Chapter 13 The soldiers, the workers and the miners

"You're insane."

I heard her scream before she snapped the reins. The horse neighed and the cart moved forward, quickly disappearing into the crowded market.

My hands curled into tight fists.

I stood still for a moment, watching the soldiers. They were busy forcing people out of their way, shouting orders and causing chaos.

While everyone else focused on them, I looked around carefully.

Then I saw it.

Their automobile. It was parked at the back of the market.

A cold smile appeared on my face.

If I could get into the trunk, they would lead me straight to Chen and when I find him, I would finally get my revenge.

As I walked toward the automobile, my eyes landed on a nearby stall selling different weapons. Knives, daggers, machetes, and old pistols were displayed on the table.

The stall owner wasn't paying attention.

Nobody was. The soldiers had everyone's attention.

Without hesitation, I grabbed a dagger and slipped it into my boot before continuing forward.

My heart pounded. Every step felt heavier than the last.

I reached the automobile, looked around once, then carefully opened the trunk and climbed inside.

The lid closed above me and darkness swallowed me whole. The heat inside the trunk was unbearable, but I didn't care.

I wasn't thinking about the danger.

I wasn't thinking about what could happen if I got caught.

I was only thinking about Chen.

I imagined him on his knees, begging, crying and pleading for mercy, his head in my hands and him kissing my feet before I ended his miserable life.

The thought kept me going and sweat rolled down my face as I waited. Soon I heard footsteps and the doors opened.

There were voices outside. The soldiers entered into the automobile.

A second later the engine roared to life and it moved. None of them knew I was hiding in the trunk.

As the automobile drove through rough roads, another thought crept into my mind.

The quiet guy.

The one who had saved me more than once.

I had left him behind. After everything he had done for me, I had abandoned him.

I suddenly felt guilty and I closed my eyes.

I hoped he would understand and one day he would forgive me.

I swallowed hard and gripped the dagger hidden inside my boot.

Minutes later the automobile finally stopped.

I stayed quiet, listening.

The soldiers climbed out. Their footsteps slowly faded into the distance. Only when everything became silent did I move. I pushed the trunk open and climbed out.

The sight before me made me freeze. Rows and rows of automobiles stretched across a massive yard.

Those things were so expensive and only few could afford them even some Barons couldn't.

Carts stood nearby and workers moved around carrying supplies but none of that caught my attention.

What caught my attention was the enormous structure standing ahead.

A coal mine factory.

It towered over everything like a giant beast.

Thick black smoke poured from its chimneys and stained the sky. Metal chains clanged somewhere in the distance.

The ground was covered in coal dust and the air felt heavy, every breath burned my lungs.

I looked around and that's when I saw them.

People, hundreds of them.

My heart sank. Men and women dressed in rough sacks shuffled forward in long lines. Some were chained together, others carried huge buckets filled with coal.

Their faces were covered in dirt. Their bodies looked weak and exhausted.

Soldiers surrounded them from every direction.

A man stumbled and one of the soldiers struck him with a whip across the back.

The man cried out in pain before forcing himself back to his feet.

Another worker fell to his knees. A second whip followed.

I felt my jaw tighten, this wasn't work, this was torture.

"What is this place?" I whispered but there was no way I could get a response unless I have a look.

I slowly moved deeper into the mine while keeping my distance from the workers.

"Move."

A soldier's voice echoed and the whip cracked again.

An elderly man suddenly spoke. "Please I need water."

His voice sounded broken, weak and desperate. One soldier pulled out a bottle.

For a brief moment hope appeared in the old man's eyes. As the old man reached for it, the soldier smirked then poured the water onto the ground.

The old man's face crumbled as the water soaked into the dirt while he stared helplessly.

My fists clenched and rage burned inside me.

I wanted to help, I wanted to do something but I couldn't.

Not yet.

Then something strange caught my attention again.

One of the soldiers moved toward the back of the line and stopped beside a worker.

He leaned close and whispered something, he slipped a small folded paper into the worker's hand before returning to his position.

The worker quickly opened it.

I couldn't see what was written from where I stood.

After reading it, he handed it to the worker behind him.

That worker read it and passed it on.

Then the next and the next. Until it reached another worker standing further back.

Something about that man felt different.

I narrowed my eyes. Unlike the others, his clothes weren't made from rough sackcloth.

They looked smoother, almost like silk.

Coal dust covered him just like everyone else, making it difficult to notice but now that I was paying attention, the difference was obvious.

The worker read the paper then immediately swallowed it.

My eyes widened. The soldiers hadn't noticed a thing. They had no idea what was going on at the back of the line.

A glimpse of something on his wrist caught my attention.

A tattoo.

It looked very familiar, like I've seen it somewhere before. In this world, tattoos were common as they stood as a symbol, identity of people but before I could think about it further, the workers continued moving. Soon they arrived at three different tunnels.

The majority of the workers walked straight ahead. The few men who had received the message stopped.

