Holy Lands - Hell Mine - morning

We enter the mine. The sudden change in the temperature is the most notable thing about this place. It rose in temperature, not too hot but I can certainly feel the heat sweeping all over my body.

"Kind of hot in here," Proxy points out as he takes his jacket off. “So, what do you think we’ll find down here?”

“According to typical high fantasy, since we’re looking at a treasure quest, so to speak, there might be monsters the further in we go.”

“I’m already ready for the challenge. And if it is like high fantasy, we might find some rare shit down here; like Excalibur or something like that.”

How would Excalibur be in this world?

As we continue the journey downward through the mine, we find people, and I mean real people. They have weapons in their hands, standing in front of us. It seems like they're on guard.

"Hey, who the hell are you?" one of them shouts at us.

"We're Jehovah's witnesses," Proxy responds, chortling to himself.

"You’re not allowed in here. Get out!”

“Or what,” Proxy bites back.

“...Or we’ll make you leave!”

"Guys, I like the spirit, but that won't help you. Trust me. So just let us through and I won’t have to hurt you."

The guards are still prepared to fight him, pointing their weapons at him.

"Proxy, I think they’re not gonna listen."

"I know. We just have to rough them up a bit."

“Just…go easy on them.” “

"I wouldn’t go all out on them. It would be like hitting a puppy, and I love dogs."

Moments later...

Proxy sits on one guard while the other is knocked out, their weapons away from their hands.

"So, I'm gonna ask you a question, just answer it and we’ll be on our way," Proxy tells the guard, leaning to add pressure.

"W-what is it?" the guard painfully spits out the words.

"A friend told me that a few days ago there was a discovery in this mine, something extraordinary."

"I don’t know what you’re talking about?”

“He’s lying,” I confidently reveal.

“Come on, and I was about to believe you. I guess we’ll torture you!”

“What!” the guard shrieks.

“Sorry, dude, but you leave me no choice.”

Proxy then holds up his index fingers. He puts them in his mouth for a few seconds before taking them out. Now, the torture method is ready: a saliva-covered finger!

“Tell us now, or you’ll experience hell like none other!"

“I won’t tell you.”

I'd call this man brave if not foolish.

“Then you have sealed your fate.” He then digs his fingers into the guard's ear.

The guard's face contorts as the wetness enters his ear. Proxy twists his fingers around in his earlobe, spreading his saliva inside. He looks like he wants to scream, even beg for mercy. I can’t blame him; Proxy gave me one when I was sleeping in his guestroom. It still haunts my nightmares.

"Stop! Stop! Please!”

“Ready to talk!?”

“Yes, yes! Anything, just stop!” Proxy takes his fingers out of his ear, wiping them on his clothes. “A few days ago, in the deepest part of the mine, the workers found something; a metallic case. I heard they couldn’t get it open no matter what they did to it. The Warden decided to keep it in his quarters."

"So this warden guy has the case? Where can we find him?” Proxy questions, keeping his finger next to the poor bastard's ear.

“He’s in the lower part of the mine.”

“Thanks, also, you said 'workers'. How many are we talking here?”

“Go see for yourself down there.”

“You know what, I will. And you have some sweet dreams.”

"Wha--"

Proxy quickly strikes the guard in the head, rendering him unconscious. He wipes his finger on the man's clothes.

“Looks like we’re going to have to go deeper into the mine,” I point out.

“If the rest of the guards are like this, then we're gonna get this weapon with no sweat.”

“Still, let’s be cautious. This was probably the lighter layer of security.”

“Makes sense, Alright, we’re going on alert orange!”

“You don't even know what that means.”

Though I don’t know if my prediction of the security being lighter is entirely right, but making this assumption will keep us from acting rashly. At least I hope it keeps Proxy from acting rash.

Hell Mine - lower depth

The temperature grows more humid the further we descend. I was exhausted by the time we made it down here, while Proxy is only breaking out into a sweat.

Proxy comes to a full-on stop, causing me to bump into him."What...? What is..."

"This place is huge!"

The area we are in is spacious. The room is perhaps 60-80 yards wide, with an untouched pillar of stone in the center. It obscures the front of the area. People ranging between 20-30, from what I can see, working to the bone taking materials from the digging site onto different carts. Multiple tracks around the site lead to the same track further down from the work area.

"Get down." Proxy brings my head down to the ground, behind a large rock. We peeked our heads over. 4 heavily armed men, all carrying sabers, walk around one person. He's lanky, dressed too well to be a worker, and not to mention that he's carrying an air of smugness around him.

“You think he’s the Warden?” I ask Proxy.

“Maybe. He looks like an asshole.”

