Things had already been rough enough on May. She just wanted to catch some fish, was that too much to ask for? Apparently it was quite the demand because she was ambushed. Caught oof guard they managed to put a collar on her, it wasn’t much her style but it seemed the main usage of the device was to weaken her. May found it hard to access most of her strength, she almost felt crippled. It would induce a panic attack, fervor and adrenaline trying to focus her rage. May had tried to fight back, but it wasn’t easy especially after they decided to pump her full of sedatives. Darts stuck into her body, draining the energy that she had until everything would fade to black.

It had been early morning when the fishing trip began, when her eyes fluttered open the unmistaken sight of a glowing moon caused fear to go over her, she didn’t want to go on a mad rampage. After looking closely though, she would see the moon was not quite full, it would need a couple of days. Sure that would’ve given an edge, but May had no idea where she was, what damage she would cause. Losing control wouldn’t be very good for her, plus it didn’t seem like she was alone. Maycair had been strapped down to a wooden cart, she must have put up quite a fight. May couldn’t see their direction, facing away all May could do was stare at the caravan that followed. Rows of caged carts holding teeming masses. Their bodies pressed into the a cage, a grinder of misery. Each one adorned with a slave collar just as she was.

May would try to speak, raising her voice, but nothing came out. Weak, paltry screams would bellow out from her. The muted gasps weren’t so frustrating. What ever drug they put inside her took away her strength to talk back. She couldn’t use her voice, her body, her will felt like it was being shut down, silenced. Being vocal was never her strong suit, but when she freed herself from her parents she felt some kind of freedom. Her expression was the only thing she had, the way she carried herself was all that she had. Being stripped, denied of the very thing she fought so hard to have brought a sickening feeling. It could be seen as frustration, it felt similar but more gut wrenching. It was as if every negative though, all the anger born from it was burning a hole through her. What could she do though? For now all May could do was endure, deal with the punishment as she always had.

It was a new kind of torture, she wouldn’t be fed, if she was it was good or gruel. Just enough to keep their strength up. The dehydration was the worst part, if she received water rations they were absolutely minuscule. Just a few droplets each day just to get by. May wasn’t the only one, the rowdiest of slaves would be treated the same way. It was conditioning, trying to make them reliant, obedient. She wasn’t a dog, she would never be someone’s mongrel. No matter what, May would grasp the sweet vine of freedom, to drink the nectar of solace once more. Even if she couldn’t speak, her eyes would show the passion of her resolve. The slaves outnumbered the guards 20 to 1, even with the collars on they should’ve been strong enough to overcome them.

It wouldn’t be easy to get others onto her side, she wasn’t much a public speaker but Maycair had to try. Normally when the guards went for a shift change there was a brief moment of time in which they could talk undisturbed. There were always guard dogs, they couldn’t escaper just yet but planning was still in the ball park. Once the shift change hard started, the discussion would be put in motion. First it would start with a few whispers, she would tell people she had seen the keys to the collars, that she saw where they ate the good food. There were plenty of angry souls, plenty of people to be stoked by the simple idea of rebellion. Once the chatter had garnered enough attention she would make her next move.

“You know, I believe we can get the collar key if we got up during the night shift change.” May would throw out there as an idea. Someone quickly chimed in. “Ya ya short stuff you think they’re gonna let their cargo just run away, plus we’re only a a couple days away from arriving.” May with a bite of snark and spit in her tone would respond. “That’s why we make our move tonight, I’ll lead the charge, I’ll be willing to throw my life in the way for freedom, so what do you say? Are you with me?”

It wasn’t the most convincing speech, but as one said yes so did another. The cascading wave of change was always motivated by the pressure of peers. Normally that was what shunned her, what kept her in fear. Fear could only serve one such much, it was more of a trap than anything their power hungry captors could hope to have. The chatter would die down as the rough sound of marching boots approached closer, it seemed like the shift change had finished. Even when they weren’t hatching plans the group was used to it, so they were able to silence themselves quickly.

Their meal time would come in a few hours, surprise surprise it was mystery gruel this time! The funky smelling food seemed like a treat at this moment. May shoveled down her food, she focused on the nose burning aroma, the tongue drying taste. It was truly something awful but she would need her strength.

“Enjoying the meal?” A guard had asked, what was strange is he walked up with an old man, feeble and oozing fear. The guard would continue to speak. “I was having a lovely chat with my friend Han here, her said you had a little plan. I admire the commitment, but we can’t have that, we worked hard fort these profits. I hope you understand, we’re going to have to punish you.” With a smile on his face the perverted man would kick her in the solar plexus, in front of all the others he stomped on her. He kickkd until she was purple, until blood shot out of her mouth. Even then he didn’t stop till she was passing out. Before she would, the guard would make one last statement. “We don’t wanna break out product, we carry very much for your worth, if anyone else thinks about sharing any ideas, I’ll do the same. Men, throw her in the hole, she could probably use a night in the dark to teach her a lesson.

A couple of them would retrieve Maycair, dragging her tired body through the dirt, they would throw her into a cave. It was dark, light barely crept in pass the threshold. The shadows weren’t very welcoming but May wouldn’t be able to hold onto consciousness for very long. With each blink it was harder to get a grip on reality. She fought back, struggled to stay awake but it would all be in vein as slumber came down on her.

She wasn’t really sure what time of night it was, she only knew it was night because what little light existed at the cave’s mouth was dim, cool in tone. The cold light seemed like a relief, there was no one guarding it either. She had no strength, no power to event crawl towards the exit. Wait, why were there no guards, she could hear the roars of combat actually. Was the camp being attacked, did the guards decide to take out their frustration after all? It wouldn’t take long for her to get answers. A large, male figure appeared, running inside the cave.

“It’s okay, you’re gonna be okay, after your brave display I couldn’t see that happen to someone else.” The man explained, smiling the whole time as he tried to help her up. It was rare for a human to be so nice to a demon, or that’s what May’s experience had taught her. “Tha.. thank, thank yo-“ May would try to say. “Please, save your energy. It was the right thing, you shouldn’t have been ratted out anyway. You’ll get some peace, we have a beautiful full moon to guide us through the night. Plus their food stores should be good. There’s still fighting raging on so we’ll get you to safety.”

May felt a sort of relief, until she realized what he had said. She tried to fight back, close her eyes, pushing off of him whatever she could do. “Don’—- Stop, don’t let me out, please…” Her words were faint, a meer whisper containing a shout that struggled to be free. Her savior looked in confusion as she fought back, but when he let go it was too late. He had dragged her into the light of the moon. Her eyes, snapping as she saw, as power coursed through her. The collar snapped as her body began to change, growing into a beast she took no pride in. The only thing that she could feel, or remember were rage riddled tears of self-hatred. Then, everything turned to black, then red.

She came to in the morning, to the carnage, she wasn’t sure if anyone had escaped, or how many she had killed. Maycair could see the body of her savior dangling from a tree. Maycair was utterly, so emotionally, defeated. “I can’t contain this rage, I need to learn how to harness it…”

WC: 1,634/500
PL: 3,393