So now he comforted the cub the best he could.

The little female cried and sniffed but soon stopped, they always did. It took water and energy to cry and all of them had very little of that left. Kaden motioned her back to the nest of hay, silently telling the small cub to go back to sleep. It was the only kindest any of the Kelvic could give now. An older female came, Kaden watched her approach and wound have smiled if he knew how to do that. Everyone knew this one, the slavers were careful with her to never leave a mark. It wasn’t why the Kelvic treated her kindly however. She was a deer, a beautiful white deer that shown in the darkness. Even now as a human her white hair was the only light they had to see. Kaden pushed the cub to her, the only one of them who could afford to ignore the work the slavers piled on their shoulders to care for the child. Yet even she couldn’t leave it for long.

She would watch the little female till she died. Comforting her and whispering soft little words meant to sooth. The Kelvic all protected the white doe with a single mindedness that none of them understood. Kaden didn’t care, he was the largest predator here but the doe never feared him, and it was enough for him to protect her. She took care of the sick and hurt, she watched the cubs and tried to teach them. She tried to teach Kaden to. The cub taken care of he turned to his work at tending to the horses and the other animal, cows. They were sick from the sea and made a horrible mess every day. He had to clean it up or they would all get sick. The slavers never let anyone else do it, only him; laughing and taunting him that if he failed he would kill everyone because they would all get so sick to even eat.

[Kaden Swift]

So Kaden worked. They at least gave him a stick with a thing on the end; some shovel. He would lift the manure, urine and vomit soaked hay into a pile. He cleaned all of it, wounds bleeding sluggishly and his dry lips cracking with exertion. It wasn’t such a hard thing to do in honesty. He didn’t get covered in tar, but then those Kelvic also got to see the sun. A horse on the end screamed and kicked out, surprised Kaden couldn’t move fast enough and the hoof landed against his stomach with a thud of a heavy thing hitting something hollow. He flew back but the chain at his neck grew taunt and with a jerk Kaden was on the ground gagging, choking, unable to breathe at the end of the chains length.

He was in shock, he couldn’t remember how he got on the floor or that he needed to move back to the wall before the chain and collar took ever last bit of his breath. The oldest Kelvic, the whale hurried over and shoved him away from dancing hooves and Kaden gulped in thick and nasty air as if it were clearest in the world. He hacked and coughed while everything hurt. He couldn’t remember how he had gotten hurt, that the new bruise was from the horse. He was on the filth crusted floor where the smell of old urine burned his nose. The eldest was gone back to work sewing the sails, and no one could bother to explain to the young Kelvic that he nearly died. Slowly Kaden got back up and went to work again. His neck was bleeding in fast torrents down his body and he didn’t notice it, could do nothing even if he did. None of them had a stitch of clothing to them, but only the older caught ones seemed to care.

The slavers refused them bedding or clothes, no blankets. They would curl together and sleep the best they could. Often the cubs were in the middle to be made safe from rolling under hooves in the night. The slavers didn’t think animals deserved clothing, didn’t want to waste the material or work it would take to keep them in working order. So all the Kelvic went without, bones to be seen wounds exposed to filth that was encrusted on them after such a long time. The slavers hardly spent but minutes down in the hull, complaining about the smells of animals, but how would the Kelvic be expected to fix this? Kaden worked the whole day shaking and pale. If he stopped someone would notice and he would be beat. They didn’t come down often, but it was enough to keep them all moving.

The older ones forgot, and Kaden couldn’t remember much of anything, the little female was supposed to be the one who brought the dirty hay to the stairs. The slavers had made Kaden do it all but the Kelvic had agreed in their silent way that it would be better if he had some small help, today he didn’t. The slavers came down and saw the hay still where Kaden was stacking it, he never knew that the other Kelvic had been helping him and his job included moving the filthy hay to the stairs. The slavers just knew it was his job and it wasn’t done. The man went back up without a word and all who could stare up the stairs in concern. When the slavers didn’t talk is when they got in trouble.

