Talen grunted as he lifted the heavy sack over his shoulder, the seeds within rustling as they shifted. He trudged over to the storage room, where all the other bags were being filed in from the large truck that sat parked just outside the gates. He tossed the bag down on top of the slowly-growing pile, and turned to head back out to the truck.

Stepping outside, Talen followed another Broken that had his head down and was rubbing his neck muscles from the strain of the heavy lifting. Talen took a quick visual sweep of his surroundings and spotted about six Cruels surveying the scene, arms crossed over their chests as their beady sinister eyes watched the trail of Brokens maneuver from the truck and the storage room. They returned Talen’s heated glares each time he passed one, given that he recognized all of them, as they recognized him. There were two more than necessary, all thanks to Talen.

Stepping up to the back of the truck, Talen reached over the bed and grasped another bag, dragging it close enough for him to lift it, and tossed it over his shoulder again. Still following the same Broken, Talen watched as he struggled to carry his own heavy bag. The Broken’s knees buckled, and he was breathing heavily, his biceps trembling from the weight of the bag as he carried it half on his shoulder and half in his hands.

He looked about to drop the bag, and these bags were so tightly packed with seeds that Talen was sure it would burst open the second it hit the ground. Then the Broken would be in trouble for damaging goods, and the Cruels would have a field day with them.

Biting back a growl, Talen kept a close eye on the guy, watching his footing for any signs that he'd roll his ankle or stagger too roughly. If he were to drop the bag, Talen would make sure to catch it. He felt confident enough in his ability to carry two seed bags at a time. He had his werewolf nature to thank for that.

The Broken surprisingly managed to make it to the storage room, plopping the bag down on top of another. He paused to rest for a moment, his hands on his knees as he panted. Talen moved up beside him, setting his own bag down.

As he turned, he spared a glance at the Broken. His cheeks were flushed from the heat and sweat trickled down his temples, his hair damp with it and his skin giving off its stench. By the way he was breathing, he looked about ready to pass out. Talen flicked his attention to one of the Cruels closest to the door, and he caught sight of his beady eyes staring at the boy, narrowed in suspicion. The hand on his baton tightened.

As Talen walked past, he gave the Broken a small nudge, a silent warning that if he didn't start moving again, there'd be consequences. At the contact, he gazed lazily at Talen from the corner of his eye and gave a subtle nod.

He straightened again, but swayed in his spot. His eyelids drifted closed for a moment, and Talen was almost certain he'd actually faint, but then he snapped his eyes back open, and hurried out to follow the other Brokens, all just as tired and sweaty.

Sighing, Talen trudged after them. Returning outside, he caught the eye of the Cruel who had been watching the boy, and the Cruel curled his upper lip. Talen snarled quietly, baring his teeth. These Cruels were known for punishing the Brokens any chance they deemed necessary, which happened far, far more than it should.

When Talen moved back up to the truck, he saw that there were only a few bags left, thankfully. After they were done, they would most likely get sent back to their designated field to resume hoeing the ground, preparing it for plantation.

Talen and the Brokens picked up the remaining bags and turned to carry them to the storage room. Talen kept a wary eye on the heat-exhausted Broken.

The Cruels were watching the four of them intently, specifically the staggering boy in front of Talen. He was skinnier than the rest, mostly from having only arrived here about two weeks ago. Therefore, he didn't have years of previous labor to build his muscles, and so the harsh work, along with the heavy summer heat, wasn't having a good effect on his body.

Talen lengthened his stride, making sure to keep a good few steps behind the boy, just in case. The boy started slowing down about halfway to the storage room, however, a slight wheezing coming from his throat.

Talen flicked his stare towards a Cruel they were passing, who had also noticed the boy's decrease in speed. The Cruel narrowed his eyes, as did Talen. He waited, watching the Cruel for any signs of movement to indicate his descent on the boy.

Sure enough, the Cruel moved his hand to his waist, where his long baton was strapped to his hip. His fingers closed around the handle, and Talen knew he was preparing to hit the boy.

