Chapter 2Breakfast was a brownish porridge served in a trough and eaten with tin mugs, crusted with remnants of earlier meals.
“Eat up big. You’re flying out tonight,” barked one of the guards.
A murmur, like a wave, swept through the breakfasting prisoners. Taar felt his heart lurch. Suddenly, the absurd situation had taken on a whole new reality. Before the announcement, the exile to Tansa had been something in the unforeseen future, something that might possibly not eventuate. Before the announcement, there was a chance, a slim chance, that somehow, he would find a way out of his predicament. Now, that chance was evaporating. Each tick of the clock brought them all closer to Tansa.
At around midday, the prisoners were shunted into a large bathroom where they were sprayed with high-po