The doe was the one who remembered first. Wide eyed she spoke in a soft musical language that only the whale knew. Both looked at Kaden in fear and the tiger Kelvic stopped working in confusion. They spoke to him, but he didn’t understand what they wanted him to do; he was dazed and hurt. He didn’t know how to tell them he didn’t understand, but the slavers came back. Three men, the biggest holding a whip. All the Kelvic moved away as they came to Kaden. One of them barked down and Kaden dropped to his knees without protest or once even looking down to see what his knees would hit. He watched dazedly as the older Kelvic’s covered the cub’s ears and turned them away.

He was confused, what was wrong? He wanted to go to the cubs and make their tears stop. It was okay, nothing was wrong, but then he was struck in the head and bodily turned around. The two without things in their hand maneuvered him so he had his hands on the wall, then the whips fell. Over and over again they rained down his back but Kaden didn’t make a sound. That just made them whip harder, but he was use to pain. It didn’t bother him because he knew and understood that there was always pain. You were alive if you were in pain. They finally had to stop. The one with the whip was smirking, joking to the others that he was faking it; had passed out for why he didn’t scream. One of them holding his hand barked up, and Kaden stood without protest.

They paled, the humans paled. Kaden watched amazed as they backed up and left. What, why had they been scared? He did what they wanted. He could smell the fear but that was okay. He went back to work, and it made them go back up the stairs like their tails were on fire. He didn’t understand so he continued to work until finally food came. He was give some bread and he ate without sound as they all did. Then some fresh water before they were told to sleep. The doe came to him, surprised Kaden chuffed but the female looked at him with sadness. He had seen her look to cubs with that look. He had strips of flesh missing from his back, none deep enough for bone but wounds got infected. Was he about be just another bit of flesh tossed onto of the spoiled hay?

[Kaden Swift]

Quiet suddenly a wave smashed into the boat and everyone cried in surprise. Kaden kept his feet, he was a cat and even as a human he had a good sense of balance. The doe didn’t. She fell away before Kaden could grab her. He was at the end of his chain trying to catch her. The ship straightened and she screamed and the hull was filled with a crack. He knew that sound, it was bone. Everyone went to her, and Kaden saw her leg twisted the wrong way and her chest heaving. Oh. The others went into a panic of shouts and cries. It was the whale Kelvic who made them be quiet and the doe was helped to the nest where they kept the hurt and sickened cubs.

The little female from before was already dead, bled out into the straw. She was moved; one of the other fighters picked her up and thrust her to Kaden motioning toward the stairs. He took her wordlessly and dumped the dead body with the putrid hay. Nothing to be done, dead was dead, he always dumped the dead ones. The others didn’t like them and since Kaden never fought it they always made him take the bodies. They amassed around the doe, the whale was trying to fix the leg but they had nothing to fix it with. If the humans figured out that she was hurt they would come down and snap her neck, no one wanted that.

So they made sure the humans didn’t know. Kaden took over her work on top of his own, another fighter took up some of it to; others took to helping keep the cubs calm. Days went by like this but the slavers found out, they always did. Her leg was turning green and smelled of rot where the bone poked through. This time it wasn’t just mocking laughter and lectures that they were animals and should have just let her rot; they were angry. Everyone was sick now; too much work not enough food or water. The air was dirty and wounds were rotting like the doe’s. The slavers didn’t see this; they only saw animals ignoring the work they were told to do.

Kaden was brushing down one of the horses who had finally gotten better; he took to feeding them and watering them; never touching their food or water despite his own hunger and thirst. The slavers came and they snarled at them in anger, one of the slavers suddenly clapped. ‘Let’s play a game; we only need the big ones anyway. The doe is worthless and who cares the other ones just waste food now. We know which ones are the strongest.’ The others nodded slowly so the wraith like man licked his lips and seemed to dance around like an over eager puppy. The rest was whispered but the slavers all looked excited now and together they went over to the doe.

