‘If you don’t meet the quota this week, justice will be dealt with swiftly,’ the guard yells at us.

The other Dogs for hours on end swing their picks on the useless hard rock. I move back and forwards, pushing a mine cart to gather anything of use.

I can barely fill the cart up halfway with ore. This will not end well. The deposits of black iron get scarcer and scarcer with every passing day. I don’t know how much longer we have until we run out of the ore.

My people work tirelessly while tension grows in the mine. I believe the guards are becoming more irritated as the day goes by. Frustrated that we cannot meet their demands, regardless of our best efforts.

Perhaps the question is becoming to loom closer by the minute. Is our time in the mine ending? What will the guards do to us? Will we be free?

I don’t believe the answer will be simple, but whatever it is, I doubt It’ll like it when it does arrive.

A Dog in front of me clumsily waves his pick above his head and lazily hit the earth. His body sways from side to side, he tries to balance himself. He can’t keep going like this.

I move away from the cart to rest my hand on his back while taking his pick from him. He looks at me in confusion. ‘Why did you do that? I’m fine.’ He says, slurring his words.

‘No, you aren’t. Now sit down and catch your breath.’

I guide him to the ground while handing him my water bottle, which he does not hesitate to gulp down.

When he finishes drinking, he wipes the water from his lips with one hand. He looks at the ground with a mix of shame and exhaustion. One Dog notices me and nods that he will be on watch for any guards.

‘Rest for a bit. You are no use dead, my friend,’ I tell the young man.

‘Why do you care? You have all the power anyone could want, yet you still work with us. Why?’

‘I am a slave as well.’

The young man looks at me, unable to understand what I mean.

‘What is your name?’ I ask the young man.

‘Tiden.’ He replies. ‘You didn’t answer my question, Marak. Why do you care?’

‘I couldn’t let my people work alo-‘

‘Dad!’ A familiar voice shouts from across the mine. I pick the young man back up and give him back his pick.

Alex runs in the tunnel. Upon seeing me, he flies at me and collapses at my feet. I help him back up. This has to be serious.

‘They took her! They took May!’

My eyes widen. They took her. No! I still have time. The warden gave me so much time, and I still have plenty of it.

‘Where is she?’ I demand, he gasp for breath and points in a direction he came from.

‘The entrance, he told me you had unti-‘

Without a second thought I push Alex out of the way and sprint towards the entrance, shouting at everyone to move out of my way, and shoving any to slow to move. I can’t waste time. I can’t lose May.

Two guards at the end of the tunnel block my way.

‘Get out of the way!’ I shout.

‘Not until you-‘

I can’t waste my time on this.

I crash through them, both of the guards tripping over and hitting the ground with a loud crash. This will get me killed, but I would rather die than lose my daughter. I can’t lose her like I lost her mother.

‘Wait!’ I shout at the top of my lungs as I arrive at the entrance. Hoping to gain their attention.

May stands on top of the hanging tower, relief flooding her face as she sees me.

Next to her is the warden, looking at his pocket watch.

‘Wait! I am here!’ I wave my arms at them while I stop in front of the tower. One guard heads to May to remove the noose from her neck, but the warden stops him, placing his hands on May’s shoulders.

My body freezes, my heart stammering as I stare at the warden.

I did everything. Everything he asked me to do! Why May and not me?

The warden smiles at my petrified state, he shoves May off the platform.

Time around me slows down to a near halt. The only thing I can see is her falling. The rope around her neck straightening the closer she is to the ground. Her face, frozen in shock at this sudden injustice.

Snap!

The tension of the rope echoes through my mind. I collapse to my knees as May’s body sways back and forth. The world becomes a fog, a haze, except her. She is as clear as anything. Even the faint sounds of talking hum from the top of the tower could not drown out the deafening silence.

I face the guards above me as they argue with the warden. In defiance, or out of pity, the warden cuts the rope that holds May. I throw myself at her, to catch her falling body.

Her eyes are wide open, her expression stuck to that of panic. I hold her as I shake her in my arms. Praying for her to say something. Anything! But she doesn’t respond.

‘Wake up, honey. Daddy is here.’ I gently tap her face as I shake her once more.

‘Wake up May, I’m here for you. Please don’t go,’ I mumble as tears fills my eyes, my heart becoming heavy, with every heartbeat more painful than the last.

I place my ear on her chest and... Nothing. No beating of the heart, no breath of life from her lungs. Only silence.

I bury my face in her chest and weep, my cries echoing the halls of my mind. I failed her, everything I did for her, the life that I treasured, my reason to keep going. Gone.

The cold metal of the pace stick lands under my chin, guiding my head to face the man who killed my daughter.

‘Are you done?’ The warden says coldly.

I don’t know how to respond. For the first time in my life, I can’t give an answer.

‘Well, are you?’ He repeats himself.

‘Y... yes...’ I struggle to get words from my mouth as I hold back my tears. ‘Yes, master.’

The warden smiles as he taps my head with his stick.

‘Lovely. I warned you I needed to make an example out of someone. You should be grateful that I cut her down and didn’t display her for the mine to see. Now take that body to the pits and get back to work.’ He walks away, cheerfully whistling as he waves his stick around.

I look back at May’s lifeless body. She is wearing her belt buckle, her last gift. I weep while I hide my face from the world. My beloved child, and the world has taken my baby girl!

A Dog walks up to pick me up from the cold ground.

‘I got you, friend.’ I move my hand to see Dust.

He offers to take May, but I decline his offer. This is my burden to carry, alone. He and a few others escort me to the pits, the dumping ground of our dead.

Stolen story; please report.

