Chapter 1 Epiphany

*warning triggering subjects violence and gore i'm not giving another warning*

Freedom is something that cannot be taken or earned, it must be found.

The Amazons, a group of fearsome warrior women who managed to fight throught multiple ages until they reached modern times. All the while miraculously never learning to mature or evolve beyond commercial values.

Let's just say Jeff Bezos very much enjoys being the only man with rights amongst the Amazons.

The others weren't so lucky.

This Odyssey begins deep underground, in one of the many factories managed by the Amazons all over the world.

Men in orange jumpsuits and metal collars slaved over the various machinery meant to build everything the shipping company needed.

Some were previously homeless men no one would bother missing. Some were hackers looking for free packages, that simply accidentally found a way to access the corner of the company reserved for women only. Which the Amazons considered a great crime.

Some were even criminals who sadly attempted to rebuild they're lives at the wrong company.

And the rest, well some were just freaky.

But in this gigantic factory and storage ground who's size gives the fields of asphodel a run for it's money was a quite unique case.

A young boy, barely fiftheen years old expertly worked on the packages. So fast he could have managed an entire line on his own.

No one really knew why the Amazons showed up with an infant fiftheen years ago and no one questioned it. He had no real name or even an identity for that matter. He simply slaved away at the same machines every day since he could lift a box.

He knew all the rules of the Amazons and all the way they went around the rules to torment him and his fellow workers.

They're latest attempt was to stick a wrench in the gears of an old metal press. Other workers panicked when the machine suddenly groaned like it was about to explode, but amongst the sea of men going in the opposite direction, the young boy made his way towards the machine.

Already perfectly aware of what was wrong. He fearlessly reached into the unbearably hot machine and pulled out the tool.

Sighs of relief echoed all around. Said relief didn't last long as the guards roughly pushed back the forced workers towards they're designated spots.

"Thanks Gear." A boy around his age muttered to him. A strange name yes, but all of his attempts at fixing complicated machinery didn't always end in success. He had the scars to prove it. This earned him the only name anyone had ever bothered to give him.

Knowing that none of them had the right to speak without being prompted first. Gear knew that this boy was taking a big risk just to thank him. So he sent him a simple nod in response before going back to work.

"You know all the rules here right?" He whispered again. "I-I-just got here I don't want to get hurt." He explained fearfully.

Gear felt pitty for the other boy, but he also felt somewhat jealous. At least he got to see the world before being forced down here.

Gear gave up on ever seeing the light of day. Something that people could easily guess since his skin was as pale as the moon, but he also gave up on escaping the abuse of this place.

The Amazons always found a way to hurt them all. No one could escape they're hate. It didn't matter how old one was or how innocent. If you were a male you were dumb and weak and was made to obey.

But even after being raised with those words quite literally being beaten into him. Gear stopped believing them a few years ago.

Gear barely knew how to read or write, but he wasn't guilible.

He worked hard, all the time from dawn to night. With no break or even a thank you, only a piece of dry bread and a small glass of water awaited him at the end of each day, but he observed everything and everyone like a hawk. It's all he had to do in his free time. Apart from asking himself questions he couldn't answer.

One of which being, if they were so strong and so smart as they claimed. Why weren't they doing it? He saw how the guards often lazed around, complaining about how boring they're jobs were, or play games on they're phones all day and be treated like mighty warrior queens by they're fellow sisters. While he worked until his hands bled for the measliest of meals.

It didn't make a lot of sense to him, but it's not like he could do anything about it. He never could.

Just like he couldn't truly protect the poor terrified boy next to him.

All he could do was press a finger to his lips in hopes that he would immediatly fall silent.

"Oh okay we'll talk later." Gear frowned, he didn't like speaking.

"HEY!" A voice barked, making the young boy jump in fright.

"Which one of you male spoke out of turn" a guard demanded. Her spear threateningly raised.

Before the other boy could open his foolish mouth, giving the Amazons a reason to hurt him. Gear stepped in front of him and raised his hand. Not looking up at her eyes when she stomped in front of him. They always took it as some form of challenge.

