Nathaniel swore under his breath, reaching through the bars for the third time to grab the ring of keys with his left hand as he used his right to hold his shirt to his nose, trying to stop the bleeding. After pulling the keys back through the bars, he splayed them out on the ground in a circle, fingering through them until he found the one he was looking for. For the fourth time, he lifted the ring up by the key and reached through the bars, shaking hands trying to find the keyhole. When he found it, he turned the key and heard the telltale click that signified his release. Nathaniel sighed in relief, pulling the key from the door and getting to his feet, pushing it open to free himself from the confines of the bars. He could practically feel the eyes of the slaves on him. The wolf that had grabbed at him earlier was glowering, eyes shining in the darkness. "Laugh while you can," Nathaniel said, seemingly unbothered by their stares. He turned and made his way down the hall, pulling his shirt from his nose to examine how much blood was on it. "There are plenty of incoming slaves to replace you after we clean the blood from your cells." He pressed his shirt back to his nose and moved away from the scene, hooking the keys back to his belt loop.










