Chapter 14- Welcome to the abyss!

Wilson ran and ran, closely followed by the policemen led by the swordsman. He passed through the same alleys and corners the thief that killed his uncle had passed. His body soon grew numb and he could feel the effects of sleeping for a month. He was getting tired but persevered, running around the city. Just when he thought that he could as well give up, he noticed that the swordsman was no more behind him. He quickly snuck into a pile of rubbish stacked at a corner. He dug into it and noticed a roughly made tunnel that went as far as the eyes could see. Out of curiosity and fear of his pursuers, he crawled through the tunnel.

He crawled for what seemed like hours. The farther he went, the longer the tunnel seemed to stretch. Just when he saw the tunnel coming to an end, he saw that the tunnel split to his right and to his left. He stopped to think. Which one should he take? It might be a diversion. Who dug this tunnels anyway and why is it so well-hidden from the rest of the world? Was the creator also a fugitive? Where does it lead to? Wilson had myriad questions in his head but no answers to any of them. He shook his head to get rid of those thoughts and moved towards his right. He crawled for what seemed like some extra hours. This time, he encountered rodents of absurd sizes. They tried to gnaw at his skin and he had to kill some of them to scare the others away. His hands were filled with sticky, black blood that smelled terribly. He crawled on for hours, taking occasional stops to rest.

His stomach grumbled in hunger. He was hungry and thirsty. Not to mention, scared. Fear of the unknown has always been man's greatest fear and Wilson was no exception. He was scared of the people that chased after him relentlessly. He was scared of what would happen to him if he was caught. He was scared of the tunnel he was currently in. He was scared of where it led to. And with his vague feelings of insecurity, he fell asleep.

Wilson woke up to the sound of rodents scurrying about as they tried to find a fleshy, vulnerable part of him that they could use as a medium to kill and feed on him. They were about a hundred and even the smallest one was nearly two feet long. Wilson shouted as he stood up, hitting his head on the tunnel roof. His noise scared the rodents away. Wilson felt blood dripping from the back of his head where he had hit the roof. It took him some time to remember where he was. And as he did, he also noticed that he had scratches on every part of his body. He remembered himself being chased and crawling into a tunnel.

"Now that I think about it, this tunnel must have been dug by the rodents." Wilson muttered to himself. It did make sense. The rodents made their home under the ground, using a large of rubbish to cover the holes.

'Should I go back then?' he asked himself. But he soon shook his head. He has gotten too far to turn back now. And by the way, he actually wanted to see where this tunnel ended.

And so, with renewed resolution, he crawled on, closely followed by the rodents. They quietly moved, a little distance behind him. Perhaps , they could sense that he was slowly tiring out and so, they patiently followed behind him, waiting for him to pass out due to exhaustion before they made their move.

Wilson knew that he was tiring out both physically and mentally, but he crawled on.

'I don't intend to become rodent food. I still have a mother to return to.' Was Wilson's thoughts. After persevering for hours on end, he saw the tunnel sloping upwards. Was that the way out? Wilson felt invigorated again at the thought of returning to land. He crawled faster and pushed some leaves that covered the tunnel's opening. He pulled himself out and saw a large number of people living in an environment that looked unhealthy.

'This place looks like a supreme being pooped here.'

The entire place stank, there were people of all ages. The old, the middle-aged and the young. They all looked malnourished. The stench of blood filled the air. You could also smell rotting bodies and the sickening stench of various types of human waste. It was clear that this place was the slum of forest city.

"Hello there, young sir!" A sweet young voice greeted him. Wilson looked down to see a little girl smiling at him.

"Are you new here? Come with me. The chief should meet you if you are to live here!" The little girl said and started walking away without waiting for Wilson's reply.

Wilson followed her closely and observed people looking at him as he passed by. They were definitely curious about who this young blood was. They walked for a while before stopping in front of the only concrete house. The others were made of wood and mud. The girl gestured for him to follow her in.

They entered the house and Wilson could not help but be amazed at how neat the house was compared to the rest of the slum. The chief was seated on an extra-large chair, fitting for his extra-large body size. He was dressed in robes that were definitely specially made and expensive. The girl introduced both of them to each other. The chief thanked her and gave her some coins, which she happily took and ran out of the house.

Wilson was treated like a special guest and was fed some good food and wine. As Wilson ate, he could not help but think that something was not right. But, since he could not pin-point it, he shook the thoughts off. He did not know when he dozed off

**********

He woke up and the first thing he noticed was the rising sun that beamed on his face. He tried to move but noticed that he was restricted. He forced his eyes open and realized that he was tied from mouth to his very toes. He was bound so tightly, it was very uncomfortable. He tried to speak but could only hum due to his sealed mouth. The chief soon came in.

"Ah, you're finally awake! Don't worry, I will explain everything. You see, there is a freakishly huge bounty on you. I would have killed you if they had not requested for you to be alive. The Forest City Guards will soon arrive, so just be patient. And also, don't try to release yourself, it will only make you more uncomfortable. Or better still...…." The chief said nothing more and walked out only to return with six guards and a federal policeman who turned out to be the swordsman who smiled widely.

He was taken away by them and when he tried to resist, the swordsman hit the back of his neck, knocking him unconscious.

The next time Wilson woke up, he realized that he was in some sort of wasteland. He saw that he was the centre of attraction the second he groaned in pain. He looked around and saw that he was in a sort of execution ground and was surrounded by men and women who had sinister, hostile looks on their faces. Whatever they were planning was definitely bad news for him. He looked at the environment again and realized that he was in the same execution ground where the tournament had taken place. It was now surrounded by metallic, yet transparent barriers. People stood or sat outside these barriers and had expectant looks on their faces.

A voice suddenly resounded all around the execution ground that had been converted to a gladiator-like arena.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome... to the Abyss!"