The noise grew louder in Mikel's ears, who was unconscious and feeling nothing, unable to move.
He tried to open his eyes, which were tightly shut, as the creak of a door opening rang sharply—so loud it seemed to enter his exhausted body.
("They hung him by his hands," someone said.)
One of them stepped forward and placed a chain between the rope that bound his hands, while another began pulling the chain to lift Mikel off the ground, suspending him by his hands so that only his barely supporting feet touched the floor.
Once again, someone shouted, "Bring a bucket full of water."
One went to get the bucket, while the other stood in the corner.
Mikel could not see clearly but caught glimpses of them. He couldn't maintain consciousness.
The sound of footsteps slowly approached him until someone came close to his right ear, placing a hand on his shoulder and whispering,
"Mikel, why do you steal from me? Do you think I'm an easy meal? Answer me—can't you hear me? Where are my manners?"
They removed the cloth covering his mouth and continued, "Now you can answer."
Mikel struggled to gather himself to speak, but could only manage,
"I didn't steal from you, Al-Yo, I only borrowed it."
Al-Yo was about Mikel's age, in his twenties, with black hair, a long nose, and black eyes. He wore a burgundy coat, a white shirt stained with spots, and black pants.
When he heard Mikel's words and saw his provoking smile, he looked at him calmly and said,
"Do you know the difference between you and me? Even when we were kids, you liked to take risks..."
Mikel interrupted, "And you were a coward, and still are, Al-Yo."
Al-Yo began putting on his gloves to avoid getting his hands dirty with blood but remembered the bucket he requested to wake Mikel up.
He took the bucket of water they brought and threw it on Mikel, who began to breathe with difficulty, and his wounds started to burn.
Al-Yo laughed mockingly and lightly slapped one of his men on the shoulder,
"It seems he has regained consciousness."
He prepared to hit Mikel but stopped when someone knocked on the door.
Al-Yo turned toward the door and said, "What's going on here?"
One of his men replied, "It's Rafi. He came with the things Mikel took."
Al-Yo and his group withdrew, leaving the torture chamber where they had abused Mikel, even tearing off his fingernails and toes, though he did not speak.
They were about to remove one of his limbs when Rafi arrived, limping.
He carried a rusty saw on a table brought by one of Al-Yo's men. Blood stains were deliberately left to instill terror.
They threw the torture tools on the ground as if they did not care about people, even though they knew Mikel had stolen something but refused to reveal its location.
The heavy footsteps and dragging sounds echoed in Mikel's ears until Rafi's words rang out like a bell in an empty shop,
"A new customer."
Mikel whispered in a low voice,
"You're late, you fool."
Rafi stood at the door, carrying the items Mikel had taken. His face was expressionless, his eyes shadowed.
Behind him stood Reem, a massive woman with broad shoulders. The only feminine feature she had was her beautiful face—full lips, long black hair, and a scar on her neck.
Rafi rubbed his forehead and said,
"Reem, please untie his bonds and carry him."
Reem moved toward Mikel, looking at him with disdain, as if saying, "Why did Rafi get involved in your problems?"
She lifted him effortlessly with one hand, like a toy. Her physical strength was equal to that of three men combined.
When Mikel looked at her, he thought to himself, "What is this monster? A beauty in disguise. Where did Rafi find her?"
Every time he saw her carrying him, they headed out of the torture chamber—a long underground corridor filled with the screams of people being tortured by the authorities, whether innocent or not. They tortured anyone; if no one came to rescue them, they would never survive. They were either sold or had their organs harvested.
At the front, Rafi limped as Reem carried Mikel on her shoulder, his face buried in her long, soft hair.
Mikel said,
"Rafi, doesn't your limp bother you? We've been imprisoned for years, and you still don't stop saving lives, even the damned ones."
"Reem, please," Mikel begged.
Reem threw Mikel to the ground without a word.
Rafi limped over to Mikel with his wooden cane and said,
"You know something?"
He took a deep breath, smiled faintly, and continued walking without another word.
Although they were sometimes friends, Mikel wondered if Rafi truly considered him a friend.
These thoughts troubled Mikel, but he knew one thing: Rafi was always there when he was most needed.
The three of them began to climb the stairs until Rafi opened the door.
Mikel had been deprived of light for a long time; his eyes began to burn as if there was really light.
Above the gray clouds, some rays of sunlight filtered through—like beacons of hope, though they appeared only occasionally.
The three of them exited the underground corridor.
Mikel said,
"If they are here, those villains..."
Rafi answered,
"It was worth it, even we planted Al-Yo with them."
Mikel said,
"He must be worth it. That bastard tore off my nails painfully and seemed to enjoy it."