Standing on top of a rock facing most of the workers, he coughs loudly into his hand. "Listen up, you worthless maggots!" the man’s voice echoes throughout the vicinity. Ugh, the feeling I’m getting from this guy is terrible; it's a mix of condescension and narcissism. "Some of you have been taking work materials without the Warden's permission! And you should know he feels about thieves, so whoever stole said materials shall be punished when apprehended! If said person doesn’t come upfront about the theft, then your quotas shall go up! That is all. You may go on."

He leaves just as quickly as he came, prancing around like he's a king.

"Hey, we're going to follow him," Proxy, moving low along the rocks, instructs me.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it sounds like he works with the Warden, given how he's bossing everyone around."

"So if we go after him, then he’ll lead us to him.”

“Exactly what I'm thinking. Come on.”

Proxy and I follow our viable lead and his guards. Along the way, I can't help but look at the workers. Most of them are pale, but their slim frames have muscles that must've come from hours of grueling work; however, they have little body fat to even it out. Who would do something like this? Seeing this stuff happen in front of my eyes, it's sickening to think that a human being would put people through this... Then again, it's not like it's impossible, just incredibly sickening.

From the corner of my eye, a child, holding a pick-axe, collapses, hitting the ground with a thud.

I grab Proxy's shoulder. "Proxy."

A guard march over to the little girl, taking out his weapon when he closed in on her.

"Stand up," a guard orders, pointing his weapon at her small frame.

She's out cold, unable to move a muscle. Three workers rush to her side, shielding her from the guard.

"Please, she's just a little girl, she's exhausted," a female worker confronts the guard, pleading like her life was on the line.

Reading her words, a fathomless feeling of despair pours out, wrecking my head.

"Please, we'll work even more than we normally do!"

Like on repeat, their despair pours into my head like black muck going right into my brain.

"No excuses! If she collapses, she must go out..."

The guard grabs the little girl by the arm and lifts her to his shoulder.

“Please, you can’t! She’s a child!”

“Silence! If you pester us any further, then you’ll be going out too!”

The workers are struck with fear by the mention of “going out”. What does that mean? Gah, that doesn’t matter, something bad is probably going to happen to that little girl. We need to do something... But if we go now, we'll just be exposed. Shit, why am I trying to think about this rationally!? Even if we get caught, I wouldn't feel good if she died! So...

"Proxy, we need to..."

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Before I could finish, he flies past me and jumped off the ledge. His body soars across the air, granting him everyone's attention. The guard was unable to respond in time to Proxy's attack. He planted his feet on the guard's chest. With his ariel momentum coupled with his body weight as well as his descent, the force behind his blow was far more powerful than expected.

Of course, it knocked out the guard in one go, but I never thought Proxy would be crazy enough to do something like that. Since he's already showing himself, I don't know why I shouldn't.

"Damn. That kinda hurt... Oh, sorry pal, didn’t see you down there." He faces the workers crowding around the little girl. "Sup. You fellas need some assistance?"

"You...attacked the guard?" one of the workers, shocked, yet amazed, mutters to themself.

"What about it? He's just some asshole who needed kicking."

These people must have never seen someone stand up to them before, let alone hit them. Naturally, that's going to draw the most attention to us... Hm? That guard...is he using a radio!?

"Proxy, look!" His eyes dart to where I'm pointing. "...He's calling for backup!"

"Well, shit! We gotta make ourselves scarce, like now!"

One worker picks up the little girl and waves over to Proxy and me to follow him.

"Wait a moment." Proxy runs back to the guard who is calling for help and drives his fist to his face, knocking him out in one go. "Now, we can go..."

“Was that necessary?”

“Can’t let him follow us now, can we?”

“Fair point.”

Hell mine - morning

They led us through to a tunnel that is large enough for us to crawl through. The tunnel ends at a sturdy, metal door. It's beaten up, but still holding. The worker ahead of us Knocks on it four times, then pauses, and knocked on it two more times. The door opens up, someone greets us from the other side.

"What are you all doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be on duty still?” the doorman inquires.

“Why is Racheal with you? What happened to her?”

"She collapsed during work. The guards were going to put her out."

"Oh, goodness, no..."

The doorman expressed his shock while putting his hand to his mouth.

"Um, can we come in? My knees aren't meant for crawling," Proxy requests.

“Don’t be rude,” I reprimand him.

“Sorry, but my knees are dying here.”

"Who are they?"

"That boy saved Racheal," the worker in front of me points back to Proxy.

"Guys, I like the appreciation you’re showing me. I genuinely do, but can we talk about my heroics inside?"

"Yes, come in quickly..."

The other side of the tunnel appears to be some sort of shelter, as it is housing several others who are wearing the same ragged attire. They are laying against the stone walls as they sleep. I hear coughing in the mix as well. Are they sick?

"Oh god," I whisper to myself, appalled by the scene.

"Welcome to our only haven,” one of the workers greets us with downcast eyes.

“This is where we take the people that the warden was going to have put out."

