The sun. My mortal enemy.

No.

There was something even worse. A tub of lard named Arthur. The man was treating me like his own personal slave. In just five hours, I felt like I’d taken five army bootcamp exams and failed them all. This was a million times worse than football drills because in my state, we usually had cool weather. I wasn’t used to extreme heat.

Trent had left me in Arthur’s care for my punishment. Apparently, Arthur was in charge of dealing with the farm’s delinquents. There were three others here. While everyone else was doing easy work like moving crates onto wagons, the four of us were yelled at constantly by this wannabe drill sergeant.

Rays of heat from the big scorching ball in the sky burned my skin through these pathetic scraps the Amish here called clothes. I hadn’t had a single drop of anything to drink. I doubted I’d get something even remotely refreshing like a Rad Bull around here. I wanted nothing more than to go back to the lake from earlier and consume that delicious bacteria-infested water.

“Alster! Stop daydreaming and work the hoe!”

I would if there were any!

The only girl here I’d even consider doing it with had rejected me before I got to make a move.

Forget that. I had work to do. That’s right. I had to clear up all these weeds that got in the soil before the others finished loading the crates. Then I had to shape the soil and get it in a manageable state to start planting potato seeds and get ahead of the next harvest season so the farmers could—

What the hell?! I don’t care about this. Why am I slaving away on this stupid farm?!

The sun must have been messing with my head. I lost track of how much time I spent zoning out.

Suddenly, I felt a tender, yet firm hand grasp my shoulder, bringing me back to reality. It felt like my dad’s.

“Listen, Alster. Your old man’s just looking out for you. I heard about what happened to your mom. I’m sure if she were still here, she’d want you to grow up and stop making things hard on your pop. He’s the chief’s right-hand man, so he’s got a lot to do ‘round here. You got that?”

“Yes… sir.”

“Good. I think you’ve earned a break. Why don’t you grab some water by the canteen and find some shade?”

At some point, Arthur had set up a small wooden table with four canteens under the shade of a tree. One for each delinquent. After five hours of brutal labor, seeing an end to my suffering almost filled me with gratitude. But I had to snap out of it. It was this man who put me through all that in the first place.

Before I knew it, one of the other delinquents had finished his canteen and was starting to open mine. I hurried over to the table and socked him in the stomach before he could fully twist off the cap.

“Get your grimy hands off my water.”

The guy didn’t back down. He took the blow to his stomach like a champ. I was angry I’d somehow become a lot weaker overnight. If I had my usual strength, he’d been rolling on the floor begging for mercy.

“Alster, since when did you grow a sack of balls? You must have a death wish doing that to me.”

The other guys ooo’d.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“He just hit Olsted! He’s dead!”

“What an idiot!”

The guy I’d just hit, Olsted, was somewhat taller than me and with what one might argue was a bigger, more muscular body. But he was just some hick from the countryside.

I’m not afraid. I’ve beaten guys way bigger than him. Don’t forget your technique.

I readied my stance. I was going to take a boxer’s stance, putting my two fists in front of my face and then—

“ARGHHHHHH!”

My left cheek was suddenly on fire. Olsted had somehow socked me from a blind spot before I even had a chance to react.

H-how? I didn’t… see it.

Olsted knocked me down and began throwing blows at my face.

“Hey, knock it off!”

Arthur came running as he noticed the noise, and then, the beatdown.

“He started it, Mr. Arthur!” Olsted shouted angrily, spitting at the ground beside him.

“I don’t care! You took it too far! You’re getting another five hours!”

Olsted groaned.

Arthur looked up and noticed a group of people coming. “Stay here and don’t move. Looks like we have company.”

Olsted walked up to me, bending down, and said, “This isn’t over. You better hope you never see me again.”

Fuck….

I can’t feel my face….

I was still on the ground, unable to move. I couldn’t even reach for my canteen. The thirst and the pain had sapped all my strength.

Olsted.

You’re gonna pay for this. You and Allen are dead.

* * *

For the next several hours, I slowly recovered my strength. The sun retreated behind some clouds, and tilling the field became less unbearable. I made sure my work was perfect. I put in way more effort than the other delinquents and made my rows ideal and orderly. All the weeds on my side were gone. And when no one was looking, I’d occasionally throw one I’d kept around onto Olsted’s plot. Thanks to his lack of effort, he still had huge groups of weeds randomly scattered. So the only way I could amuse myself was adding to his workload.

After I was able to move, I had asked Arthur for some ice, and he said there wasn’t any. Such a luxury was expensive, since keeping it cold required special technology powered by something I didn’t catch.

They don’t even have a fridge around here?

I almost blurted out in rage that my face was going to get extremely swollen without something cold, but I had to stay quiet. After all, Arthur was going to keep Olsted working through the night and the rest of us would be released. I didn’t want to rock the boat right now.

Unfortunately, about two hours before getting released, the sun poked its head out. It vaporized all the clouds.

It’s even hotter than before!

Time started ticking slowly again. Sweat started dripping from my cheeks down to my chin, splashing on the soil. I’d already finished all the water I had hours ago. And Arthur was the kind of person that had a set schedule for when to reward someone and not a minute before that.

I was getting ready to collapse.

Fuck this.

I’ll die before my next break.

I dropped to my knees and supported myself on the hoe to keep from falling over. Just then, something in front of me blocked the sun. I looked up. It was the chief.

“Hey, bud,” he said nonchalantly. “I wanted to see how you were doing.”

I didn’t have the strength to speak so I just kept staring up at his face.

“Anyway,” he said, scratching his head. “I just wanted to apologize. I guess I got you into a bit of trouble, huh? So yeah, sorry about that, Joey.”

My eyes shot wide.

“—I mean Alster! Alster. Sorry.”

With just one word, all my strength had returned. I got up and looked him in the eye. I felt so enraged, my throat was closing. I could almost feel the blood vessels in my face about to burst.

“You said… Joey. You know me! YOU KNOW ME!”

The chief froze.

He was guilty. I knew it.

“Uh, yeah of course I know you… Alster. You’re Trent’s son.”

“SHUT UP! YOU KNOW THE TRUTH! YOU KNOW ME! TELL ME—”

Suddenly I felt a blow to my head from behind. Arthur had stayed close. It was just hard enough to disorient me. I hadn’t noticed him because of my fatigue, but he’d been there to make sure I didn’t embarrass him in front of the chief.

Arthur quickly bowed his head, and he pushed mine down into a bowing position, too. “Sorry about that, chief. I guess he hasn’t learned his lesson yet. I’ll be working until he does then.”

The chief regained his composure and took a deep breath. “It’s alright. He’s probably just a little overheated.”

“You’re too generous, sir. He should earn your forgiveness.”

The chief tried to hide a smirk under a serious face. “I’ll let it go just this once, Alster. Now get back to work.”

I stared dumbfounded as the chief walked away, through the plots of land I’d carefully shaped, and ruined a few as he walked away carelessly. I’d have to fix those all over again.

Arthur pushed me and said, “You little shit. You’re lucky the chief was in a good mood, or I’d have pummeled you for what you did. You’ll be staying through the night with Olsted, capiche?”

He grabbed the hoe and shoved it in my hands.

I nodded vigorously and went back to work, like the good little slave I was.