A biography of a human

Chapter Three:

Wretched captivity

“Get up, you skinnies! Get up! Its morning! Come on and get your food!" These were the words that ripped me from reliving my nightmarish capture.

Jerking up, I got a glimpse of the owner of this loud voice: it was another one of those Wolves and he carried with him a large stack of empty wooden bowls, which he began handing out as he unchaining us as he walked around the spacious hold.

He then finally came around to me and held out one of the bowls for me. I did not know what to do, I was so scared and just sat there looking at him petrified while remembering all those stories grandpa told me about the Anthros. Light was pouring in from the portholes and I got my first good look an Anthro wolf from head to toe

He wasn't as large or intimidating as that one wolf leader but he was still very big and i would say he was about seven or eight feet tall with white fur covered in grime, making it look more grey in color. His eyes were an icy blue color and sat above a long muzzle tipped with a black nose. He was bare chested, showing a row of six pink nipples slightly peeking out from the dirty white fur and wore some simple beige pants with a long brown scarf tied around his waist as a belt and behind this there was a tail swaying gently.

I don't know how long I sat there unresponsively studying him, but it was obviously too long for him and gave a low growl of annoyance while he dropped the bowl in my lap and went to unlocking the collar around my neck before moving onto the other humans

Looking around, I saw that nearly all of us were still in complete shock at what had happened and many just sat there holding their bowel with a vacant stare like they were looking at something in the far distance

When it dawned upon me that I was no longer chained, I got up to go look out of the porthole beside me, but it was to high for me to reach, so climbing the bench, I took my first glimpse outside this wooden prison. I was desperately hoping to see Safehaven was still there, but instead there was nothing just nothing but sea going on an on forever. I was beginning to get frantic.

“I must be looking out the wrong side. Yes, yes of course I'm looking out the wrong side. Safehaven must be on the other side."

I jumped off and began running towards the other side of the room pushing aside those few of us that finally pulled themselves enough to get up and walk around.

“Safehaven is on the other side and so will mommy, daddy and grandpa yes yes and they will be waiting for me and everything will be fine!" But when I got to the other side, jumping on an another bench and peered out the window.

Nothing.

No Safehaven.

No mommy.

No daddy.

No grandpa.

Only empty sea.

I felt my stomach twist and turn in on itself as though it were trying to eat itself, all the while being dropped down a bottomless pit. I felt as though I couldn't breathe. I could hear my heartbeat ringing in my ears like a drum. My world had just ended and I fell upon the floor hopeless and defeated. A battle had just concluded inside me. This is real and I could no longer fool myself. my father is dead, my mother left behind and God knows what happened to grandpa.

I broke down weeping as I dug my nails into the floorboards of the ship, not caring about the extreme pain as splinters pierced under my nails. No physical pain could compare to what I was feeling at that moment. I wanted to bash my brains out against the wall hoping to leave this world for I was all alone now. But I had no energy to do anything but just sit there thinking about how I could've made it different.

Maybe I could've warned my parents about the raid on Hopehaven and then we could've escaped! Why didn't I think of that? Or maybe if I hadn't gone stargazing with grandpa it could've been different."

“Oh God, why is this happening? Am I being punished? What did I do wrong to deserve this? Maybe if I told mommy I was going stargazing this wouldn't have even happened, for its a sin to lie." This chain of desperate and frantic thoughts was then broken by a feminine voice full of concern.

“Alexander, are you okay?" I first thought it was my mother. Turning around, I wanted to see mommy with her arm outreached ready to comfort me. Instead it was Maria. She came down next to me and pulled me into a tight hug

“Why this is happening to us!? I want my mommy! I want my daddy! I want to go home!"

“Shh now. Shh now. Everything will be fine, I'll make sure of it"

“You promise!?"

“Yes I promise. Now, let me help you up" she lifted me up and began guiding me towards one of the nearby benches. After slowly reaching the bench, we both sat down together, still embracing each other as I began sobbing into her chest. We stayed that way for a long time while she whispered comforting things to me

After getting a bit of composure, I pulled away, slightly wiping my eyes and I looked up at Maria. I think she was about ten years older than me. She had black wavy hair and green eyes and I felt as though I had seen her before, which was not surprising since we lived in a small village.

