A harsh awakening two hours later began the start of Piccolo's first day on
the ship. He and Negate were pushed down a long hall, the smell of eerily
disgusting food floated at them. Piccolo felt his stomach clench at the
stench but could see Negate nearly drooling the closer they got. They were
sat at a long table of others, some of them could barely hold their heads
above the bowls they were sipping from, others glared around the room
looking to pick a fight. Negate leaned slightly to one side, favoring the
possibly broken ribs. A large man, another prisoner wrapped in a huge
apron dropped two bowls down in front of them, a thin gray soup splashed
out and onto the tabletop. A small pitcher of water was set down after it
and the prisoner winked at Negate and motioned to a table from across the
room. Two women and one man that looked old enough to be their grandfather
gave a slight nod and Negate grinned at them before taking a deep draught
off of the rim.
Piccolo watched in disgust as she began slurping at the watery gruel in the bowl. She looked up at him over the rim and blushed lightly. "I haven't been allowed to eat for two days." She grinned again but this time her eyes hardened and the small smile felt cold. Piccolo slid his dish toward her after she set hers down after licking the taters and drips from the bottom. She looked up at him shocked.
"Aren't you hungry?" Piccolo shook his head. "Even if you aren't, maybe you should eat, it's going to be a long day." Piccolo only looked away and Negate shrugged easily emptying the bowl. She took another swig of water and offered the jug to Piccolo who took it and drank deeply after sniffing it.
A booming voice filled the room. "Table IV report to work detail. Any stragglers and resistance will be punished by today's head guard." Negate stood along with the rest of the long table and Piccolo stood as well. A large man entered from the side door with a small scanner in one hand. The line moved slowly, people getting their cuff scanned before being led away. Negate held her cuff out and made to leave but the guard blocked her path with his arm.
"You're looking well." He grinned, several of his teeth missing. Negate grimaced. "What's the matter? Aren't you glad to see me?"
"No." Negate's voice had dropped and was full of violence. Piccolo stepped up behind her.
"What do you want asshole? Can't you see the lady and I are having a conversation?" The guard growled. Piccolo grasped the guard's hand and pulled it away from the door jam, leaving Negate room to go through. The guard grunted in surprise and then fell to his knees in pain as Piccolo squeezed slowly the bones in his hand cracking in the grip. Piccolo scanned his own cuff with the hand still clutched tightly in his fist. When his number read on the bar he dropped the man's hand and followed Negate down the hallway.
She turned and walked backward for several yards looking up at him with a mixture of awe and horror. When Piccolo looked back at her she smirked and turned around walking behind the group again.
The room they entered was huge and full of large metal chunks and the heavy smell of machine oil. Sparks lit one side of the room with harsh glares and reflections. Negate walked toward the middle where the odor of gun oil and hot metal grew. Piccolo followed, not sure of what he was supposed to do. A man with a broad back and grease-covered torso smiled with a row of straight, startlingly white teeth at their approach. Negate smiled back, an equally bright one and yelled over the sound of hissing and scraping of metal on metal.
"Nate, how's the wife and kids?"
The large man grinned wider, "Dead." They both laughed but Piccolo looked between the two of them appalled. The incessant squeal of metal began to throb at the base of his skull and he resisted the urge to cover his ears with his hands. A guard came by and pointed to a mountainous mound of scrap metal. Negate nodded and Nate shrugged and turned back to his work. Walking to the pile, Negate heaved a large chunk of scrap nearly twice her size onto her shoulders and began to walk slowly toward the far end of the room. A guard snapped Piccolo with a chi whip and screamed at him to move his ass. Standing with a growl he noticed Negate had stopped and was nodding toward the pile of metal. Piccolo grasped something that looked like an engine block from the pile in one hand and grasped a piece of framework with the other before snarling at the guard and following Negate's slow progress. Piccolo easily caught up with his longer stride and stronger bulk. He could hear Negate breathing heavily already though he hadn't even broken a sweat.
She looked up at him through the hair plastered to her forehead and gave him an odd look before concentrating on the floor again. A small line of workers trudged toward the pile behind them already covered in sweat and grease. Stopping at the small pile, Negate heaved the hunk of metal from her back and let it drop at her feet. Piccolo set his pieces down with the rest and followed Negate back toward the pile. A small trickle of blood creeped down Negate's back and Piccolo saw the source as a small gash in her upper back.
