It was the old man from before, the third member. "My name is Don." He lowered himself as he said his name. Pheo got a closer look on him, noticing his small but military stature. His eyes were sharp, his expression grumpy.
He would probably be great at poker.
"Five minutes, finish it by then." Don told them all. Pheo watched as most of the previous groups instantly followed his instructions, with the newcomers blindly following them as well.
"You're curious about him, aren't you?"
Pheo looked to see that Jim was already behind him. "So he's the bigshot," Pheo summarized. "Everyone he talked to followed his commands after all." Jim laughed, "He isn't just the bigshot, he's authority himself."
"All right, listen up." He wrapped his arm behind Pheo, "Between the three wardens, he's the strongest."
"Why?" He asked, "You're telling me he's stronger than the guy who can erase things out of existence?"
"Join us and you'll find out." Jen joined in, "Everything has a price you know."
"I think I'll be fine blind." Pheo told them both before walking away. Although they failed at recruiting him, they succeeded in making him curious. Pheo carefully watched Don as he led them down a rocky path. The further they went in, the more rough it became.
Don then stopped, grabbing the side of a cart. "Pick one up and start mining." He pulled the cart down, spilling a bunch of pickaxes to the ground. "Head over there once you get one." He pointed at the dead-end.
While others moved slowly, some began to show off by swinging as hard as they could.
Idiots.
Why would you work harder for your captors?
Pheo would usually act like he was working, but Don kept him from doing so. He had this aura in him. It felt like whenever he was acting, he could feel the pressure of Don's eyes.
When Pheo started to rest for a bit too long, Don would start walking straight towards him.
This all has to be a coincidence, right?
As he was thinking, a loud clang snapped him back to reality. He and many others looked to see that someone younger than him dropped his pickaxe. It was obvious that he was exhausted. His arms were shaking, he tried to grab the pickaxe but his palms weren't closing shut.
"Pick it up."
Don looked at him from across the room. The kid kept trying to pick it back up, his attempts getting faster and faster each time. But his muscles wouldn't let him. His pupils widened, he started to hyperventilate as Don made his way right behind him.
"Useless."
He scorned the kid before pushing him down, his face full of disdain. The kid looked at him, Don's eyes started to burn with a purple flame. He grabbed the kids head and locked his eyes with his own.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!"
The kid's screams filled the caverns. His eyes were bleeding out as he tried desperately to look away. The veins near his eyes began to pulsate rapidly, slowly turning blue. This continued on for a few more seconds before he stopped moving.
Don got out his knife and slit the throat of the kid before tossing him to the middle of the room.
"Continue."
One word was all he needed for everyone to stop looking and go straight back to work. Pheo could see flashes of the gruesome scene each time he blinked. Don had no playful demeanor like Parquatz, no awful stories like Warhound, he was authority.
For the rest of the day, the group stayed obedient. Only when Don led them to the cafeteria and started to eat did they start speaking again. "As ruthless as ever, Don." Parquatz commented, "Watching the whole thing, it really made them shut up."
He laughed, but Don took a sip of his water in silence. "I'll continue watching them, Parquatz." He got up and went down, "I'll go do whatever then." Parquatz said before going outside the cafeteria.
Jim watched as he left, "Looks like Parquatz just left."
They were all in the kitchen, watching the every move of all three wardens. Tom checked deep in his pockets, pulling out a shank he crafted. "These times are rare, even if it's just one of them."
"That isn't enough," Jug told them. "We need all of them separated." He was relaxing as Mark was doing the kitchen work for him. Jen was looking at the metal pipe she picked up, it had a broken end that made it sharp. While inspecting it, she caught sight of Pheo.
"Why don't we ask him to distract one of them?"
Tom followed her sight to see Pheo, "He's still new, he could kill himself doing so." Jug shook his head, "We should just be patient." He told everyone before switching kitchen duty with Mark.
Jen sighed, she was about to put the pipe away before seeing Jim was giving her signs to come. She went towards him, "What?"
"I think Jug's wrong," He whispered. "So far that kid's showing no signs of joining us."
"Let's just use him as a one way ticket out of here."
Jen was surprised, "Are you thinking of going on a solo mission?"
"Not a solo mission, a duo mission." He corrected her, "All you have to do is convince him, and I'll do the rest." Jim smiled at her, it was the smile of confidence he wore then he was sure of something.
She took a look at Pheo, he was at a table with another kid from the new batch.
Could he be enough of a distraction?
"Looks like your plan was going to fail." Mark pointed at Parquatz who just entered the cafeteria. "Tsk, don't go snitching." He told Mark before sneaking out of the kitchen. Jen looked at Jim, she believed that he could get them out.
One bad call from the many good decisions he'd make.
She stowed away the pipe in the kitchen and went off. Meanwhile, Pheo looked annoyed as he tried to eat. "So..." he took a look at the kid who sat in front of him again.
"Why are you here?"
He looked at him like he was stupid "Cause you're here?" Pheo squinted his eyes, "What do you even want?"
"Nothing really," He grabbed the platter that someone handed to him. "I'm just bored." Pheo watched as he went straight to eating. Someone handed him a platter as well. He was annoyed but he was also angry.
He grabbed the platter and started to eat, "You know, I don't even know your name."
"Ryu." He managed to say while his face was stuffed with bread. He punched his chest multiple times before gulping down water. Pheo noticed something about Ryu's hands, they were defined. The skin was rough, visible veins with small scars here and there.
"Are you tired from today?" He asked, trying to see his physical condition. Ryu laughed, "No, but not like I could stop if I wanted to." He looked at Don, overseeing everyone in the cafeteria. "That old guy was definitely enough motivation."
He wasn't lying, Pheo noticed how he looked fine, as if he hadn't done anything at all. Then he looked at his hands that were full of blisters. Ryu noticed how he was acting, "I'm a martial artist," He proudly said. "I come from a family full of them."
He saw that he was interested. Smirking, he leaned in a bit closer to Pheo, "You know, if you want we can practice together."
"Really?" Pheo lifted his head up at the thought. He was always interested in combat practices that he's read of. The unrivaled power of force, it was something he always had desired silently.
"Yeah sure!" Ryu told him enthusiastically. "Let's start tomorrow." He got up and went to Pheo, hanging his arm at his back. "I'll make sure you won't feel a thing after mining all day."
They both started to talk to each other frequently from then on, each time greeting each other with a smile.