I was about to ask her about who she was, since I only knew her name, but I was interrupted by the loud bang of the door to the hold thrusting open and a loud voice yelling out

“GET UP, YOU SKINNIES! FOOD'S HERE!" Looking towards the door, I saw a trolley cart carrying a large steaming pot which was being pushed by the same dirty white wolf from before. He pushed it to center of the hold and bent over, grabbing a wooden ladle besides the pot and began waiting for us to come up to get our food. All of us just stood there, looking at this wolf not knowing what to do. He got very frustrated by our lack of action and growling slightly before he began to bang on the pot with the ladle and yelled again

“BY THE FIRST ALPHA! YOU SKINNIES LOOK LIKE A BUNCH OF FRIGHTENED DEER! NOW ARE YOU GOING TO EAT OR DO I HAVE TO FORCE YOU!?"

This brought most of us back to reality, but most of us just stood there, occasionally glancing around wondering who would be the first to go up. Finally, some of the braver amongst us began cautiously making their way towards this wolf. Some of them were holding out their bowl as far as they could so they wouldn't have to get too close to him.

“Thank the Moon God! I thought you skinnies would never move!" After the braver amongst us proved that this wolf wasn't going rip our throats out if we got too close, others began to approach him.

After a while of watching this, I felt Maria start to get up. Fearing losing her, I grabbed her wrist, to which she turned around and asked.

“What's wrong, Alexander?"

“I don't want you to leave me! I'm scared!"

“Don't worry Alexander, I'm not leaving you. I was just going up to get us some food. Okay?" I didn't like the thought of being left alone, but the empty feeling in my stomach reminded me I was hungry. So Reluctantly, I nodded my head and she went up to get us some food.

For a moment I was scared when Maria disappeared into the crowd surrounding the wolf, fearing that she was gone forever. My fears were unfounded, for she finally came out bearing two bowls and proceeded to sit down next to me handing me one of them.

In the bowl was a strange, hot substance that was white in color, had no distinct smell and had consistency of batter. I didn't want to eat it, but I was so hungry I needed to the something, so I took a handfull of it while closing my eyes and ate. It had no flavor at all, which was better than it tasting horrible.

After everyone had gotten their food and was eating it, the wolf again spoke, this time not as loud or angry.

“All you skinnies must be wondering who I am. Well, the name's Comgan and I'm in charge your sorry fur-less hides until we arrive at Lupercal. So, no trying to go kill yourselves, it means less payment for us. Do I make myself clear?" All of us nodded our heads, mainly out of fear of what would happen if we didn't.

“Also, before I forget. When you skinnies have finished eating up your grub you will be allowed up on deck to get some fresh air, and before you start thinking you can jump overboard and escape, we have nets setup along the decks to stop you before you even get the chance. So don't even try" the wolf then turned around and left

The reality of what would probably happened to us when we arrived at Lupercal hit me. I saw myself standing upon an illuminated block with a heavy collar round my neck as flocks of wolves with eyes full of contempt stood all around me like shadowy giants with toothy grins of malice, seeing me nothing more as an inferior creature, an object to use and abuse as they see fit. Being dragged away by my new master to an unknown fate full of uncertainty, spending my entire life groveling at his feet begging to be forgiven for slightest offense only to be rewarded with a whip to the back and endless humiliation.

“There is no escape"

“There is no hope"

“There is no salvation"

“I am nothing"

“I am inferior"

“I am Human"

The next few days, or months, I don't know, It seemed like a haze to me. Being awoken in the morning, unchained, fed and finally spending the rest of the day on deck, before going to sleep and having it all repeat over again. This regular cycle made the day seem to make everything timeless

My mood during all this swung about like a pendulum. Some days I was sad and unconsoled. Other days I was filled with rage though I never expressed it. Over time I gradually excepted the situation along with everybody else.

The voyages were rough, the galley we were kept in was damp, cramped and cluttered with surplus sailing equipment, not to mention filled with rats as well. But the worst part above all was the bathroom situation or lack thereof. There was only a bucket for us to use, just one as well as no privacy. That made the first few days very awkward and embarrassing for some and the worst thing was when the seas were rough, that the bucket had a tendency to fly around much to the horror of everybody.

As for our beastly captors, we got used to them and the sight of anthro wolves about became commonplace and normal. They were not particularly mean or cruel. In fact, they made sure we were all still alive though not out of concern for us. We were allowed, as Comgan said, on deck for fresh air and exercise, and what he said about the nets were true, for raised along the sides of the deck was a wall of nets, the top most rope covered with spikes so that we wouldn't climb over.

These excursions to the deck were quite nice and for some for us like me, who were quite young, were amazed. Having never seen open ocean before, I was entranced so much that I forgot all about my sadness and for the first time since before I was captured I was kind of having fun and I started remembering the stories my grandpa told me about during his days as a trader when he was younger and all the things he saw. He even went the mainlands. I remember him once telling me about seeing the “sea of glass". He told me the “sea of glass" was once the location a massive battle during the Anarchy and that the heat of the battle was so intense that the sand melted and hardened becoming a vast plane of glass, he even picked up a piece of it which he showed me while telling me the story. It was a grassy green, not clear like normal glass and I also remember how he liked to keep it in an odd lead box.

