(3rd Person POV)
Darius dashed out the door as soon as the transport stopped. Fortunately he wasn't to far from work 'which was only a couple blocks away.'
But that still didn't make him feel any better. Because no matter how close he was, he knew he was about to be late AGAIN. This was not looking good for him.
He ran as fast as he could down the street towards the large factory standing before him.
He bumped into a few people. Some dropped their things and others fell down to the ground. He could hear them shouting at him in anger.
But he didn't have time to stop and apologize to them. So he kept on running until he eventually came to the main entrance.
Everyone was working at their station. Sparks were flying everywhere, machines were constructing machines and everyone of Darius's co-workers were at their usual stations.
He took a quick look around to see if one of his superiors was in the work area. The coast was clear as he approached the time clock next to the sliding door, and punched himself in.
A couple of employees glanced over at him as he past by their stations.
He then came over to station 16A. Darius grabbed his protective gear, put his welding helmet on, and started working.
Deep in thought he wondered if anybody would sell him out. Maybe they already had and they were just waiting for the boss to fire him.
But Darius couldn't focus on that right now, because the only thing he needed to focus on was putting these stabilizers together.
For a living, Darius worked in a factory manufacturing line. Which focuses on constructing small stabilizer boxes for Republic star fighter boosters. It was a difficult, messy, and dangerous job but he was able to manage it well.
To be honest, working in a factory wasn't his plan to begin with. In fact Darius's real plan was to become a pod racer.
The best pod racer in the whole galaxy.
He loved everything about pod racing-the crowds, the racers, the pods, the adrenaline, all of it.
But even though he had a plan for his future, a shocking chain of events led him down a different path. Ending him up in this old rusted dump of a job.
What those circumstances were well... that's something he needed to share willingly. When that day comes, I have no idea, and neither does he. Probably never.
You see every person has a story to tell-a past. The problem is not a lot of people want to share their stories. Because they believe it will bring more harm than good.
For Darius.... his story carried a lot of pain and hardship. His story, was one that he wished would fade away like a dream. But it would never happen.
The one thing Darius learned while growing up, was that there were no happy endings in life.
At least not for him. And believe it or not, he was perfectly fine with that.
*************
After long hours of assembling machinery on the assembly line, an alarm goes off. It was now time for a break.
Darius checks himself out at the time clock and heads over to another room. It was the cafeteria, well..... at least the factories version of a cafeteria.
It wasn't much. Everything was pretty banged up and worn out. The tables, the chairs, the walls, everything was very old and out of date.
The lights that lit up the place were a light orange color, and a few of them blinked on and off.
A line was formed leading to the kitchen where every worker received their food rations.
After Darius received his he walked over to the closest table in front of him. On his tray was a pile of octo chunks, a piece of bread, with a small cup of water. It was cloudy and had a few specs of dirt chunks inside. This water looked more enjoyable for a frog to swim in!
He pushes the cup away and starts eating his rations. It tasted terrible but he was use to it. Besides what else could he eat but the food work provided for him.
While he was in the middle of eating another worker approached Darius and sat across from him.
Darius recognized him instantly as soon as he saw the buzz cut hair and the thick beard. It was his friend Cade Monger.
Cade and Darius met a few years ago when Darius began working at the factory.
He barely knew anybody at the work place but as soon as he met up with Cade, they became inseparable.
"Isn't this a surprise, we get slop for lunch AGAIN. Must be the factories favorite meal."
"Or maybe they just feed us scraps while the higher ups enjoy the main course" Darius replied.
Cade chuckled and started picking at his slop food.
While trying to eat the slop Darius looked up to notice Cade was looking at him with concern.
"What? Do I have food on my face?"
"No." Cade pauses as he sips his water, then resumes the conversation. "It's your eyes."
Darius tried to act dumb. "My eyes, what about my eyes?"
"Come on. I can tell you haven't been sleeping well. You having the same nightmare again?"
Darius hung his head down trying to ignore the question. But he couldn't keep it up for long.
"Yes" he answered. "Nothing is new It's just the same nightmare. It keeps repeating in my mind over and over and over again."
"Hey... don't let it get to you. It will go away eventually...."
