Years of Dying

Chapter Four

My name is John Laurens.

I don't like being back here at the mines, but things are different. For one thing, there are no slaves, however the Captain says they will arrive today. I guess he's keeping his word about gathering men from neighboring towns. Another thing that's happened to me is that I became a guard yesterday. I didn't honestly have a choice, because if I refused the Captain's orders, Hercules would have been killed and then where would I be? Speaking of Hercules, I found him yesterday. He's in a bad state, and I wanted to care for him but he insisted that I left because if Captain George found both of us together we would both be punished.

I set down my pen for a moment, thinking. No. I couldn't keep that last thought in this journal. I bet anything that the Captain reads them, and then he'd know I disobeyed his orders. I pick up my pen again and cross out the last two lines, smudging the ink so that nobody could read them. I sigh as I lean back in my chair, upset with myself that I'm following through with more of the Captain's plans. He's already controlling me with Hercules, threatening him to make me obey him, but I that doesn't mean I have to write a journal for him as well.

     I slam the book shut, and shove it away from me with such force, that it slides off my desk and onto the floor. I don't bother picking it up as I hold my head in my hands. I can't decide what's worst in my life right now, the fact that I was taken away from the rebel base, or the fact that I'm being forced into working as a guard, or possibly Hercules being tortured, and me not being able to do anything about. Sometimes, during long hours in the night, I try to think of an explanation for why all of these terrible things are happening to me, but I can't think of any reason; Because I'm not special. I don't have anything to offer except a lot of problems. As I'm lost in my thoughts, static crackles over the intercom, and I jump in surprise as the Captain's voice fills my room and the hallways around me.
     "All units gather in the quarry." It says before the speaker shuts off. This must be it then. This must be the arrival of the new slaves that I have to watch die.

     I'm not in a hurry as I walk out of my door, in fact if I had it my way I wouldn't go at all, but I have a feeling that the Captain wouldn't appreciate my absence. As I'm walking down the hallway, with a swarm of other guards all wearing the same uniform (a blue button up coat with sliver fastens and buttons) someone taps my shoulder, and I turn around to see my second least favorite person in the world, Charles Lee.
     "What do you want Lee?" I say angrily to him, but he wordlessly holds out a piece of folded paper and then dashes away. Curious, I open the paper, read over the short note which is written in narrow, loopy handwriting, and feel my stomach fill up with dread.

     "Dear Mr. Laurens,

     I noticed you haven't completed your tasks as a guard today. Failing to show up at your post has resulted in an injury for Mr. Mulligan. If you fail to show up again, the punishment will be death for your friend.

     Sincerely,
     Captain George."

No. This- this isn't far. I didn't know we had anything thing to do today, nobody told me. If I keep on going on like this, Herc is going to be killed, and it sounds like he's close to it. So what am I supposed to do? Go to the Captain and request a schedule of my post so nobody has to die? Actually, yes. That's exactly what I'm going to do. But first we have to get the slaves out of the way, so I can have a clear head to think.

I stand in a line that circles around the quarry. The Captain doesn't have enough guards to close off the circle, leaving at least half of the quarry still empty. But the emptiness is soon filled with people, all looking scared and frightened. True to his word, Captain George did bring in younger kids, some of them look to be fifteen. I feel a pang of guilt for them. Their whole lives ahead of them, stripped away into this terrible reality. If we had just stayed put...
     The slaves take about two hours for all of them to fill up the quarry, since the only way to travel up and down through the rocky mass is through one elevator. All of the scared men shoot scared glances at the crimson spatters on the ground the Captain hasn't been able to clean up.
     "Welcome everyone," he says once everyone is present and quiet. "Welcome to the mines. You all have been selected to work here to mine diamonds and coal. You will be presented with a schedule informing you when your meals and work hours are. If you have any questions, feel free to ask one of my lovely guards, I'm sure they'll be able to answer your troubles. You'll find the tailor, nurse, sleeping quarters, and so on located around the quarry. Some of you might be picked to assist the workers here instead of working in the mines. You are dismissed to your sleeping quarters. Farewell friends! I hope you all enjoy your stay here because you're not leaving for a long time."