The forest was dark despite the sun being out. Tall trees covered the sky as the light tried to breakthrough. Numerous noises could be heard, but nothing appeared in front of them. A haunted forest was a better word to describe this place.
Even though it is located near the Apricus Hill, which is known to be 'full of sunlight', it is no where near what it describes beyond this side of the hill. Hence, this is one of the reasons it was a perfect place for the bandit to hide.
A crying sound could be heard inside a big wooden building hiding between the tall trees. It will be chaotic at times, with shouting adults, crying children, and machines. And that time is today, when the new child who was just sent here cried for his parents, while other children were quietly doing their job without giving any attention to the crying boy. It was not because they didn't care, but they were scared of what would happen to them if they said something.
"Excuse me, have you seen my father?" The boy asked one of the guards, as he began to sob.
"I don't know. Continue your work," the guard said with a sneer.
"I want to go home. I don't like it here. Where's my father?" The crying boy said.
"No wonder they don't want you. How can you be so stupid? You didn't even know that your father left you here" the guard laughed at him.
"No, you're lying. He said he would be back! " The boy shouted at the guard.
The boy's shout caught the attention of the caretaker, who was observing the other child working.
"Shut up. You think you would be here if your father had not sent you here," the caretaker said.
"I am sorry for the disturbance, mister caretaker," said the guard.
"Remember, bad children have to be punished. If you treat them nice, they won't learn," the caretaker said to the guard.
"And you, boy, nobody wants you. That's why you're here. I am more than generous to give you a place to stay," he continued.
"You're lying. My mommy and daddy love me. I want my mommy," the boy shouted to the caretaker with a sniffle. His eyes were fierce, though his nose was runny.
"I will say this one last time, if you don't stop crying and do your work, not even your parents nor the next sun you will see. Understood?!" The caretaker shouted at him as he grabbed the child's collar.
The child stopped crying and moved to his designated spot slowly, as if his feet were rooted to the floor.
"You shouldn't cry. The caretaker doesn't like it when we cry," One of the boys who stood next to the crying boy whispered silently to him.
The crying boy just stayed quiet and continued his work.
This is a place full of children working 15 hours a day for a place to stay, food to eat, and the hope of helping their families. The majority of the children here were under the age of 15, and many died before reaching that age. However, those who live after that age will be given the privilege to monitor the existing children. As they have been working there for half of their life, when given this opportunity, they would feel a sense of power; power to control those who are below them. Hence, they would continue working there and make sure all the children do their part. Although they knew what living there was like, it didn't change the way they treated these poor children. As some say, 'Power may change people'.
It was break time, and only about 15 minutes were given to these children. Even though they were all having a break at the same time, only those who achieved the target of the day would be given food to eat. On the other hand, for those who didn't achieve the target, they will just have a glass of water to fill their stomach. If they want to eat today, they have to work extra time to achieve a daily target. They were thought that nothing comes easy in life. If they want something, they have to work for it, don't wait for it to fall into their lap.
The two boys sat next to each other during break time, though the crying boy only had a glass of water to fill his tummy. The other boy has a piece of bread, but they were warned not to share their food, or else both of them wouldn't get any.
"You're new here, right? There are many ground rules here, but most importantly, you have to do your work and don't cry. You don't want to turn like him over there, right?" the boy said quietly, pointing to the boy with one arm.
"He cried all day when he first came here, so he couldn't finish all his work. So, the caretaker cut his arm to feed the dog. He said to cover for the loss that he caused, "he continued.
The crying boy from before was looking around. He didn't even pay attention to the boy's story.
"Hey. Are you listening?" he asked.
"Do you know where the washroom is?" the crying boy asked.
"You go out of that door and turn left. Do you want me to go with you? " he asked.
"Thanks," the crying boy said, as he stood up and walked out of the room.
Suddenly, a harsh voice called him from behind, as his feet were a step out of the room.
"Where are you going?" the man asked.
"Washroom," he said, and held his stomach, pretending to be in pain.
"Breaks over in five. Be quick," the man said, and turned back to watch the other children.
Then the crying boy continued walking straight to the washroom while his eyes were wandering around looking for an escape route. He couldn't find a single window inside the toilet, so he went back out. Suddenly, he hears two men talking about the cold weather as they have to work outside. He quickly hides behind a barrel. Both of them were carrying a big carton of supplies and were grunting due to their heaviness. After they passed, the boy ran towards the entrance where he saw the previous men walking.
As he reached the entrance, a man shouted at him, but he didn't even turn his head around but just continued running forward. He gathered all the energy that he had left and moved his small feet as fast as he could. His mind was only the thought of his family, nothing more and nothing less.
"Do you think you can run, kid? You better stop while we are being nice," the man said, with a loud voice.
The child just ignored it and ran like there was nothing holding him back.
While the caretaker, who was having his round, heard the commotion. He hurriedly tried to resolve the issue.
"Go, catch that ungrateful brat," the caretaker said.
The two men ran to catch the boy as instructed by the caretaker.
After a few minutes of running, the boy was too tired to run but too scared to stop moving his feet. Hence, he decided to stop behind a huge tree between its big wiggly roots. His breath was hard, his heart was thumping, and his hands were shaking as he cupped his mouth to cover the sound he was making.
Suddenly, to his surprise, they found him. He tried to run away but failed. Their big build and fast speed caught him effortlessly. His tiny body fought hard to get away from their grasp.
As they approached, the man carrying the boy over his shoulder threw himself to the ground. He was in pain and bleeding from the fall, but nobody cared. The caretaker walked towards him with a furious face and held him up harshly by his tiny arm.
"Stand up!" the caretaker shouted at him.
The child couldn't stand up properly due to his pain. Moreover, he tried to hold his tears, as he knew they would be more furious if he cried.
"You think if you go home, your parents will accept you? Who do you think sent you here?" the caretaker said.
"Why do children always do bad things? Never listen. I have tried to be patient with you. So tell me, how should I punish you?" The caretaker asked with a despicable face.
The boy just stayed silent as he was scared of what would happen to him.
"Should I cut your leg? You can still work without your leg," he continued.
"No. I am sorry. I won't do it again. I will work," the boy's body was shaking with fright. He begged him desperately.
"No. No. No. Listen, kid, if I let you be, what if this happens again? And bad kids should be punished, right?" the caretaker said as he held the boy's face roughly.
"Please, don't. I am sorry. I am sorry," the boy cried.
"Hold the kid down," he said to the two men.
"I will make it fast for you, okay?" the caretaker said to the boy with a devilish smile.
" Get the axe," he continued. The boy was held tightly by one of the men.
"No! Don't! Please, I'm sorry," the boy shouted for help as his tears ran down his face.
The boy couldn't do anything but struggle for his life.