My sisters out did themselves with these creatures of theirs. I mean, resistant to fire, resistant to cold hell they were resistant to every disease I could throw at them! They were so proud of themselves thinking they finally made something I couldn’t end, Apollyon chuckled as Morrigan thrust the head of her pickax into the side of the tunnel she worked in. The tip of her tool wedging itself between stone and the metallic forest green raw metal buried within. With a short heavy hammer she beat on the head of the pickax wedging the tip deeper behind the precious metal.

The sharp ring from each strike echoed around her as it mingled with the similar sounds of other prisoners trying to pry loose their bounty of the day. The ringing hurt, but only to a degree as Apollyon passively repaired what damage her eardrums took from all the high pitched noises.

“So, were they right?” she asked aloud as she gripped the handle of her pick ax. She flinched as the echo of a whip cracking resonated from behind her. The sound of the whip was like a metronome, ticking away the passage of time in the near hellish environment she lived in.

Time had been lost to Morrigan. She had tried to keep track of how long she had been incarcerated within Castile V, but without the sun or moon, it took about a month for her to lose track. Now all her days blended together, the low artificial light that hung from the tunnels and around the central warren diffusing the concept of time into one perpetual day with only the random relief of sleep the prisoners were allowed.

Morrigan found it maddening at first. Her body had adjusted poorly, due to the substantial energy her body required prior to arriving at the colony when she was tortured by Lieutenant Colonel Amaranthe. It turned out her powers were not limitless like she thought. It turned out being below the surface of the planet, her body could not absorb the ambient energy from the universe around them. Her life had been a personal hell within her own mind as well as her body as she struggled against the consuming fear and anxiety that threatened her psyche, at least until the mining crew had dug into a small nest of Scissor Bugs.

Castile V was a penal mining colony used to harvest Viridian ore, a precious metal used in the Federation’s hyper drive systems. The thing most people do not know is that Viridian ore comes from the broken down excrement of the Scissor Bugs; stone burrowing beetles that resembled Hercules beetles the size of small cars with long scything forearms used for digging. Morrigan had been abandoned when the bugs attacked. They sliced through flesh like butter as they tore through the miners wielding the sonic drills. Sonic drills were cannons that fired high frequency blasts of sound the shatter stone like glass, they were to primary tool to creating the tunnels the miners harvested from.

As the bugs rampaged and devoured the several miners they caught, Morrigan’s addled mind receded and her primal instincts kicked in, pushing the last of her energy into tearing apart one of the bugs. Her spectral claws tore the chitinous armor apart like paper and blood flowed freely for her. It was a fast and dangerous learning curve that told her she would need to be careful with the amount of energy she used in the future if she ever found herself without access to the ambient universe.

It was the blood of the insects after all that fed her sanity and replenished her starved body. The blood that brought her back from the edge of lunacy as she tore through each and every bug that threatened to cleave her in half and devour her. By the end of it she sat exhausted against the shattered remains of one of the bugs, her body gorged with bug and prisoner alike; her senses overloaded while the blinding lights of flashlights attached to assault rifles that shined upon her.

Her fear was not that of the assault rifles, but the retaliation of someone having seen her use her powers. However, instead of proverbially, or literally, burning her at the stake for the power she held, the prisoners cheered for her valiant victory against the Scissor Bugs. As it turned out, no one saw her nor did the guards care how she managed such a feat. Even the warren pit boss, the head prisoner who lived lavishly in comparison to the rest of the workers, was so impressed with her job at saving the lives of her fellow inmates, that he presented her with two packs of cigarettes and a book of matches as reward.

Morrigan was not impressed with the reward since she did not smoke at the time but she quickly learned that cigarettes were an extremely valuable commodity within the colony. It also turned out, to her disbelief, Scissor Bugs meat was a delicacy.

Of course not! Hahaha like they could ever! Apollyon laughed at her question. No, they may have created a pretty hearty species but I could have walked their planet and eviscerated the entire species if I wanted.

Morrigan smirked at that, knowing damn well that Apollyon would have done exactly that if it felt like it. She let out a grunt as she wedged her body underneath the handle of her pickax. Calling a tiny amount of her power into the muscles of her arms and legs, the pickax bit through the stone and dislodged a chunk of Viridian the size of a grapefruit. She laughed to herself as she reached down and grabbed it then tossed the chunk into a wheelbarrow. “So? What did you do? The suspense is killing me,” she teased.

