“Can’t you run any faster?” Alistar called over his shoulder.
He slowed to a stop despite his taunt, resting a hand over the wondrous stone that sat hidden within his garments. This had become a habit over the past two years.
“We’ve been running all day, Alie,” a tired Kaila wheezed. “We’re almost back, so can we stop?”
He hunched over, sucking in deep breaths through a competitive, joyful grin. Turning to face her, he said, “Aren’t you even a little curious about the new guards?”
“You’re the one who wanted to play first thing after breakfast.”
“And now I’m curious.”
In truth, the bells that signalled the end of the workday had sounded mere minutes ago. Alistar and Kaila had been wandering through the caves since the onset of the day, and he was eager for his second and final meal. Although he was accustomed to hunger, he wanted to get back to the Resident Cavern as quickly as he could. Today was a special occasion that only happened once in a blue moon, which would have a large impact on the way the lives of the slaves would play out in the coming months. Today marked the day when a new block of guards would come to replace those who had overseen them since the last shift replacement.
At first, Alistar had been disinterested. What did it matter that the guards were changing, when all of them were the same? He had come to understand that there were only two types of guards in Crystellum. There were those that abused the slaves to a frightening degree, and those who watched and did nothing. The latter were higher in number and just as guilty in his mind as the ones that perpetuated the abuse.
As they had done the year before, he and Kaila had run off and spent almost the entire day away from the others. And, just as he had at that time, Alistar couldn’t help but feel a slight curiosity, a slight hope, that this year’s selection of guards would be a bit more merciful and a tad more understanding than those that preceded them.
When Kaila didn’t respond, Alistar took note of the light frown that had found its way onto her tiny, rosy lips. She knew how the guards could be, especially on their first day. Some liked to establish their positions by beating a few unfortunate slaves, to show the majority that their word was law and that they were not to be disobeyed. Some found favourites among the workers, people they would subject to endless torment in the months that followed, as if it were some sort of game between friends that was of no consequence to any involved. Most kept to themselves.
One thing was true for all of the guards, and that was that none of them wanted to be here. The first days were always the worst, but after the initial switch had passed and the newcomers had adjusted to their temporary home, things would fall back to the usual degree of unpleasantness.
“Come now,” sighed Alistar. He adjusted the rags he had long since outgrown, and then continued on in an encouraging tone. “Mama and Uncle Raidon should be back by now, and Grandpa Talon too. We can all eat together, and then we can practice our numbers.” Despite the fact that the tunnel was lit, he held out his hand.
“I don’t like doing numbers,” Kaila mumbled as she took hold out of habit. “It always takes me so long, and you always finish so quickly.”
He led her into the healthier lighting of the Long Tunnel.
“Then finish faster,” he said with a smug smile.
She pinched him. He jumped with a yelp and released her hand, the two of them giggling madly as she chased him into the Resident Cavern.
They arrived just as hundreds of workers began streaming in from the surrounding tunnels, with just as many heading out to begin their work period. Everybody wore the same tattered, ragged clothing, which was made from an unknown, coarse fabric. Aside from the children, there was not a smile in sight within the giant cavern.
Most of the deflated adults sagged down onto their sleeping places after an exhausting day of back-breaking work, all heavily afflicted by depression. Some had blisters that bled down their hands, some with bruises shadowing their dirty cheeks or swellings that stuck out on their downturned faces. This scene was a recurring part of Alistar’s daily life.
He and Kaila kept their distance until the adults had been properly situated in their usual spots, either at their drably furnished living spaces or lined up among the disorderly mob that hungrily awaited their lukewarm porridge.
Alistar and Kaila waited until things had settled down. Once they spotted their guardians, the two children set off for the very back of the food line. They hadn’t noticed beforehand, but a young guard was facing Alistar’s mother and uncle, which was why their backs were turned. Kaila’s grandfather, Grandpa Talon, was with them as well.
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Alistar and Kaila slowed to a walk, and shared an uncomfortable glance as they cautiously headed toward their families. They hoped that they wouldn’t be subject to the whims of the new guard, which happened to too many people in this place. As they neared, the young guard, whose helmet hid a shock of black hair with a hint of gold at the roots, had on an imposing expression and seemed to be harshly attacking Alistar’s uncle with every word. Only when he came up behind his mother and tugged lightly at her sackcloth skirt did he realize that the guard’s angry disposition did not match up with his quiet, gentle voice.
“M—Mama,” Alistar stammered nervously, unsure of the situation. When she noticed him, she reached around and pulled him in close, still facing the guard. Kaila’s grandpa and his uncle Raidon greeted the kids with softened expressions, Grandpa Talon mirroring Alistar and his mother by pulling Kaila in.
