The Last Whisperer

17 | All His Darn Fault~

Her head was dunked into a large bucket of water.

"Cold, huh?"

Seren jerked as bubbles flew up in front of her face. A hand gripped the back of her head, keeping her head submerged.

She was pulled out after what seemed like an eternity. She gasped so hard for air that she started a coughing fit. Her throat was beginning to parch.

The prison ward stood in front of her. He was a huge man and wore a black and golden armor. He wore no helmet on his head, which gave Seren the chance to see his hairless scalp. It was so shiny and smooth that Seren almost wanted to polish it even more. He had a long dark goatee on his chin, and he had wrinkles on the corners of his mouth, as if he frowned at people often.

"Tell me again. What was the name of the man you killed?" His voice was grated and rocky. It almost sounded like he was growling at her. "Sorry. Not killed—murdered."

Seren's chest was heaving. Guarding the door to the room were the two same prison Garrisons that welcomed her upon her arrival at the shore. After they brought her in, they led her down a series of tunnels, passing by cells with moaning prisoners in them, until they reached the torture room where she met the prison ward.

They have been at it for hours now. Seren had been flogged, beaten, and now finally being dipped in water, but she still would not give them what she was being asked for.

"Tell me his name," the prison ward's tone rose.

Seren stayed silent. Of course she stayed silent. She was not going to say anything, because she did not know any name. She had forgotten.

"His name is..." she dragged out. But then she found herself focusing on his luminous head instead. "Sh-Shiny scalp."

So, her head went back into the water. When it was pulled back up again after nearly one hundred and thirty-two seconds, she spat on the prison ward's face with the water from the barrel. She had sucked it into her mouth, and it tasted awful.

If she could not use her hands, she figured that she had other things she could work with.

The prison ward slapped her in the face. "That's it. Since she's asking for it, take her to the open site. And bring it out."

After hearing that last sentence, both of the guards stiffened up. They shared a look with each other. One of them asked, "Sir... it? Bring it out?"

"Do it," the ward insisted. "Would be nice to teach her a lesson."

Both of the guards shared one more look with each other before one of them nodded. "Very well."

They pulled Seren out of the room, dragged her back down the same tunnel they used to bring her in. Once again, they passed by moaning prisoners. They sounded agonized—like they were in pain.

Seren did not look at any of them. If she looked any one of them in the eye, the prisoners would start going crazy.

They took a few turns before leading her into a different route. They entered a rather clean room made of stone walls and stone floor. Another set of double doors awaited on the other end of the room.

One of the guards gave an exasperated sigh. "This wouldn't have happened if you just did as he said and said the guy's name." It was that guy—the bored guy from the shore. "I'm not getting paid enough for this crap."

Seren watched as he picked up a set of keys that hung on the wall. He selected a copper key and inserted it into the lock on the door. Before he twisted it, Seren heard a strange noise that made her freeze entirely.