"Where did you go last night?" Oniza asked Danika as she sneaked into their cell in the early hours of the morning.
"Me?...No where…." Danika replied, not looking at her.
She grabbed her by the shoulders, turning her to face her.
"There's chaos outside—since yesterday! Where did you go?" her voice trembled. "I was so scared when you left with Dragon and didn't come back."
"Am okay…you can see." Danika smiled, avoiding her intense gaze.
Oniza grabbed her hand, to read her palm. "You killed someone.." Oniza asked, her face turned sour. Her eyes wet, as she held Danika's hand.
"I can see blood in your hands!! What did you do?"
Danika gently pulled her hands free, retreating in silence as she crawled to the far corner of the cell.
She hugged her knees to her chest and lowered her head, burying her face against them.
Oniza was staring at her, tears dripping from her eyes.
She crawled back to where Danika sat.
"Talk to me…..Daniza…." She shook her violently. "Did he by any chance touch you before you killed him? I told you that you should never kill anyone. I said….. I will do the killing myself."
Danika shifts from her again, she turns her head to the other side ignoring her. She knows Oniza will always know!! Once Oniza sees a human that has killed someone, they always have blood in their hands. That was Oniza's secret power, and Oniza knows Danika's secret.
"Danika…" Oniza calls her in a calm tone.
She turned to her, "You are not supposed to call me Danika….Have you forgotten we are aZa… What if others hear you and report."
"Then tell me what happened when Dragon called you."
"Was it an animal that you killed?"
"Too many questions!! Do you want others to hear you?"
"Then answer," Oniza dips her hand in a dirty bag and pulls out a piece of bread. "I left this buns for you…The other slave ate your share of the food because they were hungry. I had to leave you my own share of the bread."
Danika smiled, and grabbed the bread hurriedly chewing it that she almost choked.
Oniza pulls out water and gives it to her.
Meza enters the cell, kicking a little slave girl that was on her way.
She turns around and her eyes meet Danika and Oniza whispering to each other.
"Ohh…the Blonde mute is back!!.." Meza yelled, attracting the attention of the other slaves to watch their show.
Oniza ignores her as she gives Danika water, She was also patting her back.
"Look at her, acting like she is her mother. I still don't understand what makes her so special that you are treating her like your child." Meza sneered, her voice dripping venom.
"Your baby is now filthy!! The commander has touched her. She is now unclean like the rest of us!!! She is not different from me, she is a blonde whore!!!" Meza's lips curled into a cruel smile.
The cell erupted with mocking laughter, some pointing hands at them.
Oniza stood up, advancing towards her.
She slapped her with all her strength, and Meza fell on the floor. Blood oozed out from her lips, her teeth bloody. Everywhere became silent, other slaves kept quiet. They shifted their gaze like nothing had happened. No one came to help Meza.
Meza looked around, all the girls shifted their gaze, all of them avoiding eye contact with her. "Fools!!! Weaklings!!!" she screamed at them and spat out blood.
"Are you afraid thatI i'll let everybody know? That your precious Daniza is now unclean like the rest of us?" Meza laughing triumphantly. "I am happy that she is now like us."
She bent down, her eyes locked on Meza's. Oniza slowly tugged Meza's black hair behind her ears. "Meza, if you don't learn to keep that tongue of yours tight in your mouth. I will kill you right now and nobody will ask me about it!!" she said, in a calm tone- her voice soft as silk.
Meza glared, her eyes filled with fury. "Kill me then, I don't even like the way I live." She snapped, eyes red from anger. "Why should Daniza live better than us when we were all born Slaves!!!"
"Pathetic!!" Oniza spat, she stood up walking to her spot.
Suddenly, the cell gate cracked open. Three men stormed in with Dragon, they are the exact men that came for Danika yesterday.
"Where is that Bitch?!" Dragon roared, his voice shaking the cell wall.
Oniza rushed to Danika, holding her close to her chest- like a protective mother. But Oniza was only 2 years older than Danika, but maturity came faster because of how they grew up.
The men rushed to them, pulling Danika from her. Oniza kept holding on to her, the other man slapped her. After successfully separating them, they started kicking Oniza till she was too weak to fight back.
Dragon pulled Danika's by her hair, he always loved dragging her by the hair. He pulled her to the center of the cell.
"Daniza, yesterday after you left our commander died. So tell me what happened there with him." He asked, in a calm tone but his face was filled with fury.
Danika, staring at him in the eyes, suddenly burst into tears. Her voice is loud like that of a crying cat.
Dragon stood up, stomping his foot on the ground. "I didn't say you should cry to me..I said what happened in there!!!" He yelled.
The other slaves hide themself, some of them pushing each other to be at the back.
Oniza struggled to her feet, only to collapse to her knees. "Please," she begged, her voice raw with desperation. "Daniza is just a child… how could she possibly know how a man like him died? She's innocent. Please… let her go."
Meza stood up, "She is the one you are looking for, after she left yesterday she didn't come back till this morning. Daniza has a hand in what happened to the commander, I am very sure of it."
"Are you very sure Meza? You saw her kill him?" Dragon asked, pointing at Meza.
"ermmm…No, I didn't see ... " Meza stuttered. "But she went to meet the Commander yesterday!!!"
"I hate rats like you. Just shut up!!"
Meza immediately sat down on the floor, covering her face.
"Dragon, when I went to deliver the news to the commander. Daniza wasn't there with him, though I later saw her working in the mine with the other slaves." One of the guards whispered to the Head of the slave.
"Yes, I know all that. That's why I am asking her what happened yesterday? But she is here crying like a child!!"
Danika was still sobbing, her breath hitching between cries. Her nose was running, and her eyes were swollen and bloodshot. Tears streamed freely down her face, leaving her face wet.
"Can you please talk Daniza? What happened? Now I am talking to you calmly!! Why still crying? Huh?" Dragon screaming at her.
"Let me talk to her myself!!" Oniza requested.
The men gave way, Oniza crawled to Daniza. Pressing her head on her chest, she whispered to her. "Daniza, Don't worry even if I die..I won't let you die. You are different from us. You are special!"
Oniza stood up,
"She doesn't know anything about it."
Dragon laughed, as he ran his hand in his hair.
"Kill them all," He ordered.
The men dragged the little girls and started slaughtering them, blood oozing out like pumps. While the other was beating the older girls, kicking them violently.
Watching this scene weaken Oniza, she rushed forward. "I killed him!!!!!!!" Oniza screamed, her eyes turned bloodshot.
"I cut his manhood!!"
Danika froze, her breath caught in her throat as she turned to Oniza.
Oniza gave her a soft smile, and a calm nod.
Danika shook her head in panic. "No… don't," she whispered.
But Oniza didn't stop—she charged straight toward the sword in Dragon's hand.
Before she could reach it, Dragon grabbed her by the hair, yanking her back violently.
"She's the one!" one of his men shouted. "She killed our Commander—his corpse was found without his manhood!"
In a flash, Dragon seized Oniza, pulling her tight against his chest.
Without hesitation, he dragged his sword across her throat, swift and brutal—as if she were nothing more than a hunted animal.
Her hot blood sprayed like water across Danika's face.
She stood paralyzed, the warmth of the blood dripping down her face….