“By Lucian,” the young guard muttered, his eyes tugging up in surprise for the briefest of moments. “If there was ever a doubt….” The young man caught sight of one of his superiors approaching and quickly cleared his throat. Raidon noticed this and gave the man a very slight but encouraging nod.
Alistar made to speak but was hushed by his mother.
The young man spoke loud enough for those around them to hear. “Best look forward to the coming year, you worthless lot! I’ll be keeping real close to you…” As he finished his words, he struck out at Alistar’s uncle with the butt end of his heavy spear, which caused Raidon to double over in pain. The man left without another word, joining and then sharing a laugh with the frighteningly scarred visage of the man that had been approaching them.
“Uncle Raidon!” Alistar and Kaila exclaimed in unison.
They hurried to Raidon’s side. Despite having been hit, his uncle seemed slightly pleased, more so than Alistar had seen him in months. He waved the kids off with a cough before righting his posture.
“Laisha…” Talon spoke softly, tugging at his peppered beard as he thought carefully. “Don’t put all of your hopes into it.”
“What else would you have of me, Talon?”
Alistar’s mother reached out and drew him back into her embrace. He stared at the red-stained strips of cloth that covered her hands, which had been cut from the bottom of her skirt. Images of his father came to mind and he shuttered. His family had always worked harder than the others. They had a higher quota to fill, and so did Kaila’s grandpa. But why? Why only his family and Grandpa Talon?
The older Alistar grew, the more he viewed the mines with aversion.
They eventually found themselves in front of the cauldrons. The fires had dwindled to ash, and the peppered remains clung to a mess of small embers like colour to a page. After a cold and unsatisfying dinner, the five of them sat around his family’s living space and the adults spoke quietly of matters that did not concern the children.
Although they had just returned, Alistar longed for the comforting seclusion that the tunnels provided. He had grown upset in the short time that he’d been back. Mama’s hands…they’re just like Father’s were. He attempted to push the thought from his mind, but try as he might, he could not subdue the rabid memories of his father’s gradual deterioration. He was worried that his mother would be worked to death just like his father had been. Even worse, they had been marked by one of the new guards. They were now one of his ‘favourites,’ which could only spell misery and hardship for them in the coming year.
Lost in his thoughts, Alistar was torn from his contemplations when he noticed that Kaila’s face had blanched. Due to some commotion behind him, aggressive sounds were now echoing throughout the cavern. When he looked back, he saw the form of an older man sprawled limply on the dirt beside one of the cooking cauldrons, blood pooling around his contorted and disfigured face. It was Mr. Loyos, an old friend of his father’s who still occasionally spoke with his mother and his uncle. A guard stood over him with bloodied fists, a discarded spear laying a few paces away.
“Does anyone else think I portion too little?” he roared, huffing hoarsely as he parted a curtain of sweaty red hair from his brow. His mailed hand smeared a trail of scarlet across his forehead with the action. “Does anyone else want to brand me a…what was it? A heartless pawn of the state?”
Over the years, it seemed that the most cruel and brutal of all the guards shared one thing in common. They tended to have the same fire-like shade of red hair. There was always at least one man with this characteristic in every block of guards, and he was always in a position of authority. This man, it seemed, would be a source of unease for all of them.
The surroundings had stilled in light of the commotion, several guards hurrying to the scene as murmurs began to echo all throughout the cavern.
Try though he might, Alistar was unable to look away. This was the first death he’d seen that wasn’t a result of hunger, fatigue, or disease. How strange it was, to look at the corpse of a man that had been killed with brute force.
Mr. Loyos…
The red-haired guard was escorted away by a duo of his peers, as they both filled his ears with harsh whispers. Afterward, the young man that Alistar had seen speaking with his family strode over to the fallen Mr. Loyos and touched two un-gauntleted fingers to the still man’s neck. After a brief inspection, he turned his head away with a blank expression, but Alistar could have sworn he’d seen a flash of anger pass through the man’s eyes. Looking around, many regretful frowns were visible beneath the open-faced helmets of the surrounding guards. He couldn’t remember a time when so many of their overseers had openly displayed dismay at the actions of their peers. Was it possible that some of these men were different from their predecessors?
He watched as Mr. Loyos was carried away, his ragged wife desperately calling after him as she fought the restraining grip of a family friend. As Mrs. Loyos collapsed to the ground with the same cries that had once left Alistar’s throat, a single thought solidified in his mind. All of the guards in Crystellum were the same.