The walk to the pits is long, feels longer with May in my hands. Every tunnel we walk past, the Dogs stop working to watch me, remaining silent as a sign of respect while they make way for me.

Alex comes to me with a shovel in his hand. Seeing May’s body makes him teary, barely able to speak.

‘I... I prepared a place for her,’ he chokes.

I nod in acknowledgement as I continue my walk to the pits. We walk past multiple pits, giant tombs full of bones and rotting corpses. The guards make us throw all our dead in them, be the elderly, men, women, chiefs, and traitors. It didn’t matter. They all share the same fate and place of rest.

But we refuse to throw our children with us, they deserved better. They deserve to rest somewhere else.

Dust leads me to a secret room hidden by a makeshift door made of bone and wood that opens to an ancient pit. The room itself is dark and vast. It was here before I was even born. Some say it is as old as the mine itself.

We light our path with a single lantern as it barely illuminates the path in front of us.

Rows upon rows of the graves of our children lay before me, graves of our future, hope, and world. I arrive at an empty grave, ready for May to rest.

Dust places his hand on my arm to comfort me before leaving to have my last moments with her.

I gently lower her body in place, while tearing off a large part of my ragged shirt to place it over May’s face. I cannot bear to look at her innocent eyes, not when I failed her.

I look at her belt buckle, the last gift I gave to her on her birthday.

The times I tell her about Stimpy and his wild adventures. She would always smile in excitement to hear what the mouse had to say. Even a story that someone will free us. They gave her hope, they promise a world that we will never have. It is a lie, but a lie that made her smile. I miss her smile, her laugh. In front of me, was my world. A world that is taken away from me.

My grief violently shifts to anger. My blood boiling red-hot. The anger could cause my head to explode.

I snatch May’s belt buckle before I bury her in the earth. With each shovel of dirt, my rage grows at the man who killed her, at the guards, at all their Gods, and their Empire.

Balgazard will not live another day. That bastard will pay for what he has done to me! For what he has done to May! Tomorrow, he is as good as dead.

I sit at the dark centre of the food court with nothing but May’s belt buckle, I tap my finger on the table, waiting for Alex and Dust to arrive. I look around, hoping the guards don’t notice me. There is little time before they call for my hanging.

Out of the corner of my eye. I see Alex and Dust walk towards me. They sit across the table from me, Alex still looking devastated from May’s unjust murder.

‘I’m sorry, my friend,’ Dust says in a sympathetic tone.

‘Thank you.’

‘Dad, I... is there anything you want us to do?’ Alex asks me, his voice full of grief.

I turn away from them. ‘I pushed two guards over today.’

Dust and Alex stare at me in shock.

Alex tries to form a sentence, but the weight of what I’ve said renders him speechless.

‘That isn’t all of it,’ Dust retorts.

‘No, what the warden did to me, he needs to pay, I need to kill him.’

‘Are you insane!’ Alex whispers as he looks around to see if anyone heard me. ‘What if you fail?’

I sigh. ‘Than I die. Either way, it doesn’t matter.’

Alex tries to protest, but Dust cuts him off. Shaking his head. He looks at me and sighs, grief clear in his face. I feel a little guilty for making his feel this way, the closest friend, my father figure for most of my life. I know now, all too well, the pain of losing a child.

‘Marak. It’s good knowing you, son.’

Dust reaches his hand out to me. As I take it, he pulls me close, giving me a hug. Alex joins in while he silently sobs.

Alex has been like a son to me. In a way, he is a lot like me.

Left by his parents, with no one to look after him until I came along.

However, he doesn’t need me anymore. The young man can hold his own.

The tapping of the pace stick on the rails rings through the food court. It is time. The room falls silent, every Dog and guard looking up at the warden, waiting to hear his announcement.

‘Today, a few crimes have been committed, and justice has been delivered.’

I groan bitterly. This is my time to get revenge, to finally stand up to the monster. That bastard had better enjoy his last moments in this godforsaken mine.

‘Your chief, M-24:6 has knocked over two guards on his way to the entrance. This act is against rule six. M-24:6 please stand so we can escort you out of the room.’ I rise to face the warden as he smiles down at me.

‘I would like to stand in defence of Marak,’ Alex shouts, leaping to his feet by my side.

‘You idiot, you are going to get yourself killed!’ I hiss.

The warden chuckles at this performance.

‘In that case, you need one hundred people to stand with you. Problem is that each guard’s opinion and testimony represents that of a hundred Dogs, and there are two of them. If you don’t have two-hundred to support you.’ He gestates himself being hanged. ‘You and everyone who stands with you will die with the convicted.’

Dust stands up and places his hand on my shoulder. No, don’t do this for me.

‘You bastards are going to get yourselves killed!’ I snarl at them both.

‘No, look around you, dad.’

One by one, Dogs rise out of their seats to support me. Men, women, children, they all stand for in defence, at first it would be just a handful, but eventually the whole mine stands up, for me.

This has to be a dream. I shake my head to wake myself up, but it is all real. The whole mine stands with me. I glare back at the warden; he seems shocked at this as much as I am.

‘In that case,’ he shrugs. ‘M-24:6, I pardon you. But if you do this again, there will be no one to stand in your defence.’

The warden leaves the room, tapping the walls with his pace stick. Perhaps I don’t need to kill him. No. This opens up an opportunity, a new goal for me to accomplish. I have an army that will stand for me. It would be illogical not to use their help, to take the mine, to not just kill Balgazard, but every living Cinari here.

I sit down with Alex and Dust, drawing them close to listen.

‘We will take the mine.’

Dust grins. ‘And you have a plan?’

Alex eagerly looks at me as to tell me he is in.

‘I do.’