Tarik was once again locked away from being free. The metal bars that kept him prisoner had gone rusty from the salt water. The heavy chains around Tarik's wrists and ankles had already begun to bruise and rip his skin. There was no sunlight either, so the only source of light was a wall torch. He was starving, and was only allowed to have small amounts of water on the journey to Caylif so that he didn't die of thirst. Lynk didn't want him to die yet. It had only been three days, and Tarik was already in a lot of pain.

Lynk had beat him everyday since he had been thrown onto his ship. Tarik had received many bruises over his body and face, and one of his eyes had swelled up after being struck there. He could feel that his lip had been split after he was kicked in the mouth on the second day. Lynk also liked to pull and tug on Tarik's chains just to make him feel more pain. The man would also yell insults and accusations at Tarik to make him upset.

And somehow, they did upset him.

Tarik was sitting in his cell with his back leaned up against the dirty wall. He had closed his eyes, but chose not to fall asleep so that he wouldn't startle himself awake when Lynk walked in again. This was a moment for him to rest. He would be beaten and yelled at for hours, with short breaks in-between. Tarik took this moment to be at peace. He took a deep breath, wincing as a harsh pain struck his entire body. He knew that he was at his weakest point, and Lynk knew too.

Tarik tried not to think about his friends, as it made him sad and hate himself for running away. He didn't want to look weak in front of Lynk, even though he knew he already did. He desperately wanted to summon Lumeo for some extra comfort, but he also knew that he wasn't allowed to. He tried to push the thoughts out of his head.

He heard the door to the prison open slightly, and light footsteps entered the room. The door shut quietly behind whoever came in, and the person made their way over to Tarik's cell. He didn't dare to open his eyes or even say a word. He wasn't in the mood for visitors, he just wanted to be alone.

Tarik felt a hand gently touch his shoulder, the sudden feeling almost made him flinch away. Opening his eyes, he saw that Chinwe had come to see him. She hesitated for a moment, clearly wanting to say something. Tarik saw the way she looked at him. He knew that she could see he was in pain. She saw his bruises and cuts. She saw the anger and hate in his eyes. Chinwe looked away as if she was ashamed.

Tarik wanted her to feel bad. He wanted to yell at her, punch her. Because the reason that he was here is because she took him to Lynk. If he was strong enough, he would have slapped her hand away from touching him. He saw how she was untouched, she didn't have injuries like he did. Tarik's stomach grumbled, making him look away from her.

He saw out of the corner of his eye Chinwe reaching into a small satchel and pulling something out of it. He looked at what it was, and his mouth watered after seeing that she was holding an apple.

"Do you want this?" Chinwe whispered to him. She held it out to Tarik.

He stared at the apple. It was red, and looked delicious. His stomach growled again in desperation of food. He wanted to reject the apple, knowing that Lynk would be furious if he found out that Chinwe had fed him. Chinwe briefly looked behind her, checking that no one was there before returning her gaze on Tarik.

"Please," Chinwe moved closer to the cell and placed the apple in Tarik's lap. Tarik looked up at her with anger.

"I don't... want it," he said weakly.

"Yes you do. Please, Tarik. Eat it while you have the chance," Chinwe begged. "You won't be able to eat when we arrive at Caylif."

He wanted to say so much more to her. But he was so weak. Tarik wanted to tell her how much he wanted to smash her face in. He wanted to tell her how much he hated her, but he couldn't. He weakly picked up the apple and moved it closer to his mouth. He paused and looked at her, realising that it would be funny if she got caught.

"Look, I'm really sorry. You don't have to forgive me right away - or at all. I barely even know you, but when you first came to me you looked so healthy and alive," Chinwe said.

Tarik winced.

"I really hate seeing you like this. I haven't been able to sleep for days, knowing what my mentor is doing to you. I wanted to try and help you by giving you something to eat," Chinwe sat down next to the cell.

Tarik's heart sank. He didn't really know why, but he didn't seem to have the energy to be mad at her anymore. When he looked at her, he could see the sadness in her eyes. She pitied him, but why?

"I am really sorry," Chinwe repeated. She stood up and pushed her braids over her shoulder before walking away. She looked at Tarik one last time before closing the prison door.

Tarik clutched the apple and finally bit into it.

---

The prison door swung open violently, startling Tarik. His heart pounded as he watched Lynk walk in with two other guards, his green cloak swirling behind him. The man glared at him with those hate-filled green eyes. Tarik broke eye contact with him and looked down at the chains on his wrists. He heard Lynk laugh at him and whisper something to the guards.