"THIS DREAM ISN'T GOING AWAY BECAUSE ITS A MEMORY AND MEMORIES DON'T GO AWAY!" Darius's shouted, his voice echoed loudly throughout the room.
Every worker stopped what they were doing and turned to Darius-the cafeteria went into complete silence.
"I'm sorry" said Cade. "I didn't mean to push a nerve."
The whole cafeteria soon went back to normal, and the noise picked up again.
Darius rubbed the side of his head with his hand and closed his eyes, trying to pull himself together.
"No I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."
"Well for someone who's been having nightmares almost everyday without a break, it makes sense as to why you did."
Darius stared at his food without touching it. He began to zone out of reality and into his thoughts.
Sleep is the one thing he struggled with for most of his life. In fact he couldn't remember the last time he did have a good night sleep.
The last time he slept well was when he was sixteen years old. That... was the last time he would ever sleep in peace.
To this day he was only able to rest easily by taking a few knock out pills that his medical droid recommended to him.
The pills helped him to fall asleep, but they couldn't stop the nightmares.
Deep down Darius didn't care. He felt as if he deserved these nightmares. That he deserved the torture and the lack of sleep he got from them.
After everything he had done in his life, what he did in the past, he deserved far worse.
"I appreciate your support my friend. But right now there's nothing in this galaxy that can help me heal. Especially from my past."
"We all have a past Darius" said Cade. "But the past is in the past and the best way to forget about it is to keep moving forward."
Darius looks up at Cade. "I've been trying to move on Cade. But no matter how hard I try, my past always catches up with me. You and everyone else here are moving forward with your lives. But I can't because I'm enslaved to my past. I have no future."
Cade placed a hand on his friends arm in reassurance. "I don't believe that. I believe you do have a future-you just haven't found it yet."
************
Darius and Cade leaned up against the metal railings on top of the roof of the factory. They gazed out into the beautiful city of Coruscant covered in the sunlight.
Darius took the view in. The wind blew on his face waving his hair back and fourth.
He savored the moment for as long as he could before going back to work.
It's not everyday that he got a chance to come up here and enjoy the outdoors. Well... the smell needed improvement 'thanks to the factory,' but on top of that Darius loved being outside.
He looks up to the sky to see a few stars emerging from deep into space.
"You think one of these days you'll travel throughout the galaxy" Cade asked him as he hit his arm with his fist in a playful way?
"Yeah. One of these days I will. When I get enough credits I'll be able to leave this place and explore the world. Maybe even fulfill my dreams as a pod racer."
Cade chuckled as he place an arm around Darius. "Well, when that day comes make sure you don't leave me behind, huh?"
"Ha ha yes, how could I forget you Cade-I'd be so bored without you" Darius said teasing Cade.
They both laughed together before gazing back at the city again. The sun descending before close to the horizon.
"Wow, would you look at that" Cade said in astonishment.
"What?" Cade points out a large temple to Darius. It stands in the open of the private section of town, as ongoing traffic hovers above.
The temple was massive and had five towers standing on top of it. The fifth tower in the center of the Temple stood taller than the rest and had a crown structured head at the very top.
It was the Jedi Temple. Home to the members of the Jedi order! Darius wasn't impressed and chose to blow off the sight.
"Oh, the Jedi temple. So... why do you sound so surprised?"
"Well I just didn't think we would be able to see it this high up. Turns out I was wrong."
"Yeah well despite the view, the temple is still the same as ever. Nothing exciting."
Cade turns to Darius giving him a look of concern. "You really don't like the Jedi do you?!"
Darius quickly turned his head towards Cade when the question settled into his mind. Bringing his head back down he replied, "It's not that I don't like them I mean.... Okay you're right. No I don't like them."
"Why" Cade asked.
"Because they claim to be peace keepers at first, but instead of ending the war, they've aloud it to spread. I mean come on Cade, when was the last time you ever saw a Jedi do the right thing?"
"I have to admit... it has been awhile. But I still believe that there are some good Jedi out there. Maybe you just haven't found them yet."
Darius scoffed at the idea and leaned his arms up against the metal railings. "Pff, I highly doubt it. They're maybe good Jedi out there Cade, but there's never enough."
