Prisoners

Luo Yi headed back to the huge canvas tent. It was silent without the cheering of those raiders. She noticed they had left the huge cage of the zombie on the stage, covered with a huge red curtain. 

A-Reum's blood had yet to dry up. It was dripping on the side of the cage, flowing down and stained the stage in red. 

Luo Yi walked down, going down the stairs and stood at the edge of the stage. She looked around, studying the balcony that stretched around the room, the place where she sat during the show. 

Her eye stopped on the left side of the balcony and saw there was a narrow aisle. It led to a tunnel. Luo Yi made her way to the left side and peeked into it. 

The tunnel was dark and Luo Yi did not hesitate to enter, which made her regret the decision right away. She never expected a stair was built into it. The moment she entered, she lost her footing and went spiraling down. 

She could never decide whether she was fortunate or not when she splashed into black grimy water instead of hard ground. She quickly got onto her feet before the grimy water could soaked into her clothes. Luckily, the water wasn't that high, it reached only around her ankle. 

With water dripping down her hair, she scanned her surroundings. The tunnel curled away coldly into infinite dark, the orange light caused by several candles lit dimly showed the rough walls dwindling as it snaked away. 

She made her way through the cold grimy water, easing deeper into the tunnel. Every so often, her ankle would brush something, making her jump in surprise. She hoped it wasn't anything alive. 

Another faint orange glow appeared as she eased deeper. The closer she got, the higher the ground was, until there was no more water, which she was glad about. The water was cold as hell, even though it didn't bother her, she hated the feeling of her bottom pants clung to her. 

Gliding silently near the walls, she could hear soft sobbing noises and laughters of the raiders. Luo Yi drew in a sharp breath and hid in the shadows. The place was like a dungeon. 

It was lit only by a couple of candles, hence the orange glow. There were three huge cages, made of rusty iron and steel, placed in the left, right, and center. They were occupied by a group of people, sobbing and huddled together behind the bars. The three raiders assigned to guard these prisoners sat in the middle, mocking the prisoners. 

"Hah! You shits! Today's ya lucky day since the show ended early!" 

"Hey! Shut up, will ya?" The raider hit against the metal bars, making the people inside screamed and sobbed. 

"Why are you guys crying? You lots should be happy, think ya gonna be as lucky as today? Maybe you--" he pointed randomly. "Or you are going to the zombies belly!" the raider continued, sauntering up to the cage on the left. "See! Like this kid, cute and quiet." 

The raider put his face near the metal cage, looking directly at the face of a terrified U-Ju, who cringed back and clunged to Ae-Ri. 

"I wonder how loud this kiddo will scream when being eaten, HAHAHA!!" 

Two other guards there burst out laughing. He spat at U-ju and sauntered off, joining his friends in the middle. Luo Yi contemplated how to finish them off. It was better to get them seperated and kill them. 

She needed to attract their attention. What should she do? 

She turned back to observe them, searching for her first target. Hiding in the shadow, she strained her ears, hearing their footsteps and sensing their breaths. One was creeping closer to the exit, where she was currently hiding. 

Bullseye. 

The moment he stepped into the exit, she snacked an arm around his neck, one hand against his mouth, and yanked him back into the shadows. It happened so fast that none of his friends realized it. 

He let out a muffled yelp, but then Luo Yi had already sunk her fangs in his throat, ripping it open. The cascade of the raider's life source gushed out in all directions, scarlet liquid squirting up all over her. His body slumped off, hitting the ground with a soft thud. 

One down, two more to go. 

"Yo mate! You done pissing?" She heard one of the raiders called over. 

When they got no response in return, another one called out again. After a second and a third, one of them got up to check. 

"Yo, ya kiddin' me? Why aren't you answering? Trying to scare us, ha?" He had walked close to the exit Luo Yi was standing. 

Luo Yi walked out of the shadow and stood face to face with him. For just a moment, he stared in shock, then turned to shout a warning at his friend. But that second was all the time she needed to drive a sword between his ribs. His shout turned into a gurgle and he dropped to the ground with a thud. 

The last raider's eyes bulged when he saw that his friend was dead. His hands immediately went for his gun. Crouching down, Luo Yi lunged--

"Big Sis!" 

A shrill cry echoed and startled Luo Yi, causing her to stop mid-lunge. The raider's attention snapped towards the cage. U-Ju's small form was pressed against the bars, eyes wide and one hand outstretched towards Luo Yi. 

"Big Sis!" 

While the raider's attention was still on U-Ju, Luo Yi leaped at him, slamming her knee into his chest. The raider screamed a curse and tried to bring his gun up. 

She plunged her sword down his chest and stabbed him. Her sword met flesh, soft and pudgy, and made a satisfying squish as the tip of the blade sank deep enough to make the raider scream. Without warning, she jerked her sword back out. 

He sank to his knees, continued screaming, convulsing and trembling as thick blood flowed freely from his wound. He dropped to the ground with a loud thud and the sweet tang of blood tingling in her nostrils.

When she was sure he was not breathing, she searched his pockets, trying to find the keys to the cages. 

However, things never went her way.

"Vampire!"