The adult woman brought her hand back and slapped the child accross the face with the back of it, without an ounce of hesitation or even remorse.

"Why General Polia thinks keeping you around is a good idea is beyond me you stupid brat!" She barked in his face, Gear not flinching even an inch.

He was too used to people screaming in his face like maniacs.

"Now what do we do with him girls?" She asked turning to her younger sister's in arms.

"I don't know, make an example out of him?" One proposed not looking up from her phone in a blasé tone.

"Perfect answer Quilia. When a male does something wrong you make an example out of the offender. They learn much better with Visual stimulation anyway." Mockingly chuckled the woman.

Gear braced himself.

Even though he expected the punch to his guts, it didn't hurt any less. The air was knocked out of his lungs, the punch briefly lifting him off his feets.

He fell back to the ground in a heap. Gasping for air, now the other teens were interested. They approached him, Gear curling on himself. It's all he could do as they started kicking and slamming the shaft of they're spears on his body.

He didn't bother trying to keep track of how much time it took for them to get tired of beating him in front of over a dozen people once again. In these situations it was best to make sure that you kept all of you're teeth safe. The Amazons didn't really have an insurance for they're slaves.

Gear didn't cry out, he didn't beg them to stop. He learned early on that it just spurred on people to keep hurting him. So he remained silent, not even grunting in pain as they poured every inch of they're anger into the hits.

Once they were finally done Gloria daughter of Ares and Gear's warden yelled at them to get back to work. The Amazons would call her a supervisor, but even though never experiencing it for a single moment himself. Gear was perfectly aware of the concept of freedom.

It sounded like a dream, something he desperatly tried to reach for. Until he realised every single night that he could never reach it. Because for people like him freedom didn't exist. Neither did comfort, or whatever happiness might have been.

He also wondered what it was like to have a family. The workers didn't really care much about each other, at least it was the case with the old one's. They knew sucking up to the nearest Amazon to gain her interest and hopefully marrying her was the only way to somewhat gain a comfortable life.

Alas Gear was still too young for that option.

The other boy Gear had protected watched on with teary eyes as he shackily pulled himself up, using the edge of the treadmill.

Only to go back to work as if nothing had happened. "Thank you." He mouthed, but Gear ignored him. He needed to catch up on work or he wouldn't be eating tonight.

After hours of grueling work that left many of the adults silently whimpering. Gear and his group were escorted back to they're rooms. Or at least that's what the Amazons called them. The other workers called them cells and Gear was more inclined to believe them.

"Hey Gear?" Said boy nearly groaned as the small voice he had temporarily saved from torment spoke up from the cell next to his.

"Thank you for what you did, I mean it." He said gripping the bars seperating them.

"My name is Elliot, Elliot Lake. Are you okay?"

Gear stuck his thumb and index finger in a circle in response. Wordlessly telling Elliot that he was fine.

"What is this place?" He asked looking around fearfully for the other Amazons, but they didn't bother patrolling this section of the facility. Gear knew that for a fact from his many sleepless nights.

Gear thought about his question for a moment.

"Home" he quietly stated with a small hoarse voice accompanied with a small careless shrug.

"What do you mean home? You've been here you're whole life!" He hissed loudly.

Gear nodded.

"Di immortales." He whispered horrified. Which made Gear perk up.

"Demigod?" He said inquisitively.

"No, not really." He replied sounding ashamed.

Gear sniffed the air like a hound. Elliot smelled like something that had gone rotten, that and dust?

He didn't really question it, but he always found demigods interesting. Being owned by the Amazons for so long he had secretly learned nearly anything there was to know about the gods. Especially how petty and vindicative they could be; he had also learned many other things if revealed would most likely have him imprisoned or killed.

"If you've been here all you're life you know how to get out of here right?" He asked hopefully.

