Crown of Shadows

Chapter 10

I was silent all the way until we reached the actual doors to the Factory. I couldn't bring myself to say anything, not without choking on my words. I knew I had no reason to sympathize with the Gromlars. They had done the same to my people. They would have killed innocent children. But still, I could not help the tears that rose in my eyes. This was not how it was supposed to be.

When we walked into the Factory, my senses were immediately overwhelmed. The smell of smoke stung my nostrils, and my eyes burned from debris. The stench of sweat lingered in the air. I could see hundreds, maybe thousands, of Gromlars all packed together into the main Factory. I tried to swallow, but suddenly my throat was dry. My heart was pounding against my chest. All these Gromlar surrounding me- despite the twinge of pity I felt, I reminded myself that these were the people who murdered my sister in cold blood. They seemed peaceful, living down below us without ever paying us much attention. And then suddenly, it was like they snapped. Any of these Gromlar could do the same.

They looked so defeated, so miserable. They were suffering. Innocent children being hurt and taken away. But at the same time, I still saw Laila's death vividly in my mind. The blood-soaked uniform. The shock on her face before it went slack. The way she crumbled to the ground like a puppet cut off of its strings. The pool of blood beneath her. I didn't know how to feel. It was like I was being torn apart. What I was seeing was not the Gromlar I knew from my time. I felt rage at every Gromlar who passed me, but then I saw their faces-ghostly eyes, hollow cheeks, and scars of the mind and body. Grime and dirt slathered across their disheveled hair, ribs bulging through their uniforms.

As I scanned the Factory, I saw Gromlars of every age shoveling the precious gems into the fire. Children too young to know how to read, struggling to lift the weight of the Enegrett gems. Elders breaking their backs trying to throw them into the fire. These beautiful blue gems, like the bluest sky and deepest part of the ocean colliding, were not meant to be used like this. In Teyuk, they were sacred. Treasured gems that helped to power our city. Nobody threw them into fires-the power was drawn from them, peacefully, using a special and gentle technique. Now they were burning them, forcing the power to turn into ashes and smoke that they could use to generate power. Maybe it was more efficient. But this horrible forced labor to get it done? It was not right. No matter what species they were.

And the gems, the Enegrett gems. Once they were burned, they collected the power. How, I was not sure. But I was certain the smoke produced from the Factory had something to do with it. The way we drew power from them, they could be reused. But once they were burned, they were gone forever. What a waste of such a sacred gem. Disgust rose up in me, though I tried to swallow it back.

"Get to work!" The officer's shouts cut into my thoughts, making me jump. Anika moved without a word, grabbing my arm and bringing me toward the shovels. She picked one up and handed it to me.

"Everybody is assigned to a pit. You'll be in pit twenty-seven, with me," Anika explained, sotto voce. I nodded, taking the shovel. For the sake of not slowing Anika down and possibly getting her in trouble, I tried to shove down my fears and followed her. There were many pits, and the Factory was even bigger than it seemed on the outside. The further we walked, the more it smelled like smoke. I coughed, blinking, as I inhaled the smoke.

"The less you breathe, the better," Anika informed me quietly. Great, thanks. I'll just hold my breath for hours on end. No big deal. I didn't say that, though. I knew she was just trying to help. I was just worried about breathing in all that smoke. Certainly it couldn't be good for my health. But then, of course, nobody here seemed to be in good health, except the Opeilu officers. But they were far from the smoke, and the officers who were close to it had masks on.

Anika led me down the rows of pits. I tried not to look at the Gromlar who were by them, suffering the hard labor. When Anika told me about the Factory, this was nothing like I ever could have imagined. She said it was an opportunity. And maybe it was. But more than anything else, more than an opportunity, it was torture. All these poor, tormented souls, breaking their backs to perform hours and hours of labor. Labor that didn't even benefit them. What did they get for their work? A loaf of bread every once and awhile? A little bit of supplies to help them survive? And that was their rewards. The things needed for basic living were given only when they showed good behaviour. And even then it was rare.