Hell Mine - morning

Ovan and I arrived in a room that's inside of the walls at the end of this town. It'd be a dank corridor without the lights on the walls. That being said, it's not a tight space, so we're able to move just fine.

"We are nearing our destination." We reached a dirty wooden door. This dude knocked on the door three times. A metal slit on the door opens, revealing a pair of eyes.

"It is me, brother," Ovan clarifies.

The door immediately flies open. A muscular man shows himself. "Who is this," the doorman throws a suspicious glance at me.

"Why hello to you, too," I bite back with a sarcastic attitude.

"Brother, we're going to use him for our cause."

Something about that sentence doesn't sit well with me at all.

"He's an outsider. Are you sure we can trust him?"

"It's less about trust, it's more of him not having a choice."

Okay, now they're just acting like I'm not even here.

"Hey, HE is standing right here," I blurt out, catching their attention.

"Sorry, but it's better to be honest than deceitful, no?"

"Well, um, yeah... I guess." He's not wrong, but he didn't need to lay it on thick like that.

Ovan and his friend lead into a room full of people who're either sitting around or working on something. "Okay, um, what is this supposed to be?" I ask Ovan.

"Well, you can say this is the force that'll break everyone out of here."

This doesn't look like much of a force, just a band of people.

"Okay, what makes you so confident in that?"

"Because we have freed other places like this mine."

There are more places like this?

"Just out of curiosity, how many places did you liberate?"

"4 mines. Each was harder than the last, but we cleared them out."

"That sounds pretty cool, but how are you going to take out this one?"

"That matter has already been decided. We just need to take down the Warden."

He's really killing the impression I had of him earlier; the mysterious type that uses you but doesn't fill you in. I'm glad that's not the case since this makes this shit simpler.

"That sounds like a thing I would join up in, but really I don't need to fight the guy; I just need to save my friend and get what I need, and I'll be on my way."

"So you have no need to fight him."

"I don't," I repeated.

"But," Ovan leads, waiting for me to lead on.

"...But, that guy really grates on my nerves, and I can't exactly leave these people in this shit hole for the rest of their lives."

Sure, I could leave with what I need and Richard, and I can. Yet I wouldn't feel great about myself if I did. So whether or not this is a good idea means shit; all I have to do is be a hero and kick some ass!

"So it's decided. Brothers, let's welcome our new ally." Everyone claps in celebration. It wasn't embarrassing, but kind of flattering.

Hell Mine - The Warden's personal quarters - ?

"What the shit is going on here!?" The Warden points at the girl in the chrome case, who is peacefully sleeping during a tense situation.

She has smooth long hair that passes her shoulders; the color is dark violet. She's wearing a big elegant skirt that seemed to stop at her knees and around the lower part of her torso. It has a dark-violet and grey color scheme with a dress shirt that's under the skirt. There's a tie to fasten it, along with some buttons to close the skirt. She is also wearing a gown that's overlapping with the rest of her outfit; Lilac colored. It seems attachable/detachable from her skirt with it being attached with belts fastening them to each other. It also has an open area around her chest and the front of her skirt. Though it seems a bit big for her, it sort of slumped off her shoulders. It's also worth mentioning that the edge of the skirt, the cuff of her poofy gown, and her dress shirt had frills on them.

She seems to be as young as me, yet she's both beautiful and cute.

"Ya gotta bullshitin' me!? There was supposed to be a weapon in here. Why in the hell is there a girl in this thin'," the Warden vents his frustration as he glared at a pale, lanky person behind him.

He's trembling with fear and his stuttering proved that as he tried to mutter a word out. "I-I-I-I-I d-d-don't know! Maybe this-"

"If I remember correctly, ya said your personal division found this? And ya brought in a historian who theorized that there might be a weapon inside, right?"

"Yes, Warden?"

"Then ya better tell me why is there no weapon?"

"I don't know."

"Were your employees lying to ya?"

"No sir!"

"...do ya not have a grasp on your boys?"

"No, I mean, yes, sir!"

He's letting panic take the wheel. Sweat is dripping off of him like a wet blanket soaked in water.