Tarik held his breath as the guards approached his cell and unlocked the door. He looked up only to see Lynk standing in front of him. At this angle, the man looked like a monster towering over a small child.

He is a monster, Tarik thought.

"Get up," Lynk ordered.

Obeying, Tarik struggled to his feet. He had to use the wall to help himself. He watched as his knees almost buckled under him, but he had done it. He stared at Lynk, fearing what he would ask of him next.

"Good," Lynk smiled wickedly. "Come over to me." The man grabbed a nearby chair and placed it down. Tarik slowly made his way over to the center of the room that Lynk now stood in. He stopped mere inches away from him, staring at his chained ankles.

Lynk circled around Tarik slowly. He didn't speak for a while, just studied him. Tarik didn't say a word, either. He worried that Lynk would hurt him if he spoke out of turn. He could hear his heart pounding in his throat. The silence was more terrifying than the feeling of pain. Lynk's footsteps, the brief motions of the guards in the room, it was like a nightmare. The suspense was almost unbearable.

Tarik slowly began to panic, he started sweating and shaking. Lynk finally stopped behind him.

"I know where your family is hiding," Lynk whispered behind him. "I've already launched an attack on the place they are at."

Tarik said nothing.

Lynk walked in front of Tarik again. "We're not going to Caylif anymore."

Tarik looked up at Lynk, slightly confused.

"Caylif is destroyed, we're making our way to Fort Zourtzi. That is where your family is," Lynk said.

"Caylif is... destroyed? What-" Tarik was interrupted.

Lynk backhanded Tarik. "Do not speak until I give you permission."

The pain throbbed in Tarik's face. He had flinched away, but not in time. Lynk walked away from Tarik and approached the chair that he had placed down earlier. He watched the man as he touched the back of the chair.

"You see, Tarik? None of this would have happened if you had run away from Ricko. But I'm glad you did because now I can finally start to break you down," Lynk said. "And it's working, because I can see just how weak you truly are."

Tarik glared at Lynk in anger, wanting to speak. He wanted to scream and yell at the top of his lungs at him. Both of the guards were looking at Tarik, ready to pin him down when Lynk ordered them to. The door to the prison opened slightly, and Tarik could see that Chinwe was watching from outside.

Lynk had said something, but Tarik wasn't listening, he was looking at Chinwe. He tried to get her to go away in case she really did get caught. She had given him an apple earlier, but she still had taken him to his enemy.

Tarik saw Chinwe watched Lynk in horror. Following her gaze, he saw the chair being thrown towards him. It was too late to move out of the way, he just let it happen. The chair struck him, causing him to fall on his back as he screamed in pain.

"That's what happens when you ignore me," Lynk growled. Tarik stared up at the roof in shock, unable to see Chinwe's reaction. He felt a sparking sensation from his arm, and with a flash of light Lumeo appeared with his teeth bared.

With extra strength, Tarik sat up and watched as Lumeo jumped forward at Lynk. Everything was happening so quickly that not even Lynk had time to prepare himself for the attack. Tarik didn't even try to summon Lumeo, the otter just appeared on his own.

Lumeo bit all around Lynk's neck area and wriggled down his shirt, biting his skin. The man was screaming in fury, and the other two guards were trying to help him get rid of the otter from inside his clothes.

"I never said you could summon your spirit animal!" Lynk shouted at Tarik. Lumeo was chattering and squeaking as he wriggled around the man. Tarik saw Chinwe rush in to try and help Lynk, but he told her to back off.

Fang appeared in a brilliant flash and roared. Lumeo jumped out of Lynk's shirt and stood himself between Lynk and Tarik. The big mountain lion stood in front of his partner, large fangs bared at Lumeo. Both animals were having a stand-off.

"Lumeo, no!" Tarik cried. He rolled up his sleeve, but the otter wouldn't take any notice of him. Fang pierced his icy-blue eyes into Lumeo's soft little body. Lynk had finally recovered, and Chinwe stood in the corner of the room with her hands over her mouth.

Lynk stomped his foot on the ground, and seconds later Fang had scooped up Lumeo in his jaws. The otter squeaked and tried to wriggle out, but one of the cat's fangs was poking into his side. Tarik screamed, and Chinwe was desperately trying to convince Lynk to stop as the man approached him.

Tarik rolled up his sleeve again, hoping that the otter would disappear into a tattoo on his arm.