As I walked out of the room and headed back to the mine, I was filled with the uncertainty of how long I would be able to last, especially all alone as a child. When the guards roughly dropped us off at the Mine B, I saw that the very old and young had effectively vanished and knew that they had almost certainly been killed too. Our shackles had been taken off of us and were instead replaced by a single chain that had a large, grey spherical stone attached to it to prevent anyone from trying to run away - although they’d likely be caught even if they tried. I was starving from not having eaten anything since we had gotten off the wagon and tried to distract my mind by thinking back to what the guards had said on the way back. 

“Once you get back to the mine, we’ll put one of you on each team, and in that team you will work towards garnering the most resources. There's a quota and if you fall behind, you’ll be punished severely. So you and your team better get your shit together before we kill you.” *laughs*

I was no longer shocked that they had little regard for life, simply living on their own whims. They thought of us as property and we were clearly looked down upon. I followed their directions and left towards the group in the corner of the mine. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I hesitatingly walked towards my ‘team’, I noticed how cold it was and it didn’t help that we were stripped down earlier. I thought that perhaps I would die from the cold, which would be a pathetic way to die. The guards had told me that I was to introduce myself to the ‘team’ and integrate myself as the leader in some way - they didn’t specify. 

As I slowly walked through the mine, I noticed the rocky surface once again that was digging deeply into my skin. I was in terrible pain, but the fear that consumed me outweighed the pain. I decided to distract myself by observing the cavern. The ceiling was rather high and my footsteps echoed with each step. There were puddles of water all over the ground and pointy rocks coming out of both the ground and ceiling. I was captivated by its beauty for a second before I was dragged back to reality when a small, pointy rock stabbed through my skin. It was painful and I let out a small yelp.

As I neared my ‘team’, I saw that it was a rather large group of around 20 people. As I thought about it, it made sense considering how many people had entered the mines. Many were looking exhausted while a few looked angry. I went towards them to introduce myself, although I didn’t know how I would grab their attention. I met a half - they seemed like they were half animals and half human so I decided to just call them half - in the eye. He came over to me and opened his mouth to speak.

“What the hell is a kid like you doing here, they told us they would take the old and young to a safer place’.

I was flustered at this finding and questioned my own assumptions, had the other really been taken to a ‘safer place’? I doubted it, but I couldn’t just tell that to this half who looked like he was on the verge of going on a rampage. He possessed a human face with long, dark orange hair that looked like a majestical lion’s mane, even in the worst of conditions. He looked to be at least 4 cubits tall, looming over my small body, and had muscles everywhere. It was evident that he took great pride in his strength.

“Th, They didn’t tell me anything about a safer place. They just told me to head over here and tell you I am in ch, charge the group”

I was extremely nervous just talking to him and as soon as I said those last words, everyone in the group turned around to stare at me - it was uncomfortable. I looked away at the ground so that I wouldn’t have to look at any of them in the eyes. 

“Hah! A human kid like you being in charge of us beastmen? What a joke! What are you going to tell me next, that you’re a goddamn Paladin?!”

I cowered instantly under the pressure he exerted and was on the verge of wetting myself again. Thankfully, an older lady, perhaps his sister, came in to stop him. She had the same basic features as the man in front of me. Perhaps they were descendants of beasts that I had heard about in the slums from time to time. When I thought about the slums, it felt nostalgic, as if it had been years since I’d been taken away. 

“Hey Nor, calm down, he’s just a child. No need to get so mad at him. So what’s your name, young man?”

She spoke in a very soothing voice. I thought that perhaps this was what a mother’s voice felt like. I quickly answered while looking at my right arm.

“Uhm, uhm, B23108”

“Hmmm, let me reword the question. What’s your real name?”

I now understood that she was asking for a personal name, not the name forced upon me and for a second I was delighted at this fact. Here was a person who actually looked at me like a person and not another tool used to progress in the mine. 

“M, My name is Sol”

“My, what a wonderful name you have. Could you tell me who gave you that name?”

“I gave it to myself.”

“That is quite the wonderful name you have given yourself. I hope that you will one day live up to that name”

She didn’t ask any further questions about my parents or guardians, perhaps she already knew that I didn’t have any, but I found it very comforting to be around her, although I had only met her for the first time just now. I was taken out of this comfort when the man named Nor entered the conversation. He seemed to have gained some control over himself after being interrupted by the beautiful lady.

“That’s enough Rosa, I have some questions for Sol.”

“Of course, Of course. But just keep in mind he is going through a lot right now.”

*whisper* “As if we aren’t going through tough times either, che” ; “So you’re telling us that you’re now in charge of us lot and you think we’re just going to hand the reins over to you because of that?”

“W, Well that was what I was told by those guards over there”

He looked over at the group of guards with hatred burning in his eyes and proceeded to face me once again to give me a proposal. 

“If you are able to land one hit on me in any way, then I will at least acknowledge your orders. If not, give up on being the leader of our group”

I arrogantly thought that I would perhaps have a chance with the devil’s power I had learned to use earlier, so I nodded my head quickly. We got ready out of the guards' view, while the rest of the ‘team’ created a blind spot for us to do a quick duel. I was about 20 Cubits away from Nor and we both got into the ready position. It would be a 3 minute duel where I would have to try to get a hit anywhere on Nor’s body. I heard a few people talking to Nor, including Rosa and a few people from the ‘team’. 

“Go easy on him Nor! He doesn’t need to be broken more than he already is.”

I thought that they were making light work and looking down on me like the others who had brought me here. I got irritated and convinced myself of my victory.

“I can hit him in less than a minute!”

Rosa and a few others from the crowd of people watching looked at me worryingly as someone gave a rundown of the rules. The countdown finally started and the duel began.

“For the next 3 minutes, Nor is to dodge Sol while Sol is to try to catch him in any way possible within the boundaries. No injury is acceptable, and the duel will be stopped if the guards come over or I deem it too dangerous. 3, 2, 1, begin!”

*Cubits = 1.5 ft

*Deben = 91 g / 0.091 kg / 0.2 lbs

Thanks for reading once again. Please continue to support me as I continue to write this novel. Comment below your thoughts and feelings. Safe travels to everyone this Thanksgiving Week and make sure to get lots of rest!