"Then what the shit is this?" The warden stomps his foot against the ground, shaking the room. His voice is as loud as a firework and as terrible as a gun going off next to your ear. The guy getting yelled at is at his breaking point. Anymore might strike the fear of God into him. The Warden walks back over to the girl in the case.

"Sure is pretty tho. Doesn't seem like she'll be waking up ‌soon. Oh well, big guy: destroy her."

The big man in the trench coat stood in front of the girl, arching back its arm. Is he seriously allowing this!? No way, this is just downright wrong! I can’t, I just can’t!

"Wait!" I yelled as loudly as possible. The behemoth halts its attack.

"Wait for what?" the Warden asks, his fist looking ready to strike something.

"Well, umm..." I didn't think that would actually work. I didn't plan ahead of that. "...You could... Ask her where the weapon is!"

"Huh?" The Warden seemed to be confused by my suggestion. An excuse and thread line of an excuse strikes me.

"I mean, how can she be in there? Unless she was put in there and the weapon had to be taken out. Doesn't that seem like the most likely thing?"

It's a sound enough argument since there's no way to disprove it, but I'm still worried that he might see through the lie. "Hm, guess that makes sense... Fine, I'll let her live. Hey, move her right there," the Warden commands the brute. I quietly exhaled, thanking the fact I was able to prevent someone from dying. The monster moves the case to the window, having it lean off of it. Now that I look around, this place is decorated rather extravagantly, and it has air conditioning. I could also see a set of monitors on the far left-hand side of the room. It looked like its recording footage. So technology exists in this world. Though, the monitor itself is recording in black and white, and it looks crude in design.

"Now, what are we gonna do with ya...?" The Warden grins while staring at me. It's like he's wearing a hideous mask.

Hell Mine - Ovan's hideout - ?

Me and my new friends were discussing how we all got here. They shipped themselves in here to infiltrate this place. These guys are a sort of brotherhood of people that were enslaved here a long time ago. Ever since they escaped three years ago during a major uprising, they devoted their time to training for two years while freeing others from different mines. Then, they came back this year. We were discussing the plan to take care of the Warden and get out of here. I had brought up the detail that I'm being hunted down by everyone down here.

"So, are there any cameras here?" I ask Ovan.

"No, we never found a single camera here. This place is untouched, separated from the mine."

"How come?"

"The Warden must've ignored the possibility of someone coming through here."

Shit assumption on the Warden's part, but that works for us.

"Brother, we are ready," one of Ovan's brothers whispered to him. The others walk out through the door with equipment in their hands.

"What's going on?"

"We are going to initiate our rebellion," Ovan said.

"So what's the first step in that, going up there and making a speech about how we can fight back if we work together?" I jokingly guess.

"No, that won't do any good. In a place like this, where they have been working for years, they're too tied down to this place to even have the willpower of their own. Plus, capturing you is the only way for them now, at least for them. They do it because it's an easier method for them to at least have comfort living here."

When he puts it like that, it's less frustrating and cowardly to be one of the Warden's personal servants. They're people who just want to live... But I just can't find it in me to say that it's alright though.

"But back onto the plan; if you have questions, tell me now."

"So what's the workers' involvement in this, then?"

"Nothing, we'll need to keep them away while we fight the Warden."

"How do we pull that one off?"

"Most of us are a part of the Warden's personnel, so it won't be hard to draw their attention to the upper levels by announcing that you and your friend are up there while we operate in the lower depths."

"Then all we need to do is take care of the other employees and we'll be able to take the fight to the Warden"

Sounds like we have all the details set. I think we could actually do this.

"Okay, what do you want me to do?" I eagerly ask, ready to bust some heads.

"You'll be going with me to take care of the guards that would hinder us during ."

"So we get the fun part. Good, I was ready to pick a fight!" Ovan chuckled at my excitement.

"No, no, we won't be fighting. Instead, we'll be drugging them." That was less exciting than what I wanted, but it's efficient when we get down to it.

"Okay, I liked the beat-down idea better, but the drugging idea is good too; just less fun.”

"Heh, you seem to enjoy fighting.”

"Yeah, it's my specialty."

"I'm glad to have someone of your expertise on board then."

Ovan walks to a workbench, putting a bunch of items into the bag he’s carrying.