"Sorry, but what does being put out mean?" Proxy raises his hand.

"It's a sort of term for the workers' who collapse, lacking the will to work anymore, or cause a commotion; the guards must take out those people..."

"I see. So this place is for its namesake. Let me guess: these people die, right," Proxy guessed, the miners nod their heads.

"B-but, that's insane! They're just exhausted, right, so-"

"They clearly don’t care," Proxy tells me. "I'm guessing they have even more than the ones outside?"

"Yes, you are correct. More people are coming here as the days go by.”

“Can’t anyone stop them?” In disbelief, I utter a question I already know the question to.

"There is no one that can stop them. Even if we tried, it would all be for not"

This was all too much for me to take in. Human slavery is something you learned in history books in history class and learned was bad, but to actually see it unfold in front of your eyes...

"Ya got anything to eat," Proxy inquires, patting his stomach.

"We have some soup and bread."

“I’ll take some soup."

“Then follow me. But before we go.” The female worker holding the little girl places her gently on the ground.

“Would you like anything, young man?” the worker asked me for my requests.

“No, I think I’ll stay here.”

“In that case, please watch over Racheal for us.”

"Okay.”

“I won’t be gone for too long, buddy. Just let me refuel and we’ll be on our way.”

“Just don’t take too long.”

“Gotcha. Be back in a jiffy."

Proxy goes off with the refugees. . .

I sit down next to the unconscious girl. She has hazelnut hair and pale skin with some muscle on her arms. Her hands seem to be callous from using heavy equipment. I sink my head to the ground. I can hear the coughing and wheezing. Something is turning in my stomach. I feel something tug at my pants. It's the little girl.

"Oh, in, hey?" She doesn't respond to my poor attempt at communication. "So, um, how are you feeling?" No response again. "Do you know where you’re at?” She nods yes. “We had to bring you here because you blacked out.”

She remains silent. I clap my hands together as this "conversation" turned awkward.

“Oh, I forgot. Your name is Racheal, right? My name is Richard. It’s a pleasure to meet you."

She still remains quiet… Did I say something wrong? Did I do something wrong? Screw it, I’ll just fill in the dead air.

"So. . .are you okay? You must've been exhausted from working, huh?" Dead silent again. "Am I bothering you?"

She still isn't saying anything. Oh god, this is so weird, why isn’t she speaking back? Wait, could she be…?

"She's a mute."

A young girl from out of nowhere tells me. She looks a bit older than me.

“She’s a mute?"

The girl holds her tongue for a moment. She then looks back at me with saddened eyes.

". . .The reason is that her-"

Racheal hit the woman on the leg ‌to keep her from speaking.

"That’s rude, young lady!"

Seems like she doesn't care. She just strolls off, her little footsteps becoming quieter and quieter. . .

"Are you okay?" I ask the girl.

"I'm fine. I should've known she was still upset about it. Well, upset isn't the word anyone should use."

"Why did she do that?"

"She did it to stop me from talking."

"About what?"

Again, she's just giving me silence.

"Nothing, never mind. I shouldn't have brought it up, anyway. Just please, let her be by herself, she'll feel a lot better that way. Also, thank you for saving her. She really is a good kid."

“No problem.”

She takes her to leave elsewhere in the shelter. Did I do something wrong? I sigh to myself. I might as well go meet up with Proxy. Then again, this might be the only time I'll be by myself, so I might want to take the time to just relax. I take out a deck box from my pants pocket. I always enjoy going over my cards in my spare time, it always helps me feel relaxed. Luckily, my pockets are big enough for my boxes to fit.

"Huh?"

Racheal is staring at me. Her stare beats any other I've ever seen before. They are empty and as void as the black portal that brought us to this world. She walks past me with a pickaxe in her hands, dragging it on the floor. I wonder what she's planning on doing with it.

...

It's probably been 7 minutes since Proxy and I got here, he is still gone and I'm just exploring the place. No matter where I go, misery is all I feel from every corner of this place; it's almost suffocating. I end up back at the entrance of this shelter. Nobody is guarding the entrance and the wooden door is hanging open.

"Did someone leave? Did Proxy leave?"

The thought went through my mind. Would he leave me behind without telling me? That's ridiculous. Of course, he wouldn't... Albeit, he wanted me to stay back at the camp, so maybe he left by himself for me to stay here and out of trouble.

“Damn it Proxy, I told you I can handle myself!”

I climb through the hole and crawled to the other end. It makes me mad that he just up and left me behind. I told him I was fine… Then again; I don’t know if I’m really fine to be here. It is possible that I would slow him down; what if I have another panic attack like yesterday? My body stops moving. The thought makes me question my reason for being here. I don’t want Proxy getting hurt. That much is clear, but what if I just got in his way while fighting? Honestly, it scares me to know that I would only be a liability.