"Can't, get used to it." Gear bluntly stated laying down on the side that hurt the least. He had spent all his life here and never even got to see the entire factory, the Amazons kept one group to one zone so they couldn't know the layout of the whole facility.

He felt a little bad about dissapointing Elliot who sunk down on his cot.

"Good night Gear." He whispered brokenly.

Gear wasn't sure what to say to that.

It was the first time someone ever wished him something good, but he knew it wouldn't actually happen.

As well deserved sleep overtook him, Gear was met with a reacuring dream.

Emptiness, that's all he could see, a dark void stretching in every directions. It was a endless place where he couldn't be hurt, a place where he didn't have a metal collar around his neck. It's the closest his mind could manifest as a feeling of freedom. Like always it didn't last long.

The horn blared, knocking Gear out of his pleasent dream. He woke up and jumped from his cot, ignroing the ache of his body, he mechanicaly walked the usual path he took.

Only to have a chain attached to his metal collar. He was roughly wrenched away from his usual path, the metal collar scrapping against the raw skin of his neck.

Confused and a little afraid Gear walked along without any resistance. He was dragged to a file or workers, his chain swiftly getting connected to the back of Elliot's. The annoyed Amazon slapped the back of Gear's head. Jeering at him that he was a braindead fool.

Elliot tried to look back at him, but a small poke in the back from Gear convinced him otherwise. If he tripped and brought down the others it was a mass punishment that awaited them all.

"You're being transferred today!" Barked Gloria "the males assigned there thought they could complain about our generosity and ask for better jobs and now they shovel coal in the basement."

She chuckled cruelly, the announcement earned a wince from Gear. He had spent a week down there once and decided he'd rather die than go back.

Unless you had fireproof will and body, you weren't surviving long down there.

"You're job is simple, you store the boxes in the container until we can find less lazy males to do it."

The walk towards they're new work was long and slow, but Gear was used to the methodical walk of the chained groups.

He often heard the guards mockingly call him and the others as being about as much worth as cattle.

At least cattle got a relatively peaceful existance before dying.

Gear already knew he was stuck here until he was an old man. He'd probably die of a heart attack before getting dumped in a fire to fuel a forge or a machine. It's what happened to the last elderly man he got to meet here.

He peeked outside at the strange sight.

He had no idea what it was, but he had the strange urge to jump and roll in it.

He must have stared for too long because an Amazon slammed the butt of her spear in his ribs. Knocking him in the direction of the trucks.

Dutifully loading the boxes, he took a sneaky peek at the outside any time he could. Much to his frustration he didn't manage to see much.

Too quickly it was the time to go back. For the first time in nearly ten years, Gear hesitated to obey orders. Earning himself a slap to the face.

He was pushed back in rank and escorted back to his cell. Where he wasn't later on met with food, but he couldn't care less.

He had seen the outside, he had felt it, and oh how much better it felt than his wildest dreams. He was filled to the brim with energy. He had already memorised the path, maybe he could-"

Before he could start planning Gear cut himself short. He wasn't smart enough to plan an escape like that.

He should just take what he's given no matter how brief and go on about his life becoming longer by consequence.

A long life of work pain humiliation, rince and repeat every single day. Every single moment since he was born being spent under the boot of a bunch of horrible people.

Maybe dying just to see the sun once was worth it. Just a glimpse would make him happier for the last few moments of his soon to be shortened life, than the entirety he has spent in a cage wondering how he would be hurt the next day. Just like how the guards wondered what they would eat tommorow.

For the first time of his entire life Gear understood something the old man had told him so long ago.

Keep hope.

Now he understood what hope was. He held onto it as if it was his own heart as he pondered how he could escape unscathed.

"I know that look" a voice breathed next to his cell.

Gear looked up at a smiling Elliot.

"So what are we going to do?"

(Authors note: for those who genuinely thinks the Amazons aren't bad people or that i'm exageratting... Seriously just wake up. They call them servants, but if they were they wouldn't be dressed like prisoners. They are slavers and when you become that no crime is above or below you and they will be described as such)