Sidratul Muntaha

Chapter 109

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The Campsite, Before Fajr.

How does it feel?
When a part of you is forcefully cut apart,
When it is dragged away from your sight,
When it is being harmed with all the might...
How does it feel?
When the one that brings you coolness,
Is now no more by your side,
That the distance that separate you both,
Has just become more wide!
How does it feel?
When you feel them moving away,
When you try to grab at the edges,
But you can feel your grasp betray...
When you touch empty air,
And taste the foul air of despair,
When your heart shatters with fear and pain,
And it feels you will never be whole again,
When all your pieces burn in the fire of vengeance,
And even when the chaos have you surrounded,
Within you is a grief struck silence,
How does it feel?
How does it feel?
How does it feel...

Muntaha had reached the limit of his patience. He had questioned Calsaq with patience and then even tortured him within the limits of what was allowed to glean information from the man but it had proved to be unfruitful. He was now on the verge of exploding.

He watched as one of his men punched Calsaq in his face, when he refused to answer and could bear it no more, as he marched up to the man and gently pushed him away. He bent down to the level of Calsaq's eyes.

"I do not torture people. Thats not the way I do things. But believe me. If you do not tell me where your master is right now and where he took her, I will make sure that you regret your silence more than any regretful words you have spoken." Muntaha began. Calsaq just chuckled.

"You cannot do anything to make me speak." Calsaq declared.

"For that woman I can burn the whole world. You are but a mere man!" Muntaha replied with a feral grin. The eyes that had been righteous just some moments ago turned murderous. Calsaq felt his spine chill for the very first time since he was captured. "You have already tried to kill one of our own. That makes you liable for punishment. If I choose justice, you would be punished but at least you would be relatively unharmed. And I will choose justice if you reveal to me the whereabouts of your master. The other captured soldiers have been questioned and they have revealed the location of the place the rest of your men have camped at. We have sent over our warriors to capture them. But none of them knew Prince Jaleed's whereabouts." Muntaha grasped Calsaq's chin tightly. "But if you choose silence, it won't be justice but vengeance. And the vengeance I possess will not be bearable for you."

"Do your worse..." Calsaq buried his fear and hissed. Muntaha smiled and suddenly Calsaq wished he hadn't issued the unspoken challenge. Muntaha stepped away. The men stepped away too. Calsaq frowned.

"Strip him." Muntaha ordered. Calsaq watched as one of the men came forward and began to tear his shirt away. He trembled as the cool air hit him full force. Muntaha walked forward and held a pail of icy water that he threw at Calsaq, who began to feel the chill seeping in. Then he felt the first blow. And he relaxed. If this was Muntaha's idea of torture then he could bear it. But unlike the other men Muntaha didn't stop. He was hitting Calsaq on every inch of his skin, except his head. Calsaq began to feel the pain when his skin stripped away by the blows. The hits were incessant and were chipping away at him. Muntaha stopped. Calsaq breath in sweet relief for a few seconds before Muntaha spoke again. "Bring the ants." Calsaq shivered. He knew exactly what Muntaha wanted to do. He himself had done it before when Prince Jaleed wanted someone to be tortured. But now the tables had turned. This righteous looking man was cold in nature. Calsaq knew without a doubt that every torture that followed this one would be worst. The sheen of glacial emotionlessness in those eyes was now scaring Calsaq. Maybe he was just weary or something in his blood recognised the danger that was lurking within the skin of the man that watched him, but Calsaq was feeling the licks of fear at his soul for the first time in his life. Before now, he had been almost an untouchable due to the borrowed power. He had been Jaleed's right hand man and no one dared to look at him the wrong way and that had given him a sense of importance. Now that the power had been stripped away, he was as normal as any of them. He had done unspeakable things and now he was himself on the verge of being tortured, so he was feeling like the world was folding in. "These ants are very fierce. They are found in these woods." Muntaha told him informatively. "Their nest have been destroyed and they are out for blood. They will attack anything they see. The special thing is their venom. It can kill someone within a very less time if the ants are fierce enough. And right now they are too fierce and hungry too." Muntaha shrugged as he touched the sack of ants with his index finger. "Coat him with honey." Muntaha issued another command. Calsaq watched him in terrified horror now. Honey would attract the ants to him and they would be more ferocious as they were hungry. His wounds would fester. He wriggled as the men coated his skin with a light coat of honey. He wondered for a brief few seconds where this man acquired these things from in the middle of nowhere, but then he couldn't follow that train of thought (AN- you can though!). His skin had broken in many places and the coating of honey was actually irritating him and he wanted to scratch all over. He felt his heart fall to his stomach as he pictured what would happen next. The ants would start to attack him. He would start to itch and then maybe he would scratch himself to death. The picture his mind painted was horrific. He was thankful for his tied hands now. At least he wouldn't scratch himself. "Free his hands." Muntaha ordered. Calsaq looked at him, stunned. Could this man be a mind reader? Calsaq felt his binds being released and then a man began to walk towards the sack of ants. He felt his heart stutter in an unnatural fear. He didn't understand the fear though. He had faced ferocious things and he had faced enemies too. But this man was the only one that had made him feel like he was drowning in horror. He felt his clammy hands and then felt his forehead being covered in cold sweat as the man began to drag the sack towards him. "Op-"