[***** POV]
"Hmm, what happened?" I mumble, slowly waking up.
SFX - RATTLE
I try to move, opening my eyes to see the same bald dude who attacked me. He is staring right at me, sitting only a couple of feet away.
Seeing him so close, I try to jump back, but I can't move enough.
"What the... Am I tied? Why am I tied?" I ask, trying to move.
Seeing me try to escape, the bald man speaks.
"Dan't try inythung, yae want bo oscipung far i lang tumo."
Seeing my confusion, he just sighs and walks away.
I look around to see what is happening.
It is dark out. I am in a campsite, tied to a large tree with rope.
My hands are tied in iron bracelets connected by a chain. My legs are tied too, and my left leg is tied to a big iron ball to stop me from running.
There is a long lantern near me. Maybe I can use it to escape?
As I look around more, the bald man comes back with three other men. Two are from before, but the third is new—an older man, probably around 60 or 70.
They come near me holding weapons.
The old man bends down and brings his knife scary close to my neck. He holds it there.
Is he trying to scare me?
I look at the knife, then at him.
Seems like it. Then why am I not getting scared? If this happened on Earth, I would have been shaking by now.
I stare right into his eyes. Neither of us blinks.
After a few seconds, he moves away and puts down his knife.
I let out a small chuckle.
Hearing the chuckle, the lean man kicks me right in the face.
He bends down, grabs my bloody and dirty head, and says, "Uts fenny heh, woll lots soo haw lang yae wull liegh."
I don't understand anything. I just make a confused face.
The small dude says something while making weird gestures with his hands. "U soruaesly thunk ho us doif."
Hearing that, the old man drops his knife. He starts making gestures with his hands while looking at me.
Are they trying to use hand signs? I think, watching them. Too bad I don't understand that either.
I shrug.
Seeing me try to move, the lean man stabs his spear into the tree. It misses my neck by only a few inches.
Trying to scare me again? Too bad I don't give a shit even if I die.
I continue to struggle and move.
Seeing my reaction, the lean man kicks me again. Blood drops from my head.
I chuckle again.
Seeing my weird reaction to getting kicked, the small dude says, "Sooms luko hos unta gottung kuckod."
The men look at me like I am gross. The lean man takes off his shoe and tries to clean it with water.
"Shhh," the old man says, making them quiet.
He bends down again and uses his hands to talk. He joins his fingers to make a 'V' shape, then opens and closes it. He points at my ear and shakes his hand 'No.'
Is he asking if I am deaf?
I shake my head left to right. No.
He sighs. He points at his mouth, then at me, and shakes his hand again.
Is he asking if I can understand what he's saying?
I shake my head again.
Over the next few hours, he basically explains things to me using hand signs.
He tells me that if I try to scream, run, or do anything wrong, I will be killed.
He points at the sky and shows ten fingers—in ten days, they will leave this place, and I can come with them.
He signals the other men to untie the rope from the tree.
The rules are simple: I can move around and do whatever I want as long as I don't hurt anyone. I am not allowed to go far without someone watching me.
He leaves to cook dinner. The other two men follow him. The lean man stays behind just to spit in front of me—showing me he is above me, I guess—before following them.
I start moving around while holding the iron ball. I see the place I am supposed to live. It is basically a wooden jail cell with a little padding for a bed.
I enter the cell. I was told some other people have also been caught.
It is too dark. There is no light near the cell. I can't see them, so I sit on one end while they are all on the other end of the long cell.
I close my eyes to try and rest.
Hmm. What should I do? Should I try to run away, or live my new world life with them?
Did I hear something? It sounded like a dog whimpering.
Maybe I imagined it.
2 Minutes Later...
I didn't imagine it. Someone's dog is whimpering.
I stand up and try to hear where the voice is coming from. It is coming from the other side of the cell.
I try my best to look without going over there, but I can't see anything. The cell is at least 20 to 25 feet long. I take a couple of steps closer.
As I get closer, I see... children?
Have they captured children?
I get closer. One of the children sits up, does a T-pose, and... growls?
Did it really growl?
Not wanting to scare the child even more, I go back to my corner. I leave the cell and go to the nearest lantern to grab it.
I am stopped by the lean man.
What are you doing? he seems to ask with gestures.
"They cold, we need fire," I reply back using gestures.
I point towards the cell, act like I am freezing, and then point towards the fire.
"No," he gestures back. "The fire burn cell."
"I keep away the fire to not burn the cell," I gesture back.
Even after he denies it, I stay firm. I start leaving, basically ignoring him.
He grabs my shoulder and goes to punch me, but he is stopped by the middle-aged man.
The man signals me to go. I leave, but not without making fun of the lean man by sticking my tongue out.
I put the fire close to the end of the cell, but far enough so it doesn't burn it.
The fire lights up the cell. I see the faces of the children and I see...
A human dog? What the he—