One by one the days passed and I remained unmolested in my isolation. Since I had been shown Dreda and Hattie's suffering, bearing witness to the latter's execution, the guards ignored me. I was left in abject solitude aside from infrequent visits by two sibla guards, one in the morning, one in the evening, who came to deliver meals. My captors were waiting to get through the rest, dragging out my suffering by leaving me for last.

    I stopped trying to keep track of passing time. My reprieve from Magnus's request had long expired and it was clear he was not coming back for me. Dreda's efforts to take on all suffering for herself had been futile, only serving to cause her more pain. The thought filled me with even more shame and guilt as I prayed she'd finally found release in death. I only wished my captors would concede to putting me out of my misery as well.

     Surrounded by monotonous nothingness it was all the more jarring when I next saw a group of unfamiliar sibla guards gathering near my cell one evening.

    "What are they doing keeping this one," I heard one of the men asked. "She's one of the Dulane slaves ain't she? Thought we'd already dealt with those monsters. "

    My ears immediately honed in on their conversation, hoping I might at least be given some hint as to the date of my impending execution.

    "It's complicated," came the answer from another. "Some of the humans insisted that one was the instigator of the whole attack. Others claim she betrayed them all."

    My stomach churned at the comment. Were not both things true? It was my leadership that had brought them to rebellion and then I'd left them to face the consequences. The first guard turned to me, a scowl on his face.

    "Not sure why it matters," he commented. "Seems the simplest way to resolve this is to put a bullet through her skull. These humans are all beyond rehabilitation."

    I couldn't even disagree with his words. I didn't understand how I still lived.

    "That one has protection, the other man answered. "An important man claims she belongs to him and had no involvement in the revolt. He is petitioning for her release to his estate."

    Magnus. Was it possible his words still kept me safe? "Three days", that's what he'd negotiated and at least a month had passed now. There had been no sign of rescue. I'd assumed they were merely biding their time in torturing me for my crimes. Nothing else made sense.

    "Why the hell would anyone want to salvage one who was party to a full on revolt?" the first man asked with contempt as he came closer to my prison, eyeing me critically. "Can't trust humans to not get ideas. We'd be doing him a favor to put her down."

    I froze, breath held as he reached for the gun on his hip.

    "Hey!" the other shouted in warning. "Do that and you'll lose your job. Commander was very clear about our orders. If we cause any permanent damage to that one without his command, we'll be out on our asses. Just let her rot. It's only a matter of time before red tape makes her owner abandon his aims and we can see her destroyed like the rest."

    I curled in on myself as much as my chains would allow as the first guard spit in my direction.

    "You are filth," he snarled. "I look forward to the day you suffer for what you did, human. Lost a couple of good men in the fight to put down the havoc you spread."
   
Of course I didn't answer. Nothing could make them see me as anything other than a monster and of course, they were right to hate. I had indeed caused the slaughter of so many sibla. My reasoning wouldn't matter to them, especially if they had lost comrades.

    "Just give her her rations and move on," his friend prompted. "We have others to deal with."
   
The guard before me offered a nasty grin. Taking my meal from his cart he walked back to my cell. But instead of putting the dish through the slot as he was meant to, I watched as he instead took the bowl and slid it sideways through the bars. The food spilled onto the filthy ground with a sickening squishing splashing sound. A moment later the empty metal dish clattered to the stone floor, spinning until it stopped with a reverberating clang.

    "Enjoy," the man said.

    I hadn't been given anything else all day and my stomach gurgled in protest staring at the ruined rations. As unappetizing as the food had been throughout my stay, I knew I needed it to survive. But when I made no movement towards the spilt slops I saw the guard's expression change, glaring at me with true anger.

    "This is your meal, human," he said, "I order you to eat." When I still did not respond, his hand when back to his waist, removing his gun from the holster. My eyes widened as he pointed the weapon directly at my head.

    "Commander said not to shoot you, but I can always claim you attacked. Humans must obey the orders of their masters. Now eat!"

    I crawled on my hands and knees to where my meal lay painted upon the floor of my cell. My legs had become too weak to stand properly days ago. I reached out with my bound hands to scoop up some of slop from the ground. I closed my eyes and cringed as the taste of foul food and dust and stone filled my mouth, but forced myself to swallow.

