"Wake up!" A distorted voice echoed in Ampelius's ears, followed by a sharp slap across his face.

  The pain dragged him back into a state of consciousness. His eyes fluttered open to the blurred outline of a man standing over him. But the darkness began to pull him under again. The individual snapped his fingers close to Ampelius’s face and struck him hard, forcing him back to awareness. He tried to move his hands, but his wrists were bound tight against a cold metal pipe behind him.

  Blinking through the haze of his vision, Ampelius attempted to focus on this figure looming above him. He could make out tattered blue jeans, a black leather jacket, and a gold chain which gave him a rough appearance, but it was his scarred face and weathered features that made him look truly dangerous.

  He noticed a dark blue beanie on his head, likely hiding more disfigurements. The stench of his sweat and filth invaded Ampelius's nostrils, which heightened his nausea and disorientation.

  “That’s right, wake up,” the man growled, his voice gravelly and devoid of warmth. “I need you alert. Do you know where you are?”

  Ampelius squinted, trying to make sense of his surroundings. The room gradually came into focus. Rows of books surrounded him. Above, there was a colorful skylight that cast a strange shadow overhead, fading the colors.

  “Well, I seem to be in a building. A very pretty one, with lots of books,” Ampelius said, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. “Do you like books? I can recommend a series called—”

  A fist slammed into his face, cutting him off mid-sentence. Pain exploded across his cheek, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

  “Wrong answer. Try again, unless you want to end up like your buddy over there,” he snarled, pointing to the corner of the room.

  Ampelius turned his head, and noticed Nova. He was slumped against the wall, his face swollen and very bloodied. He’d been stripped to his underwear, and his light blonde hair was crudely shaved as if they had planned to scalp him.

  He felt his gut twist as he took in Nova’s battered form. Why are they doing this? he wondered. Yet here they were, both caught in the same trap, bound by circumstance and the cruel whims of captors who, he noticed, bore no Roman insignias.

  “Who says he’s my buddy? I don’t know him,” Ampelius lied, hoping to deflect attention.

  The man’s fist smashed into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Gasping for air, Ampelius let out a weak laugh just as the sound of approaching footsteps echoed through.

  “Ah, you like to laugh? I'll give you something to laugh about,” he sneered.

  “Hey, we don't have time for this. Kill the traitor and feed this one to the dogs,” another voice cut in.

  Ampelius strained to see the newcomer, but a bookshelf partially blocked his view. He caught a glimpse of black clothing and the metallic glint of a rifle.

  “That traitor will die soon enough,” the man growled dismissively. “This one just woke up. Whatever those Romans drugged him with are still wearing off. Just give me a few minutes. Then you can tell the boss they’re both dead.”

  Confusion surged through Ampelius. What happened while I was out? Who are these guys? He asked himself.

  “I don’t know anything,” Ampelius croaked, pleading for his life.

  “Oh, really? You don’t know anything?” he said with skepticism. “Then explain why you derailed a train at full speed into our defenses. Were you not expecting to survive?”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “We were trying to get away from a beast in the tunnels! We had nothing to do with any attack!” Ampelius protested.

  “A beast, you say? Is that why Roman soldiers were dismantling barbed wire and trip mines? Just to get away from a beast?”

  “I don’t know anything about those soldiers or what they were doing. I—”

  “Shut up!” he snapped, his voice rising with anger. “If you weren’t involved, why does the train bear the Roman Empire’s eagle insignia? You had better start talking before I decide to feed you the dogs. They’re starving.”

  “You want me to talk?” Ampelius replied, his voice filled with mocking defiance. “You better offer me something better than being torn apart by dogs. That’s not my preferred way to go.”

  The man chuckled a dark sound that sent a shiver down Ampelius’s spine. “How about this? I’ll put a shiny bullet in your brain, then let the dogs devour what’s left.”

  Ampelius smirked despite the fear gnawing at him. “Can I think about that proposal?”

  “You have until I kill your friend,” he said coldly, pulling a dagger from within his jacket and advancing toward Nova.

  Ampelius wasn't sure if he could trust Nova to hold his ground after everything they’d been through. Did it even matter anymore? Whatever doubts lingered about Nova’s loyalty didn’t change the reality staring them in the face, that survival meant working together, if only for the moment.

  He toyed with his dagger, the blade catching faint light from the cracked skylight above. Nova was still breathing, though it was shallow and uneven, but he was alive. Ampelius wanted to speak, to warn him, to do something, but he could do nothing but watch.

  Then he crouched over Nova, his blade poised to strike. The world seemed to narrow to that single motion, the rise of the man’s arm, the flash of steel, the moment right before the plunge.

  When suddenly, Nova’s hand shot up from behind his back with a jagged shard of glass clutched in his grip. The improvised weapon tore into the man’s throat. Blood sprayed out, covering him in red as he stumbled back, eyes wide with disbelief as he clutched his neck, with a wet gurgle escaping his lips.

  Nova didn’t stop. He surged forward, driving the shard into the man’s chest again and again, each strike accompanied by a grunt of exhaustion and rage. The sound was almost animalistic, as he stabbed and slashed.

  When it was over, the guy collapsed at Nova’s feet, twitching once before going still. Blood pooled quickly, spreading across the cracked floor. Nova’s chest heaved. The glass shard slipped from his trembling fingers and clattered against the concrete.

  Ampelius was curious if Nova was a soldier, a comrade of their turned traitor, but it didn’t matter now. In this moment, he was something else entirely.

  Nova picked himself up and quickly grabbed the man’s dagger. He rushed over to Ampelius, cutting him free. “We need to move quickly; they’re struggling to fight off the legion from the sounds of it. If they call a retreat, this place will be swarming with hostiles who will kill us on sight.”

  “How did we get here?” Ampelius asked, rubbing at his wrists where the ropes had cut into his skin. “I thought it was the Romans that captured us. And why the hell are they calling you a traitor?”

  “It wasn’t the Romans,” Nova said quietly, his tone sharp but controlled. “These guys are with the Vandals. They often like to disguise themselves as Imperial troops, which is a trick they use to take prisoners. I know this because I used to work with them… I was one of them a long time ago.” He paused, eyes flicking toward the door. “I’ll explain everything later if we can make it out of here alive.”

  He pressed a finger to his lips, then pointed toward a nearby shelf. A guard was moving between the rows, unaware that the prisoners were no longer bound.

  “Where exactly are we going? I need to get back to the station to find Bella!” Ampelius whispered urgently, his voice strained with desperation.

  “It’s too dangerous to enter the tunnels right now. Both the legion and the Vandals are hunting us. First, we need to get out of this building.”

  “But why would the legion hunt us? We’re their volunteers!”

  Nova shot him a look of disbelief. “Are you serious? We hijacked their train when we were supposed to protect it. You don't think that wouldn’t anger them? If you want to see Bella again, we need to get out of here alive first.”

  They slipped through the stacks while the guard’s back was turned, moving like shadows between the books. Ampelius’s chest felt too tight; every breath threatened to give them away. Fear ate at the edges of his thoughts.

  At a doorway a lone figure stood with his back to them, sweatpants sagging, hoodie pulled up. Nova froze, lifted a finger, "stay" and then moved forward.

  Before Ampelius could blink, Nova was on him: a quick twist of the neck, a sharp crack, and the man folding limp into his arms. Nova hauled the body behind the nearest shelf and shoved it out of sight, breath coming hard but controlled.

  Then a voice cut through the library like a gunshot. “The prisoners have escaped! They killed Gerhard!” Footsteps slammed toward them, boots hitting concrete in a hard, hurried rhythm.

  “Find them and kill them!” another shouted.