Chapter 3: The Miners of Hell

I thought about going down into the steep mine shaft but with night approaching and the shaft being eerily dark and silent I decided to wait for a few minutes until someone came up.

I had to stand there and wait until sundown before I saw something loud and bright coming up the mine shaft. The noise was a combination of screeching metal wheels and thunderous footsteps. The noise was followed by a bright fiery light that came from an unknown source that was halfway down the tunnel and slowly approaching.

As it got closer and closer I could finally make out what it was and it appeared to be a frail bronze-skinned man pushing an old wooden mine cart full of orange crystals that shined with a bright light.

He looked to be struggling with the heavy mine cart but he didn't give up and was still able to get that cart all the way up to the entrance of the shaft where I stood blankly staring at him.

The man didn't seem to notice me at first. He just plopped down next to the cart breathing heavily and sweating like a pig. I wasn't sure what to do so I continued to stand there and look at him, waiting for him to finish his little break.

"Huh? Is that a kid?" said the man who only now just noticed me after sitting there for a few minutes. He looked surprised and judging from his expression a little confused.

"I didn't know there were any kids your age around. Where are your parents and how long have you been standing out here?" He asked nicely trying not to scare me.

I didn't know how to respond so I told him everything about my mother and how she never came back yesterday after she said she was going back to work.

When I finished talking he gave me a sympathetic look and he opened his mouth to say something but stopped halfway.

He was probably going to try and console me since it was apparent that my mother was most likely dead which I already suspected.

"She gone right?" I asked.

"Oh! Yeah, pretty sure she's dead, kid. Yesterday there was another cave-in and there were some casualties. If your mom never came back she had to be one of them." He said solemnly.

I didn't know how to feel about my mother's death. On one hand, I had trouble seeing her as my mother because of the whole reincarnation thing. But on the other hand, she did raise me and care for me. If anything I felt guilty.

Guilty that I feel nothing even though she's dead. she was my birth mother and she truly did love me but I never did so now I'm feeling pretty shitty.

The man noticed that I was distressed and naturally, he confused my feelings of guilt for feelings of sadness over my mother's death, and he said.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay kid you think you're the only orphan this place has seen. I'll go talk to the Chief and he'll think of something to do but for right now it's getting late. Go back home and in the morning meet me back here, we can work things out from there okay." He said giving me a silly grin.

I nodded my head and headed back home. I didn't trust that guy but he seemed decent at least.

I wanted to figure out what I was going to do right away but it was almost midnight and it was getting pretty cold so returning home and staying warm should be my top priority.

'I'll figure out everything in the morning I guess?'

As I walked away the man behind me sighed before muttering.

"Good grief we got another orphan and so young too, what a hassle. Whatever I gotta finish bringing up these heavy mine carts. I'll tell the Chief and he will figure out what to do with that kid."

He then sighed once more before going back down into the mine shaft complaining the entire time about how much work he always had to do.