Mark was laying on his side, the pain was almost unbearable. Ivan glanced down on him. '' так же, как твой отец и братья'' the Russian said, shaking his head slightly. He turned around and walked towards the ladder of the mine. ''Toris! Raivis!'' he called. ''Get Marcos out of my sight!''
The teen was breathing softly, inhaling deep hurt awfully. Ivan walked back to his chair and grabbed some papers from the desk. Now the foreman was fired a couple weeks ago, after he had been caught stealing, Ivan had to do everything by himself. Counting the loads of coal, checking the tools, selling to clients and lots more.
And on top of that, he had to make sure that the miners were working. That's why he was outside, so he could work /and/ keep an eye on the miners. In less than a minute, Raivis and Toris were above the ground. Blood dripped into his eye, making his sight blurry.
He saw the two coming closer to him, Toris mumbling something. Mark flinched when Lithuanian checked the wounds on his back. ''Get some water'' Toris said against his little brother, before helping Mark to stand up. Ivan didn't even take notice of the three, he was just continuing his work, like nothing happened.
With great difficuilty, the teen managed to get back on his feet and walk towards the sleeping place. There, he again collapsed. Mark softly moaned, tears appearing in the corners of his eyes of pain. Raivis returned with water and pieces of cloth. ''This is going to hurt'' Toris warned him.
He soaked a piece of cloth in the water and washed the wounds, as quickly as possible to prevent unnecessary pain. Mark tried to push Toris away, he wanted the pain to stop. ''This must be done, otherwise you will have black scars of the coal dust, if you're lucky enough not to die of blood-poisoning'' the Lithuanian said.
The teen stopped pushing him, his fingers digging in the ground of pain , trying to ignore the aching as best as he could. He saw the water becoming red from his blood. Finally Toris was done, putting the bandages around it. Raivis already went back, they still had to make the goal of today. ''Done…'' Toris said. ''…Why did Ivan beat you up like this?'' he asked.
Mark was quiet for a few moments before replying. ''Something stupid…'' the teen grumbled. Toris stood up again, sighing deeply. ''Well, I got to go back, you try to sleep. And don't move too much, otherwise I will have to clean those wounds again'' The door was closed again, Mark was alone.
His back felt like it was on fire. And what for? An angry glare, nothing more. He now knew that Ivan hadn't been lying about him having an easy life at Antonio's house. Now Mark looked back, he knew he had a simple life back then. Getting good meals, having his siblings around him and the work wasn't really that hard.
But still, Mark regretted nothing, Romano was just a little brat. He just had to make sure that he would survive here and wouldn't go insane. Then he would return and take Sebastiaan and Bell. They weren't going to break him, even if they would beat him near to death. He would not yield!
He saw his father and brothers return, walking down the gravel towards the door. Mark smiled and put down the spade. But Bell and Sebastiaan were quicker, they opened the door and ran towards them. Mark followed them closely. But there was something strange about his family, his father wore a rosary around his neck and so wore his brothers.
He frowned and slowed down his pace. ''Sebastiaan! Bell!'' he called to them, hoping that they would stop. His siblings continued running towards them. Bell jumped into the arms of her elder brothers and Sebastiaan was lifted by his father. Mark saw his fathers hair becoming shorter and changing colour, while he threw Sebastiaan playfully in the air.
When their eyes crossed paths, Mark saw that his eyes had became violet colored. ''Sebastiaan! Bell!'' he shouted again, this time slightly panicking when he saw his brothers were gone and Antonio was embracing Bell. Ivan put down his little brother and approached Mark with a whip in his hand.
When the door opened again, Mark woke up roughly from his nightmare . ''It was just a dream…it was just a dream…'' he kept repeating to himself, still a bit shaking. He didn't remember his back until he tried to sit up too quick. The three miners walked inside, still black with all the coal dust. They sat down silently, tired of the day of work.
After a few minutes, Eduard asked how Mark got in the mine in the first place and why Ivan kept calling him Marcos. ''There was a war, my brothers and father went to fight. I was too young to come with them so I stayed behind with my sister and brother. The war was lost but they didn't come back… two years later, a weird Spaniard broke into our house and took us with him.