    "That's right," he said. "You're going to eat what we give you. All of it. Now come closer, clean this mess from the hall."

    I didn't want to obey. This man was clearly angry, dangerous. I wished to maintain as much distance as I could. I complied nonetheless. But the moment I was within reach I felt a hand dart through the bars and take hold of me.

    I cried out as my skull collided with metal, the guard's fingers wrapped painfully in the tangled mats my hair had become. My head throbbed and I was certain I could feel blood trickling down my temple from the impact against the bars of my cell.

    "Don't you want your water too, human?" he taunted. I felt the lukewarm liquid rain down on my face, choking me as it entered my nose and eyes and throat before I had a moment to take a breath.

    The man laughed as I sputtered, throwing me back down to the ground.

    "If I have anything to do with it, I'll make sure you get all the reward your friends have already gained for their treachery," he hissed. "They're dead you know. All the others that escaped. The lucky ones were shot. The rest were sentenced to be taken apart piece by piece while they still lived. You know who they cursed as they died?"

    I closed my eyes, wishing I could cover my ears and block out the horrible truth.

    "I heard from my pal that they screamed for Alice. The one's who faced true torture all cursed your name. There is no way they will let you go, human. Be prepared. The end is nearly here."

    Tears of terror and shame streamed down my cheeks as the guard left me there, a crumpled ball of misery. Soaked by the water my whole body shook with cold and emotion. I could hear the two men chuckling at my pain as they disappeared down the hall on their rounds.

    It was everything I'd feared. They were all dead. They'd hated me in their final moments for the painful end I'd lead them to. And of course there was the reality of the sibla man's final proclamation. I would soon be sentenced to join the others . I would not survive this ordeal as I'd always known. Any foolish hopes I'd kept for a different end were meaningless.I would still pay with my life for every sin. I would still be tortured. Ripped apart as I deserved.

    With the taste of the rancid food still on my lips mixing with my salted tears, I found my stomach unable to hold back and I retched onto the floor. The noxious smell mixed with the scattered remnants of my spoiled meal only forced me to wretch again and again until there was nothing left. I was desperate for water to soothe my sore throat and wash away the taste of vomit but with none forthcoming I could do nothing but curl in the back corner of my prison and pray for sleep. Exhausted as I was, it was not long before blackness overtook all.

——
    "Wake up, human!"

    The wrap of a baton against the bars of my cell roused me the next morning. Every part of me was sore and my stomach was both queasy and hungry all at the same time, my throat raw from acid and lack of water.

    "She looks like hell," one of them commented. I heard keys in the lock of my door then the screech of metal as they entered the cell.

    "Orders are to bring her to the holding room," another answered.

    I worked to force my eyes to focus but the room was spinning. I could see at least four men surrounding me, two in the cell and two outside, all armed. The end had come just as the guard the previous evening had predicted.

    "Well," the first guard said staring at me critically, "Looks like you're coming with us."

    It was all I could do to keep from wretching again in fear. Perhaps I might have if there were still contents enough in my belly. As it was, even standing proved difficult.

     The chains on my arms, legs and neck had grown more onerous by the day but that morning, I wasn't certain I could move at all with them weighing me down. I knew the guards wouldn't care. They would expect me to carry myself forward to torture and execution.

    Determined to die with some degree of dignity, I managed to rise and keep my balance enough to shuffle forward towards the door. A moment later I felt the sharp prod of metal pressed into the small of my back.

    "You make any false moves and I will shoot," a voice from behind me threatened. Some part of me had indeed wondered if I should try to fight back. Surely a gunshot to the head would be less painful than whatever they were leading me to. But the guard was making it clear he would aim for a non-lethal target. They wanted me to suffer and would ensure it would happen.

     Besides, my friends had already faced punishment for my crimes. I couldn't allow myself to escape that same fate. If I did so, any chance of redemption would be lost. Even if I didn't believe in such things, I couldn't throw away the final chance that, in facing my crimes, I might be forgiven for my sins. That in doing so, I might find myself released to heaven and those I loved who waited patiently for me in the world beyond. And so we began the procession to my death.