These memories of my grandpa quickly pulled me from my momentary excitement and happiness from seeing the open sea for the first time in my life and I felt hopeless again and returned back to my bench, going to sleep for the rest of the day to continue it all over again tomorrow. But the next day was different. Comgan came with the morning food, or grub as he like to call it, as usual, but this time he addressed us after we had eaten.

“Listen up you skinnies! The captain wants you up on deck tomorrow afternoon so he can address the sorry lot of you! So you better be there or else you will face all hell from the captain!" He was about leave when he stopped to add a further point.

“And don't you be thinking this be an empty threat, for when he caught his Second-in-command ogling at some of the human captives, he gouged out his eye with a dinner spoon!" Hearing this sent me into a panic not only were we being forced to see the captain but also this captain happened to ruthlessly cruel.

“Why does the captain want to see us, whats he going to do to us. Oh god, if he would gouge out his second-in-command for just looking a human what would he do if one of us happened to sneeze during his address to us." My mind began conjuring up horrible images of what the captain looked like and the appalling things he might do to us.

During that night, my mind brought forward from my deepest subconscious an image of the captain forged by my worst fears, silently emerging from the shadowy abyss of my dreamscape. He was a giant towering over me with fur blacker than the night, eyes as red as Lucifers baring down on me while droplets of saliva fell upon me from his bared fangs. I wanted to scream desperately but found I had no voice. feeling like one those deer frozen with expectation of Intimate death and when he raised his claw, I awoke, completely out of breath and spent the rest of the night not daring to fall asleep again for fear returning back to my nightmare while worrying about seeing the captain.

Finally, morning came and with it, Comgan and food. I could not find the appetite to eat at all. Maria noticed me just sitting there doing nothing and came up to me asking what was wrong.

“I'm scared Maria, I'm really scared!"

“Of what Xander?"

“The captain and what he might do to us!"

“Xander, I'm sure he wont do anything to us, he needs us alive and if he even tries to do anything I'll protect you, okay?"

“You promise?"

“I promise."

Maria and I then spent the rest of the morning just waiting. Finally, after a few hours, the door swung open and Comgan came in with a few other wolves and began ordering us up on deck to see the captain. All of us complied with the order and left the hold one by one in a line. I was so frightened I could barely walk, but knowing that I had Maria walking behind me made me feel protected. We then made it up on deck and stood in rows waiting for the captain to emerge from his cabin in the aftercastle above us which laid behind the helm.

The waiting was unbearable and nerve-racking. I was shaking like leaf and felt as though my knees were going to buckle any moment.

Then finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we heard a door open and the sound of boot steps against the wooden deck. I noticed all the wolves crew around us began flattening their ears while tucking their tails between their legs.

“It's him! The captain! It has to be!"

I began tensing up as the steps came closer and closer to us until a figure reached the helm above us and rested his hand on the railing. I looked fearfully up at the silent figure of the wolven captain.

There instead, stood a human. The wolven captain was a human, a middle aged, a very rough looking man with dark eyes, wearing a black coat with silver trim and a hat that had a gem encrusted broach with plums of feathers pinned to the side of it.

I and the rest of us were were completely and absolutely shocked. I was so surprised I had to rub eyes to make sure I was seeing things. The captain noticed our surprise and began speaking.

“I see you all are surprised to see me, a mere human, is captaining this ship and you probably can't believe your eyes. But I assure you, your eyes do not deceive you. I am the captain of the ship and I, like you too, was taken away as a slave many years ago and I assure you that we will treat you much better than I was treated when I was taken."

“Since all of you are probably curious as to how I came to be the captain I shall tell you. My master was the previous captain of this ship. He was a good master who taught me everything he knew and treated me more like his own pup rather than a slave. So, when he passed on and became one with the moon, my master in his will freed me and gave me this ship to command."

“I summoned you all here today to let you know that in two months time our ship will arrive in the our Alphate's Capital, Lupercal where you all will be sold as slaves. But despair not, my fellow humans, your lot in life is full of vicissitudes and the wheel of Fortuna is always spinning."

The captain then dismissed us all and we were escorted back to the hold where everybody exploded in conversation about what had just happened, everything from the captain being human to our imminent arrival in Lupercal.

Walking over to my bench and laying down I thought about what the captain said:

“Two months from now I will arrive in the capital of the wolves."

“Two months from now I will begin a new life."

“Two months from now I will lose my freedom."

“Two months from now I will be a slave."