Is that so? Ha! Well just as it were, instead of doing things the dirty way like my sisters expected… I smashed a meteor into the planet! Hahaha! Apollyon concluded with a mad cackle.

Morrigan laughed loudly at that as the resonant sound of a sonic drill went off and the rumbling echo of shattering stone caused her to instinctively duck and wince, her ears ringing as Apollyon repaired the damage to her ear drums. She let out a hysterical chuckle, “I'm sure that surprised the shit out of them.”

Oh it shocked the shit out of them hahaha, though I did go a little overboard because it also destroyed the planet as well…

That sent Morrigan into another bout of hysterics as she hammered the pickax into the tunnel wall again. “that’s great! You would do that!” she cackled to herself as the other prisoners near her gave her strange looks. Morrigan did not care though. The prisoners in the warren learned not to question the mad ramblings of the little girl who saved their lives and decimated a nest of Scissor Bugs.

Morrigan heard a whoosh before the loud snap of the whip that impacted the wall next to her, spraying the dirty ragged clothes she wore with a fine layer of dust. “No dawdling you crazy witch!” the task master called out.

She turned her head just enough to eye the gangly man who held the whip. A friend of the pit master as she recalled. The man took a small step back as he caught one of her green irises reflecting the light just in between one of her faded bangs and the rat's nest of hair.

Oh, look at that, the poor lad is about to piss himself, Apollyon snickered. Morrigan’s demeanor cracked from a sly smirk into a mad fit of giggles. Her shift in demeanor had the task master wide eyed. After her fight with the true denizens of Castile V, the prisoners lived with knew not to antagonize or threaten her. This instance was one of many that reminded the task master to never strike the girl with the whip he carried.

You should find out what his spine looks like. I bet its all soft and slinky, Apollyon mused.

Morrigan grinned as she pulled her tool from the wall before brushing the hair from her eyes, giving the task master a cheeky grin, “Oh, I’m sure his spine looks just fine. I don't see a reason to take a personal look.”

The man grimaced as he walked backwards away from her. Not letting her out of his sight until he felt safe enough to turn his back to her and head back farther into the tunnel. The man’s fear made her grin broaden as Apollyon’s laughter took over her mind.

She turned in a wild swing, sinking the long metal spike of the tool back into the wall. She let her pickax hang in the wall as she leaned up to reach down the ragged shirt she wore. Her hand slipped into a makeshift pocket within the makeshift bra she made from torn clothing. Her hand extracted a half filled pack of cigarettes and matchbook.

The colony cared little for the needs of the prisoners, giving them only the barest of essentials whether it were man or woman; shirts and pants, food and water as well as any items the prisoners can con the guards into ordering for them. Typically that was done through the pit boss who seemed to have some sway with the warden of Castile V. She had never met the warden, but then again, with her thin grasp of sanity she knew she had, it was probably a good thing.

Morrigan inhaled deeply from the burning cigarette, the latent smell of burning magnesium wafting around her from the burnt match before she tucked the rest of her prized possession back underneath her shirt. It was not the last of her earnings she had, in fact, she had won more in card games against other prisoners during their brief off times.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The ashy taste rooted her senses as she exhaled; the heat leaving her lungs with the cigarette hanging loosely from her lips as her mind came back into focus.

Morrigan knew her parents would be disappointed to learn that she started smoking. They always warned her of the severe ramifications of tobacco and addiction since there had been many opportunities for her to pick up the bad habit. Between her arrest at age 16, to the three years of overwhelming sense of doom she felt all the while having to restrain her personality and shape it into something acceptable by social norms…

The thought of her parents caused a twinge of pain in her chest. A pain of sadness and longing that served as a reminder that she was a prisoner who would likely not see the light of day again. As much as she never wanted to admit it, smoking became a vice for her. It dulled the pain and it kept her grounded; for as much as Apollyon tried to keep her lunacy to a minimum by regaling in tales of old or recommendations of murdering fellow inmates to quell the protective madness that slowly grew inside her mind. The power held within blood would repair the psychological hopelessness of the situation she found herself in, or so Apollyon told her.

Aww, I happen to enjoy it when your mind is clouded like that hehehe.