‘Here now, change. You can stand on three legs we won’t have to kill you. Won’t that be nice? Being able to be in your other flesh?’ She nodded and so they let her change by taking off her encrusted collar. Even covered in blood and filth her white fur shown softly and a few of the Kelvic sighed in delight at seeing her. The slavers all knew then that they cared for her and it made things worse. ‘Well then you be a good girl and lay down, that’s it.’ The thin one was crooning and petting the white fur. The slavers went around and started undoing the fighter’s collars. ‘There now everyone will be happier, see?’ One went for Kaden but the thin slaver shook his head. ‘Not that one, it’s the cat.’ This seemed to make sense to the others and he was left alone.

They left then, and the other fighters changed. A hyena, two wolves, the last was a bear. That day was the first time they were not fed. They all continued to do their work, day after day the work grew harder as their stomachs were empty. The slavers grew harsher in their punishment for those who couldn’t get up. Kaden could smell the deer’s blood, and he was so hungry. The other fighters had taken notice to; the laughing dog edged closer to the doe one day and bit her. Kaden had been the one who was closest and struck the sniveling animal’s side with a harsh kick. Everyone was still and confused, then it exploded. The freed fighters started on the doe like a pack of animals tearing into her. She never stood a chance and Kaden couldn’t reach close enough to help but to kick what he could reach.

He watched in shock as they ate her, another Kelvic; the white doe. Shaking and shivering he stood still as he could so not to draw attention to himself. The others were crying and calling and the slavers came down. They started laughing when the saw the scene. Kaden watched silently, but he was crying. It had been a long time since he cried but tears tracked down his face making clean trails in the muck. Finally there was nothing left of her and the predators growling and snapping went to sleep just like that. The slavers continued on laughing. ‘Oh too bad we couldn’t see how it started, we missed the best part!’ Kaden wide eyed edged to his wall.

[Kaden Swift]

The sickly looking one nudged the other and smiling the rat he walked close to Kaden. ‘Oh poor kitty didn’t get to eat.’ They laughed and laughed. It was only a day before the released predators attacked another Kelvic, one that was human. It was one of the older ones, he had been limping lately but still got up to work. The slavers had been around for it all this time and cheered. It wasn’t just the predators; Kaden saw one of the cub’s collared human; biting the older male and eating him. Human skin eating humans skin, their own kind. It turned into a game to the slavers, instead of waiting they picked out one of the weaker Kelvic and tossed them into the pack where with fingers teeth and claws they were torn apart screaming.

Kaden’s own body was betraying him; his wounds under his collars were festering and rotting. He couldn’t eat, they no longer gave them food only water. His mind had been in a fog from the start, but now it was creeping over him faster. One day the laughing dog struck at Kaden, he had been to slow and fevered that day. Furious Kaden fought. The others didn’t follow the dog, they had been collared again. The slavers had planned to watch him die slowly, the one who didn’t scream. It was their mistake. Snarling Kaden beat the animal’s side and dug his nails into flesh. He kicked the dog’s snout hard and listened as it cracked. He was so tired but he didn’t want to hear the slavers laugh again. The hyena screamed and tried to bite him again but Kaden tripped as the ship heaved, and it was luck as the hyena’s teeth clang down onto his chain.

Everyone was chained; he realized it for the first time in days. The horses and cows were above deck and out of the way. Snarling Kaden beat the animal’s chest over and over again. He heard the sickening crunch but he didn’t stop until bones and meat fell away at each of his hits. Then he ate. The blood was so warm, the meat tasted sweat. The slavers were not laughing or cheering this time, they were whispering. He ate quickly and snarled when the slaver came close. He was still hungry but they dragged him back, but just those few bites had him feeling better and a creep of warmth in his aching stomach.