He wanted to turn us into catholics'' Mark explained the rest of the story quickly. ''…and then I hit Romano. I hadn't notice Antonio standing behind me, he went mad. At the end of the day, Ivan came for me. I still have to find a way back to save my siblings'' Eduard shook his head. ''Escaping from here?'' he said. ''That's impossible, look at yourself. And that was only for glaring at him. What do you think will happen to you if you try to escape?''
The teen was thinking. ''Still I have to try, I can't stay here and leave Sebastiaan and Bell with that bastard'' It was quiet for a few moments. ''What happened to you?'' Mark asked, to break the silence. ''The Russian hadn't enough miners, so he went to the city. We are orphans and by then we were living on the street. We also aren't brothers by blood, but we do care for each other as brothers. Ivan promised us a good home, with food. Well, by then we didn't know we would end up here'' Toris said, while looking around the room. His voice became softer as he spoke, not wanting Ivan to hear any of it.
''A few months later, Northern prisoners were brought here to work, so we weren't the only ones. But it didn't end up too well for them. '' Toris stopped his story. ''What happened?'' Mark asked curious. ''What I just told you: It didn't end up too well for them. I'm too tired to tell you the whole story now'' Toris said, while pulling a thin blanket up to his chin.
''Tomorrow?'' the teen asked, wanting to know /what/ happened. ''Yeah yeah, just go to sleep now, or your wounds won't heal properly.'' It took many hours before the teen could sleep, the pain kept him awake. Finally, when he was exhausted, Mark closed his eyes.
Light fell on his face when the door was opened in the morning, Ivan standing in the doorframe. His footsteps boomed through the room when he walked to Mark. The teen got up from the floor when he saw Ivan reaching to pull him up by his hair. He had suffered enough pain, he thought himself. His back aching terribly. He bit on his tongue, not to show anything.
The Russian grabbed him in his neck and turned him around. Mark pulled his shoulder away when he felt a hand pushing on a few lashes. ''Useless…'' Ivan mumbled while letting go of his neck. Mark turned around, looking at him. ''You're going to repair tools and gear today. And it's done before the end of this day, or I will beat you again. Understood?'' Mark nodded angrily, refusing to face Ivan. The Russian left again, walking towards the mine where the three brothers already were.
The shack were the tools were kept was full of broken ones. Mark sighed deeply, it would be hard work to repair them all before the end of the day. But he had no other options. Mark sat down and grabbed a pick axe, which shaft was broken off. The teen replaced it with a new handle and sharpened the pick axe, before putting it back in the chest.
The pile of broken tools decreased slowly, his back feeling sore. Mark cursed softly at Ivan and Antonio. They were the ones who did this to him and his family. And what for? Turning him into a catholic. Ivan was also a catholic, but luckily, Mark didn't have to go to church. Not that he had time to go to /any/ church, even on Sunday, they had to work.
While working, he tried to forget the dream he had. But the sight of Antonio embracing his sister made him very angry. How dared that Spanish rat even come near his sister? But still, it was a dream. Bell was of course smart enough to stay away from him, Mark was sure about that. He hoped, she could also keep Sebastiaan away from Romano. Now Romano was the cause of Marks departure, he most likely wouldn't be hanging around that Southern kid anymore.
The teen continued working, not taking a break. It was too much work, if he just kept working hard, he may had a change of completing it before the Russian would return. The sun was slowly moving down the horizon when Ivan returned. The pile was gone and every tool was again were they belonged. Ivan randomly checked a few to make sure it was repaired correctly.
He then turned around. ´´Come´´ he said, before pushing Mark back to the sleep area. Nothing else, not a thanks or a well-done. It was clear that the Russian hadn't expected Mark to finish it. The door behind him was locked again. Eduard, Raivis and Toris were already there. Mark sat down and looked at Toris, who was obviously tired and sleepy. ''What happened to them?'' he asked impatient. Toris yawned tired, knowing Mark wouldn't stop before he knew the story.
