Time Holders: The World of Balance

”...”

Before long, the constant clink of metal became weaker and weaker, slowly coming to an end. Aldrus’s futile attempts had resulted only in pain and despair. He eventually grew so tired that, despite his resilience, the only thing he could do was give up and rest.

He closed his eyes, not speaking a single word. His bruised body begged for a nap, and it seemed like Alice and Cedric were not in the mood for a chat either, so it didn’t take long for the small cell to fall into a heavy silence.

Soon, Aldrus’s consciousness fell into a refreshing sleep.

***

*Clank*

”Mnnhgg? Wh-Wha—” Awoken by a loud noise, Aldrus snapped his eyes open with a gasp.

He glanced into the darkness hoping to see Alice, but it wasn’t possible; he was sure hours had passed since he had been brought there, yet the gloomy interior of the cell remained unchanged.

His arms were cold, starved of blood; he could barely feel them by this point, and though they looked the same, his wounds hurt noticeably more. The adrenaline had completely faded, and his body had begun to knit itself back together.

Turning to the source of the noise that had startled him, Aldrus’s eyes widened in surprise as they locked onto a brown pair belonging to a tall, cloaked man, staring directly at him.

”So you’re awake,” he said. ”Good. Here’s your food,” the man added, sliding a tray under the cell bars.

Aldrus remained silent, but his expression changed to one of pure rancor.

”Oh, that’s right.” The cloaked man glanced at his shackles, and a moment later, three metallic clicks echoed through the tiny cell. They were free.

Or, at least, free from the chains.

”You won’t need those anyway. Share that food with your friends and behave; you’ll get more instructions tomorrow.” With that, their jailer turned around and left with no further elaboration.

Aldrus just stood there, rubbing his aching arms. He looked down at the food and hesitated. Then, he took it deeper into the cell, approaching Alice, who slept peacefully against a wall. She didn’t seem bothered by the noise or the fact that her wrists were now free. And as for Cedric... He was awake, but refused to look Aldrus in the eye, still faintly sobbing into his arms.

Well, I can’t blame him. Aldrus imagined the face of his little brother, Lugh. If anything were to happen to him, he would act the same, if not worse. He wasn’t even mad at Cedric for what he did. In fact, he was just relieved; after being trapped with them for some time, he was finally able to see their faces. He sat down in front of them, crossed his legs, and patiently waited.

A few minutes later, Alice woke up.

”Aldrus...? Where—oh...” Her eyes darkened.

That’s right, he thought. It wasn’t pretty, but it was their current reality. ”Alice, they’ve brought us food. Also, you’re free to move now.”

The blonde girl looked down at her hands. ”W-When...?”

”About thirty minutes ago. A cloaked man visited. He said we should share this and wait until tomorrow for further instructions,” Aldrus explained flatly.

”Y-You didn’t ask anything? Also, is this safe to eat?”

”That’d be a waste of time. If they wanted us to know something, they’d tell us. And yes, I think the food is safe. They would’ve killed us by now if they wanted to; I doubt they would resort to poisoning food to achieve that. Besides, even if it is poisoned, we’re just as dead if we don’t eat anything anyway.”

”I-I see... That makes sense.” She glanced at the food tray and picked up a piece of bread. ”Um... Sho, whosh dath?” she asked, pointing at Cedric.

”Pff—”

”Mmn?” Alice tilted her head, confused. Even in a situation like this, she was able to eat like that.

You’re impossible. Aldrus smiled. ”It’s nothing. This right here is Cedric, one of Team Red’s members. We had a match earlier, and you know the rest, assuming you weren’t asleep while he cried his eyes out explaining his actions.”

Alice swallowed. ”Oh, yeah. I did hear some of it; I just didn’t know who he was.”

Aldrus nodded, popped some bread into his mouth, and turned to Cedric. ”Hey,” he called. ”Come eat with us, you’ll need it.”

Cedric didn’t move; he just kept his head down like a mistreated dog.

”Cedric...” Aldrus called again.

The blond boy opened his lips, as if about to say something, but Aldrus cut him off. ”And don’t you dare come up with some bullshit like you can’t because you don’t deserve it or something like that. If you truly feel bad, stand up and come eat. It only takes one of us dying to doom the rest.”

Cedric flinched beneath the weight of those words; he knew that their odds of escaping from that place alive heavily depended on teamwork, and one of them collapsing would most likely mean death for the other two. So, after a brief silence, he slowly stood up and headed toward them.

***

They ate in silence, each keeping their own horrific thoughts to themselves. Behind their confident masks, they were still nothing more than frightened kids. The mere act of eating together brought a small measure of calm to their minds. And within the darkness of unknown danger, a piece of bread and a pounding heart were more than they could ask for.

Sitting in a circle, the three of them stole a glance at each other as if wondering who would be the first to speak. This back and forth continued until Aldrus broke the silence. ”So, do any of you have a plan?”

Cedric and Alice exchanged looks, then shrugged, their expressions troubled.

”Well, me neither. However, judging by how we’ve been treated until now, I think it’s safe to assume we are not disposable pawns. They need us for something.” Aldrus grew serious and added, ”We’ll wait until tomorrow, and hear what that guy has to say. What do you guys think?”

Without much of a choice, both of them agreed.

”Well, then. I guess we’ll see...” With that, they resumed their dinner, or breakfast, or lunch, or whatever meal this was supposed to be, and mentally prepared for what their fate would be tomorrow.