The Monsters

- Lyra’s POV -

The ropes cut into my skin until it felt like fire on my wrists. My hands were wet... at first I thought it was rain, but no… it was my own blood dripping down, running along my fingers.

My arms were shaking so badly. They’d been pulling me for so long that I could no longer feel them. They were nothing but numb, dead weights hanging from my shoulders. My legs wobbled like they didn’t even belong to me anymore. I wanted to stop, to breathe, to rest… but every time my knees gave out, every time I stumbled, they yanked the ropes harder.

The men didn’t care.

“Move it, girl,” one of them barked, his voice sharp like a whip.

Another one laughed when I fell face-first into the mud. “Pathetic. Can’t even walk straight. She’s not gonna last a day.”

My knees throbbed from hitting the ground again and again. I could feel the bruises blooming on my skin, dark and angry, but they only laughed like this was fun for them.

“She doesn’t need to last,” the first one said coldly. “The boss just needs bodies. What happens after… that’s not our problem.”

Their words hit me like cold water. Bodies. That’s all I was to them. A thing, not a person.

I bit my lip so hard it hurt, trying to keep the tears back. Crying wouldn’t help me here. Crying might make them hurt me worse.

“Please,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “Where are you taking me?”

The man holding the rope snapped around to glare at me. “Shut the hell up! You’ll see soon enough. Hope you like rats and piss water.”

The others laughed again, like it was the funniest thing in the world.

I stopped talking. My heart pounded in my ears. Their words made my stomach twist until I thought I might throw up.

That was when I saw it.

The building rose out of the dark like a monster waiting for me. The walls were black stone, wet and dripping like it was bleeding from the rain. Spikes lined the roof like the jaws of a beast. Even the air here felt wrong. Heavy. It clung to my skin and made it hard to breathe.

I didn’t want to go inside. Something deep in me screamed to run.

But the ropes tightened, dragging me forward like a dead thing.

The doors slammed behind us. The floor inside was slick, and I fell hard on my knees again.

And then I saw him.

The man waiting for us was huge, his shoulders wide like a wall. The torchlight made his red eyes burn, glowing like fire under his heavy brow. His face didn’t move. He didn’t even blink.

“Boss,” one of the men said, yanking me forward like a dog on a leash. “Found her near the border. Probably a runaway.”

The man looked at me like I was dirt under his boots. Like I wasn’t even worth speaking to.

“Throw her in the dungeon,” his voice rolled out deep and cold. “I’ll deal with her later.”

That was it. No questions. No chance to explain.

The ropes dragged me again.

“Enjoy your new home, darling,” one of them mocked, grinning as they pulled me through a narrow door.

We went down, deeper and deeper. The stairs creaked under us, the air growing colder, wetter, thicker. My nose burned with the stench—sweat, blood, waste, rot.

I gagged, covering my mouth.

The men only laughed. “Wait till you see it,” one sneered. “This is the part where they all cry.”

At the bottom, the dungeon stretched out before me.

Cages lined the walls, iron bars black and rusted. Water dripped from the ceiling, mixing with the filth on the floor. Chains clinked in the darkness.

And people…

Some were chained to the walls, heads hanging like they didn’t have the strength to lift them anymore. Their bodies were skin and bone, bruises painting them in ugly colors. One man’s arm was wrapped in filthy cloth, the blood dried so long ago it looked black.

A woman sat in the corner, her face swollen, eyes blank like she wasn’t even here anymore.

And the children…

My chest ached when I saw them. Thin, trembling, dressed in rags. One boy’s arm bent at a sickening angle. A little girl rocked back and forth, whispering to herself like she was trying to escape inside her own mind.

I wanted to throw up.

The men didn’t care. They shoved a bucket aside, the clang echoing off the stone walls.

Finally, they stopped at a cage in the far corner. That’s when I saw them.

Eyes.

Glowing eyes staring from the darkness. Yellow. Red. Watching. Waiting.

The rogues.

They stepped out of the shadows, one by one.

Their bodies were hard, lean with muscle, covered in dirt and scars. Chains dragged from some of their ankles, clinking against the stone as they moved. Their faces were wild, their eyes shining with hunger and madness. These were men who had lived too long with nothing but blood and violence.

The door of the cage screeched open.

“There you go. You belong here,” one of the men mocked, shoving me so hard I fell face-first into the dirt.

Pain ripped through my shoulder.

The gate slammed shut.

The men laughed as they left. “Welcome to hell, darling,” one called before the door banged closed behind them.

Silence fell.

I pushed myself up, shaking so hard my arms barely worked. My wrists were raw, skin torn and bleeding.

The rogues moved closer.

The biggest one came first. His shoulders were massive, his grin full of broken yellow teeth. His eyes glowed red like embers in a dying fire.

“New toy,” he growled, his voice low and rough.

I stumbled back until my shoulders hit the cold stone wall. “Stay away from me! Please…”

Another rogue stepped closer, his face long and thin, scars twisting his mouth into a cruel smile. “No rules in here, girl. Only the strong survive.”

From the back, a third voice laughed, dark and cold. “Run, little rabbit. He likes it when they run.”

The big one lunged.

I ran. I didn’t even think. My legs just moved.

The floor was wet, slippery. Chains stuck out like traps. I tripped, fell, scrambled up again as they laughed all around me.

A hand yanked my hair so hard my vision went white with pain. I screamed as I hit the ground.

He raised his claws.

I covered my head, shaking, waiting for it.

And then—

A snarl ripped through the dungeon.

Deep. Angry. Powerful.

Everything stopped.