''A father and his sons tried to escape but they got caught. The father got beaten to death by the Russian, the sons survived but got send away from the mine. The other Northerns are still here, although they are working in a other part of the mine, placing beams to make sure the roof won't come down. Can I sleep now?'' Toris yawned again. ''What were their names?'' Mark asked.
''I can't remember their names, it happened a long times ago. The man who died had a name something like Wolf, although I can't remember for sure'' Mark stared at Toris. ''Wulf?'' he asked, anxious to know for sure. ''And the brothers, were they called Ludwig and Gilbert?'' Toris lifted his eyebrows, curious why Mark wanted to know their names so badly.
''Yeah, something like that. But keep your voice down, Eduard and Raivis are already asleep. And I'm going to sleep too'' he said before lying down and curling up under the blanket. A painful sting went through his heart. The names were correct, the timing was correct but still he couldn't believe it. It couldn't be his own family! Although it fit, his family hadn't come back from war. But his father couldn't have died that easily! Mark just couldn't believe it. He stayed awake the whole night, worried about his brothers. He had to know where they were and if they were alright.
The next morning, Mark heared the key turning in the lock, he immediately got on his feet and stood just behind the door. ''Where are my brothers?'' he asked haunting. Ivan looked at the teen, stunned. Mark repeated his question. ''Where are my brothers?'' Ivan frowned and glared at him. ''You aren't really a fast learner, are you?'' he snarled.
The Russian pushed him aside, but Mark wasn't stopped that easily, now he knew this man had torn his family apart. ''Where are they?'' he shouted in anger. Ivan first tried to ignore him, but he had ran out of patience. ''Still a feisty one, huh?'' he said, while grabbing Mark at the collar of his shirt and pushing him against the wall. The teen felt the wounds on his back burn but glared back at Ivan, grabbing the hands and tried jerking them away.
The three brothers were woken by the shouting. ''Eduard,Toris,Raivis, out! Now! Get to work'' Ivan said furiously to them. In seconds, the only ones in the room were Mark and Ivan. ''You don't understand what your place is. You do as I say whenever I say and you don't ask questions. Especially not with that voice!'' Mark gasped for air when he felt a hit in his stomach.
Ivan pulled him away from the wall and kicked him in the back of his knees, causing him to fall on the ground. Mark tried to get up again, but failed. ''You clearly have got enough energy left to work in the mine, no reason to let you deal with the easy chores.'' Ivan growled at him. ''I will not allow you to speak to me with that voice'' while Mark heard a sound of metal against the concrete floor.
His arm was twisted the wrong way and he felt something hitting his back. This time, Mark couldn't hold his screams. It hurt too much, the wounds from a few days ago being ripped open again. Mark felt his shirt becoming soaked with his own blood. After seven or eight blows, his screams became less loudly until they stopped, replaced by short winces.
Tears appeared in the corners of his eyes, of anger and pain. Knowing he would never see his father again, knowing that that man had beaten him to death, knowing he couldn't get away from here. When he thought he couldn't take anymore, the hitting stopped, followed by jerking at his twisted arm. ''Are you going to behave?'' the Russian shouted in his ear.
Mark nodded slowly, mumbling a yes. ''Yes who?'' Ivan snarled, jerking again at his arm. ''Yes sir'' Mark replied, his voice still weak from the loss of blood. The Russian let go of his arm, kicked Mark to the ground and unlocked the door again. ''Get to work, собака'' he said. Mark slowly got on his feet and walked past Ivan, looking down at the ground.
He felt dizzy, the blood still dropping from his back. Mark luckily managed to get down the ladder without falling down, but when he reached the bottom of the mine, he collapsed. His father, gone and so were his brothers. Mark was getting desperate, how was he going to get away from here? Maybe, if he kept calm, Ivan would send him back to Antonio. There, he would have a change of escape. With the rest of his family.
It took hours before Mark was able to get on his feet and walk down the small tunnels. He wasn't as strong as usual and it took at least twice as long to fill a cart.