The other Kelvic were released and they all fell upon the carcass of the laughing dog. Kaden was chained back to the wall and he slept off his meal. A tiny little bit of him, broken and crying only whispered to the silent darkness that he was glad it was an animal. The next day he was woken up to find he was no longer chained at all, only collared. He stood up and he worked, and no one said a word. He moved the hay now only spoiled by his fellow Kelvic. How could they talk? The kind gentle ones; the male who said he was a whale; gone. They were dead and eaten up by greedy mouths. Kaden had been so out of it he had missed two deaths. The slavers came back, and they pointed to the last cub. A small little boy who had a cut on his arm from a nail and it was festering and draining pus.

Like a pack of animals the slavers called them; they turned to the boy and ripped into him. Kaden didn’t stop cleaning. He listened to the laughs, to the howls of pain then the gurgle of death; and they ate the cub alive. ‘Can’t work, be food lovelies! Be food.’ The slavers all laughed deep from their stomach. Kaden shivered so softly no one noticed. Laughing, like the laughing dog. He didn’t get sick; he couldn’t afford to lose his food. Day after day one more was pointed at, and they descended. They were healthier now, all but Kaden. He had started to shake from hunger. He refused to attack, refused to eat them. It was the only thing he had left.

None of the Kelvic were taken from their collars, the men found it funny to watch them attack in a human skin. For a while after the cub they stopped coming and the Kelvic went back to the work. Moving the hay, scrubbing the floor the best they could to try and keep things clean. The female wolf would sew clothes and mend holes. Then the slavers came and without a word the smaller one looked through them. Kaden watched his eyes, watched where they lingered; and he looked to those. The new oldest male, no one knew what he was. He had bad bones lately from the cold, a young woman, a bat. She had a broken foot but even now she walked on it. Wounds, they were looking at wounds.

A female, some sort of bird. She once sang but she had long since stopped. Thin ragged every breath caused her to wheeze. The man pointed at her and the Kelvic stopped and swarmed her. A few held back, like Kaden. The bear Kelvic, a big burly male who’s muscles were wasting away due to the lack of food. There were others, there was twenty now as the female died begging them to stop in a voice so pretty and so soft. Kaden didn’t understand what she had sung, or what she said now but he saw the bear Kelvic close his eyes as if in pain. The slavers laughed and the small human pushed through the feeding group and picked up some bit of meat and tossed it high so that it landed with a slap.

[Kaden Swift]

‘Now this is some entertainment, what did I tell you? They are animals!’ Then still laughing they left even as one of the other Kelvic snatched up that bit of meat he had tossed up. The few who didn’t eat were outnumbered that day. They returned to work as if nothing happened, one male who had eaten the other Kelvic laughed like the slavers and rocked back and forth. No one paid him mind because no one knew what to do; what was wrong. None of them could talk; most of them had never even tried. The bird had been the very last of them. Kaden closed his eyes but there was no prayer to the gods in him. If he had known enough about them he might have, but that day all he did was try not to be hungry at the smell of blood.

No food came, day after day. They were given water and work; and Kaden could count all his ribs and see the veins pulsing in his own hands. If he could truly count he would have counted those. Still as the slavers came in what he had started to call morning; he got up. He worked, even as his skin was so hot he could swear it would steam when the water washed into the windows to land on their wounds. It was rare the waves reached that high, but not impossible. Despite the pain it was a blessing, helping them clean the floor so it was just a bit more bearable to lay on when they could rest if not sleep. The slaver came back with more this time, and once more those cold eyes swept through them. Searching and looking.

The one who even now rocked back and forth babbling, the man pointed to him. No hesitation, no waiting. The male was torn into and Kaden wondered if he even noticed the pain from bites as he babbled on until he died. This didn’t seem to please the slavers who muttered darkly and unhappily. Those eyes moved through them again. Kaden felt them land over him and stop, but he stared into those dark eyes until they moved on. Death, the man was death. He raised his hand and pointed, Kaden looked to see who. A young female this time; and she screamed and tried to run. More joined in this time to eat at the flesh of their fellows, still Kaden didn’t dare even as his hollow flesh begged.