Cade understood his friends opinion for the most part. But sometimes he saw things in a completely different way. He places a hand on his friends shoulder.
"Look man I know you have your reasons for not liking the Jedi. But believe it or not there are good ones out there. The Jedi themselves are not the problem anyway. It's their code."
"Yeah. To be honest I can't imagine being taken away from my family, and being forced to not feel anything. Those are the things that make us......."
"Human" Cade said finishing the sentence for Darius. Darius looked at him and nodded in agreement.
"Look," Cade turns his friend over to face him. "Nobody is perfect. No One! Everyone makes mistakes and that's okay. The question is do we learn from our mistakes and pick each other up, or do we stay down on the floor and give up?"
The question hit Darius hard. But he knew the right answer to respond with. The sad thing was he didn't want to admit it. He stood there for a moment not saying a word. Suddenly a loud horn echos throughout the factory.
Break time was over for the workers.
"Well, I'm heading back inside. You coming" Cade asked?
Darius took a quick good look at the Jedi Temple. Gazing upon it as a big shadow hovers over the right section of the building.
"Yeah I'm coming" Darius replied to Cade. They both headed back down to their work stations. The sun slowly began to set as darkness covered all of Coruscant.
************
( Darius's POV )
"Everyone makes mistakes," I thought about that sentence in my mind for awhile.
While I was walking with Cade down in the hallway, I thought about my life as a kid back at home. I started thinking about my family, my home town, my friends, everything.
I had everything back at home. Everything and everyone I could ever ask for in life-and all it took was one mistake to destroy it all. Leading me to this dump of a life.
Every choice I've made, 'and every choice that we all make,' have consequences behind them. Because no matter what you chose to do, you'll reap what you sow.
I only wish that I had the chance to redeem my past-to undo the things that I did. But the truth is, I missed that chance a long time ago. Now I had to pay the price for it.
Before I went back to my work station I took a minute to sit down in the cafeteria. Then I pulled out a small picture from my pocket.
The orange light made it clear for me to see.
The picture was me with my whole family. We were all standing in front of our new house that we had moved into awhile back. Me, my mom my dad, and my little sister 'Nina.'
I stared at the picture for a long time. So many memories kept appearing into my mind.
The day dad took me out fishing, when mom was working on one of her paintings, and how I would play hide and seek with Nina in the woods.
I felt a tiny smile grow on my face. But it faded away quickly as reality began to set in. Where I was, how I ended up here, and where it all started.
A tear left my eye but I brushed it away like nothing ever happened.
I couldn't take it anymore. I placed the picture back in my pocket and walked back to my work station.
But before I got there, somebody tripped me and I fell on the concrete floor hitting my head in the process. I then heard a few workers laughing from behind me.
I realized then who had tripped me when I heard a voice speak to me in a mocking tone.
"Ops, sorry baby king I didn't see ya there. You should be careful where you walk otherwise somebody may squish ya."
I looked up to see a big guy standing over me. He was tall and heavy set in the face and body, he had black hair that stretched into a ponytail, with a trimmed face. He also wore the same uniform I did for work. Behind him were a group of guys, also wearing matching uniforms.
His name was Zad Khan.
Some of his gang members kept laughing at me. Some pointed at me and started making fun of me.
Zad was someone I was not in the mood to speak to. Especially not today. Just then Cade came to my aid and stood in front of me and Zads gang.
"BACK OFF ZAD" Cade shouted.
"Awwww look it's your pet Rancor coming to the rescue" Zad teased as I started to get up nice and easy.
"Don't you have anything better to do Zad? Like maybe getting back to work" asked Cade, though not in a polite way.
"Hey you ain't the boss Cade. Besides me and the boys are waaaay ahead of you two dweebs."
Zads gang started laughing again. Cade tried to send them away but they wouldn't budge. They just stood there, continuing to mock me.
"So baby king, what's the boss gonna say when he finds out you're late again? Remember what he said the last time you were late."
"Yes I remember" I replied to Zad. "I'm not stupid, and believe it or not I had a good reason for being late today."
Zad and the others started laughing again but this time even louder.
"That's the same thing you said the last time you were late! Oh boy I cannot wait to see how this ends."