That's when the familiar tension in his body commenced. His nerves tingled, his muscles bunched, and his fangs slipped out of his gums. Just as the boy in front of him staggered again, the bag beginning to slide off his shoulder, the Cruel moved to swing his baton down on him, and that's when Talen lunged.

Completely disregarding his own seed bag behind him, Talen launched himself toward the Cruel, claws extended and jaw wide. The Cruel wasn’t able to react in time, and he gave out a sharp pained yell as Talen tackled him to the ground. Not wasting a second, Talen sank his fangs into the Cruel’s shoulder and began to claw at any part of his body he could.

The other Cruels shouted around them, but Talen was too focused on causing this Cruel pain. His claws slashed at his chest, tearing through his leather armor into his flesh. The Cruel slammed his elbow into Talen’s ribs and pulled at his hair, but Talen barely felt it. He used the opportunity to attack the Cruel’s arm, latching on with his teeth and ripping his head side to side, vicious and unyielding.

“Get this psycho off me!" the Cruel screamed to the others, and not a second later, after Talen’s teeth had managed to rip through a good chunk of his forearm, someone slammed their baton into the back of Talen’s head. Talen snarled, turning away from the Cruel on the ground and instead focusing his attention on the Cruel who had hit him.

He lunged and latched onto him with all four of his limbs, his feet on his hips and his claws in his shoulders. The Cruel staggered back from the sudden weight, and Talen took that chance to bite down on the Cruel’s nose. The bone crunched between his teeth, and a pained scream rang in his ears.

Something slammed into Talen’s side and he was tackled to the ground. He snarled, turning over onto his back to kick his feet up at his attacker. He successfully drove his feet into the Cruel's stomach, effectively launching him a good few yards away.

As two more Cruels descended on him, Talen caught sight of the skinny boy. He stood huddled in a small group with the others, watching the interaction with wide eyes. Talen was just glad to see he hadn't been harmed, and his busted-open bag, next to Talen’s, went unnoticed during the commotion.

The two Cruels grabbed Talen’s arms, pinning them to the ground before he could fully get up. Talen wrenched his wrists against their hold, snapping his teeth wildly at their faces, which were wisely leaned away, just out of reach.

