8 The Cave and The Children

That night, we were out with Miss Alla running some errands. She was someone who had been taking care of us for two years ever since both of us had lost our parent. At that time, I met Clara.

As we were on our way home on the streets. Strangely, Miss Alla has been acting peculiar. The long black-haired woman who was holding our hands took a different route to home and she has been giving us an uncanny feeling throughout the path.

Then, when we stopped, there's a man who wore huge and dark robes and disguises himself with a white mask that has a magenta moon crest pattern on it. That was the last thing we knew before we had woke up in a dark and blank room where the door was made of iron bars.

On the corner of the small room, there was a small toilet. On the left, there were a small mattress and a pillow with a thin blanket. 

However, through the long hallway passage, it was not the only cell room, there were numerous and each of them was occupied with a child.

Opposite his cell was Clara, he was glad that nothing had happened to her.

Theo was thinking about the time before he went unconscious, Did Miss Alla sold both of them to a mysterious man? He couldn't help but felt stung in his heart as he was betrayed by someone who he had almost loved her as his mother.

Day by day had passed by, both of them had accepted the dark and untoward fate.

Despite being a slave they received healthy food plate 3 times a day, but the load of work was an injustice to the children. They were forced to mine Mana Crystal that was formed in the cave, iron ores, and stones from morning to evening. 

These were their daily routines there. 

"Theo...are we going to live our lives like these forever?" Asked the four-year-old girl.

"Don't worry someone will come and save us." He reassured her even if that was a lie.

Then, came a voice interrupted them. "No one will come and save us...this place was hidden from the outside people with a special magic barrier."

Those words had pierced  Clara's heart and shattered her hope. It made her eyes became a fountain that never stops spattering tears.

Theo stood up with his wrath, he was about to punch the young teenager in his face but was stopped by the others.

He then continued. "Kids, listen there's no point in having faith in someone who doesn't even know we are here." Then, he stood up and walked to his cell.

The boy who seems to be 9 years older than him had spoken the real truth about their current situation. Theo also agreed with what he said because he thought the same as well but he still wants to resist that fact.

After a month, there was a child who was at the age of 14 suddenly was in tremendous pain. He kept screaming and crying out loud. The sounds had echoed through all the passage and room in the cave.

It became the centre of attention of everyone. Then, came two men with a mask covered their face and took him away. After that, the boy had never returned to his cell.

Theo had thought to himself, what had happened to that boy? Why he didn't return to his cell? Are that kind of thing going to happen to all of them here?

He looked around and it seemed that he was not the only one to be in fear and concern about his life except for the boy next to his cell.

He doesn't even show the slightest fear in his eyes. His eyes also didn't even show the slightest of hope. As he was already dead inside and had accepted his fate.

Then, strangely Theo asked him. "Hey, what's your name?"

The boy gave him a pressing glare."If you're trying to crack some joke, then stop, I won't laugh."

Wow, he's dead inside for sure but he didn't stop and continued ."My name is Theo."

Then, Theo was only accompanied by the silence and the sounds of water dripping through the cracked ceilings. However, the boy did reply afterwards."Ren." That all and the situation back to silence.

...

The next day, everything is the same but the more time had passed the more it affects the children's mentality and emotion. These vulnerable children are seriously stressed and terrified. Even we were surrounded by each other there were many, many more of torturous loneliness. These children don't believe adults will help them.

These  children have been sold into slavery for their family to repay debts or crimes or earn some money if the family were short of cash. Some were been abducted by these mysterious people. These people are using them to subject them to involuntary acts.

Theo eyebrows slightly furrowed, lips pursed, and chin raised, he was giving a look that clearly expresses his displeasure about how they were treated there.

"What with that face of your's, just let the guard know that you need to use the bathroom." Ren leaned his body forward at Theo and whispered in his ear.

"No, not that, I'm sick of seeing us in this disconsolate state." He replied.

"Huh? You're still holding on to those false hope, like I told you no one will come and save us cause they don't know we are here."

"No, I know that…that's why we are going to save ourselves." what Theo said had didn't surprised Ren at all instead he let sigh. "Do you have a plan?" He asked Theo while lifting his pickaxe and striking the Mana Crystal in front of him. "Not yet" he responded.

"Alright I'm done with my work here" Ren then walked back toward his cell. Children who had completed their given task will be allowed to rest in their cell. "Already!? He's fast."

.....

Ren sat on his mattress and gaze towards the wall. People that have faith, have hope.  People that have hope, have faith.  Seemingly, a person cannot have one without the other. Theo, you should understand that if you lost one of them, then, it is meaningless.

Later that night,

"Psss…Ren are you still awake?" He whispered to Ren through the iron bars that divided their cell. "Theo…what do you want?" He replied grudgingly.

"I had a plan we can get out of here, we can use magic when our magic core finally developed and we ca-" but before Theo can finish his sentence it was interrupted by Ren.  "We can't, look on your back, there's a curse mark implanted on, all of us."

Theo's face fell into a hint of apocalypse. Ren who saw Theo face turned around and pulled his blanket. "Go to sleep, Theo." He felt regret let those words out of his mouth.

After hours had passed, Ren couldn't sleep. He found it impossible to sleep that night. Pangs of guilt kept him awake. He just realised what he did was the vicious cycle of what the previous kids had told him when he first arrived at the cave. He was repeating what his previous senior did to him. Now he was the one who did it to Theo.

He had extinguished the burning flame of hope inside Theo. His hope had long gone so he suddenly felt wrong to smother the other people hopes.

Then, he heard Theo has murmured to him something. "I'm not giving up yet, I promise that I will get us all out of here, Clara and even you too Ren, even without any hope left I'll show you that we don't need it."

Ren's heart dropped instantly after he heard that. It was something he had never thought to hear it.

...

After that night, Ren just kept observing what was Theo up to and his scheme to break out of here. When the guard was not looking Theo put his ear at the wall to check if there was another cave nearby that connected to this cave or if there was a flow of water nearby. Ren already got the idea of what was Theo's plan but he knew that it was useless. Then, he gave up on observing him.

One week had passed, and still, there was no positive result. Theo had concluded that his plan was pointless. With the guards around there's no way he can pave his way out to make a hole that connects to another cave.

But what's the point of paving to another cave if you still stuck belowground? Theo didn't think about that yet.

Then, Ren came to him who seemed to be lying on the ground gasping out of breath.

"You're done with your foolish plan kid?" before Theo answered him he tried to get his breathing under control first. "No, maybe…but I'm-" again Ren interrupted him. " I know, know…you're not giving up right?" Then he broadened his hand to Theo.

"Let's get all of us out of here, but this time…we will be using my plan." Confidently he said it to Theo, but it is not some bold or brash air of self-belief. It is an expression that he knows he's right--and he will prove it.

*chuckle

Theo couldn't help but let out a slight warm laugh. "Okay then, What's the plan?".