"Get lost Zad. Why don't you go find something better to do instead harassing workers" said Cade.
Zad grabbed Cade by the collar of his uniform. "Find something better to do? Okay, let's find something better to do. HERE HOLD HIM BOYS!" Zad throws Cade to the others and they grab his arms as he struggled to get out.
Zad turns to me with a wide grin on his face. He then walked around me laying every kind of insult at me.
"You know I kind of feel bad for you baby king. You're stuck in a factory working in the pits, you live in a sucky apartment you can barely afford, and now you have other people fighting for you when somebody picks on you."
"At least I've got better things to do then waste my time pushing others around. Maybe you should start acting like an adult instead of like an immature child."
The others covered their mouths. Some of them were surprised at the insult I threw at Zad. He definitely wasn't happy when I said that because the next thing I knew his fist smacked me right in the face. As I fell to the floor I placed a hand on my cheek trying to hold back the pain.
I could taste the blood dripping from my lips. My mouth felt very numb after that accrued. Then I felt a kick to my stomach from Zads boot. I let out a grunt after receiving the blow.
Cade started yelling while trying to break free from the gangs grip. But he wasn't strong enough to free himself.
"You want me to act like an adult, here's me acting like an adult!!!" Zad said as he kicked me again.
My stomach felt soar. I tried to get up but the pain was too much for me. All I could do was hold my stomach and pray that my organs wouldn't explode.
"Oh by the way baby king, I almost forgot..." one of Zads men handed him a tray. He took it with delight and hovered it over my head, dumping it all over my face. I felt food pour all over me as the room burst out laughing. "Don't forget to take your lunch home with you. Well ha, what's left of it."
"KNOCK IT OFF ZAD! Just leave him alone" Cade shouted.
"Oh Come On, we're having fun right boys?!" The whole room cheered. I whipped the food off of me and started to get on my feet again.
"Hey hey hey look who's getting up finally" said Zad. "Baby king looks a little messy, hey what happened did you decide to play with your food instead of eating it?"
I was not even gonna entertain this any longer. So I turned away and started towards my work station. But Zad wasn't letting off just yet.
"Awww look, I think we may have hurt his feelings. Oh I'm so sorry baby king" Zad mocked. "Do you need me to call your family, maybe your mommy or daddy?"
I kept walking and tried not to give Zad any attention. I just wanted to finish up and go home.
"Maybe you should use those left overs on your face for the dinner party your sisters hosting for the princesses." Zad and the group laughed even harder.
I then stopped dead in my tracks. My heart started pounding in my chest like a drum. My blood turned red hot, my fists clenched together tightly.
The memories of me and my sister flashed before my eyes again.
I started breathing heavily until I finally turned around to face Zad and his gang.
"Awww are you gonna cry baby king? Are you gonna cry?" Zad started making faces like a child was crying.
My face turned as red as an apple as I approached him. Rage and anger consuming my every thought.
As soon as I came within a couple inches to his face, I SMACKED HIM IN THE HEAD WITH MY OWN!
After that, HELL EXPLODED FROM WITHIN ME. I began punching Zad in the face over and over and over again.
I fought like a complete savage laying every blow, every kick, and every smack on Zad.
We then wrestled to the ground struggling to dominate the fight. A huge crowed surrounded us as we tousled around the ground.
Zads gang was in complete shock, and the entire crowed began to cheer. I ignored all of them, refusing to stop throwing blows at Zads face. I laid out all of my anger, all of my rage, and all of my hate on him. As if everything I held inside ERUPTED OUT OF ME LIKE A STAR EXPLODING!
There were a few times Zad caught me off guard and threw a few punches at me. But I soon gained the upper hand as I finally pinned him to the ground and unleashed every punch I had left in me.
After getting tired of using every muscle in my body, I finally stopped punching Zad. The final punch I gave him was when I grabbed his hair and threw him one last smack to the face.
I began to breath heavily from the exhaustion of the whole fight. Everyone of the workers surrounding me went silent. Nobody moved or said a word. Zads gang were in complete shock. Few of them who were holding Cade released their grip on him.