"So, shall we get going?" Ovan asks

"Yep, let's hit it."

We leave the hideout; the others are outside waiting for us.

“Brothers, you know what you must do. When we are done with all our jobs, we will meet at the rendezvous point, then we shall take down the Warden. However, I cannot say this will be without casualties; if any of you were to die, we would go on with the plan. And if I am to die, then go on with the plan.” Talk about hardcore. The dude is sending goosebumps down my arms. “But whatever happens, we shall free the people of this mine! If you agree with me, then put up your hands together," Ovan delivers his speech with a proud and courageous energy. They all put their hands up against each other, crossing one another's arms. "Let us be victorious on this very day, and free those who are enslaved here, and honor the brothers we lost to get to this point!"

They broke off at the same time and went their separate ways.

"Sure they'll be all right.?"

"I cannot assure that they will be. All I can do is hope and trust that they will be."

That's kind of scary, having faith everything will be all right. But, I want to believe that everything will turn out all right, even if I can’t shake this bad feeling.

Hell Mine - The Warden's personal quarters - ?

I’m still sitting on this chair. There are no restraints on me, however, I’m too afraid to move out of fear of the Warden, who is sitting at the monitor, watching the cameras. Counting by 2xs’ is calming my nerves.

I occasionally look at the girl in the case. She’s still peacefully sleeping in it. Oddly enough, I feel a sense of peace just watching her sleep; it’s mesmerizing. She seems like she’s sleeping, but why is she sleeping? Is she even sleeping…? What if that thing is just a casket? Then why did it open up for me and not that guy? Making theories are getting me nowhere. I’ll just have to see what her condition is. I quietly get up from the chair and carefully walked over to the girl without alerting the Warden. Reaching for her, I take her slender hand in mine.

A fraction of a second, during that second, my mind and eyesight go blank. Without any hint of a transition, I’m now in the middle of a grass field. The wind is cool; the sky is clear of any clouds and is as blue as it could be.

In the distance of this vast green grass and blue sky is a figure of a person. All I can do is stare at the person from here. My feet just started moving on their own; it’s as if my body told my legs to move without my brain’s permission so I can meet her.

"You are..."

A voice echoes across the field. It’s a female voice. Before I could utter a word or move, the beautiful scenery disappears. I return to the Warden's room. His monstrous face is staring me down. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest from the surprise transition.

"What are ya doin'?”

The tone of his voice makes my legs give out, having me drop to the ground.

"You're a little explorer. ain't ya?" His large hand picks me up by my shirt. "Don’t ya ever touch my shit!" He throws me at the room's window. A low, barely audible crack sound comes from the window. Luckily, it wasn't enough to break it. "Next time ya move around without my permission, I'll snap your legs in two. Get me?”

He’s not lying, he’ll really do it if he has to...

Attempts at putting words together is all I can do when I’m fearing for my life. "I-I-I g-get you.”

"Good, now get back on dat chair. This time, I'm gonna tie you up."

As he commanded, I sit back in the chair. After the Warden got someone to put some ropes on my wrists and legs, his eyes never left me or the monitor.

The ropes are tightly secure on my wrists, irritating me to no end. However, that doesn’t really matter compared to what happened when I touched that girl. It had to be her voice I heard in there. The question on my mind is what that place was exactly. I was pretty worn out by this stuff. I just want to go home already.

Hell Mine - Guard break room - ?

In a grey, colorless room, that’s supposed to be a break room. We’re finally got done drugging. At first, Ovan went in, raising no suspicion since he’s one of them. After a minute or so, I came in as the guards were going beddy-bye. now we have to move all the guards into a storage closet.

"Is that the last of them," I ask Ovan as I shove the last of the guards inside.

"I believe it is."

"Good, this was freaking annoying!"

"I am sorry for sticking you with such a boring job."

"No problem. If I got a job to do, I'll do it."

Ovan puts the items he brought with him back into a bag and throws them in the closet with the guards inside. He pulls out a walkie-talkie, or rather, a mock-up of one. Voices come from the other end, but I’m not paying too much attention to the conversation.

"All right, the others are either done with their missions or are almost done," he reports, letting out an exacerbated sigh.

