My hands are tied behind me own back to something really cold. No matter how hard I squint my eyes there is nothing to look upon in this room. The only thing I know is that Terri is with me. His heavy breathing makes me infinitely aware of his suffering. Any sound outside the room makes me fear for the next time the guards are going to take him away to torture all after they've knocked me out.
"Terri, Terri, sir,"
No response. He hasn't spoken to me ever since our detention has begun making me wonder what sort of things these fiends are doing to him. I shiver at the thought of what could make the Black Gun fear even speaking.
*
Footsteps and heavy ones approach us. I shake my head readying myself for the fourth blow. The levers move, the door opens a little light illuminating a prostate figure of Terri. He moves a bit. I close my eyes waiting for the blow that never comes. I instead listen as Terri is dragged off his grunts breaking me.
*
They return without him this time and I know that my time has come. Pain has finally caught up to me. I shiver even before the first hand touches me, remembering Terri's breathing and grunting. What will they do to me that Terri couldn't withstand?
"Release him. The governor wants to see him," a voice says.
I feel hands reaching mine tugging at what ties me.
"Where's Terri?" I ask.
The guards do not answer. They each take one of my arms lifting me from the floor heading me towards the door. I almost fall from exhaustion but the strong arms keep me up as we go past the door. I find out that I was in a block of grey buildings that are roughly the same size. Guards are all along the lines we walk. The rooms are all closed with the heaviest doors I have ever seen.
We go through a tunnel, through a gate and into the public square that I had seen while we came in. There's a carrier waiting for us at the side of the street a guard waiting. One of the guards holding me loosens his grip leaning to listen to his fellow. He stares at me for a long minute afore letting my arm go.
The carrier opens, the guard getting in and the other pushing me in after him.
*
The carrier arrives at the highest level of the whole thing as I realize why it's called the Bridge. It's basically two giant towers with a vertical one on top of them. We fly into the tunnel at the front of the building, the guard getting out first to hold me as I drag myself too.
Immediately, two robed individuals smiling, take my arms leading me away from the guard who stares at me ere he returns to the carrier. I am led through beautiful halls that remind me of a film I once saw about the kingdoms of the Older Ancient Civilization. Finally we branch into a room with really large open doors where rows and rows of benches are.
We walk straight up to the front of the room where three people sit at a high table, better dressed than the two gams holding me. Two are women and the other a bespectacled man lean of figure and sharp eyes. One of the women looks at me with pity leaning her head in her palm.
The two robed individuals bow forcing me to droop like a dead flower.
"Poor baby, he's exhausted," the lady says.
"Have you not been feeding him Gravius?" the other asks.
The man, Gravius does not look at me when he shakes his head.
"I did not think the folk of the Bridge would be so cruel even to a child governor, especially not you Gravius," the second lady says.
Her eyes turn to me the pity in them angering me.
"Boy, you stand before Gravius Tenbaum the governor of the Bridge and me, I am Njoki Beatrix. I am a merchant and I have bought you for my own services. What is your name?"