They waited until the others disappeared then they separated, it was like they've planned everything. They knew every corner in the mine.

Two followed the main group, two entered the left tunnel.

The man in silk entered the right tunnel alone.

Curiosity immediately took over. I knew something was happening and I wanted answers. I quietly followed him.

The tunnel grew hotter the deeper we went and sweat soaked my clothes. The walls seemed to close in around me.

The worker suddenly stopped and I quickly hid behind a pillar. My heart pounded.

After a few seconds he continued walking.

I followed again then we entered a massive boiler room.

I stopped.The sight before me was unbelievable. Huge boilers towered over the room.

Mountains of coal sat beside them. Steel catwalks crisscrossed above the machinery and steam kept hissing from the pipes. The place looked less like a mine and more like a giant industrial factory.

Someone was building something, making something and whatever it was, it was important.

The worker walked toward one of the boilers. He knelt down and removed his helmet.

I remained hidden behind a pillar, watching and waiting. He pulled several objects from his bag.

One by one he attached them to the boiler.

My eyes widened. What was he doing?

He moved to another boiler and attached another object. A small device appeared in his hand and instantly I stepped out from behind the pillar.

I was eager to know more.

"Who are you?" I asked.

The worker slowly turned around.

The moment I saw his face, my entire body froze and for a second my heart stopped. No, it couldn't be. Of all people, anyone but him. Not him.

"Zack."

The name escaped my lips like poison and his eyes widened.

"Widen, I thought you were dead?" He said in shock and then smiled. "Thank goodness."

He tried to move closer, immediately I stepped back.

"Don't come any closer. You monster." Pain flashed across his face.

"We can settle this after, but right now we have to leave here."

"Really now you're been a coward. You think everything is fine between us?" I raised my voice.

"Widen, we don't have time. It's dangerous been here."

"What did you place on those boiler "

"They are explosions." He said.

"Explosions." I replied.

"Widen we have to leave now."

He reached toward me and I slapped his hand away.

"Don't tell me Chen sent you to blow this place up with those innocent people suffering in that mine."

"I only do as I am told." He replied.

"I won't let you do such." I said. I would never allow him to harm innocent people.

My chest rose and fell rapidly. I hated Chen. Destroying the mine would hurt him. Part of me wanted to see it happen but innocent people were trapped here.

Workers, old men and women, children.

They didn't deserve to die.

"The detonator is my hands and I can activate it anytime." Zack said raising the detonator over his head.

The moment he raised the device, I kicked it from his hand and it flew across the floor.

I took it and ran immediately, without thinking.

Straight toward the catwalk. My boots pounded against the metal stairs and behind me Zack cursed loudly.

"Widen!"

I ignored him, I climbed higher and higher.

The metal structure shook beneath every step. Steam blasted from nearby pipes.

Suddenly Zack appeared above me. He jumped across a connecting platform and landed ahead.

My eyes widened again, he had cut me off.

I stumbled backward.

One of the rusted iron bars beneath my feet snapped loose and the metal crashed into the boiling furnace below.

A burst of sparks exploded upward. One wrong step and I would die.

Slowly I turned. Zack stood behind me.

"Give me back the detonator and I will get you out of here safely."

"I don't need your help Zack and I never will."

Zack laughed. "Really, we've been friends since the day you were born. I know everything about you, you can do nothing without me."

"That was before."

"Give me back that detonator" He charged forward.

I scrambled higher onto another section of the catwalk. The metal rattled beneath my weight but Zack was faster.

Again he cut me off and he gave me a dirty punch, the pain exploded through my skull.

I fell backward.

The detonator slipped from my fingers, Zack caught it and relief flashed across his face but before he could move, I jumped onto his back.

I bit his neck with every ounce of strength I had and jumped down. Zack screamed. His body jerked violently and he stumbled giving me the chance to get the detonator.

His foot missed the railing, suddenly he fell.

Everything happened in seconds. Zack's body dropped over the edge.

His scream echoed through the boiler room.

Below him was the blazing furnace and death waited patiently beneath.

For a moment I simply stared then instinct took over, I ran forward. My body slammed against the railing.

I grabbed his wrist and the impact nearly pulled me over with him.

My stomach dropped as the furnace glowed brighter beneath us and it's steam that blasted upward.

Zack dangled in the air. His free hand clawed desperately at nothing.

"Widen!" His voice cracked and his fingers slipped.

I should have let go.

I should have. He had betrayed me.

Destroyed my life. Taken everything from me.

Yet my hand refused to release him.

I gritted my teeth, every muscle in my body screamed. My shoulder felt like it would tear apart. Still I held on and I pulled him slowly, inch by inch.

Finally Zack reached the platform. Together we collapsed onto the catwalk and we gasped for breath.

Then something slipped from my hand. It was the detonator. It bounced once against the metal then fell into the boiler below.

"The Detonator." I screamed.

A small explosion echoed somewhere below and we froze.

"The explosion." I whispered.

Then another louder blast thundered through the boiler room.