Chapter 127 - Shifting Grounds

Thane sat slumped against the cold earth, his back resting against the canvas wall of his makeshift cell. His once-proud shoulders sagged under the weight of defeat, and his matted hair hung over his brow, soaked with sweat, dust, and something darker. He looked like a man unmade. The air inside the cell was damp and musky. Though shaped like a tent, the cell bore no softness. Reinforced steel rods lined the corners of the structure, buried deep in the ground, and the canvas was layered with an inner mesh of titanium netting to prevent tearing. A crude metal door stood bolted in place at the front, secured with a thick digital lock and monitored by motion detectors along the sides. The ground was barren and uneven, scattered with stones and gravel, the kind that gnawed at the flesh when one tried to sleep.

It was not meant to be a permanent prison, yet it was harsh and cruel. An insult to any dignity the prisoner might have once carried.

From beyond one of the mesh-covered sidewalls,