***
{Inside The Projection}
“Probably a rat. Now, FUCK! OFF!”
Malik gave him the bird and laid back down on the bed.
His acting was natural and award-worthy, but unfortunately…
The first of them wasn’t convinced.
“A rat, huh?”
His face twisted into a sick grin.
“Sounded more like… a cute little fuckable mouse.”
Something in Malik snapped.
“Sinbad.”
He hissed under his breath, eyes locked on the boy’s wide, terrified gaze.
“Take her. Now. Go.”
Sinbad stared, frozen.
“NOW!”
Malik barked, louder this time, his voice enough to jolt Sinbad into action.
The boy scrambled to his feet, scooping up Huda in a panic.
She stirred slightly but didn’t wake, her small body limp against his back.
Malik didn’t wait to see what happened next.
He lunged for his makeshift cane—a withered stick barely strong enough to support his weight—and gripped it tight.
The drunkards laughed as he limped towards them, not seeing an inkling of a threat in him.
“Oh, what’s this? The little rat’s got some fight in him!”
“Who’re you pokin’ with that?”
“Better put that stick down before you hurt yourself, boy.”
Their insults came one after the other, intent on breaking him down.
But Malik wasn’t affected, not in the least.
“DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”
His response was a raging scream as he stabbed the stick forward with all his might, aiming for the closest man’s balls.
“Urghh—FUCK!”
The impact was solid, a disgusting pop that made the man howl in pain while crumpling him to the floor.
“Sinbad, RUN! Show me that I wasn’t wrong in naming you after him!”
Malik’s shout echoed, ensuring that they’d have at least a chance to survive, but thankfully, it was unneeded.
Sinbad didn’t hesitate this time around.
He had already opened the window in between the bunk beds and climbed up, now standing outside on the protruding limestone.
“O-O-Oh…”
Malik heard a low-sounding whimper but didn’t dare risk a glance.
The boy was out; that was enough; his job was over.
Whatever happened to them next rested on him more than it did on Malik.
That, in one weird way or another, had given him a strange sense of relief.
“Crippled rat!”
But Malik’s emotional moment was short-lived.
The second man charged at him like a bull, aiming to smash him into the ground.
Malik paused a beat, then stepped to the side and jabbed the stick forward, piercing the soft flesh of his gut.
“Gah—!
Doubling over with a wheeze, the man stumbled past him and crashed into the beds, knocking himself down.
He wasn’t getting back up, at least not for the next ten seconds, but Malik didn’t stop.
Pivoting on his left, he kicked the man square in the head and continued the movement, slamming his stick into the back of the first man’s neck in the hope of keeping him on the ground.
Four hits. Four solid hits.
That was all he could manage.
“Let’s fucking stop this shit, eh?”
The final man, their leader, who previously stood back and just watched the fight, had finally interfered, wrenching the stick out of Malik’s hands with a force that nearly dislocated his shoulder.
“You think you’re tough, huh? Think you’re a little hero?”
“Shut—ah!”
Malik didn’t get a chance to respond before the first blow landed—a boot to his back that sent him sprawling onto the floor.
He didn’t see it coming, as it wasn’t the leader who attacked him, but the man with the crushed balls.
It seemed that the stick wasn’t enough to keep him out of the fight.
“Ugh!”
The second kick came fast, then another.
Malik curled into himself, trying to shield his head and stomach, but the blows kept coming, kicking him around like a game of football.
“Should’ve stayed down.”
“Fucking rat!”
The two he injured were beyond furious, doing their best to inflict the most amount of pain on him, but whatever was left of Malik’s focus wasn’t on them.
It was on their leader—the one who’d heard Huda’s grumble, the one who’d taken his stick, the one who’d condemned him to death.
“This rat gave us more trouble than I expected, the kids almost escaped… Good thing I had backup standing by~.”
Through the haze of pain, Malik heard his words loud and clear, as if it were done on purpose.
“A little girl… Been a while since I had a pretty little thing like that. Oh, she’s gonna make me feel real goooood.”
What snapped inside Malik had now erupted.
“YOU SICK BASTARD!”
His roar was louder than any other before it, and he struggled to stand with all that remained of his strength, ignoring the searing pain.
“Stay down, you rat!”
But it was no use.
One of the men slammed him back down with a kick to his chest, knocking the air out of his lungs.
“Ugh!”
Malik wheezed, clutching his sides, and they continued their assault, enjoying each blow.
His vision blurred, the edges darkening, but he could still hear their laughter, haunting him, taking over his thoughts.
And soon, the world tilted… the pain dulled, but not because it stopped.
No. Malik’s body was simply too broken to register it anymore.
That was when they became bored.
It was no fun to play with a broken toy.
“Let’s go; we’ll bury this trash later.”
“Yeah, we need to catch the brats before they fuck up and get devoured.”
Malik barely felt it when they stepped over him, their boots pressing into his bruised ribs as they walked away.
He lay there, motionless, staring up at the ceiling.
His mouth hung open, but no sound came out.
‘They’re going to die.’
The thought burned in his mind, a cruel truth he couldn’t escape.
Sinbad. Huda.
They were going to die.
His body refused to move, but his mind screamed.
‘Get up… get up, get up, get up, GET UP!’
‘GET THE FUCK UP!’
‘YOU HAVE A PURPOSE NOW! DON’T LOSE IT!’
‘DON’T FUCKING LOSE IT!’
‘YOU WASTE OF SPACE!’
‘YOU HUMAN GARBAGE!’
‘WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT!’
‘GET THE FUCK UP!’
Hot tears streamed down his face, mixing with the blood and grime that covered him.
‘I hate you… I hate you, I hate you, I hate you! I HATE YOU! I FUCKING HATE YOU! I ALWAYS HAVE!’
‘You’ve never done anything but fail me!’
‘Their hopes are pinned on us… ON US!’
‘You’ve decided to save them… they’re your responsibility, and you… YOU’VE FAILED THEM!’
‘Failed yourself… again.’
‘But it’s fine… it’s fine; you can still save them.’
‘SO GET UP!’
His fingers twitched.
‘Just… please…’
‘Do something.’
‘Anything.’
‘…’
He didn’t move.
‘…How dare you?’
‘HOW DARE YOU LIE HERE AND LET THEM GET CHAINED?!’
‘S-She’s going to get raped…’
‘Please… for her… do it. Get up.’
‘GET YOUR WORTHLESS ASS UP OFF THE GROUND!’
Despite his endless screams, his body didn’t listen.
It could not.
This wasn’t a fantasy story… it was real life.
There was no miraculous surge of strength, no heroic second wind.
He was a malnourished child that had been beaten black and blue.
The fact that he had survived this long was already a miracle…
Expecting more of him was pure idiocy.
‘No… plea…s…e…’
Malik’s head lolled to the side and his breathing seized.
The world around him grew dimmer, his vision slowly devoured.
And then, there was nothing…
Nothing but sweet dreams.