"Are you sure they can pull their missions off? I know I’m being annoying about this, but you know, need to know if it’s true or not."

He sits on one of the tables in this room. "My brothers are fully capable fighters. I have faith they’ll pull off their missions successfully. Even if the worse case were to happen, we made several contingency plans in advance."

Can it really be called faith if he has plans if they fail? Doesn’t mean you trust in them to complete it, no matter what? Well, I don’t even know if I’m right, so I’m gonna keep my mouth shut.

"Did you remember to get the camera?" Ovan jogs my memory.

I hoist my sword. "No sweat, I just jabbed my sword into them real quick. Oh, and speaking of which..."

"We'll get you a proper sword soon."

"That obvious?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny."

It became quiet in the room. It isn't from awkwardness, but because we had nothing else to talk about… Yeah, I can’t handle this. "...Fine weather we're having today, huh?"

"I wouldn't know. I haven't seen the sky for a few months now."

"A few months... Damn, I think that would drive me insane. I can't even last a week without going out and stretching my legs. Wait, so how long were you an employee under the Warden?"

"6 months, I only stayed as a worker for a month.”

"Damn, talk about working up the chain.”

"...But working under that man for these past few months was nothing but horrible."

“How so?”

Ovan’s expression shifts, guilt riddled than it is sad. "When I had to put people out, taking them somewhere that might lead them to their deaths or worse, it was awful. Not just because killing is bad, but because we're trying to save these people. But the worst part, I had to put out some of my brothers because they tried to defend the workers from guards, or just tried to stop them from them being put. I had to make my own comrades suffer to free these people. Sometimes, I wonder if it was worth it.”

“I… I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Do not feel sorry for me, feel sorry for those who died.”

Not like death is a foreign concept to me, but hearing it like this cuts deep. There’s not much I can say to help him.

“But then I realize asking such a question won't bring anyone back; we know what we were doing and the risks that come with this mission. So even if my heart cries for them, I must charge forward. However, the reason why I was able to come this far and the reason I had the courage to leave and come back here was because of a man named Avon."

"Who's he?"

"A man that inspired me to live. He would motivate us every day, keeping our spirits strong alongside his daughter. No matter the amount of work that went our way, he would continue to work to the bone from dusk to dawn. He would also help people with their own share of the work." "I think I heard of his from the warden's second hand." "Then you know what happened to him?"

"I do." Ovan's elated expression gets replaced by a sour look.

"He fought the guards as long as he could. I heard he went for four hours until he was taken down. During that time, he told us to stay strong and not to despair. He told us to run to the surface while he was fighting. However, most of the workers feared running away from the mine, fearing the outside world as much as the inside of the mine. But I and my brothers ran as fast as we could. We ran, and ran, and ran, and ran until we couldn't anymore. When I finally stopped to catch my breath, I was outside, in the night sky. The taste of the fresh air was amazing. The grass below my feet felt good. After five years of being inside here, I was free. Yet, I couldn't truly feel free, not until I got everyone else, as Avon wanted. So, with the help of any willing escapee to go back down here, we swore ‌we would free everyone else and destroy this place... I know it sounds ridiculous, right?"

“Hell no, far from it; it’s absolutely amazing! I don’t know if I’m gonna make all the difference, but count me in, 100%!”

Ovan once again laughs at my excitement. “I was expecting you to say I was foolish, but it turns out I’m an even bigger fool, as are you!”

My face warms up at the awkward compliment. “W-what do you mean by that?”

“No disrespect, I am glad to have some like you on our side. Fools who are alike tend to be the best of confidants.”

How is that foolish? Why is it wrong to think what he’s doing is awesome? Maybe he thinks that doing this makes no sense. Coming back here is like a suicide mission? I can see why that’s the case, but I don’t think it’s a foolish thing to want to help people. And if it does, then we’ll be the biggest fools anyone has ever seen!

The radio on his waist goes off. "Hello...? The gate team in position? Good, let us meet at the rendezvous point now, then."

He pockets his radio.

"Is it finally showtime?”

"Yes, it is... But we need to gain access to the Warden's personal quarters.”

"I thought you guys had that access?"

