Sweat dripped down from the forehead of the fourteen-year-old boy who lay unmoving on the cold and dirty hard floor. His eyes flashed open as he slowly sat upright, touching his face to reflect everything while Billy slept soundly in their cell. Prior to falling unconscious, Seth suffered the worst beating he ever received from his companion in his entire life.
"A dream...again..." His palm was placed on his face, breathing out deeply after waking up from deep slumber. "It is always a pleasant one when I'm lucky," he mumbled to himself. His voice sounded hoarse from not speaking for who knows how many hours he has been locked in prison.
The recurring visions of a mysterious woman dressed in a flower dress, wearing a hat, and with a pretty smile that could melt even the coldest hearts of ice—that beautiful being that resembled a being of innocence and purity—who claimed to be his mother
Is it possible? Can she really be his mother? He had never known his real parents, as he was born in hell of all places, with no records of his own being other than his name engraved somewhere deep beneath those dark infernal pits of misery and suffering.
Who is he? What is he? Most importantly, can someone like him still be loved by God's divine grace despite being created by the enemies of the Lord? He is tired, too exhausted to keep thinking about such complicated issues that seem rather irrelevant for a boy his age.
Glancing at his left, his eyes opened more slightly to see the guard lying down with his back facing against their iron bars, giving him an idea to use the opportunity. Pushing himself back onto his feet, Seth sneaked quietly as he approached closer towards the unsuspecting man, who noticed nothing suspicious whatsoever.
Carefully, he crept over and knelt down to examine the keys that dangled loosely from the hook of the man's pocket; grabbing them tightly, he pulled out with a quiet struggle, fearing being caught by this guard, who luckily remained unaware of his presence.
Unlucky for him, the man immediately woke up when he heard the keys hitting the iron bars of the prison cell. He instantly shot up with his eyes widening, standing up and turning around to see the kid holding the said bars with his hands clasped on their openings.
"What the hell are you doing?"
The guard asked, clearly upset from being surprised by this as his lack of a helmet shows the man's facial features—black short hair, beard stubble with a sharp jawline while also being in his early forties— Under the impression of not being happy about being awakened at this moment.
Seth sheepishly smiled awkwardly and said, "Sorry." Apologizing weakly as he stood up and stepped back, avoiding eye contact with the man who frowned disapprovingly, "I just...um..." Looking downward while scratching his cheek, "Well, its—" He didn't finish the sentence when the man simply shook his head with a grunt before leaving this place.
Watching the guard disappear out of his view, he released a sigh of relief from close call as he pulled out the keys from one of his pockets, holding them with his right hand in refreshed delight. Though this isn't the time to celebrate being freed, he should at least use this chance to also help his companions.
Moving towards the meditating and asleep Guan Yu, he knelt down before gently tapping his left shoulder in hopes of waking the elderly man up without scaring him or, worse, getting a punch straight on the face. After what felt like a couple minutes of being shaken awake, the warrior's eyes gradually fluttered open as he groaned.
"Guan Yu!" Whispering loudly, gaining his attention, Seth leaned forward with keys between his index and middle fingers. "I have the keys to leave this cell," the hopeful boy told in secret, grinning happily while showing proof of his success in obtaining what they needed to escape this prison.
Even though his eyelids felt heavier than normal, the veteran warrior stood up with slight difficulty due to how stiff his muscles are. His old bones slightly cracked from the long period of meditation and sleep he has been enduring in this cramped up jail cell with them.
Smiling in return, he nodded at what the boy has accomplished thus far: "Great work; I knew you had it in you," complimenting sincerely from this as he placed his hand on the teen's hair, ruffling it briefly like a parent who was showing how proud of their child. "Now, let's hurry and escape before our deaths reach its course," suggesting to take advantage of this opportunity.
Looking up to him with a reddened face and a look of admiration for being treated like an actual human being, he embraced him in a swift hug, shocking the warrior by this unexpected action due to their height difference, as he is much smaller compared to Guan Yu, who is an eight-foot-tall giant. "thank you..." Seth whispered with a grateful tone that he was appreciated for who he was.
