Renaissance: Chapter 1

“Where am I…? Oh, right… this is the dark cellar where I was thrown into last night.” Waking up, he looked around curiously, hoping to find something or someone whom he can ask questions. Questions regarding why he was put into a cellar, questions about who ratted his plans out, questions about why he still exists and has not been killed yet.

“Is this the place?” A voice echoed from above the stairs and slowly, a sharp beam of light projected downwards and widened as the heavy metal door opened with a deafening creak. “So, how many criminals are down here?” The voices could be heard very clearly yet only their shadows could be seen. “Only one, sir, he's currently unconscious.” Soft tip-taps could be heard as the men staggered down the steep stairs.

“I better act for now.” Their shadows had now transformed into colorful, lively figures. He laid on the ground and remained motionless until the sounds had faded away. He even kept his eyes shut to prevent any reflection.

Everything was dark once again. As the door closed with the same annoying creak, the beam of light which had given him some relief from the eerie blindness narrowed by time and disappeared with a loud thud. “It seems they have already left, time to do some searching.” In hopes of finding something useful in the room where almost everything was hidden by the darkness, he stood and fell immediately on his first try. The jangling of chains could be heard, and worst of all, heavy duty chains pinned deep into the wall.

“Remove the mask.” someone ordered. A hand slid on top of his head and dragged the dusty jute bag pulling it out of Nick's face. His thoughts started to overflow. “Whose voice is this? Why is it so bright? How did I get here? No, I was supposed to stay inside the cellar. Yes! Where's the cellar?!” A tremendous punch to his gut brought him to his bared knees rubbing against the harsh sand and grit. Blood rushed down his mouth when he started to cough and spilled on the ground.

“Nick Young, slave of the empire, you shall be presented before the royal court where your guilt shall be judged.” The same voice rang through his ears while he coughed. He was pushed into a room after a couple of minutes of trudging down a long hallway. The massive doors behind him closed with a loud thud but this time, there was no creaking. “Probably, the hinges are well-maintained” He thought.

Nick tilted his head upwards whose sight was fixed on the dark green polished wooden flooring. Hordes of people with dark aura were giving cold stares. It was a huge hall, where the audience sat in the two stair-like seats on either side and in the center, was a high-placed table where the judge sat. The light from the massive windows placed on either side shone on him as the chattering got louder. People started to mumble, whisper and even gossip. And so the judge's hammer came bolting, striking the hard table with enough force to exceed their noise and spread silence.

It hit the table thrice. “I should take the chance and escape while I can.” Thought Nick. While the chatter slowly rose again before the starting of the trial, he turned on his feet and raced towards the door. The people didn't seem to notice it before the judge shouted from the hall to all the officers outside. “Don't let the offender escape!!!” Nick was just about to exit the building. It seemed like a ray of hope had flashed before him. As soon as he entered the doorway, one of the guards appeared before him, dressed in a vibrant red coat with a long, black moustache covering much of his wrinkly face yet exposing the bald head. It was just a matter of seconds when the man stepped forward and slid a revolver in his hands out of nowhere.

Bang! The room got filled with the loud noise which faded away sooner than expected. Nick had suddenly stopped. A surge of pain raged through his body. falling to his knees before the man, Nick observed tiny drops of blood leaking from somewhere.

Turning to see that his left palm was drenched in blood. He screamed to the top of his lungs to withstand the tremendous pain, the horrifying sight of his palm yet not being able to escape after seeing the gates of freedom almost paralyzed him.

He looked up to see the same face, looking down on him and laughing yet softly....