Chapter 14
Alistar and Kaila were hurrying along a particularly lengthy tunnel in the eastern section of the upper mines. Since they'd left the Resident Cavern, they had passed almost two dozen tunnels packed full to capacity with other slaves. Pained groans and heated shouts fought through the almost rhythmic clanking that floated throughout the area. The usual sounds.
The tunnel was manmade, smaller than its natural counterparts and crudely enforced with wooden support beams. Thinly distributed torchlight left fickle glimmers to coalesce into a passive glow that was both warm and cold, and all in between. Lately, the tunnels his family worked in were lit with torches, and not many.
A line of weary slaves stretched on for as far as the eye could see, grunting along the left side of the tunnel with little enthusiasm. Some looked as if they might keel over at any minute, their appearances brittle and weakened as they struggled to work the hefty pickaxes in their trembling hands. Conversely, some were large and brawny, no doubt working off a full stomach nurtured by the meals of their weaker brethren. As was the case with Alistar, not one head of hair fell short of the shoulders. Long, dirt-encrusted fingernails and tattered, smelly rags created a common resemblance among the labourers.
Guards stood lazily along the right side, one for every eight slaves. The constant flow of Carriers left little room to spare, and the unending cycle of the two lines left the tunnel cramped and stuffy.
Alistar and Kaila had been navigating through the cramped tunnel for almost five minutes and there was still no sign of either of their families. They must have been near the end of the line, Alistar thought, a spot once reserved for Alistar's father most days of the week. He frowned. The farther down the line one worked, the longer the walk back would be. This was the least desirable spot among the lineup. This feeling...I don't like it. He clutched at his hidden crystal.
A careless Carrier abruptly bumped Alistar with his heavy pack and caused him to stumble. A man a few paces ahead suddenly looked over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing as he caught sight of him and Kaila approaching. The man was not sweating nearly as much as those around him, yet his collection box sat at twice the height of the next highest within the area. His eyes followed Alistar's every step. Eventually, as he and Kaila made their way past in a timid manner, the man stopped working and turned to face them. A nearby guard stretched but didn't seem to care that a worker had stopped.
Alistar did not like this man. Growing up, he couldn't count how many times he had been spat on, tripped, shoved, or cursed at, just because he happened to be passing by. The man had made public his dislike for Alistar's father, even though Rodei had been an honourable person that had held the respect of many, even a good deal of the guards.
Without moving his hulking body—a muscled mass that rivalled Alistar's uncle Raidon's body—the man simply smiled at him. It was a grin of genuine content, but Alistar couldn't miss the devious undertone that stained it. A ropey scar separated his dirtied face and split the upper half of his smile so that it was unpleasantly crooked, the past injury hugging a warped nose that clearly hadn't healed right after suffering a breakage. He might have been handsome once, but as it were his face would make any child uneasy.
Alistar broke eye contact and ducked his head, ushering Kaila forward as they passed by as quickly as possible. There wasn't much room to maneuver in the manmade tunnels, so he had to reluctantly accept the inevitable. Some form of abuse awaited him, damn the man. But all he was met with was a husky snicker.