29

"Hyder?"

"Yeah Orion?"

"Do...do you ever wish you were dead?"

There was a long silence in the dim cell block, where Hyder and Orion still resided...even after all this
time. Then, "Yeah...I do." There was another brief pause, and Hyder added, "Mostly when...when
Blackmoor's punishing me for something. And sometimes when I wish I was free. I wish I knew what it was
like."

"I...I wish I remembered more." Orion was nearly thirteen...almost a teenager. Memories of home were
dim, and he honestly could not think of many words to describe freedom to one who has never known it. "It's
better than anything else," he said finally. "A-and...if you have parents...th-that l-love you..." Orion gulped.
"I'd give anything to have it again."

"I never had any," Hyder said quietly. "My mom probably did love me, but she was a slave too."

"I'm sorry,' Orion said. "I bet my parents would love you...I wish I was back on Thundera. Wh-where
it's not always dark and there's no slavery..."

"I wish I was there," Hyder said.

"If I ever get back....y-you can come with me."

"Thanks." Hyder's voice was barely a whisper. The two young slaves curled up with their thin
blankets to sleep, to get ready for another day's work.

"I'm thirteen now," Onion said to Hyder. "I...I th-think it happened a couple weeks ago." Orion
shrugged as the boys worked in the hangar, loading equipment into a storage room. "I d-don't even remember
when my birthday really is."

"They don't really mean a lot here," Hyder said. "Just to keep track of age I guess. I'm sixteen now."

Orion looked his friend over. Yes, Hyder was a young man now...much taller than he had been when he
first comforted the little cat in the mines. "I don't want to be a slave the rest of my life, Hyder." He lowered
his voice, whispering in Hyder's ear. "When I get my chains off again...I'm going to run away." Hyder chains
were already off.

Hyder looked at him, shocked. "A-a-after last time?" he finally managed to stutter.

"Shh! Yes..." Orion clenched his fists. "Maybe...m-maybe Tamarin didn't have to die...for no reason.
A-and if I have to die..." Orion gulped. "I-I-I'll kill myself before I let Blackmoor do it."

"Orion...Orion come on, don't talk like that. He'll find you...you'd never make it." Hyder was more
frightened that he would have wanted to admit. After the last time...he'd been hurt badly by Blackmoor. Not as
badly as Orion...but bad enough.

Orion shook his head. "This is better?" He looked around, where others worked nearly silently.
"H-having your will crushed? Being b-beaten into...just mindless workers?"

"Submission," Hyder supplied, although he felt no better when he found the right word. Beaten into
submission. Yes...he supposed that was what had happened.

"Yeah. I hate it here, Hyder. Even if I can never go back to Thundera...I don't want to be slave anymore. I-if I'm a slave all my life...then my life means nothing. I-it'll just be a work machine."

Hyder nodded. "Yeah...I-I see what you mean." The young hyena's eyes narrowed a little bit, and he
said, "I will go too." He held up a hand to still any protests. "Remember? We stick with each other no matter
what."

Orion smiled gratefully at his friend and nodded.

The last straw occurred in the spring. Orion had not endured much abuse in that time, no more than an
occasional smack or minor beating with a rod or a strap. Since the failed escape, the terrorized young Thunderian had been very submissive. Any punishments were for mistakes, not disobedience.

But it was hot once more, and Orion was working on a new building Blackmoor was erecting...or rather
his slaves were erecting. The lower ranking slaves were digging out the foundation. Orion had asked for some
water, but the taskmaster said he had to finish the section he was doing first. it was the first time he had worked on that kind of labor, and had already been at it for many hours. only one break had been given to them, and then he'd had some water. But not since.

The young slave felt himself getting tired as the day's heat intensified. Usually he liked heat, but this
was ridiculous! He was getting nauseous, but that was nothing new. With his diet at the mercy of his masters, he
was used to stomachaches, hunger, nausea... But this time it would not go away. it only got worse. He staggered and stopped working for a minute.trying to get rid of the dizzy spell that had overtaken him.

A strike from a taskmaster's whip cleared his head for a moment, and at his growled order to get back to
work, Orion did.