Saying nothing from this surprising gesture, he returned the favor by patting the boy's back in a reassuring manner before letting go, "Your welcome child," placing his right hand on Seth's shoulder with a warm smile, "I'll be always here whenever you need me; do not forget that." This comment brought more tears of happiness from Seth, who nodded tearfully with a glisten in his black-colored eyes.
While Seth was crying, Billy was surprised to see Seth being completely fine from the beatings he took while slightly confused by this outcome: "What in blazes is even happening?" Slowly standing up while stretching his sore muscles that had grown numb throughout this long time confined in this small cell, he said, "Let me guess, it has to do with the—" Seth then unexpectedly sprints towards him, giving the cowboy an embrace much to the blue-shirt boy's shock.
"We're going to live!" He said excitedly, delighted to finally escape after what feels like decades apart from having to spend in this awful place as his tearful voice muffled from pressing against the blue shirt, "We're not going to die! Were free from being executed," happiness evident within his tone of voice along with joy of not having to go through his undeserved punishment for murder.
Billy blinked twice in awe at this answer; part of him already wants to push him aside while conflicted about how this kid isn't even angry at him after what he had done, saying only nothing else before Seth finally parted away with a teary-eyed grin: "You still want to be friends with me after what I did to you...?" Asking with uncertainty.
Wiping away his tears with a sleeve, nodding in kindness of acceptance from what had transpired, "Yes, we're friends, Billy," his forgiving tone caused the blond-haired boy to scoff while crossing his arms in front of his chest, "I'll always be friends with you because I never hated you nor your actions," revealing honestly, causing the other's eyebrow to raise in curiosity.
"You really think I'm a friend now? Even though I beat the living shit out of you and gave you nightmares for being a pansy coward who pisses his pants every single second," Billy laughed humorously before raising his hands in shrug. "Hell, I think I might not deserve your forgiveness, Seth. I'm just a raging asshole who cares little about people around me," he stated nonchalantly.
Guan Yu crossed his arms, staring directly at them. "Perhaps that is true, but the boy is far wiser in believing that people deserve a second chance and a fair judgment for their crimes, even when they committed the most heinous acts," mentioning with confidence how pure Seth's heart is in comparison to many.
Billy shrugged dismissively at his remark, "Whatever old man, it is his choice anyway." The blue-shirt boy simply glanced back at Seth, who hasn't taken any offense, saying, "Okay, fine. Now can we get the hell out of here?" Expressing how uncomfortable it is to stay any longer in this confinement of theirs, "the damn smell of shit and urine is making my nose burn and my eyes hurt."
Seth chuckled at his crudeness when it comes to speaking his mind: "Sure, Billy!" Saying in excitement, he turned to approach the door, using the keys to unlock the steel chains wrapped around it tightly, more than ready to be free alongside his newfound friends.
Click!
When unlocked, the chains fell loose with a metallic thud as the door swung open wide in triumphant display. Seth couldn't help but smile at this moment as he and the rest walked out of their old cell, leaving behind the dark and dismal cell.
However, his smell didn't last long after realization dawned on him: "Um..." Looking at his left and right, "Where do we go?" He asked with some concern about how there are multiple directions to take and what to choose as their exit, making the situation more complicated as seconds went on.
Guan Yu scratched his beard thoughtfully while looking down in the process. "I don't know either," he admitted with a slight frown on his lips. "It is for the best to follow our instincts and find the nearest exit available." His words were met with an agreeing nod from them.
"Alright, then we'll be on our way then." Billy was pleased to hear this, turning on the right to find a way out of this, only to feel the man's shoulder gently grab his shoulder, stopping in his tracks completely. "What?" His head turned. "Something wrong?" Agitated by the sudden halt of his departure
"Are you forgetting something?" Guan Yu asked rhetorically with a raised eyebrow, being reminded of what they had forgotten about: "I shall be the one to escort the two of you to safety; therefore, it would be wise of you to follow me."