"You're bleeding." Piccolo said with the same monotonous tone one might say, 'doorbell's ringing'.
Negate nodded. "I know, it's from that metal. I felt it after I set it on my shoulder but it would have cost too much energy to reposition it than to leave it be."
Piccolo watched in disgust as she began slurping at the watery gruel in the bowl. She looked up at him over the rim and blushed lightly. "I haven't been allowed to eat for two days." She grinned again but this time her eyes hardened and the small smile felt cold. Piccolo slid his dish toward her after she set hers down after licking the taters and drips from the bottom. She looked up at him shocked.
"Aren't you hungry?" Piccolo shook his head. "Even if you aren't, maybe you should eat, it's going to be a long day." Piccolo only looked away and Negate shrugged easily emptying the bowl. She took another swig of water and offered the jug to Piccolo who took it and drank deeply after sniffing it.
A booming voice filled the room. "Table IV report to work detail. Any stragglers and resistance will be punished by today's head guard." Negate stood along with the rest of the long table and Piccolo stood as well. A large man entered from the side door with a small scanner in one hand. The line moved slowly, people getting their cuff scanned before being led away. Negate held her cuff out and made to leave but the guard blocked her path with his arm.
"You're looking well." He grinned, several of his teeth missing. Negate grimaced. "What's the matter? Aren't you glad to see me?"
"No." Negate's voice had dropped and was full of violence. Piccolo stepped up behind her.
"What do you want asshole? Can't you see the lady and I are having a conversation?" The guard growled. Piccolo grasped the guard's hand and pulled it away from the door jam, leaving Negate room to go through. The guard grunted in surprise and then fell to his knees in pain as Piccolo squeezed slowly the bones in his hand cracking in the grip. Piccolo scanned his own cuff with the hand still clutched tightly in his fist. When his number read on the bar he dropped the man's hand and followed Negate down the hallway.
She turned and walked backward for several yards looking up at him with a mixture of awe and horror. When Piccolo looked back at her she smirked and turned around walking behind the group again.
The room they entered was huge and full of large metal chunks and the heavy smell of machine oil. Sparks lit one side of the room with harsh glares and reflections. Negate walked toward the middle where the odor of gun oil and hot metal grew. Piccolo followed, not sure of what he was supposed to do. A man with a broad back and grease-covered torso smiled with a row of straight, startlingly white teeth at their approach. Negate smiled back, an equally bright one and yelled over the sound of hissing and scraping of metal on metal.
"Nate, how's the wife and kids?"
The large man grinned wider, "Dead." They both laughed but Piccolo looked between the two of them appalled. The incessant squeal of metal began to throb at the base of his skull and he resisted the urge to cover his ears with his hands. A guard came by and pointed to a mountainous mound of scrap metal. Negate nodded and Nate shrugged and turned back to his work. Walking to the pile, Negate heaved a large chunk of scrap nearly twice her size onto her shoulders and began to walk slowly toward the far end of the room. A guard snapped Piccolo with a chi whip and screamed at him to move his ass. Standing with a growl he noticed Negate had stopped and was nodding toward the pile of metal. Piccolo grasped something that looked like an engine block from the pile in one hand and grasped a piece of framework with the other before snarling at the guard and following Negate's slow progress. Piccolo easily caught up with his longer stride and stronger bulk. He could hear Negate breathing heavily already though he hadn't even broken a sweat.
She looked up at him through the hair plastered to her forehead and gave him an odd look before concentrating on the floor again. A small line of workers trudged toward the pile behind them already covered in sweat and grease. Stopping at the small pile, Negate heaved the hunk of metal from her back and let it drop at her feet. Piccolo set his pieces down with the rest and followed Negate back toward the pile. A small trickle of blood creeped down Negate's back and Piccolo saw the source as a small gash in her upper back.
"You're bleeding." Piccolo said with the same monotonous tone one might say, 'doorbell's ringing'.
Negate nodded. "I know, it's from that metal. I felt it after I set it on my shoulder but it would have cost too much energy to reposition it than to leave it be."