Just then, a scream echoes from the end of the tunnel. I crawl out of the tunnel to see what was going on.

"Stop struggling, damn it!"

A guard is attempting to drag off a worker.

"Oh, crap."

Taking a closer look, the person being dragged off is the person who was guarding the door to the shelter.

"I need to go get help!"

As I move my foot off the ground, the miner screams for help, begging someone to help them. I bite down on my lip. My arms are trembling.

"I said shut up!"

The guard hit the worker with his baton.

"P-p-please! Don't hurt me!"

"You tried to steal from the guard rations."

"What, no I wasn't! I just wanted-"

"I tried to knock you out, but you had a weapon, so I needed to put you down for the betterment of the other workers."

The baton switches from a blunt weapon to a short sword.

"Should've just told me where those intruders were when you had the chance. . . "

“Please, no!"

A sudden burst of adrenaline runs through me. Without thinking it through, I run over to the guard and pushed him with all the strength I could.

"Run," I yell at the worker.

I stumbled to the floor after I rush the guard. He gets up from the floor while picking up his sword. He thrust his baton at me. I dodge the attack. I trip on the floor because of my awful footing.

"Those don't look like the clothes of a worker? Who are you!?"

"Um, I'm, um!"

"I asked who are you!?"

He comes at me to stab me with the baton. I roll out of the way. I get up from the floor only to just stumble to the floor again. He gets on top of me, pinning me down to the ground.

"You must be those intruders that were reported earlier… Oh boy, today’s my lucky day!"

He wrangles my neck, strangling the life out of me. With my lungs constricted, they block air to my lungs. I'm gagging for a breath of fresh air.

“...Sorry kid, but you’re gonna be quite the reward for me. The Warden will probably think highly of me for this.”

This can't be the end of me, I just... I just...can't die! I don’t want to die! B-brother, mother, Proxy…!

Suddenly, his grasp on my neck loosens, and air enters my lungs after a desperate, deep breath. Analyzing what happened, a pickaxe in the guard's thigh. Proxy!? No, wait, he isn't the one who saved me. . .

"Racheal, what are you doing here?"

She points towards a rock. Picking up on what she wanted, I grab it. I use it to knock the guard out. My breathing stabilizes. I hit him as hard as I could, but I need to see if it didn’t kill him. The last thing I need is a guilty conscious… Thank god, he’s breathing. I thought I hit him harder than I should've. I've never done that to a person before. Hurting someone, the adrenaline rush is still rushing through me, not letting what ‌set in.

“Racheal. Um, thank you, for saving me… Racheal?" She takes her pickaxe from the guard's leg. That’s bad! Bleeding that badly is probably going to kill him! I tear off the guy's sleeve to bandage up his wound. He tried to kill me and someone else, I know that, but I just can’t watch him die.

"Hey, where are you going?"

She remains silent. She just casually paces onward, away from the shelter. Wait, she's heading to where the other workers are at, and to where guards are itching for a reason to hurt someone.

"Wait, it's too dangerous. Come back here!"

She still isn't listening to me. I have to go get someone to stop her. No, even if I got someone out here, Racheal would probably be neck-deep in danger, or worse. Besides, I don’t think anyone in there can help, or might even want to. Would that mean, I have to?

"Gah, pondering over this won’t achieve anything! I need to catch up with her."

I trip on something as I take a step forward.

"What the. . .?"

It is the guard's baton. I pick it up from the ground. Upon examining it, there are three buttons. Pressing the first one, the baton becomes a blunt weapon again, the second is the blade, and the third one is a stun rod. Well, at least I'm able to stun instead of seriously hurting someone.

"All right then, time to go!"

I wasted time fumbling with this thing, I need to catch up with Racheal. I hope I can find Proxy along the way, and when I do, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.

Hell mine - shelter - ?

"Richard, where are you?"

When I got done eating my soup, I knew it was time to leave, but I can't find Richard anywhere. You'd think a guy like him would stay in one place, but nope. Disappears into thin air.

"Excuse me." Someone calls me.

"Yo?"

"You had a friend with you. He has glasses?"

"That's the one you know where he's at?"

"I-I do." The dude seems like he's dead exhausted. Does he have a weak constitution? “A guard attacked outside of here me, but your friend saved me!”

He went out by himself!?

"Where is he?"

“I don’t know. He told me to run away while he distracted a guard just outside of here.”

Shit! This is bad. Screw waiting around, he just straight-up ditched me! I need to get going now.

"All right, thanks for the info."

I run for the exit of this place. Why the hell did Richard leave without me? Doesn’t he know how dangerous this place is? If he has another panic, he’ll be like a sitting duck. I open the wooden door and rush through the tunnel.

"What in the hell are you thinking, Richard? Now's not the time to be venturing by yourself!"