Just when Talen was about to attempt rolling back to lift his legs up, turn his body, and kick the Cruel on his right, another one appeared, drew his baton, and slammed it down on the side of Talen’s head. In the blink of an eye, the world went dark.

~~~

Talen groaned as he blinked his eyes open, only to be met with further darkness. His head throbbed, demanding he stay put and not move a muscle unless he wanted it to start feeling like a sledgehammer was knocking around in there.

So, staying put, Talen blinked a few more times. It did nothing to help him differentiate between the darkness around him and the darkness from the backs of his eyelids. Realization struck him at the familiarity, and he discovered that he was in his beloved cell.

Talen sighed, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He was glad he had woken up here and not chained to the metal posts in the courtyard. He supposed, since he didn't feel any stinging pain or crusted blood on his back, that they had decided to skip that part.

Talen rolled over onto his back, wincing at the sharpened pain in his head from the movement. He closed his eyes again, even though there was no need to due to the lack of light in the room. He let the cool dirt beneath him soothe his sunburnt skin.

His moment of peace didn't last for as long as he wanted it to, though, because a few moments later the heavy clunk of the lock sliding on the other side of the cell door resonated throughout the tiny room, and Talen snapped his eyes open.

They immediately narrowed as the door creaked open, revealing four Cruels, all armed with batons. The one who opened the door strode over to him and reached down to snag his hair, but Talen was quick to snatch his wrist and give it a savage bite.

The Cruel groaned angrily, drawing his free hand back in the shape of a fist and punching Talen right in his eye. Talen grunted at the impact, his head snapping back at the impact and hitting the ground beneath him. Talen’s vision turned blurry, black spots dotting his eyesight as he felt himself being dragged up to his feet and shoved out into the hallway. Talen staggered and swayed as his head throbbed with even more intensity than before. He squinted his eyes and gritted his teeth as he willed the painful throbbing in his head to cease.   

The Cruels shoved him along down the hall, roughly escorting him towards what Talen assumed would be either the courtyard or the sleeping stalls. However, as his vision cleared somewhat, he noticed they were leading him towards the Head Cruel's office.

Talen had been there a few other times, mainly because he had managed to do some serious damage and the big man wanted to punish Talen himself for it. But Talen didn't understand why he was being taken there now, because he was certain he hadn't gone overboard this time. He knew he had wounded a Cruel to the point of hospitalization, but that was just another Tuesday for everyone.

Talen growled under his breath as the Cruels behind him shoved his back again. Talen longed to turn around and sink his fangs into their flesh, but with much reluctance, he kept his jaw clenched tight. Instead, he took his anger out on himself, digging his claws into his palms.

They stopped in front of the Head Cruel's office, the door menacing as it loomed over Talen. He only glared straight ahead, waiting as one of the Cruels escorting him knocked on the door. Within the room on the other side of the door, the big man answered with a deep and loud voice. “Bring him in." The Cruel that had knocked swung open the door, revealing the ridiculously muscled man that was the Head Cruel.

“Ah, the talk of the hour," he grumbled. He sat behind his large desk that was covered in paperwork, funny-smelling plants, a few metal boxes, and a large baton. Talen glared hard at his face, his hatred towards the man reflected back at him with the man’s own icy expression.

Talen was shoved forward yet again and the Cruels shut the door behind him. There was no need for extra bodyguards, since the Head Cruel was capable of sending anyone to the floor in two seconds flat. It was nearly impossible for Talen to take the man down, and he had certainly tried.

Without a word, the man stood up from his chair and looked at the other man in the room. He was another Cruel, but one Talen didn't see as often as the others. He also didn't bear any scars, so Talen guessed he had never attacked the guy before, either.

“I want you to take this mutt to Master Rune. I don't want any excuses, I want it done. He's been nothing but trouble and none of my efforts have proven to be successful. I'm certain Master Rune will take care of that," the Head Cruel commanded. The other Cruel, who was much smaller in both height and muscle, nodded with narrowed eyes.  

“Am I at least allowed to put him in his place during the trip there?" he grumbled, and the Head Cruel grunted his approval. Talen shifted his glare between the two. He refrained from growling again, instead keeping silent so he could take in this new information.

Master Rune? Who the hell is that? He isn't another Cruel, is he? Whoever he is, there's no way I'm letting him take me down.

The unfamiliar Cruel turned to Talen, his eyes still narrowed. Talen glared back at him, ignoring the fact that the Head Cruel behind the desk was watching him now, too.

“You heard him, come on," the Cruel spat as he walked over. Talen growled, keeping his feet planted firmly in place. The Cruel curled his lip back in response, and he grabbed Talen’s upper arm in a fierce grip. Talen snarled and yanked his arm out of the Cruel’s grip. Just as anger filled the Cruel’s face, the Head Cruel interrupted.

“Take this, Nash.” He tossed some kind of small square-ish object to Nash, who caught it midair. He turned the object over in his palm, and a smirk formed on his lips.

“Thanks," he replied. He turned back to Talen with a sadistic glint in his eye. He held up the object, tilting it in his hand a few times.

“Unless you want to get electrocuted, I would suggest moving," Nash threatened, and Talen glared in defiance. When he didn't make a move, Nash shrugged, as if saying ‘suit yourself', before he jabbed the object in Talen’s side.

Talen yelped as his muscles began spazzing and twitching, his body locking up. He fell to the floor and jolted in place, wincing at the uncomfortable and painful feeling surging throughout his body. The pain lasted for a few long agonizing moments, and then it faded out. Talen continued to twitch in his spot for a few seconds, his teeth clenched together. From his spot on the floor, he glared up at Nash, who was smirking evilly down at him. Talen tried to growl, but his vocal chords didn't seem to want to work, so he was left baring his teeth.

“This'll do. I'll have him delivered by tonight," Nash said to the Head Cruel, who nodded in response.

“Have a nice trip. I don't expect to see you again for a few months," the Head Cruel said to Talen. His icy gaze bore into Talen’s heated one.

You'll never see me again if I have any say in it.