❛ I had a feeling so peculiar, this pain
wouldn't be for 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆. ❜
⎯⎯ ⠀ㅤִㅤ ୨⠀♡⠀୧ ㅤִ⠀⠀ ⎯⎯
𝓗wang eunji, who also goes by iana, felt her world stop. it stopped the day she le...
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↳ chapter nine₊˚.༄ [# human stew and cyclopes dust]
IANA WOKE UP WITH A GAG IN HER MOUTH, WHICH WAS VERY INCONVENIENT, to say the least. Blinking the blurriness out of her vision, she was quick to realize her entire body was wrapped with metal chains up to her neck, upside down. The girl winced as she noticed how much blood must have rushed up to her head, hanging for however long she had.
The rustling of chains beside her caught her attention, craning her neck to meet Piper's struggling figure, also hung upside down. She was flailing around in a poor attempt to try and free herself. She, too, was gagged. Meaning there was no way for her to spell cast her way out of this. But at least she was alive. It was hard to tell for Jason, though. He hung limply, eyes closed and a red welt the size of a tennis ball had swollen over his left eyebrow.
A trio of ten-foot tall Cyclopes sat around a pit of sorts, two were standing and one crouched. One of the monsters wore a chainmail loincloth that looked really uncomfortable. The other wore a ragged fuzzy toga made of fiberglass insulation. Iana guessed they must've been a family of sorts, given the running theme of ugliness among them. One of the standing ones mimicked Piper's voice, crying out: "Leo, help!"
Iana hoped he wasn't dumb enough to call back. And, by the looks of it, he wasn't. No reply came as the echo died down. The Cyclops decided to call out again, less certain this time. "Leo?"
The bigger cyclops grumbled, their voice deep and feral. "Told you it was nothing,"
The other cyclops tried. "Leo, help me! Help—" Then the voice changed, becoming a masculine snarl. "Bah, there's nobody out there. No demigod could be that quiet, eh?"
The first cyclops chuckled. "Probably ran away, if he knows what's good for him. Or the girl was lying about a fourth demigod. Let's get cooking."
Snap. A bright orange light sizzled to life—an emergency flare—and Iana was temporarily blinded. After a few seconds, she regained her vision and found a mixture of tires and wood had been ignited, starting a fire. A big metal pole was suspended over the flames—a spit, Iana realized, which meant this was a cooking fire. And they were the meat.
The Cyclops in the chainmail loincloth walked over to Iana and Piper, the latter squirming and tried to head-butt him in the eye. "Can I take their gag off now? I like it when they scream."
The question was directed at the third Cyclops, apparently the leader. The crouching figure grunted, and Loincloth ripped the gag off of their mouth. Iana wouldn't scream. Not for a cyclops. Instead, she pressed her lips together and closed her eyes, taking long breaths through her nose. Piper didn't scream as well.
The Cyclops in the toga poked at the fire, which was now blazing away and billowing noxious black smoke toward the ceiling. The cyclops that had ripped off their gags glowered at them, waiting for an entertaining reaction. "Scream, girls! I like funny screaming!"
