Existence Is My Woven Tapestry

"Reynolds right?" The man who intercepted him quizzed in a low whisper. Reynolds noted his gaunt figure, his eyes burning with determination. "We're moving out of this hell hole. There's a revolt that will occur much later at the Cafeteria."

The man went on. Reynolds however remained unmoved with what was told to him. It wasn't that he didn't care for his freedom but it felt too unrealistic to achieve it. A guard could easily put fifty men down with no sword.

"What makes you so sure that they won't kill us?" His voice groaning as he opened the door to his room. The ma followed him in. "They cycle us like cattle at a pen. A new batch has been sent here and it won't be for a week till another comes. They can't kill all of us. They need us to keep this place running."

Reynolds was torn, he had seen the callousness of this world where life was treated like air. Those at the bottom killed off with those at the top failing to bat an eye. However a part of him wanted to be freed from this place. An image flashed in his mind making him grit his teeth.

"...Fine, I accept." The man perked up upon hearing this. "Great! You'll know it's us. We're wearing red ribbons on our sleeves." The man's voice barely a whisper due to the excitement. He left quickly leaving Reynolds with his thoughts.

He didn't know whether this was suicide or not but either way, he assured himself that it couldn't get any worse. If he was killed then he would finally be reunited with his family, if spared simply worked like he had already been before. Wrung till his usefulness no longer came and killed off.

What made him accept the offer was Malcolm. The way he would flaunt around with a smirk as if he didn't belong with them, as if he hadn't sold them off for his position. He would remain in his cool office, watch the suffering unfold alongside his surbodinates and laugh.

He looked at the stars through his window, hoping to his wife that he made the right decision and if not reunited with her and his son. Once all the lights had been turned off, he made his way down the now dark halls. He was used to them and with the faint moonlight shining through the windows gave him the illumination he needed.

A couple of minutes later and he was at cafeteria, people of different ages could be seen. Some eager as a supposed leader explained their course of action standing on top of one of the tables. "We'll simply occupy a corner of the city and bargain it with those above."

Some seemed to be onboard with this plan as they channelled their morale. The quiet and calm night was shattered by the screams and shouts of liberations from the riot. Those in their rooms peered out of their windows to see what the commotion was while the crowd kept on proceeding with their momentum towards the offices, the central hub of the city.

Malcolm who was asleep was harshly risen by the chants and screams of those below, agitated he could only look with irritation before his eyes landed on Reynolds. 'I should have figured.' He mused in his mind. "Guards! Dispose of these rapscallions from my premise. How dare they disturb my peace?"

Guards flocked the scene however they were greatly outnumbered. People clung to each other forming a chain, their demand only growing stronger. The guards didn't seemed fazed at all, as they watched the crowd in ridicule listening to their pleas of freedom.

"Silence!" The voice echoed, covering the entire night sky startling the crowd to fall silent. It was the governor in charge of the city, a Gravechant who was visibly irritated with the congregation. "All of you wish for freedom, is it not?!" He went on to which the crowd screamed for it, confirming his question.

"I'm a very reasonable and understanding man. Since all of you wish for freedom..." His hand gestured at the towering gates were, embued with magic that they couldn't see nor comprehend. The gates opened showing expansive clear skies, calm grounds and a forest not that far.

"Leave! But if not then I will have you executed on the spot!" A smile played on his lips, similar to the guards who joked about the absurdity of it all. "They wish for freedom and yet when given to them they refuse to take it." The air was filled with ridiculing laughter.

"What! You can't kill all of us!" A man spoke us, stepping forward. The governor seemed bored with negotiations, forming a sword out of thin air and diced the man in two in a clean swift strike. It was malcore, the azure blue sword gave off a light hum as it returned back to the governor, more formed above his head aimed at the crowd.

"Well what's wrong? Did you not what freedom?!" This elicited more laughs from the guards. "You all can leave if you'd like but if you choose to stay then do know that your deaths will be quick and painful." Most of those present couldn't believe what was unfolding.