Morrigan shook her head as she took another drag from the cigarette, taking it from her mouth as she exhaled to tap away the ash. “Yeah, that’s only because the idea of murder is a lot more pleasant when my mind wanders…” she noted accusingly.

Well yeah! You’re a lot more fun when your morals are not in the way, Apollyon countered with a cheeky undertone.

With an eye roll, Morrigan put the cigarette back into her mouth as she grabbed onto the pickax to resume her work. “Yeah, because I don’t want to strangle you every five minutes,” she said as she hauled back and swung the pickax again, this time chipping out a small nugget of Viridian.

Oh please, I know you love me. Besides, you can’t say you haven't thought about killing everyone here, I’m in your head girl.

Morrigan snorted in response. Apollyon was not wrong, she considered it as an escape plan once. She also considered it when her sanity began to dissolve and the fear of everyone around her grew in the early days of her incarceration, she only realized that would ultimately lead to her death, whether by execution or starvation.

“Yeah, but you know as well as I do that its not a very good plan… if I were to kill too many, they would grow suspicious and if I killed everyone well… I’d be dead and you’d probably be stuck inside another planet,” she said sincerely, her tone almost hinting at worry.

Yeahhh… that would suck… Apollyon agreed morosely.

Morrigan nodded sadly as she tossed another nugget of Viridian with the rest she had harvested. She continued to chip away the section of tunnel wall until her back ached and shoulders burned. Once the vein of Viridian dried up, she would toss her pickax and hammer in with her haul and push the wheelbarrow deeper into the active tunnel to find a section of wall still untouched, just like she did every day.

ΩΩΩ

A shrill whistle from the pit boss that signaled the end of the day’s worth of mining. The whistle was mimicked by the task masters to make sure the signal reached the deepest depths. Morrigan wiped the sweat from her brow as she tossed the hammer she held into her wheelbarrow. With a huff she lifted the wooden arms and pushed it towards the central warren. She was covered in sweat and her body was sore as she fought to keep her haul balanced while it bounced over loose stone and rough tunnel floors.

However long she had been in the bowels of Castile V, it was long enough for the work she did to build her muscle. Her body was leaner and more dense than it had ever been, her bare feet now hardened to withstand the rocky ground she walked on. That did not stop her from cutting ribbons from her old uniforms to wrap her feet.

The inmates lined up with their carts and wheelbarrows in front of the freight elevator, armed prison guards watching closely as the inmates waited to dump their haul of Viridian into the container in the elevator. The pit boss stood above on his plateau to watch the unloading, gauging the bounty the other inmates gathered to decide if food would be served.

It was a shitty rule of the job. If not enough Viridian was collected from the tunnels each day, all of the inmates excluding the task masters and the pit boss were denied their single meal of the day. Naturally, there was a huge amount of loathing and disdain between the pit boss and general inmate population. Out of the 87 inmates, Morrigan and a select few were the only ones who held no ill feelings towards the pit boss nor his lackeys. Frankly, Morrigan felt the pit boss respected her more than most.

As she waited near the pit boss’s burrow, she could hear one of the task masters complaining. By the whiny voice, she could tell it was the one she scared earlier. “We gotta do somethin’ about the girl boss, she’s bloody mad!” she over heard the task master complain.

The pit boss, known as Atlas to who ever felt it necessary to address him or cared to for that matter, let out a low chuckle. He was a portly man with fading, thinning hair pulled into a bun, his beard long and styled like an ancient Asian monk or samurai. He patted his bulging gut that swelled with the prestige of being in his position as his gaze remained focused on the numerous prisoners who dumped the Viridian into the wide container, each time rumbling, as raw ore rolled over the dense metal.

He gave no hint about seeing her standing close to his shallow perch, only showing a knowing smile that she was listening. He leaned his head over to his friend as he kept up his observation, “the girl does no wrong, in fact, she’s one of the hardest working inmates we have. Why would we do something about that?” He enunciated loud enough to make sure she heard.

An appreciative smile spread across her face as she listened to Atlas’s game. For some reason, he seemed to hold her in high regard and with great respect. Maybe it was the fact she murdered a bunch of bugs, or perhaps it was the fact that she kept to herself and never started trouble but whatever the reason was, she was glad she had someone in her corner.

“The girl is bloody mental! Its only time until she snaps… frankly she scares the shit right outta me,” the task master said which forced Morrigan to stifle a laugh.