I got up to my feet and stood over Zad. His face was badly bruised, blood ran out of his nose and his mouth. He had swollen cheeks, deep cuts, and two black eyes that were sealed shut.
My hands were shaking and covered with cuts, and red blood which dried on my knuckles.
Zad didn't move an inch. I could tell from his face that he was in great pain. He gasped for breath as his body started twitching and turning.
I stood there and was a bit surprised by what I did. But deep down I knew it was coming.
Zads gang ran after I glared directly at them. But I soon found out why they really ran off, and surprisingly it wasn't because of me.
"DARIUS KING!" A loud voice shouted from behind me.
I turned around slowly to see a blue old Duros, standing there with his arms crossed and a face filled with anger.
Those guys were running from the boss.
Mr Pogg.
"In my office, NOW!!!" He shouted.
***********
Mr Pogg, 'my boss' proceeded down the hall with me following close behind him. A door slides open revealing his shiny office.
A large window was placed to the right side of the office, and revealed the work area before him. His desk was placed in the center of the room, his holo computer still projecting.
I stood in the center of the room as Mr Pogg pulled out his chair and sat down. What happened next, that was still to be determined.
"I have never EVER, MET ANY OTHER WORKER IN MY FACTORY WHO HAS EVER GIVEN ME SO MUCH TROUBLE LIKE YOU!"
I didn't say anything for the moment. Nothing I said would help me in my present situation.
"FIRST, you've been showing up late for work and present nothing but apologies and excuses to me, and now YOUR THROWING PUNCHES AND STARTING FIGHTS?! Honestly Darius, WHAT. IS. WRONG WITH YOU?"
Again I kept my mouth shut and said nothing to Mr Pogg.
He lowered his head and rubbed his face with his hands. He sighed as he looked back up at me.
"You are impossible to help out Darius. I can't figure you out. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Once again I still said nothing because I didn't think it would help me. I mean what could I say that would get me out of trouble? Nothing. I simply had nothing to say.
"I thought you would somehow change and do better, since I chose not to fire you when you came in late again today."
My head popped up and my mouth dropped open when Mr Pogg said that.
He was gonna let me stay even though I was late again. But not only that, he was willing to give me another chance, and I just blew it. Right in front of him.
"You......what?!"
"Yes Darius" Pogg said as he leaned back in his chair. "I saw that you were late again. I was observing from a distance as I saw you sign into the time clock. As I continued to watch you work, I was considering on giving you one more chance. As an opportunity to help motivate you to change and be more responsible. But it seems like that's not going to happen."
"Sir I'm, I.....I don't.... It wasn't my fault, Zad, you clearly saw Zad......"
"Yes I saw what he did and I will deal with him later. BUT...... despite what he did, you were late for your shift, and you deliberately assaulted a fellow worker. Which goes against the third rule in article 1 section 3. 'Any form of assault or physical violence against an employee, shall be met with the immediate termination of an employees position.'
You broke the rules Darius. With that said you have left me with no other choice."
"Mr Pogg please what can I do to......."
"Your fired."
My heart gave out. I stood there unable to move or even talk. It's over. I just lost my job. Nothing I would do could ever help me get it back.
Now I had no job, no way of making credits, no way to continue paying my bills, and no chance of staying in the apartment for very long.
"Mr Pogg please I be of you. If I lose this job then I risk losing my apartment. I'll be living on the streets by the end of the week."
Pogg put his hand up telling me to stop talking.
"I'm sorry Darius but there's nothing I can do. Your done. Now hang up your uniform and leave at once."
"But isn't there anyone you know or any place you can think of that's hiring........"
"DARIUS KING! YOU ARE FIRED FROM THIS FACTORY AND ARE TO LEAVE IMMEDIATELY. NOW, punch out, hand over your uniform, AND GO!!!!!" Mr Pogg shouted.
Without another word, I turned and left his office. I didn't look back or even take the time to think about what just happened.
I handed in my uniform to the front desk and then checked out at the time clock.
I exited through the two sliding doors of the factory and made my way towards the transports.
I didn't take a moment to even say goodbye to Cade. But I didn't care. I didn't look back and kept my head down until I would arrive at my apartment.
'I give up.' I said to myself in thought.