CHAPTER TWO: A LIFE OF CHAINS
550 Words
The first lesson Rex learned under Williams was obedience. The second was pain.
The moment he stepped out of line, Williams was there—watching, waiting, ready to strike. His punishments were swift and brutal, a reminder that Rex was nothing more than property in his eyes.
"You're here to work, not to think," Williams had said on the first day, gripping a whip in his hands. "Step out of line, and I'll make sure you regret it."
Rex learned quickly.
His days were filled with endless labor—scrubbing floors until his fingers bled, carrying heavy crates that were twice his size, and working in the blistering sun with no rest. Night brought no relief. He and the others slept in cramped, dirty quarters, their bodies too exhausted to protest.
But no matter how bad things got, Rex refused to break.
He watched how the older workers carried themselves—heads down, silent, obedient. He saw how some had given up entirely, their eyes hollow. That wouldn’t be him. He would endure, but he wouldn’t surrender.
It was during this time that he met Alex, Romano, and Zach.
They had been there longer than him. Alex was the strategist, always observing, always thinking. Romano was the fighter, built strong despite the malnutrition. Zach was quiet, but there was something in his eyes—a hidden fire, like Rex’s own.
“You’re new,” Alex had said one night, as they lay on the cold floor, too tired to sleep.
Rex only nodded.
“You’ll get used to it,” Romano muttered. “Or you’ll die trying.”
“I won’t die,” Rex said firmly.
The others looked at him, then at each other. Finally, Zach smirked. “Yeah. You won’t.”
From that night on, they were brothers in suffering.
Williams made sure their suffering never stopped.
Whenever they grew too comfortable, he found new ways to make their lives hell. More hours, less food, harsher punishments. He especially seemed to enjoy targeting Rex, as if testing how much he could take before breaking.
One day, when Rex was too slow in carrying a crate, Williams kicked it out of his hands. The impact sent Rex crashing to the ground, the crate’s contents spilling everywhere.
“You think this is a joke?” Williams snarled.
Rex clenched his fists. Don’t react. Don’t give him the satisfaction.
Williams grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the nearest wall. “You wanna be stubborn? Fine.” He turned to the others. “No food for any of you tonight. Maybe that’ll teach you all a lesson.”
Rex’s heart clenched as he glanced at his friends. They said nothing, but he saw the hunger in their eyes. Because of him, they would starve tonight.
When Williams finally left, Rex sat down, fists trembling. “I’m sorry.”
Romano punched his arm lightly. “Don’t be. We’ve had worse.”
Alex sighed. “Yeah, but if we don’t get out of here soon, we won’t last.”
Silence fell over them.
They had all thought about it—escape. But thinking about it and doing it were two different things.
Still, Rex wasn’t going to die here. He would find a way out.
Even if it killed him.
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- Writer
