The Fallen Death Dog

In this fleeting dream that drowned Cain to the depth of comfort, his consciousness jolted awoke. Slowly, he fluttered his eyes open, blurry, but gradually Cain's eyes focused on the things in front of him.

The first thing he noticed was that he felt something hard pressed against him—no, he was lying on it. A dimly lit room and the light from the moon above helped him see ahead. It was the same place where he had hidden the boy, and now he was still here, meaning nothing big happened while he was unconscious earlier. 

However, something felt off. When he tried to move, his limbs were tied, restricting his freedom. Cain's body began to tense; all hair stood around, and panic crept out. 

{Woff!}

Cain's body stiffened as Noir's bark echoed within his mind, helping him to regain some of his calm. He exhaled and twisted his body around, trying to sit upright in this situation. 

After struggling for a few seconds, Cain was able to sit, but a looming threat in the sign of clapping resonated behind him, jolting his body in fright. He turned to the source and saw a medium-built man sitting on a wooden box, expressing his amazement in glee. 

"Woah, I didn't expect that you could sit in that condition".

The man's voice was poised, or, should he say, composed; nothing in the place could deter his behaviour. The man wears a brown leather jacket with a white t-shirt inside; for the lower part, he wears loose black pants and leather shoes, which emphasize his aggression. 

He jumped off the box and walked toward Cain; under the light from the moon that shone upon his figure, the man walked out as a divine figure despite his hidden face, which was covered by darkness a moment ago, revealed, and it made Cain's face cringed. 

His face was rigged with many scars, and one of his eyes was covered by an eyepatch, but upon looking closely, the man was filthy, his face dirty, and a foul smell began to assault Cain's nose, making his stomach churn. 

The man who discovered what was on the boy's mind stopped in his tracks, and his gaze turned cold. He didn't utter a single thing, which made the whole atmosphere heavy. 

They both locked eyes for a brief moment before the man's lips parted ways, and he smiled pleasantly. 

"Hmph, you're a brave kid. I like that!".

He snorted, then shoved his hand inside toward his chest pocket; he took something, a pack of cigars and its lighter. The man plucked one of the cigars to his lips before flicking the lighter. A spark emerged, and the man placed the tip on the source of the tiny fire and began to inhale deeply. 

From Cain's perspective, the man before him was acting too carefree in this situation. Besides, he still had no idea whose side the man was on. He scanned his surroundings and found the boy lying not too far away from him, untied, sleeping soundly. 

'I'm glad he is okay'. Cain muttered before turning his attention back to the man. He saw the man calmly enjoying his relaxing time while staring at the prominent light of the moon, which seemed to have thrilled him. 

"Who are you?". Bracing himself, Cain opened his mouth, and the man turned to look at him briefly before resuming his moon gazing. 

"Fuuu, Haaa, No one, I'm just some nobody who accidentally passed by".

"...".

'Do you think I will take that at face value?'. Cain knit his brows; he put his guard up and secretly thought of Noir inside his shadow. 

{Noir, be ready in case something dangerous happened}

{Woff!}

{Um, I'm counting on you, partner!}

Time passed in silence as the man kept his silence and dived into his own world of the moon. Cain kept observing his surroundings, obviously trying to find a possible way to free himself from this predicament. 

A moment later, a groan escapes from the boy's lips. It seemed his consciousness had stirred awake. 

"Where is this?".

Cain and the man turned to the boys, but before Cain could answer his question, the door from the side blasted open with a bang, jolting everyone in the room. His eyes opened wide, seeing the earlier unconscious four men now standing right back up.

'No, there is no chance they are fine'. When Cain looked closely, the men indeed had bruises, and one of them had been supported by the other for his knee injury that seemed to have taken away his feet. 

However, because of their appearance, his mood sank further into the abyss as the four men approached. Their gaze never left the man's back, a gaze filled with admiration, respect, and hope. 

From that exchange alone, Cain could already picture the continuation of the situation he was in. 'Crap, this is truly bad!'. He turned to the boy whose frozen solid body trembles like a newborn fawn. 

Cain began to rack his brain while the four men approached closer; their bodies stiffened briefly before a surge of intense rage boiled their blood, looking at the figure of Cain, who was now tied. 

"Settle down boys!".

A calm yet oppressive voice reverberated within the room and halted everyone's thoughts for a second. The four men's gaze turned to the man, who showed his face in front and ordered them to explain what had happened. 

"Explain!". 

"Okay, Boss!".

One of the four men present, the leader, stepped forward and began to brief the man called the boss. Their conversation was secretive, with only a gesture and slight whispering on their part, invoking Cain's curiosity. Well, he did not dare to interfere, though. 

Slowly, Cain slid away from his place to approach the boy while observing the other reaction. Thanks to the talk, which seemed important, all the eyes of the adults in place went to that place, giving Cain a chance to be near the boy. 

"Big brother, What happened?".

"It seems we are in a dire situation, Can you move?".

"Eh? Ah, yes, I can".

"Good, can you untie me and please hurry!".

The boy's eyes landed on the rope on Cain's wrist and legs. He nodded his head and began to place his finger to loosen it, but that moment proved fatal. 

{Woff!}

"What!?".

Before Cain could perceive what happened in his brain, his body received a sharp impact with tremendous force that sounded like a 'thud'. Slowly, his nerves throbbed in endless torture of agony that assaulted his brain. 

The shock lingered, and it pierced his lungs every time Cain wanted to take a breath; his eyes blurred, and tears began to accumulate as a response. 

'Haa, It hurts, shit, it hurts!. Calm down, me! Keep your calm!'. Cain, with his lungs on fire, desperately lifted his gaze up and found the boy was petrified by the enormous presence of a Wolf standing behind him, which had kept its presence hidden until a moment ago. 'So, that's why the boys don't need to be tied, damn it!'.

{Woof, woof!}

{Not Yet, Noir. Wait for a bit more!}

Noir still had some dissatisfaction about the instruction, but it reluctantly obeyed and stayed low inside Cain's shadow. 

While adrenaline began to kick in, the pain that lingered on his side lessened, but Cain knew that it was only a temporary measure to let the body keep moving. He placed his forehead on the ground, feeling the moment of pain that gradually dimmed. In one go, Cain pushed out his spie using his abs and sat in seiza. 

With the new addition of the wolf, his situation became more dire, and he could find a way to escape this situation. He turned to the wolf, whose height was at the boss man's waist. Its face was curling in warning, sharp teeth that could rip apart steel, its claws protruding outward, ready to intercept any suspicious activity from Cain. 

'Yeah, this is difficult!'. In spite of the situation he was in, Cain never lost hope; he looked around once again and still found nothing worth using. The only thing that is worth his attention is how wide the place is, and up on the ceiling, many steel frames are still strongly connected to each other. 

'But, that was too far away, I wonder if I can jump that high!'. At the same time, muttering those words, a scream that got his attention resounded.

"...No!".

The wolf held the Boy down; it growled, holding the poor boy down to the ground. With that as a cue, the boss man, along with the leader, approached the boy's side, further intimidating him.

"Okay, boy. Let me ask you nicely".

*Grrr!

"Where did you hide the Star fragment?".

Being held down by a huge wolf and the pressure the man exerts by just looking at the boy from that angle involuntarily stitches the boy's mouth.

However, the boss man never lets his smile fade from his mouth. He carefully extends his hand and then yanks the boy's hair, making him yelp in pain. 

"I won't be nice the second time. Now tell me, where is the Star fragment?".

"...ver…".

"Hm, what is it?".

"I will never tell you!".