A Day In September - BTS Zombie au

41: Ab Intra

Eventually, after several weeks of insufferable conditions came acceptance. She came to terms with the possibility of never leaving. Failed attempts or even the mere thought of escaping was faced with severe repercussions. Even then, workers were not killed—no—they faced torture. Workers weren't allowed to leave, much less allowed to die. Death itself was an escape. Those who tried simply ended up back in square one—as workers. Public hangings were instead public displays of torture, where humiliation and pain drove both the victim and the witnesses to surrender and obey willingly. There was nothing one could do to improve conditions or treatment. All you could do was turn a blind eye and hope you weren't caught up in crossfire. People hoped to die by sickness, others turning to brutes for salvation, for deliverance from the grasps of a merciless Hades.

For Mara, the insufferable slowly became tolerable, all because of one person.

Mara hadn't cried in a while, her eyes devoid of light, gone so dark that she looked almost lifeless. She'd been in the woods, her small group of people guarded by two Ateos, their guns wielded blankly. One of the guards was new, a young boy almost Mara's age, who had been recruited. He was one of the only known exceptions to have passed under Hades scrutiny. His highly impressionable character was growing rougher by the days. He adapted the behaviors and practices of his peers as his own, acting out harshly against his workers even when faced with no reluctance or opposition whatsoever. His elder, a man in his twenties, known to have been recruited farther back when the Ateos had barely begun to form, was far more relaxed than his counterparts. His stoic nature was tame as he simply gave orders and lightly punished those who did not carry out an order properly. You were lucky if you were ever placed under his watch, for he was seldomly cruel.

Mara grew a liking to him, as wrong as it was. Despite his affiliation with the Ateos, his intentions were not to hurt people, but to make them acquiesce for their own good. At least that's what Mara hoped. She would hope to whatever God there was that she was put under his guard every day. Somehow someway she always was. She didn't know his name—couldn't even ask for it. The names of Ateos were seen as something akin to holy, something workers were not worthy of knowing.

On that day, one in which Mara had felt particularly exhausted, she'd been lagging behind all day. It was nearing dusk when she'd been handed a rather heavy log, her legs trembling as she carried it on her back. Her vision was hazy, sweat dripping down her face and into her eyes. In a moment of weakness, her vision was littered with black dots. Seconds later, a disoriented Mara was woken up by a harsh nudge, a loud and demanding voice echoing in her brain. She fluttered her eyes open, overcome with fear as she realized she had passed out during work. She looked to her right, noticing the idle log laying beside her. When she sat up and looked over, the younger guard's boot removed itself from her torso, his gaze fiery as he looked down at her. Mara quickly got up, falling back to her knees when the world began to spin.

"Get back up, you worthless piece of shit!"

Mara gasped for air, standing back up only to be kicked back down to the ground.

"Get up!" He yelled. Mara felt an overwhelming rage, but with a blank gaze she rose to her feet again. The older guard looked over the younger's shoulder, peering at Mara with a frown.

"If you fall back down again, I won't hesitate to beat the shit out of you!" The young guard warned. Mara nodded, silently hoping she would be able to pick up the log again. She did so with difficulty, huffing out short breaths as she struggled to keep her legs from giving out.