Pheo hammered down a nail to attach a plank to the stairs, working with a bunch of others to help the stairs. "When do you think we'll be done?" Jen asked Pheo, they both looked up to see the countless steps they have yet to repair.
"When the sun fails to shine" He said as he kept working. Mark went up to the two, "How long does this staircase even go for?" Neither of them replied, sighing on how they probably aren't even halfway done.
"Let's just think happy thoughts instead, huh?" Jim joined in, patting Mark's back. "It was all worth it," Tom said as he joined in. "Seeing the bastard's face as we ruined his fun."
The group laughed as they remembered his angered face. Pheo recalled when he was told to fix the stairs. Parquatz approached him about the sorry state the stairs were in, forcing Pheo to fix the entire staircase by himself.
Seeing this, Jim and the others decided to voluntarily join Pheo in fixing the stairs, ruining his mood. Pheo smirked when he remembered how Parquatz stormed off angrily after they helped him.
He was glad that there he joined a group that could back him up when things get rough. "This isn't a complete waste of time though," Pheo told the others. "When we're finally getting out of here, it'll be easier to escape."
They all had their hopes up, today would be the day they would initiate the plan. "You're all ready right?" Jim asked them. "We all know exactly what we're doing?"
They all had a look of determination on their faces, for each one a different reason. "We're all getting out of this alive." Jim held both Pheo and Jen closer.
"Of course we are," Jen smiled. "And we're going to make sure they'll pay for what they did to us." Although Pheo didn't have the same sediment as the others, he had the same desire to escape.
"Let's make sure to get out with Ryu."
Tom jumped and hugged the three of them from behind, "As long as I get to sock Parquatz' face, I'll be the happiest kid alive." They all laughed at the joke. Mark went up and clapped his hands, causing everyone to stop.
"Hey Jug, got anything for us to do?" Mark asked as Jug walked up to the rest of them.
"Nothing really," He responded. "I've been learning a lot about how the system works here by being near Parquatz." He patted Mark, making him lift him up to the height of the others.
"I think that in a few months, we'll be able to get out of this place for good." He told everyone enthusiastically. "Sounds great," Tim smiled. "We can finally get out of this hell-hole."
"Better finish whatever needs to be done before then, wouldn't want to have any lingering regrets." Jen clarified to everyone. Tom clicked his tongue, "What do we even need to finish here?"
"If anything, I just want these few months to pass as fast as possible."
Jug then looked at Pheo, "You know, even though we may not be so similar, that offer I talked about still stands." He extended his hand to Pheo once again. Pheo shook his head however, "You know that I can't leave."
Jug sighed, he pulled his hand back and patted Mark to put him down. "Well, I just wanted to let you guys know about the good news, I can only stay here for a short while." He waved his hand goodbye before going away.
They all waited before he went out of view, then burst out laughing. "Did he really say we were going to wait for months?" Tim asked sarcastically. "Yeah," Tom said. "Then when the day finally comes something goes wrong and he cancels the entire thing!" He joked to the group.
"Wait till he realizes that today's the day we're breaking out of this hole." Jen thought of his look when he realized that they all escaped. "Too bad we'll be out before then," Mark said. "This is something we have to do fast after all."
Pheo knew that as soon as the plan started, they would need to make close to no mistakes. Especially if he wanted to get out with Ryu. "Alright," Pheo clapped his hands to snap him out of thinking. "Let's finish as much as we can on this."
They began to get back to work on filling in the holes with wooden planks. They repaired a decent portion of the staircase before they saw Warhound walk up to them.
"Are you guys working hard or are you hardly working?" He asked the group with a smile on his face, but everyone went silent. "Working hard?" Pheo answered, sounding more like a question than an answer.
"Come on guys, at least fake a laugh for me." Warhound felt awkward from how they responded. "That was a joke?" Tim said, exhausted from the work.
Warhound took a closer look to see that they all were exhausted, way more than the kids working at the mines. He scratched the back of his neck, "Looks like you guys need a break."
"How about you stop by the cafeteria before heading to the mines?" They all looked at him with predatory eyes as soon as they heard him. He raised his finger to his lips, "No snitching though."
