11

The next day, Orion was sent to work in the mine. And the next day, and the next. He hated the
cramped little mine, and to make matters worse, as he began to learn more of how to do it, if he did not mine
enough or made a mistake, he was punished for it. Usually he was smacked across the face, or kicked in the leg
or the rear. Sometimes when the taskmaster was not in a good mood or when Blackmoor was supervising him,
he was dragged outside and dunked or beaten with a hollow bamboo rod. His whip injuries were healing, but
when this happened, they sent fresh signals of pain to the boy's mind.

And the dunking; sometimes Blackmoor would combine them both, having another taskmaster use the
cane on him while he held the boy's head underwater in a basin outside meant for that purpose. Orion hated
this the most; hated the feeling of not being able to breathe, and if he was hit, it was worse. Sometimes it
would make him gasp, and he would breathe water, then he'd be pulled up, choking. And then without any
time to catch his breath, he'd be forced under again. By the time it was done, he was always panting
desperately for air, his lungs feeling like they were on fire, his chest and back muscles throbbing with the strain,
his throat raw from swallowing water when he did not want to.

He was terrified by most of this, and Blackmoor knew it. He also knew the boy hated the box, and used
this sometimes even when he was not bad. It instilled fear in him; made him easier to control. Orion was getting to hate both, and hate the jackal for doing it to him. So young an age to hate.

Orion had been in the compound for five weeks now, and where he was once a happy, outgoing child,
he was now quiet and withdrawn, his eyes always wary. He jumped at sudden movements, as it often meant he
would be hit for something or another; even the smallest of mistakes. He cried every night for his parents,
especially if he had been punished that day. The smacking he was getting used to sadly, but the harsher
punishment...that was a different story. He was still escorted every night to and from his quarters, and
anywhere else he was ordered to go, and even then, he saw no way out. Everything was so carefully controlled.

He had taken a whipping once more, on his second week working in the mines. Five lashes, for
stumbling and falling when carrying his silver to the bin. Most of it had landed on the taskmaster's foot. Orion
had been very careful after that, especially since the lashes had been cleansed the same way the others had.

As the sixth hellish week began, the little hyena cub that had been watching the newcomer approached
him as they worked. Orion was kneeling on the round in the dim, hateful little mine shaft, tapping away at the
wall. Only now was the hyena allowed to talk to him. "Hi," he said.

Orion looked at the older boy warily, then back at the taskmaster, and said nothing. He did not speak
much here, and when he did he often stuttered. Six weeks of harsh treatment had done its work.

The hyena seemed to expect this. He had been born into slavery, as many at the compound had. To
many on Plundaar, it was just their way of life. "I'm Hyder, what's your name?"

The Thunderian cub looked once more back at the taskmaster, who only returnee his gaze coldly. "I-it's
Orion..." he said.

The little hyena grinned. "Cool. How old are you? I'm eight."

"F-five..." He looked again at the Mutant cub and wondered why he was being nice to him. He could
not trust anyone here...and even most of the Mutant slaves had treated him badly when he came in contact with
them.

"Hey get to work, you brats. If you can't work while you talk, then shut up." He kicked both of them
in the rear.

"Yes, sir," Hyder said, not fazed in the slightest, and went back to work.

Orion yelped, and hurriedly went back to his task fearfully, stammering his own reply.

"You're new, huh? Master Blackmoor doesn't like you very much." The cub leaned over to whisper
softly. "Did you really bite him?" Orion nodded, and Hyder grinned. "Cool! boy I sure would've liked to see
that."

Orion gave him a look, trying to figure out if he meant it or not. It felt like he did..but after what he
had been through he wasn't sure. He finally decided to trust the young cub, as he was the only friend he had. He
nodded.

Hyder looked at the little cub and laid a hand on his shoulder carefully. He did not want to hurt the little
feline. "It's all right...it's not so bad, really. If you just do what they tell you to, you don't get treated so bad.
I've only been here a couple of months, they don't like me much either. Of course the others don't like hyenas
a lot." Hyder extracted a lump of silver and put it in Orion's pile when the taskmaster wasn't looking. He'd
seen the cat having trouble. He winked at the younger cub.

Orion looked at him, surprised, and managed a small smile back, the first he'd made in over a month.

That day, a solid friendship was formed. During one of the breaks, they talked quietly, learning about
each other. Hyder felt sorry for the little Thunderian, he liked little kids, and usually tried to help them out wherever he was. He'd been bought, traded, won...there was not much that Hyder had not seen or done.

Orion was shocked to hear that many of the slaves are born into it, and just accept it. He told his new
friend what had happened in his own village, crying as he recalled it. He had been trying not to think about it.

Hyder looked sad at the news, and he was. He knew the parents were probably dead. He did not know where
his own were. He had been allowed to stay with his own mother only long enough so be able to be sold on his
own. The hyena cub slowly leaned over and hugged the younger child, careful of his injuries, which were still
healing.

Orion had recoiled, but when the hyena hugged him, he immediately felt some of the fear and the pain
go away. It was amazing how much good one act of kindness or comfort can do.

Seeing it had helped, Hyder grinned at the little cub as the taskmaster started hollering for everyone to
get back to work. Hyder stuck his tongue out at him when he wasn't looking, then picked up his hammer again.

At Orion's horrified look, he said aloud and with a wink, "Simi's not so bad. He says he's mean, but he's really
kind of nice."

Orion winced as the taskmaster, assumedly Simi, scowled and kicked the little hyena hard in the hind
end. "Watch it, Hyder," he growled.

Hyder had been fully expecting something similar, and it didn't faze him too much. He yelped, but he
grinned as he rubbed his backside. "See?" he whispered to Orion.

The Thunderian looked at Hyder in a new light, that day being one where he truly started to see what he
could and could not do here, and with whom. He went back to work beside his new friend, and the day was not
quite so miserable for him.

Chapter 12

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