The bear had joined, roaring even as a human. Kaden watched them, didn’t look away. The bear was drooling as he bit into an arm that he had dragged away from the giving flesh. Snapping and cracking of bones. Kaden was so hungry, but he didn’t look away. He had to watch, had to remember. The slavers cheered and left all in high spirits as they spoke about the bear. After a while they went back to work, and the days all fell away into madness. Soon Kaden stopped trying to understand, he just let it go. What was the point, he would die at the gesture of a human hand. He stopped working the day the female wolf lay under all of them; even him.

He took a chunk and moved away as the fought each other and scrambled for the smallest bite. Kaden didn’t fight, he submitted and watched. He saw the wounds now, they were all torn bit and scratched. Not him, he wasn’t. He tried to get food and if he failed he moved away before a swipe could take him. A few bits of food and he had some energy back, but not enough. Still he was healthier than the rest but his neck hurt him. Throbbing and making his ears sound as if water beat into them. Every day he fought to show nothing, but it was a losing battle in the end.

The day came fast that they pointed at him. Kaden looked up and stared, daring any to get close. So tired, so hungry. They hesitated, all but the one wolf. The male charged him and Kaden tackled it. They bit scratched and pounded into each other. Kaden was scared, so scared. He didn’t show it, he fought and bit into skin shaking his head. While they had fought he had learned. He watched what they did, watched the damage that came from it. He shook the skin like a chew toy to open the skin and veins as wide as he could. Let it bleed, let it choke. There was not enough water and bleeding came slow without water; but there was shock.

Biting the throat killed but slowly. Your teeth are not long enough in this form. Bite the wrist and risk losing your teeth, but it’s faster. Clawing the stomach, there was the weakness. He ripped with his blunter human claws into the stomach over and over again to pull out the organs. It took hit after hit but suddenly organs spilled out and Kaden stepped back as the wolf that was human cried and fell. He was shivering and shaking, Kaden didn’t know if he could do what had to be done but he was so hungry. In the end he did. He started eating as the others came to bite and tear at flesh, so did he. The slavers this time cheered, they had bet on him. It was the first time he had eaten when he could still see what it was he ate.

[Kaden Swift]

Kaden didn’t know it, but what they were doing was not what the ships leader wanted or knew about. They were all sick now, all the Kelvic. Wounds on top of wounds, all infected. Kaden had the lesser of wounds, he fought only twice. The others, they couldn’t take him now and they had known it. They had hung back to let the wolf die to please the slavers then then took part in eating it. The slavers mistake, they taught the Kelvic they could kill even in this form. The slavers left but the Kelvic were too well taught now, they turned on each other. It was the screams that woke the slavers. They pounded down the stairs to a blood bath. The Kelvic had gone mad. There wasn’t enough rest, wasn’t enough food but they had been taught. Weakness was food, weakness meant full bellies. Find the weak one, find the injured; and kill them then you got to eat and feel something other than pain and fear.

So they killed to end it, some did it for death, some did it from a relief of stress; others did it because something inside of them was dead. Kaden did it to live. He fought, smashing bodies throwing others. So tired, he was just so tired now. Thirteen of them left. He ripped out someone’s throat, a slaver he didn’t notice that he had killed a human, but the bear Kelvic had seen and he was without the collar. He shifted. The slavers had made one too many mistakes. The Kelvic had never known they could hurt the humans. The bear ripped into them and into other Kelvic; and suddenly Kaden was yanked away. He had over the month learned some language; in his ear promise was shouted. Kill the bear and he would see the sun. The bear Kelvic was roaring and foaming at the mouth in his desperate madness.

