Prologue
I look up at the sky, sunlight shining from behind the clouds. My forehead wrinkles from a scowl, and I glare up at the sun. The heat has blinded my vision, and nearly driven my thoughts to insanity.
As the hours pass and daylight threatens to dim into night, I feel the fatigue set in after hours of labor. Rolling my neck to stop the pain, I grimace with disgust at the noises my bones make.
I feel the beads of sweat on my forehead, but exhaustion forces my arms to my sides. "Jonah," I whisper, and crouch behind a leafless tree. "Jonah?"
There's a rustle in the undergrowth, and he emerges from the twisted vines, looking tired. Dragging a shovel behind him, Jonah slumps himself against the tree. "I don't know how much more I can take," he says, angry. "I'm practically melting."
I slide down the tree trunk until I'm next to him. "Just a couple more days." The words are a lie, but I don't know what else to say.
Jonah glares at me, but his frustration has a different target. "Yeah," he mutters. "Just a couple more days until it's the next chore." He throws the shovel, and rubs his hands against his head.
I grab his arm, feeling the muscles under his dark skin tighten at the movement. His anger was something that occurred everyday, and his outbursts had little effect. The hate swirling in his eyes made their usual soft brown an inky black.
"Just wait, Jonah," I whisper in his ear, repeating my response day after day. "Who knows when something will change?"
As always, I don't believe them myself.