Fate

Part five: 9th January 2005

Chapter 16 -Stephanie

Last night was one of the most uncomfortable night I have had in a long while for a couple of reasons.

Reason 1: The tour. It was like it was promoting children to work in factories. It was wrong and disgusting. That poor little kid almost got hurt. I think the kid who disrupted the tour was his brother. He seemed dirty and unclean, but his intentions were pure and I like that.

Reason 2: The room. It was really small compared to other rooms and I found the bed uncomfortable because the mattress was rock hard and the sheets were so thin that it could have been a piece of paper.

Reason 3: Noise. At four in the morning, machines were starting work and the workers were making so much noise while doing it.

Seriously, it was ridiculous. The worst part was that I couldn’t get back to sleep again afterwards and Mrs Potter got everyone up at six. Hopefully I wasn’t the only one who experienced it.

I was ready in my clothes and left the room closing the door behind me.

“Okay, now today is going to be a big day. Today history is going to be made.” The boss was saying when she had gotten everyone’s attention. “Today, for the first time since the factory opened, we are allowing guests to explore the factory for themselves. Now safety rules apply here. You mustn’t touch the machines, you mustn’t interrupt the workers and most importantly, you mustn’t try to leave the factory.” The boss then had a sinister look on her face. I was beginning to wonder how the workers put up with her every day.

The boss clicked her fingers together so she made sure everyone was listening to her. “Finally before you run off, I have printed off maps for you. They show the areas you can go in and the areas you can’t go in. If I catch any of you in the restricted area, then there will be consequences. Does everyone understand me?”

“Yes!” Everyone chorused together before they scrambled off. I took a closer look at my map though. Most of the areas in the factory were off limited. I wonder why? Maybe this was my chance to investigate.

*****

Firstly, I went to the main factory with everyone else, just so I would have blended in for a change. The main factory was terrible. The machine look more dangerous than the ones on the tour and more of the little children worked in here. A couple of boys who looked like they were six were working on the left hand side, and they began coughing because of all the dust and soot in the air. On the other side of the room, there was young girl who was working with an older woman – I think she was either her mum or her older sister – and the little girl got her ponytail caught in the machine. The machine was pulling her backwards into it and the older woman was holding on for dear life. Another woman who looked the same age as the older woman came running through the crowds of people with scissors in her hand. She pulled at the little girl’s hair and cut a wobbly line through it. Screaming and crying came from the children. However, no one seemed to care apart from them to women. How sad is that?

While all of that drama was happening, I slipped out through the fire exit and down this dark corridor. The corridor was full of mould and a cold floor. Members of staff where staring at me weirdly as I travelled through the corridor. I felt like I didn’t belong, but I also felt like I wasn’t alone.

Someone was crying in one of the cell. The door was left wide open. I peeked through the door arch and there was that boy from the presentation. He was the one who saved his brother before he caught his hand in the machine.

My question was why he was tied up in a cell?

Chapter 17 – Lee

Last night was a bad for me and the family. It was good that Olly was found. He was lucky that he didn’t get his hand chopped off by that machine. That British girl was lucky that the boss didn’t send her home. I was the only one who wasn’t lucky.