Kaden liked the bear, the man was gentle and kind; but he was broken now. Kaden was broken now. He wanted to see the sun. He nodded a small little movement, then his collar was gone and he shifted. It had been peeled off; his skin had been trying to grow over it to hold his wound and blood. Kaden took off and slammed into the bear. He ripped chunks away with teeth and claws; savagely he kicked and bit. His breed could kill bears twice the size of the black bear; and so the bear died under him. He was older now, he was strong and he was not food. He stood panting and heaving, not the only one left but the only one still in the madness. Cries came to his fog fueled brain. The slavers were barking orders to each other. Kaden just sat down. He wanted the sun, they had promised. He wanted the sun. Human and animal cries colored the air.

There was blood everywhere. Kaden was sitting in it and watched entranced as it soaked into his fur turning it red. He heard screams and begging slavers but it was all background noise as he watched the blood creep across the floor. He knew every scratch and crack in it after the two months he had been down here. He watched the blood follow along the wood grain before spilling over, so much pretty. He looked up to see another Kelvic in the corner eating some meat from who knows what. Kaden watched a slaver go to the Kelvic, not even sneaking the human went up to the mad creature and snapped its neck. Maybe that was kindness in the end. One approached him but a shout stopped the slaver and Kaden was left alone. He hadn’t moved and still didn’t as the blood having cooled turned to jelly.

Things calmed after a while but the one barking and angry turned to Kaden. He looked at the tiger Kelvic before motioning Kaden over. So Kaden got up and he went to him. Humans were in charge, humans could see weakness. He was strong, hide the weakness; hide the tired. Hide. The man looked him over, and then barked something; and the door opened. No one moved. Kaden stared out into the only hole that held light for so long. The slaver motioned him forward and he went. Sun. He kept going kept walking, had to hide. He hurt, everything hurt and oh how he was tired. Then it all fell away and he was in the sun, in clean air. Shivering he kept moving. So many humans, he didn’t know there were so many.

He saw another ship beside this one; it was the one the master came from. Had he been on this ship the Kelvic’s would never have been made to even work. He never would know that they were supposed to be treated like royalty, not a mark was to be made on them so they would fetch high prices. The master was angry not for the dead Kelvic but the loss of gold. Kaden was the last bit he had, but the man was pleased for he had kept the tiger that had fought through it all and lived. Kaden knew none of this, only stood looking at the sun he hadn’t seen in months. He closed his eyes and breathed in the deep salty smell of clean sea air. The slavers went around him making no move toward the blood covered Kelvic.

[Kaden Swift]

Kaden just laid down where he was and watched the sun. The master came back up and looked at the tiger in a fashion almost like pity. Kaden hadn’t realized that he shifted with the bands still on his legs; that they even now caused him to bleed. The man knelt down and unlocked them and the Kelvic knew nothing of this. Sun, he found it finally. He didn’t move as people poked and prodded at him. Things shoved into his wounds making them burn new. Hide the pain, hide the weakness. They would point at him, no more sun. Nothing happened however, he was fed and water brought to him; no one made to push him back into the hull. The master took to sitting beside him and talking to him, forcing him to repeat things.

Kaden did it so he would be left alone. The master kept him distracted; Kaden didn’t know that it was a fight between the other ship captains just to kill him. They had forced the slavers to tell them what they did to the Kelvic in the hold. They were scared he would rise up and kill them all in their sleep. Now that captain was crouched in front of Kaden. They had made him change to human when they spoke to him and they did now but there was no collar. ‘Kaden,’ the Kelvic looked up. They had named him a while ago, he nearly forgot that. ‘What are humans Kaden?’ The Kelvic shivered and the two men backed up, mistaking his fear for getting ready to fight. ‘What are humans’, they asked again. Didn’t they know?

“Gods.” Kaden didn’t know why the captain swore and paled. His voice was rough and scratchy but his words were clear. The Kelvic knew a bit about gods, no names just that they were the masters of all and everything. They could make things hurt forever, make things die. They took everything and gave what they wanted. “Humans are gods.” He repeated in a small voice, and they left him alone to shift and sleep in the sun.

Done