Warhound 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.
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 complained to himself 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 near Parquatz.
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 onlt 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.