Walking through the market was extremely disturbing because Mikel couldn't move freely; he had endured all that torture and now found himself in a place full of rubble, iron scraps, and debris.
This was the most common sight in this miserable world—scrap metal and many blacksmiths, who had made pieces of iron and wires a part of the decoration in their homes, which were originally from demolished buildings and skyscrapers overtaken by plants.
You could see pieces of iron covering the place, interspersed with wood, plants, and pieces of cloth, giving the area an old but still modern feeling.
The place was surrounded by iron bars and wires, as if they were trapped in a birdcage without bars—or perhaps they had locked themselves in.
Mikel looked around and wondered why they created this cruel world that seemed like a post-apocalyptic landscape.
Most of the people living here had been trapped for a long time; Mikel did not know how long, nor did he want to know.
He had lost his sense of time, as the people did not age in this world—it was like a paradise and a hell at the same time.
Mikel said,
"Rafi, do you hear me?"
Rafi, who was gasping and breathing heavily after walking a long distance, replied,
"What do you want? Aren't you tired of all this torture?"
Mikel answered, trying to lift his head from Reem's shoulder,
"Not really, I was just pretending."
Mikel knew that Reem only listened to Rafi, but he tried to get down from her shoulder to no avail.
He gave up and called out to Rafi.
Rafi, panting and gasping, said,
"Reem, please put him down."
Reem dropped Mikel to the ground.
Mikel screamed in pain with his eyes closed and said,
"Shouldn't you treat the injured more gently?"
Reem looked at him with her beautiful voice, because every time he heard it, it gave him a strange longing,
"Get up. This is nothing compared to what you can handle."
Mikel shook the dust off his clothes and said,
"But I liked the place on your shoulder. Anyway, Rafi, do you think Al-Yo might succeed?"
Rafi sighed and said,
"I hope he doesn't get lost in Issaq's magic too. No one has entered those rooms forcibly. We saw someone enter on their own. They volunteered, not forced. And since it started, there haven't been any events or attacks."
Mikel looked back at the corridor they had just left, wondering what made these people give up their limbs so willingly.
Part of him was curious to know what was there because half the town did it periodically, and the number was increasing.
Mikel said,
"Rafi, Reem, don't you think one day we can get out?"
Rafi replied,
"I don't know."
Reem said,
"Yes, someday."
Rafi and Mikel were surprised by Reem's response because they had lost hope and stopped counting days and years.
Mikel smiled and said,
"Yes, Reem. That's the spirit."
He moved toward Rafi, who limped like him due to his injured fingers, and said sarcastically,
"We are officially brothers now."
Rafi raised his wooden cane, hit Mikel on the back, and laughed.
"Do you know how to hold a cane?"
While Mikel winced in pain and Rafi laughed, a young girl shouted,
"Scout bird!"
Mikel and Rafi looked toward the sky.
Rafi held his cane with his right arm and raised his left hand, whistling.
Within moments, the people disappeared from everywhere, and the market emptied completely.
Silence spread, interrupted only by the fluttering of wings.
Then came the whistling sound.
Mikel saw a girl running after Mrs. Rana's cat and hesitated; his hands began to tremble.
He looked at Rafi, who shook his head in refusal.
Mikel tried to control his nerves.
Suddenly, the scout noticed something moving.
Mikel jumped and grabbed the cat quickly with his right arm.
Mikel jumped and grabbed the cat quickly with his right arm.
Then the girl pulled her and threw both into an alley.
Mikel remained still because the scouting bird, measuring about 1.8 meters, stood behind him.
It looked surprised, its eyes closed with threads, but when it opened them, it was as if it could see inside.
Mikel turned his face and looked into the bird's eyes.
The bird spread its wings and enveloped Mikel, who realized his end was near.
The bird flew to Mikel's ear and whispered,
"You want the truth? Let me just gnaw a little from you."
Then, the bird bit near his ear.
Mikel showed no reaction until blood began to drip from the bite.
He looked at the bird in astonishment, blood streaming from his ear.
"Can you speak?" the bird asked again.
The shock was clear on Mikel's face.
Suddenly, a huge stone came flying from Reem's direction and hit the bird, knocking it to the ground.
Blood streamed down Mikel's cheek from the wound near his ear.
Then, the bird threw another, bigger stone at Mikel, also from Reem's side, hitting him and breaking its large wing.
The bird tried to escape but couldn't.
More scout birds appeared.
Suddenly, everyone disappeared again.
The two birds landed and began eating the injured bird because it was useless to them.
When they finished, they flew away, leaving behind the body and feathers.
Mikel stood before the corpse, contemplating what he had heard and seen.
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Let me know if you want me to continue translating or revise anything!