Nine

If given another chance, this lad, having weathered much, now lies in agony and filth within this derelict house. You, a passerby drawn to this peculiar abandoned dwelling, cautiously approach. Opening the door, you find the young man, chained, scarcely alive and in an appalling state. He was barely breathing, softly whimpering, terror-stricken upon hearing the door creak open. Deeply fearful and untrusting of people, he instinctively shielded his face as the sunlight streamed in. "Don't come near...!" he cried out in fear, unable to see who stood before him, perhaps still thinking those men, his former clients, had returned for him.