You, Me, And A Boy Named Steve

Chapter 3

Jack stood in front of a building with Nicola - who wore her brown hooded cloak - beside him, and Steve standing firmly behind the two. Jack reached for Nicola's hand, but she rejected his harshly. It had been about a year since the three first met and Jack had grown a slight crush for Nicola, she did not share the same feelings for him - if anything, she grew to dislike him. The group had worked on freeing various small groups of slaves from their captors; this time they were taking it a step further. They did not know how it would end up, but they trusted Steve and he seemed to know what he was doing.

"Is this the place?" Jack asked Steve.

Steve nodded. "Yes. This is the place." His voice cracked a bit. He said it was just him hitting puberty, but Nicola knew that he was secretly afraid - he would not admit it though. Jack looked at Nicola and she looked back at him.

"Are you ready?" Jack asked the princess. Nicola nodded. She was both mentally and physically ready for whatever is behind the door blocking their way.

"Yes." She replied.

"Let's go then." Jack reached for Nicola's hand once more, only to be reject again. "Fine." He mumbled and opened the door for Nicola to enter. "Ladies first." He grinned.

Nicola rolled her eyes at him and entered the building. The inside stunk horribly of death. It was dark and dull. There was barely any light and the working conditions were just above the acceptable-line. The woman at the desk looked at the two adults and the boy. She did not speak, but just stared at them.

Jack looked at the woman. "Excuse me," he began. "We saw you had an opening for a slave position." The woman seemed interested in this. Though she did not speak a word, she pointed to an office on the other side of the workers. "Thank you." Jack smiled and lead Nicola and Steve to the back office past the workers. Many of the workers continued in their jobs, unaffected by the visitors. But some turned to look at the three, curious about them. Some reached out to touch Nicola - they would touch Jack and Steve too, but mainly Nicola.

Once the three were past the touchy workers, Jack knocked on the office's door. The man inside looked at them and nodded for them to come in. Jack sat down in front of the man, Nicola and Steve stood behind him.

"What brings you here?" The man asked, eyeing Nicola and Steve.

"We are here to fill the open spot that you have for a slave worker." Jack responded.

"Ah." The man mumbled. "What do you have to offer me?"

"The boy." Jack tried to be as cold hearted towards Steve as he could. The man glanced at Steve. The three hoped that the man would accept Steve, they also knew that the man could want Nicola instead.

"The boy? He lookes like he's about to break! No."

"He's an excellent worker. I can promise you that he will outlast any of your toughest workers." Jack had caught his attention now. The man looked at Steve and then at Jack.

"Alright." The man held out his hand. "It's a deal." Jack smiled and shook the man's hand. The first step of their plan to change the world, was finally complete.

***

Steve had been working in the factory for three months. His bones were beginning to show more, his skin began to turn pale. He was rarely allowed to visit Jack and Nicola. His body gained more and more scars. But Steve knew that by the end, it would be all worth it.

He would suffer through his work through out the long hours, the other workers hated him. They saw him as a threat. But Steve did not care, he did not retaliate on them. He just did his work and went away with his day.

At nights he could hear strange noises. One night, he got up to investigate. Jack had put a hidden camera on him when he started, it was to capture the inside footage that was needed to stop this organization. Steve silently turned the little camera on as he wandered over to the source of the sound.

It came from behind the master's office door; the workers slept at their machines, so Steve knew that there would be no place he could run if he got caught. Steve crept over to the slightly open door and peered into it. The noises grew louder inside his head as he and the camera watched in horror. The master had grabbed one of the female workers and had her pinned down on his desk. The man had ripped her clothes off violently as her uniform had been shredded and her back had claw marks - as if someone was trying to rip her shirt, but kept accidentally getting her back too. The woman cried out as the man violently beat her. Steve cringed at the sight. When he turned to leave, he noticed a group of men huddled around him - all watching the sight too. Steve took a step back and the door opened wide. The other workers took off so that Steve was the only one there. The man looked at Steve and growled.

"If you want to watch me so much! Why don't you do it!" He grabbed Steve and held out a whip for him. The woman looked terrified at Steve: he was only a boy, yet he too could hurt her like a man.

"No." Steve looked back at the master. "I will not hurt a woman." The man was angered by this. He pushed both the woman and Steve off of the desk and began to beat them both. Steve did not show any reaction though, this angered the master more. The man grabbed Steve and pinned him to the desk. Like he did with the woman, he beat Steve violently. It lasted all night and even through the morning. Steve did not cry out. He did not scream or yell or shed tears. He just stared at the man.

By 12 noon, the man had given up and left to go into town. Steve was returned to his work station - along with the woman - and was still forced to work, despite his condition. But the managers did not care, they would work the slaves until they dropped dead.

That night, Steve heard the sounds again. But this time he did not go to investigate. He was almost asleep when a few of the workers around him suddenly began to beat him. Steve did not make a sound, he just looked at them.

"Why did you open the door!" One whispered.

"You could have gotten us all in trouble!" Another one called.

Steve had recognized the males from the night before, they were the ones who were watching alongside him. He could not understand why they were beating him, but he took it without a fight.

From this point on, Steve's life in the factory had only gotten worse. Every night, the sound would haunt his dreams. Every night, the other workers would beat him to remind him who's in charge. Every meal time, the other workers would steal Steve's food so that he would go hungry. 

But Steve would not fight back. Thus allowing the cycle to go on.