Rattle, rattle...
The faint sound of wheels awakened Aaron's consciousness.
The jolting motion brought Aaron fully awake, while the stench of rot and decay filled his nose and nearly made him vomit.
However, after going several days without eating, he had long since had nothing left to throw up.
"Urgh..."
Aaron groaned. The pain throughout his body was agonizing.
In the darkness, a figure slowly felt her way over.
She carefully touched Aaron's body, and a tender yet feeble voice softly drifted through the darkness:
"Aaron, how are you?"
"It hurts like hell..."
Aaron opened his eyes, his bright green pupils faintly shimmering in the darkness.
He raised his hand and gently touched the girl's face.
It was only a slight movement, yet Aaron felt the muscles in his arm seem to pull away from his body.
Most of his body was already nearly rotten.
Perhaps before long, he would become a decaying corpse like those companions who had escaped with them.
"Shirley, eat my left arm... At least you can have a proper meal. While this hand is still fresh..."
Aaron raised his other hand and spoke weakly to the girl.
Shirley remained silent for a while before speaking in a hoarse, choked voice:
"...No. Your meat tastes terrible."
Slap!
Aaron's raised hand fell weakly onto the wooden plank. With a hint of laughter in his voice, he said:
"That's so cruel... This isn't my meat."
"Don't die. We already escaped from that place... Why did we end up like this again..."
Shirley's voice echoed through the darkness, like a hopeless and helpless moan.
"Shut up! You monsters!"
Bang!
A rough and furious curse came from outside the carriage, accompanied by the dull thud of someone kicking it hard.
Rustle!
The cloth curtain tightly covering the carriage was violently