Reynolds gave a defeated sigh. 'Power here truly is everything!' Without wasting any more time, he made his way to the gates and failed to look back. Some hesitated to leave, others followed him. Those who stayed were met with death from the guards, those who left were met with wilderness

It seemed calm and welcoming at first but Reynolds thanks to his reading knew that it wasn't as such. "What?! Did you change your mind or something?!" The sounds of arrows could be heard zoom through the air and connect with their targets.

For the knights, it was a game as they picked off those who scrambled to the forest for shelter. Some met their deaths, others badly injured with a select few managing to come out unscathed. Out of sight, the guards went back to their routines.

"Let it be known that if any of you choose to revolt like those cretins! You will suffer a fate like theirs of not worse. I do not tolerate disobedience here!" The governor's voice boomed loud enough for everyone to here. The court was drenched in blood and corpses.

Bodies diced like meat on the chopping block while blood flowed endlessly like a ravaging river. Some captives were forced to clean the mess as the governor went back to his mansion. Malcolm smiled at the sight of seeing Reynolds scuttle away like a hunter hare. 'Once again Reynolds , you find yourself at the wrong side of the sword.'

He went back to bed, drowning in lavish duvets and a comfy mattress. Accompanied with his wife, it was something the select few his people could enjoy.

***

The forest felt alive however the wind here was calm, too calm for comfort. There were no chirps of crickets in the grass or scurrying of critters in the leaves or soil. It was dead silent. Some groaned in agony at their injuries, others choosing to leave and go their own way stating that they were better off alone. Reynolds was one of them.

He had no one to relate to and accompanied by someone wounded would only draw unwanted attention. Demons drawn by blood or other creatures by the sounds alone. Underneath the starry night sky, he looked at the pair of moons that orbited the planet. Ethereal and intriguing however his mind had no time to process such beauty.

He had to plan where he would sleep, what he would eat and how he would survive. For the first time, he finally felt all the emotions that laid in stasis in his mind back at the city. His heart beat with fear and anticipation, beads of sweat tracing down his face as his teeth chattered to the cold breeze.

He knew that heading too deep into the jungle wouldn't be ideal as he would run into creatures. Some capable of overpowering him with ease and make him prey. He looked around for anything that could helps him make shelter.

***

Crimson on the other hand wasn't having it any better either. It had been two months of nonstop torture for her. Unlike Reynolds who got to eat twice per day, she ate once, never had any showers and had her body torn and ripped apart. The first two weeks, they were careful with her, treading with care but after realizing how fast her body recuperated they no longer cared.

Her blood was drawn for study, how it would react with malcore, it no longer became about synthesizing a cure to save the mutants but how far could they push her before she snapped. And so far she had been able to keep up just fine.

Lady Sylvaine, head of the entire project was intrigued with Crimson as she looked at her beyond the safety glass and malcore glyphs. She had every organ, every tissue of Crimson's extracted and put for study. Everytime her body was subjected to experiments, it seemed to adapt and regenerate faster than before.

Sylvaine looked at her sheets. 'At first it her five hours for her heart to recuperate but now, it takes a minute. So far we've explored every inch of her body except her skull. Maybe that is where the truth lies.' She concluded, handing her reports to an assistant.

By now the era of technology had begun to spread within their domains. It was applied to transportation, then military before reaching the scientific field. Malcore would be combined with her body, unrefined as expected her body rejected it, seeing it as corruption. Blisters formed, bones shattered and tissues eroded but in a blink, it was replaced and the cycle went on.

From there it went to discovering how long she could live without her vitals. From stomach, to liver then her heart. Removed her bones one by one however new ones would simply take their place, toyed with her spine and her vocals and even tore off her ovaries in the hopes of synthesision a child however it failed.

By now Crimson's body had been defiled in all kinds of manners, put through hoops and tests that crushed her spirits. Her screams had now fallen silent, the blaze in her sapphire eyes extinguished and replaced with apathy and blankness. Her body would involuntarily twitch here and there but in her mind, she was already used to it.

Her figure was suspended by chains, her mind bombarded with mental attacks after every second to keep her in a dormant state as paralysis drugs and spells failed to work on her. In her thoughts, she always waited for him to come. Hoping to deliver her out of her purgatory.