"When he wants us, we do. Other than that, we cannot go in whenever we please. Only someone like..."

I snap my fingers when the light bulb in my brain went off. "...Like his right-hand man.”

"Yes, and as luck would have it, I have a line to contact him," Ovan devilishly smirks as he holds his radio.

"Good, and I was starting to miss him too..."

...

Waiting beside the break room entrance door, the second-hand enters the room, swaggering his way in like a dumbass. "Is anyone here?" he demands an answer.

"I am," I answer with a slight chuckle.

"Y-y-you!"

"Nice to see you, too. By the way, wanna do me a solid?" I presented a rope.. "...Wanna tie yourself up?"

He lets out a low squeal as I smile at him.

After tying him up, I throw him into the closet with the rest of the guards. He’s yelling at me as the rope muffles his mouth. Yet you can tell he’s seething with rage.

"Aw, it's like one big slumber party. You gals try not to have too much fun now, ya hear?"

I close the door on em’. Now that’s out of the way, I have to… Shit, hang on.

I swing open the closet door. “Forgot your key to the Warden’s room for a sec. Hang on… Got! Thanks.” Now, I can go and… Actually, I’m not done yet. “You know, I just remembered the shit you told me about the guy you rated out. His name was Avon, right?”

I remove the gag so he can speak.

“Yes, he was. Why?”

“Oh, nothing. Say, you also remember when I said I wish I could knock you out?”

“Vaguely, why…? Oh, oh no!”

“Yep, consider this your just desserts because a piece of shit like you deserves it!” His head rocks against the ground as my fist strikes his face, knocking him out in one go. “Do me and everyone a favor: go eat shit in your dreams, kay?”

Okay, now that I got the key and did a good deed, which felt great to do, we can finally go and fight the Warden.

“Better watch it, Warden. I’m gunning for your ass next!”

Hell Mine - rendezvous point - ?

We met with the others at the rendezvous point. It’s in the Victorian town, in an alleyway. There are cases stacked in rows as Ovan’s men stood around them.

"Brother Ovan, we have taken care of the workers. They think the boy is still up there.”

Ovan picked up a case.

"Great, now is the time." "Everyone, we shall commence the elimination of the Warden. I hope all of you who are here know the risks of this operation and I expect you to put more than your best effort into this." The others silently nodded. They were all ready with resolute faces. "Now, let us go."

The others go ahead of me and Ovan.

“Did you get the key?” he asks.

“You bet, Here.”

“Thank you…”

“I also knocked the second-hand. He ratted on Avon about his escape plans.”

“He did? Come to think of it, he too was a worker when I was still one… No wonder he climbed up the ranks so fast… I wish I could’ve hit him too, then.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the chance.”

“I hope so… When I do, I’ll smash his teeth out!”

He’s much hot-blooded than I thought, but I think it was out of anger than it is being how he normally is. I think it’s for the best. I can’t stand people that are calm all the time; Lauren is an exception since she can show some attitude when you push her buttons. Though, that usually doesn’t end well for me.

...

Currently, two of Ovan’s brothers in arms are working gate controls for the 4 different entrances leading to the room where Proxy first spoke to the Warden. That way, even if he calls guards from the upper levels, and even if he did, it would take too much time for them to reach him. Even if they reached them, the gates would block them.

"Okay, let us report to our brothers."

As they pulled out their radios, a murderous presence hones in on them at a frightening speed. There was no time to react. The monster enters the room through the wall; debris hits the two sworn brothers. Its sudden entrance confuses them as they try to wrap their heads around the situation. It grabs their heads and applies force against them, crushing them as if they were soda cans. A red crimson splattered across the room, painting it red. This cannot be considered a surprise attack, nor can it be called a battle between humans; the barbaric action was caused by a monster, a monster that shows no mercy, no empathy, and no restraint ‌when it kills, as a monster should be. It drops the bodies with no care or grace; as if they were garbage. He stands next to the gate controls, waiting until further commands are made of him.

However, the monster, although lacking in anything resembling a human, has a thought in its head, a thought that looms inside of him… It’s of the girl he saw on the monitor. Its thoughts are not advanced enough to form words, but there is a feeling to it that the monster cannot enact on yet…