Awww, so soft, so squishy…such a waste of life, Apollyon observed aloofly.

Atlas on the other hand could not contain his laughter as he slapped the man on the back. His bellowing laughter reaching across the entirety of the warren. “Afraid of the little girl, are you? Ha! If you haven’t forgotten she saved many souls not long ago. Perhaps, maybe instead of fearing her you should start respecting her,” he said as he took a step forward and stared Morrigan down. “Mori! Come here girl, I know you’ve been listening!” he called down to her.

Morrigan set her wheelbarrow down before turning to him with a guilty smile before casually stepping back behind two inmates who now had to work to move around her and her abandoned wheelbarrow. The task master gripped his whip tightly as his face turned white as snow.

“Jared says you’ve been havin' him shivering in his britches,” he reiterated humorously. Morrigan batted her eyelashes and smiled as innocently as possible, holding her hands behind her back like the family princess who had just been caught breaking the rules. The display made Atlas chuckle again, “would you be a dear and take it easy on poor Jared here? His little heart can only take so much,” he requested, his underhanded comment earning a rise out of his friend.

“But Atlaassss! He makes it too eassyyy!” Morrigan sang like a little girl who was begging her parents for something, hammering the theatrics home with an overly exaggerated pouty lip.

That made Atlas laugh as Jared sputtered in disbelief, “see! This is what I’m talking about! She’s mental!” Morrigan stuck her tongue out at him in retaliation.

“Okay, okay. How about this,” Atlas said as he knelt and dug into the satchel that hung from his shoulder. When he pulled his hand out, he held a square package wrapped in a thick papery material. “If you promise to behave, I’ll let you have this here hardtack, it doesn’t taste like much but it goes decently with the slop they give us,” he stated, displaying the five inch by five inch package. Morrigan lifted her chin with a smirk in interest as she eyed the package. She never had hardtack before, but from what she knew of it, it would make good for trade or gambling if she ended up not liking the taste of it.

She reached up for the hardtack and to her surprise, he leaned down to let her take it. She stuck her finger into her cheek with an audible, thoughtful hum as she inspected the package. She shifted her eyes up to see Atlas raise his eyebrow expectantly. “Hoooww aboouut, this-“ she waved the hardtack playfully, her finger still buried into her cheek, “aandd a new set of clothes!” she squeaked with a perky smile.

Atlas laughed in surprise, not expecting her to start haggling. “Hard tack and a set of clothes?”

She flourished her arms, twisting as she inspected her own clothes as well as drawing his attention to what she was wearing, “well, these are soaked with sweat and so dirty, it’ll take forever for me to clean them with the limited water we get,” she pouted. Underneath her hair she had a sinister smirk as she inspected her pants, only to switch back to her playful demeanor when she looked up to Atlas.

He nodded with an amused grin as he conceded to her point. “Fine, I’ll talk to the Warden but you gotta promise!”

Morrigan grinned brightly as she tucked the hardtack into her shirt then met Atlas's dull blue eyes, “I promise I’ll play nice with the scaredy task master,” she teased. She could hear Apollyon howling in laughter as she thought of different ways she could antagonize Jared.

Atlas laughed again as he pushed himself up right before pointing at her, “from now on, not just until you get clothes!” Morrigan grinned wickedly as if she had just been caught red handed.

She turned towards the task master and waved in a playful flourish, “see you tomorrow, Jared,” she teased before sauntering off back to her wheelbarrow.

You really do make lunacy look good, Apollyon said through a chuckle. Her grin only widened at her companion’s compliment, her semi-fractured mind feeling like its observation was more reality than opinion.

Jared grimaced. Her words sent an unpleasant shiver down his spine. He turned to Atlas completely exasperated. “Why would you appeal to that woman? She’s a god damned loon, you can’t just bargain with that level of crazy.”

Atlas waited until he believed she was out of earshot as the lines to the Viridian bin dwindled. He knew the girl was dangerous but instead of fearing just how deadly she obviously was, he respected it. He quickly turned to face Jared, his expression no longer joyous, “the girl destroyed an entire nest of bugs Jared, if she can do that single handedly-what in the fucking hell do you think I can do about her?” Atlas growled in a hush tone. Jared blanched at the obvious point his boss pointed out. If she really wanted to hurt someone, there was nothing any of them could do to stop her.