But after about three shovelfuls of dirt, Orion staggered again, and fell forward. He collapsed to the
ground, unconscious.

When he awoke, the sun was down, and he was still lying on the ground where they had been building
the foundation. His face felt hot, and he had an idea he was pretty badly sunburned. The fur on his face was
very light. Heat frustration; he'd passed out form the heat and the work. As he got older, he'd been worked
harder, and today he was being worked longer that usual, with more difficult labor. No wonder he'd blacked
out.

But now ice water was being thrown in his face. For a moment, he panicked, and sat bolt upright. Then he retched, throwing up the little water he'd taken. Unfortunately, Blackmoor's boot was in the way...Orion ahd not known he was there yet. but he knew it now.

Blackmoor growled and yanked Orion up by the hair. the boy cried out and scrambled to his feet to
avoid getting his mane yanked out of his scalp. "M-m-master Blackmoor..." he managed to stammer, his head
still not entirely clear. "I-I-i didn't mean to."

But Blackmoor cut him off by backhanding him across the face. The unsteady Thunderian staggered
and fell back to the ground on his hands and knees, his nose bleeding. "You dare speak to me, you disgusting
filth! You weakling...I do not believe you passed out in the middle of the workyard. I can't believe you cannot
endure more than a few hours of work." Blackmoor kicked the young man in the side, leaving a deep puncture
wound from the spike at the end. 'You're pathetic! And then you retch on my shoes."

"I-I didn't again...I'm sorry..." Orion stayed where he was, not daring to stand. he didn't think he could stand on his own at the moment anyway.

"Shut up." Blackmoor's voice was disgusted. Orion glanced back to see he was taking out his whip,
and the young slave cringed. It was a conditioned response, he could not help it, The mere sight or sound of
the hateful weapon made him flinch.

"W-wait..." But Orion had no time to say anything more, as the whip was cracked, and bit into his flesh.

He cried out, resisting as he had many many times the urge to scuttle away. It only got him in more trouble. he
could only lie there and take it.

"I said shut up!" Blackmoor struck Orion again, and the young slave screamed. As Orion curled up on
the ground, covering his head, he shook his own head in disgust. Quickly, he dealt out ten lashes for Orion's
weakness, then stepped back. "Get up," he growled.

Shaking, Orion staggered to his feet. his fists were clenched, his eyes on the ground, his head hanging. But he was not crying. His haunted eyes were dry.

"Why the hell are you such a worthless piece of shit?" Blackmoor said.

Miserably, Orion shrugged, then winced when it sent messages of fire down his back. "I-I don't know
Master," he whispered.

"Of course not. you're too stupid." Blackmoor spat in the young slave's face, and Orion did not move.
He only shakily brought up a hand to wipe it form his face, looking dazedly at the ground.

When the jackal ordered him to get to the healers to have the whip lashed disinfected, something Orion
usually hated even more than the whipping itself, the boy only nodded numbly and whispered his answer. he
stumbled off.

He was not crying, and only whimpered a little bit when the lashes were cleansed,. It was one of the
medics he did not care for much, but at the moment he didn't care. He only walked back towards the cells like
one in a dream.

He no longer wore the chains, and Hyder's had been taken off a few months ago, but both were still in
the tiny cells. Orion curled up in his and didn't even look at the guard that locked him in for the night.
"Orion! Orion, are you okay?" Hyder's worried voice came form the next cell. "What happened?

When you didn't come back from the workyard, I thought something had happened...what'd you...what'd you
get whipped for?"

"I...I blacked o-out..." Orion's dazed voice replied. "I threw up...I-I couldn't help it..." Finally, Orion
started to cry, sobbing into his circled arm.

Hyder hadn't heard Orion cry like that in quite a long time, and was a little startled and worried to hear
it. "Hey...it's all right, Orion. he didn't hurt you bad. And...he does that to anyone that passes out. And it's
usually because he worked them too hard...it's nt your fault."

But no matter what the hyena said, he could not comfort the younger slave. Orion had finally fallen into
an exhausted sleep, when Hyder was finally able to close his own eyes.