Pheo was the first to stand up and run towards him, "I'm hungry as hell, let's go!" He waved for the others to join him. They all ran with him straight to the cafeteria, leaving Warhound behind.
"The audacity of these kids…" He smiled while following them from behind. They reminded him of when he was younger. He lived without parents, no adult supervision, just him and the other kids that were going through the same thing.
There was no one to help him, no one to catch him when he fell. It was only him and his friends that lived day by day in The Free City. "Open the gate already!" Jim yelled at Warhound. Everyone else stood around the gate waiting for him.
"You know I'm the one who's supposed to order you guys around right?" He told them before pulling out the keys. Warhound picked one of them and tried it on the lock, but it couldn't fit.
"They always look the same…" He muttered, complaining while trying them one by one. Tom sighed, "Can't you just label them?" Warhound fit another key in and twisted it, hearing the lock drop to the ground.
"I like leaving important things like these to luck." He said before opening the gate. They all ran to the kitchen, grabbing some bread and chugging down water. "Just make sure Parquatz doesn't notice." Warhound shouted out, staying by the entrance.
He felt pity on Pheo and those who were around him, they had to miss out on one of the meals in order to work on the stairs.
It reminded him of those days when he was a kid. Scraping by each day eating only leftovers, sleeping with growling stomachs. It was when he was still young, when he had yet to awaken.
Those times are long gone now.
Warhound grabbed someone's portion without a shred of guilt, eating the loaves of bread like they were a light snack. "I'll give you guys five minutes before we have to move!" He shouted out.
Those words made them move with haste. Even when they're chests felt heavy and their breaths labored, they continued to eat the food as fast as possible. "Finished first!" Mark shouted out before heading out of the cafeteria.
Jen took a huge bite of her bread, stuffing her face. "Second!" She muffled out while heading towards the exit. They raced to finish their food as fast as possible, quickly munching on the food.
They all waited until the last person arrived, Tom. "You know what that means." Jim stopped him as he tried to weasel his way out. "Ugh, fine." Tom walked back and started to clean up the mess they made.
"Make sure you get rid of all the evidence!" Mark shouted out. Jen chimed in, "Every little speck!" She rubbed over his face as they all watched him clean.
"And be quick with it too, you guys are already behind schedule." Warhound shouted at Tom, encouraging him to work faster. Within minutes he finished. "Good job." Pheo told Tom as he laid exhausted on the ground.
Warhound locked the gates, "You make sure he makes it!" Warhound shouted at Pheo. They all rushed quickly, stopping as soon as they were close. Parquatz turned to see Warhound with the kids.
"It's about time," he muttered. He threw a bunch of pickaxes to the ground for them to pick up, making them grab them from the ground. Pheo sighed, Parquatz was the only person he really hated.
Before he went to work, he took a glimpse at Warhound to see him wink at him. He smiled, winking back as a response and started mining.
Sometimes, he would wonder why people like Warhound and Don were enslaving children. They were kind in nature and harsh only when needed.
They don't seem like that type of person.
Parquatz does though.
His thoughts wandered as the constant sounds of the mines rang in his ears. He went into a trance-like state. While others struggled to lift their own pickaxes, the motion felt like clockwork to Pheo.
"Hey," Jim shook him out of it. "Cold feet?" Jen appeared right behind Pheo. He looked around to see that everyone was finished, it was over when it felt like he just started.
"No, no." He waved his hand, "Are you guys ready?' He asked them. They both nodded. All Pheo needed was the look on their faces to assure himself that they would pull through.
"Tom and Mark will signal when we'll move." Jim told them. Jen punched Pheo lightly, "We'll make sure to do our parts, so don't fail yours." Tom whistled loudly to call for their attention. Jen and Jim went to go towards them but Jim stopped and turned to Pheo.
"Next time I'll see you is with Ryu." He said while waving his hand goodbye. Pheo saw Jim off. Then looked back, seeing Don waiting patiently for him.
"Are you ready for practice?" He asked Pheo.
He smiled, "When was I never?"
Don smiled back at him. He threw him a stick and led Pheo to an isolated area for practice.