Page 18 of Xeda

She laughed again, only it sounded sadder somehow. "Yes, my weakness for broken things." She shook her head. "It's the worst kind. It's a wonder I have survived this long." She turned from him. "I know you don't want to hear it but...I hope you make it out. That spitfire anger of yours might just save you. Or it might get you killed. If you do get out, I'll be sure to run as far away as possible. I'd still like to live."

She left him without another glance. He watched her go, watched her clothes billow in the wind as she crossed the yard. A nice shade of red. Watched her disappear. Hendrik blocked his view as he and the men moved in to study him, a nasty grin plastered on his face.

* * *

Hendrik had toyed with him until sunset, this time it seemed only for the men's entertainment. Xeda took the blows, biding his time, knowing eventually the man would let his guard down. And that would be his undoing. They drank some foul drink as they laughed in his face while Hendrik prodded him, trying to get him to sit by shocking his legs. Xeda remained stubborn, resilient, and patient.

Eventually, he won in the end, Hendrik kicking him in the side in frustration, flinging all kinds of curses before he finally retreated.

"Tomorrow," he warned, spitting on the ground near Xeda's feet.

Yes, tomorrow. Tomorrow, he would see the whites of that man's eyes as he looked at him in sheer terror. Like he should have from the beginning.

When it was dark and the red light buzzed above him, Xeda slowly lowered himself onto the ground, lying on his back.

It was a vrisha's one last resort when all else was dire to go into what they calledliris silimus. Death sleep. He would be vulnerable. Extremely so. Usually, it was meant for when one was wounded so badly they needed to shut down or if the body was in an environment that was even too harsh for them and the only way to survive it until help came was liris silimus. Their pulse would drop so low it would be undetectable. Only another vrisha knew whether they were actually alive or not by the subtle scent they gave off.

Coming out of it quickly was going to be a struggle, so he would have to be sure he was only just on the edge between sleep and waking. He would not be able to see, but he could smell and hear as long as someone was close by.

He let his body go limp and shut his eyes. Then, carefully, he began to absorb the oxygen in the air, sucking it into the vents on each side of his neck, letting it soak into his organs, skin, everything.

He had contemplated using this very technique to trick them into unchaining and inevitably letting him out of the cell. But that gyda doctor, clever as he was, had specifically told Hendrik not to unchain him under any circumstances, even if confirmed dead. The doctor knew something from the small information they must have on vrisha, though how much was uncertain. But it was enough to make sure they took no chances.

So, he didn't go into the death sleep to escape. He knew that was pointless now. What led him to do it was purely for revenge. And he knew he had a chance to get it. For, after that gyda doctor had told Hendrik not to free him even when dead, Hendrik had scoffed, looking every bit unconcerned. The offhand comment about cutting out pieces of him as a trophy was just a bonus. The man would let his guard down. Xeda was sure of it.

The longer he planned to "sleep," the more oxygen he would need to absorb. Thankfully, he would only need a few hours’ worth. Slowly now, he went into a meditative state, letting his body temperature lower, then letting his heart slow. His muscles twitched here and there, and he could start to feel the numbing in his hands and feet as the blood went to his center.

The only thing that made the process uncomfortable was the cold. It seeped into his bones, his very being.

He pushed the feeling away and let himself fall into the abyss.

He had no sense of time. Only to wait for the sound of footsteps and the groan of the door opening. To hear the cursing and the sound of boots.

Instead, after a second passed or an eternity, he heard the shouts of laughter, muffled but close. Then the sounds of padded footsteps and sharp voices just beyond the door.

"C'mon guys, can't we wait till morning?" said an uncertain voice. "It's almost here anyway, and my balls are starting to freeze. We shouldn't be here anyway. The guards will catch us.”

“They already know. They ain’t going to do shit because I told them to back off. And I don’t want to wait till morning,” said a more arrogant one. “If your balls fall off, I'll just feed them to the vrisha."

There was laughter and movement at the door followed by a sharp gasp.

"What the hell?" someone said as the laughter died. "Ivan, why is he like that?"

"I—I don't know," came a timid voice.

There was a scuffle, then a third voice said, “What the fuck did you two do to my fighter, huh? Is he dead?”

“No, no he can’t be. He was fine just this morning.”

“Yeah, well clearly, he's not. Check him."

"No way," said the timid voice. "We gotta get Hendrik."

"I'll go. Ivan, you wait here with Cristan. I'll be back." Footsteps dissolved to nothing. Everything was quiet until someone made an annoyed grunt.

"Fuck this. I wanna see him myself. Ivan, open the door and check him."

"I can't! We have to wait for Hendrik so that—"

---