Confused, they glanced at Seth, who gave him a thumbs up with an awkward smile plastered on the boy's face. "Fine," sighing in defeat as the man smiled genuinely at this, "lead the way, old man," he answered in displeasure yet willing to accept the terms set in stone by the older warrior.
Winding through several corridors of narrow paths while occasionally stumbling upon sleeping guards that were lying unconscious on their backs or fronts from fatigue or even sickness, they were fortunate enough to avoid any unnecessary conflicts for the time being.
The two teens walked behind the tall man, their eyes scanning around to see how unsanitary the dungeon is for keeping prisoners and jailors alike. It seems that whoever built this place didn't have good management of how to maintain it, even if it meant ensuring safety for all who lived inside it.
From the walls and surfaces, it is rocky but not so sturdy, filled with cracks that run everywhere from top to bottom of whatever structure this place may hold within itself, along with stains that might not be blood splatter. There weren't many signs of life, except for rats and the guards who weren't doing their jobs properly.
Whispering to his partner, "Lazy sons of bitches, am I right...?" Billy scoffed, commenting on how incompetent the authorities are at dealing with criminals within their vicinity, along with their lackadaisical attitude towards those working for them: "Seriously, you'd expect them to be a bit more serious in doing their damn job." He cursed under his breath, shaking his head disappointingly at seeing how poor quality security is being provided by those supposedly responsible for keeping people safe from harm.
Seth looked at him for a moment, confusion visible through his expression, until finally nodding in agreement, "Yeah, I guess so." He mumbled unsurely, "though it does seem rather strange to see them sleeping on the job after putting effort into making sure nobody escapes their cells," looking away as if averting gaze while rubbing back of his head nervously, "maybe they have a good reason why their not taking proper care of it...?"
Snorting, Billy rolled his blue eyes in response. "Good reason, huh? Sure, let's call that bullshit and be honest with ourselves; the law is always comprised of corrupt and incompetent pricks that only care about filling their pockets with money rather than protecting the people," he spat angrily, venom dripping through his tone as he clenched fists tightly from the sheer hatred building within his heart. "If I still had my revolver, I would have wasted them all right now." His response didn't set well with Seth as they traversed through this hallway.
Frowning, Seth then responded with horror, "how could you say something like that?" Disbelieving the harsh words he had heard come from another teenager who is capable of ending life effortlessly without breaking a sweat, "these men have families who are depending on their income to survive," he said with a disappointed undertone, while Billy simply snickered in mockery at the statement.
"You need a reality check," he said, sighing as he rubbed his temple with his thumb and index finger. "Where I come from, power and money are what lead men to have happier life, not some shitty principles that have been stuck in my craw since I was born," he replied dryly before chuckling lightly from his speech.
"Money is important; this is what gives us true freedom to enjoy what we love in messed up capitalism system." Stopping his speech to momentarily to breathe deeply, "but those who are willing to sell their souls and throw their morals to the wind will most certainly end up paying the price for not caring about others around them." The last part caused his partner to widen his eyes in shock.
"Did you...regret what you have become?" Seth asked questioningly as the three continued walking through the corridor without meeting any obstacles along the way while listening attentively to Billy's reply, "Did you ever think of doing anything better that doesn't involve getting others hurt?" He was curious as to why someone would want to become like this.
After pondering silently for a few seconds, Billy turned to him, ready to spill out his answer, before he bumped behind Guan Yu, who had mysteriously stopped without warning in their tracks, causing the gunslinger to yell in surprise.
"Old man, why did you stop so suddenly?" Billy complained irritably, scowling in anger at having his conversation interrupted by the towering man, whose stance appears rigid despite not being threatened by this: "Hey, what are you—?" His words came to a halt as he followed Guan Yu's gaze, which seemed focused on a peculiar door at a distance.
"I saw two guards entering inside carrying my weapon," the elderly man explained without shifting his attention away; his tone sounded determined. "Our weaponry is likely kept in there," he informed them. "I have an easy plan that we can execute if we wish to reclaim them back," suggesting what he has in mind for them to do.