It was a couple of days later, when the both of them were working on the foundation. Orion had been
very nervous about working it again, scared that he would pass out. A couple of times he felt like he was going
to, but he made himself stay awake...even went so far as to slap himself in the face. The taskmasters had laughed at this, but it had saved Orion from another beating so he didn't care.

He and Hyder worked side by side. neither of them had spoken much about the incident, mostly
because Orion was silent, and Hyder himself was a little spooked by Orion's behavior. "I'm going to try it,"
Orion whispered to his friend.

"What?' Hyder asked. He hated this work himself, and his mind was elsewhere.

"Escape."

There was a long silence. Then: "Orion...Orion don't let what happened make you make a bad
decision...are you sure now's the time?"

The young slave nodded his head. "Y-yes..." he whispered. "I-it's...it's enough. I've had enough...I-I
can't take it. I c-c-cant take this anymore..."

After a moment, Hyder closed his eyes then nodded. "All right...I know what you mean. You have to
draw the line somewhere."

"Hey you wretches, less talking and more working!" When the taskmaster bellowed at them, the two
friends were silent the rest of the day...but they had plenty to think about.

Not a week later, Orion said that he was going to try. Again, as last time, he had been stealing items
here and there and hiding them in the junkyard. The supply truck was not an option this time, as Blackmoor
had been watching it carefully. But Orion thought he knew a way out. There was a section of the fence, behind
the farthest hangar, that was out of the guards' sight. If he and Hyder could grab some wire cutters from the
hangar while they worked...they could just slip out in the middle of the workday. And they would not be
missed for a while. but he had to wait until they put on duty there...as they'd been digging the foundation for a
while now.

The opportunity came up soon. Orion and Hyder were told they could move back to the hangars, and
both had jumped at the chance. They asked if they could work at the hangar where their gear was stowed...and
where the section of fence was. As Phiron was working there, the request was not suspicious.

Orion had asked as Blackmoor expected him to...indeed he was too terrorized to ask any other way...and
had been granted the request. For most of the first morning, they worked...and for most of that day. But they
had made the decision to try on the morrow...they would check in. But they would make their escape instead.

Both of the young slaves were scared. They knew full well that if they were caught, they'd be put to
death, as horribly as Blackmoor could think to do it.

It was midmorning, when a pale-faced Hyder ducked around a pile of parts and whispered to Orion, "THe
taskmaster ducked inside...come on. It's now or never."

Orion swallowed hard and nodded, and the two cubs retrieved their two smaller sacks. Looking around
once to make sure that no one was looking at them, they quickly scaled the fence surrounding the junkyard and
skulked to the outside fence. Crouching behind the hangar's back wall, Orion produced the wire cutters in one
shaking hand, and handed them to his older, stronger friend. Hyder nodded, and looking over his shoulder every
now and again, began to cut the wires.

Luckily, the fence was not wired to set off alarms when it was cut...although Blackmoor would later
implement this feature. When a big enough crawl space had been made...Hyder and Orion sipped through. The
skulked around the fence a little ways, until they were facing the nearby woods...and then they made a run for
it.

They were not as lucky at the beginning this time. The guard in the tower saw them and bellowed over
his loudspeaker, "HEY! Get back you yo miserable wretches!' He got on his radio really fast as many of the
workers and taskmasters in the yard looked up to see what was happening.

"Oh gods!' Hyder exclaimed. "Orion run!"

Too terrified to even utter a curse or an epithet, Orion dropped to all fours and ran as fast as he could
into the trees.

Blackmoor had snarled in fury when he learned that his THunderian slave and his friend had again
escaped. he ordered a team of his off-duty taskmasters to come with him, ordered them from the compound and
into the woods. He himself followed his men, wanting the pleasure of catching them himself when the others
found them. Hyder he would kill. He would kill him slowly...and make Orion watch every part of it. he would
rub his face in the mess! The furious jackal decided he would keep Orion alive...for as long as he lasted
anyway. He would see to it that he lived the rest of his life in severe pain and fear...a frequent example to those
in the yard...

