"Both of us WILL go"
The slaves all looked up to see Genzo and Kiya standing up. They were sceptical of them, unsure if they could finish the intended mission. After a while, the slaves settled down. The time was late. The slaves went to sleep.
After everyone went to sleep, Fred called Kiya and Genzo for the plan.
Fred: "So, you both are ready?"
G and K: "Yes."
Fred: "Well, don't you want to hear how you are going to get out of here?"
Genzo: "Yeah, I mean… that's why we stood up."
Kiya: "Yes, we would like to."
Fred: "So, the plan is to ambush the nobles on the day they come for the weekly 'visit', and just when they turn around to go and attend the meeting, you two are going to… if possible, take them hostage. But if that's not possible, then you should force your way out."
Genzo: "Wouldn't the guards come to capture us?"
Fred: "That's where I come in… I will distract them and create an opening for you to escape."
Genzo looked at Kiya with a look of approval.
Genzo: "This is a drag, but anything for my sweet, effortless life."
Kiya: "Don't the guards have guns? Wouldn't they shoot us?"
Fred: "Come on, have some trust in me… Don't you want weapons?"
Genzo: "It would be useful."
Kiya: "Yeah, a sword would be pretty useful."
Fred: "Well, Hit told me that you can only get weapons after you have reached the main block. They're kept at a room called The Weapon Cave," Fred said in a dramatic way.
Fred: "Fortunately, it's on the ground floor… So you could get access to weapons as soon as you enter the block… If only we had a Blid."
Kiya: "What's a Blid?"
Genzo: "You don't know what a Blid is?"
Kiya: "Nope."
Genzo: "It—"
Fred: "It's a type of black liquid which takes the shape of the weapon that suits the user the most. It is said that the weapon also gives the user special powers. But it is hard to wield because the liquid is like a person—it has its own will, and the user has to endure it."
Genzo gave Fred a look of anger and annoyance.
Genzo: "Hey, I was about to… You know what, I don't care."
Kiya: "Wooo, seems pretty cool."
Genzo: "It is."
Fred: "So, is the plan clear? Let's go to sleep—the guards will come to check on us."
Genzo: "Yeah, let's go to sleep."
As the three of them went to sleep, Kiya saw someone out of the corner of his eye. He suddenly looked at the shadow, wondering who it was. The door of the cell was open. He wondered if it was the guard—then they could ambush him right now. The shadowy figure seemed to be talking to someone. Kiya slowly crept up to the shadowy figure. The moment Kiya reached close enough to see who it was, the figure ran and suddenly the door closed. He checked to see if everyone was there.
He checked and tried to count everyone. But when he went to check the last two, he fainted… probably because of dehydration.
???: "WAKE THE HECK UP, YOU USELESS PIECE OF TRASH!"
Someone yelled at Kiya and spit on him.
Kiya: "Who the heck is yelling?"
He looked up and saw the guard and the other ones towering over him. He woke up and sat upright.
Guard: "I DIDN'T WAKE YOU UP TO JUST SIT THERE. WAKE UP AND GET TO WORK."
Kiya: "What work?"
Guard: "YOU ARE A SLAVE, YOU KNOW THAT?"
Kiya: "Oh… yeah. I forgot."
Guard: "Bruh, I don't even care right now. Just get up."
Kiya: "Ok."
Guard: "SO, I ASSUME YOU KNOW THE DAILY ROUTINE… except for the new ones."
"Yes," said everyone in unison.
Guard: "FIRST, YOU WILL TAKE A BATH, WITH WHICH YOU CAN CLEAN YOUR TEETH OR SOMETHING… I DO NOT CARE."
Kiya: "What? We won't even get to brush our teeth?"
Guard: "No, you won't… that's literally what I said. AFTER THAT, YOU WILL GO TO THE WORK AREA THAT IS SITUATED AT THE SHELL. IS THAT CLEAR?"
"Yes."
Guard: "AFTER THE WORK, YOU MAY HAVE FOOD, WHICH WILL CONSIST OF ONE AND A HALF LOAF OF BREAD AND TWO GLASSES OF WATER… WHICH WILL ALSO BE YOUR DINNER MENU."
"What about lunch?" someone asked.
Guard: "YOU CAN'T AND WILL NOT HAVE LUNCH. IS THAT CLEAR?"
"Yes," the man who asked the question said in a sad way.
Guard: "THEN, YOU WILL GO TO THE CAVE SITUATED JUST OUTSIDE THE SHELL, BUT DON'T TRY ANYTHING STUPID… THE WHOLE AREA IS COVERED BY WATCHTOWERS. THEN YOU WILL GO TO YOUR CELL AT 6 PM AND PROCEED TO STAY THERE. YOU MAY ONLY GO TO THE TOILET IN YOUR CELL. ALSO, WE WILL GUIDE YOU."
The toilet in the cell was attached to the wall with four sides and one side acting as a door. After all, the nobles did not want to see someone relieving themselves when they came to the cells. The toilet was rather fair and pretty functional. It was above average for a slave's dorm.
The deep underground cave consisted of various minerals which the slaves were supposed to dig up and bring back to the surface. However, this mission was not without a twist. The cave had a high probability of caving in. It also consisted of bizarre creatures, most of which were small but ferocious. But the larger ones were of a different breed—they had claws and teeth resembling those of a sabre-toothed tiger. They were killing machines.
The reason why they could not get out of the cave was because the entrance was too deep—that's why the monsters hadn't escaped either. If those creatures ever got out, the prison would witness a massacre.
The slaves were sent to the cave because they had a fair chance of not being spotted by the larger monsters. And even if they were, the nobles would not care… they were slaves, after all.
The slaves were sent to the bathhouse situated at the centre of the A and B blocks. Each cell was sent in a periodic order so that they could not socialise with others. The turn for Kiya's cell to bathe had come. They stepped into the bathhouse. The bathhouse seemed old and worn out. It was made of wood. The showers were built close to each other and had partitions on both sides—no doors were present. It was pretty sweet, if you think about it. It also had bathrooms—two of them.
Everyone began showering, thinking about their past lives. Genzo and Kiya had showered and sat on a wooden plank built onto the wall to act as seating. They started talking.
G: "You know, you never told me about your past."
K: "You too."
G: "Huh?" Genzo said, placing his head on the wall and trying to relax. Kiya did the same.
G: "You know, I never wanted to be a noble—or else I wouldn't have gotten kidnapped."
Kiya: "But peasants also got kidnapped."
Genzo: "You don't understand, do you? The majority of the slaves here ARE nobles. Usually, the only ones who get kidnapped by these guys are nobles… But they seem to have kidnapped you too."
Kiya: "Oh… why did they kidnap me, then?"
Genzo: "They also collect miracles."
Kiya: "Miracles?"
Genzo: "At least that's what I call them. Miracles are those who endured tough situations and lived. Like… a difficult fight, a war, etc. You get what I'm talking about?"
Kiya: "Yeah, I get it."
Genzo: "Well, you must have been kidnapped from those types of situations."
Kiya: "Yeah, I guess."
They stopped and didn't speak for a moment… until Kiya spoke.
Kiya: "So, you said that you would tell me about your past and why you are… lazy."
Genzo: "Heh, what a drag… Ok, I will."
Genzo stopped, getting ready to tell him his story. Kiya got ready to listen to his story.
No.
To witness his struggles.