Aimless Ascension

So on my fourth day of slavery, I was supposed to get thirty lashes, befitting my incompetency for the last two days.

Since twenty lashes yesterday hadn't made me pass out, I reckoned thirty wouldn't be enough to do so either.

Then again, it wasn't any better than passing out. I barely kept any semblance of lucidity even though I was awake. The pain was so intolerable, my brain couldn't function well for a certain amount of time, only registering the excruciating agony throughout the body.

I wish I were like those few of the other slaves, who could still walk around and talk even after getting the same amount of lashing. They probably had grown a tolerance for the pain.

Would I be able to get used to the pain before I die? Those days, dark thoughts were all I had most of the time.

I wasn't aware how many lashes I could endure before perishing, but it should be around the three-digit mark. So I had like a couple of weeks at best. I need to heal my left arm within that time.

Fuck, I wish I hadn't pissed off Ol' Theodore. His potion would be most welcome at my current situation.

Anyway, since I was doing nothing these few days, I decided I should learn new things from watching others. And what could be more useful than the native language these people speak?

I certainly wasn't going to ask someone to help me learn, not that that would help. I tried memorising words with how their body language worked and guessed most of my way into meaning. To be honest, I was doing better than I had hoped.

I learned eight native words yesterday.

I was looking forward to learning more today, though the remainder of the lashing was making me queasy.

Instead of working these days, I go around with the pickaxe under the nose of the guards. Whenever any of them were nearby, I started mining, and after they left me to my devices, I do my thing, which wasn't much.

The same old mapping out the place. Honestly, this mine wasn't any less short than the other underground facilities, though less complex. Then again, I hadn't travelled deeper. Most of the places deeper in the mine were fiery pits.

Anyway, you must be wondering: why was I specifically narrating this day when I skipped yesterday? The answer was very simple. Something completely unexpected happened which changed how I looked at this place this day.

So the time of collection came again, and like yesterday, my trolley was completely empty. I left it in my usual place, and it hadn't mysteriously grown crystal stones.

I pushed the trolley, mumbling a song not to remind me of those agonising thoughts.

. . .she keep cryin', she keep cryin' every single night

Day and night, on my mind, please don't kill the vibe. . .

I got engrossed in the rhythm and tried to forget my misery.

Oh no, I swear to God, I be in my mind

Swear I wanna die, yeah, when you cross my-

But it was so hard to forget about the misery, the dark thoughts, the agonising beating. . .

Said I wanna die, yuh

No, I'm not alright, yuh

I might start a riot

I'm so fuckin' tired, yuh

-Thud!

Something crashed into my trolley and caught me off guard. I rested my mumbling to find a completely unfamiliar man, pouring a bucket full of crystal stones into my trolley. I was completely lost to ask what was happening.

"Keep singin'," the stranger who dropped the crystal stones on my trolley told me, "309."

Of course, I wanted to sing, but the generosity caught me off guard completely. I even forgot the lyrics as I stared at the unfamiliar man. On second inspection, I could tell he was an earthling much like myself, though of Asian origin.

The man snorted at my expression and departed as if it was nothing. I was about to scream thank you on his back, but another crash caught my attention.

Another person poured half a bucket of crystal stone on my trolley. He gave me a head-to-toe look and slapped me on the shoulder. He was earthling too like the other person, and he too left like the other person without waiting for me to shower gratitude on their generosity.

That happened yet again as two more strangers came in and dropped crystal stones, nodding at him. It was as if they had been coordinated by someone. After all, they chose the most dramatic moment to do it, and do it in such a way.

And after about five and six people donated their hard-earned crystals to my trolley, I finally got to see who was the mastermind behind this.

It was the duo of 196 and 197. They were waiting for me to pass. They usually had their orange stones in their trolley, but instead of donating that, they poured a couple of buckets full of regular crystal stones into my trolley. That almost filled my quota for today.

"Nobody would've missed a piece of shit like you if you died," Number 196 told me. "However, I guess you have some value."

"Bloke, you just have to kill the vibe," I couldn't help but complain.

"See you around later," the dark-skinned woman said as they departed like the others.

I looked at my trolley with a heavy heart. Looks like I would be safe from today's beating. Then what about tomorrow? Would they help me again tomorrow?

As I was wondering about that, Cameron came in and played the role of the last donator, pouring the excessive amount of stones he got today.

"We have much to talk about," he told me as he crept out, pushing his trolley. "Later."

I let out a heavy breath and departed from there, as the guards would be coming to chase us out soon.

I continued to mumble the song again, albeit with a little more spirit.

So outside of my misery, I think I'll find

A way of envisioning a better life

For the rest of us, the rest of us

There's hope for the rest of us, the rest of us

______________

Lyrics credits: XXXTentacion

One more of this flashback and we go back to the current timeline.