Orion was running as fast as he could, and had already nearly collided with one of the searchers...who
had sounded the alarm. The frightened cub took off in another direction, darting through the trees, running blindly. more than once he'd fallen and skinned his knees or his palms, but he felt no pain in his panicked flight.

Only when he had run a good deal did he realize that he had lost Hyder. Did they capture him? Were
they going to kill him? "Hyder!" he called, his voice sounding very young, and very scared. "Hyder!! Hyder,
where are you?!" But the only ones that heard him were the boy's pursuers...and so he ran.

Orion did not know how long it had been, ducking, dodging, hiding, sneaking, sprinting...but he knew he
could not keep it up much longer. He felt as if his legs were rubber, and would collapse at any time. he ahd to
do something...and fast. Or he would be dead...maybe like Hyder already was.

The boy looked frantically around. For now, he was out of sight of the Mutants...but that would not last
long. They'd fanned out in the woods, and their "net" would catch him at any moment...

Looking around, his eyes spied a small hole in the ground...the den of some animal. Sniffing it told him
that the den was abandoned...but the sight of it made him breathe harder, as if he were suffocating. No...he couldn't make himself crawl in there...it was barely big enough for him to fit in!

But then a shout carried by his pursuers raced his ears...and he bit his lip. Nearly crying in fear, he
pushed his bag into the little den, and knelt next to it. Taking several moments to convince himself to do it, he
finally began to crawl in the tiny opening.

As he did, he panicked, and nearly drew out again to run...but they were too close. If he ran now, he'd
be caught, and he would die a horrible death. Summoning all the courage he could find within himself, the
young escapee crawled in.

The den was bigger, if only slightly, inside. But still Orion could barely turn around, and had room to
do no more than curl up. He was shaking, his instincts screaming at him to run, to get out, to fight until he broke the tiny stifling prison...but he squeezed his eyes tight and forced himself to stay still and quiet. his breathing was rapid, his voice only barely restrained from whimpering, but he stayed put.

"Where is the worthless little shit?" Blackmoor growled. He was now at the front of the group, and had
stalked into the very area where Orion cowered. As he heard the voices almost directly outside the tiny den, he
forced himself to open his eyes and peer out. All he saw were feet, and he was not about to poke his head out
further.

One of the taskmasters, a Reptilian Orion knew as Cham, shook hs head. "I don't know, boss. I can't
find the brat, maybe he skirted the forest and headed for the desert."

Blackmoor shook his head. "No," he growled. "The sensors say he headed this way...and he's be an
easy target in the open desert. he has got to be here! Keep looking!" With that, Blackmoor returned to
scrutinizing his scanner, growling as he realized he had lost his slave...or so he thought. There was a life form
showing up on the tiny screen, huddled in a den. But he paid it no mind. he knew Orion...and he knew how
terrified he was of small spaces. He didn't even think for a minute that life form was his escapee.

Orion huddled in the tiny den until he could no longer hear the search party. Then he frantically climbed out, shakily brushing the dirt off of himself. It had worked! Blackmoor hadn't even seen him. But should he start out again so soon? What if they found him later? what if their sensors...their sensors!

Orion's eyes widened, and he crawled back into the den, now in tears. how he hated that den...even though it
had saved his life. The boy curled up tightly, taking deep breaths, and squeezed his eyes shut.

When he awoke, Orion panicked. He had obviously been exhausted enough to fall asleep in the little
den, and now it was dark. And he had awakened to find himself trapped underground! no...not trapped. There
was air! Air coming from the opening. As his mind also awakened, he realized where he was, and clawed at the
dirt as he struggled to get out. He had destroyed part of the den in his thrashing, but he did not care. Orion pulled his pack out of the den and brushed it of as well. Blackmoor and his people were nowhere in sight.

As Orion looked to the horizon through the trees, he could see that it would be dawn in a couple of
hours. But he had done it! The only thing that kept him from feeling proud of himself was Hyder; he did not
know what had happened to the older cub. Swallowing hard, Orion set off at a fast pace; he did not know where he was going, but he knew he had to get out of there fast.

Blackmoor, on finding orion's escaped again
Blackmoor

Chapter 30

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