My body shivered and my muscles tensed. Darkness, it crawled through the forest and drawn itself upon me. I did my best to keep my mind focus on our job, but the sun's absence was too hard to displace. Gaia's core never faltered. Only during our sleep cycles were we ever in a dimly lit room, but that was by choice. Not forced. Here, there was no place to escape it. Just like that void between our worlds. Another shiver convulsed along my hand and it twitched as the etched memories surfaced.

I exhaled and it came out as a harsh gasp. Thankfully Fernanda was busy in the tunnel grabbing the last bucket or she thought I was dying of exhaustion. Had I really been holding my breath that long?

That was it, I needed more distraction. With it being too dark to pan, the only thing we had left was sorting the wheelbarrows for the morrow's task. Even that lulled to a stop. I've taken light for granted too much.

Once she came back out gully, I paused and stared at her. Water already seeped back in, and now even her clothing was scathed from rocks and covered in dirt. As I figured, she spoke big on looking out for oneself, but in the end, her actions spoke loud and clear that she cared. Otherwise, I would've been the one in that cave, shoveling what loose rocks remain. Or worse, in bed with that creep... although there was still a chance for that.

Darkness was the void's breeding ground for soulless things. I've been warned of the vile acts Terrans performed during these hapless hours, and now I had my own personal nightmare fresh in my mind. His eyes, dark and brown within larger bulging eyes, they leered at me. My flesh felt more exposed than I imagined, and now here out in the darkness, there was no courage or anger I could rally up. Instead, a feeling of nausea settled on my heart like heartburn.

Thanks, Rolando, another thing I have to worry about tonight.

That settled it, I really-really-really needed my mind off things. "Fernanda, is there anything else I can do?"

"Goodness, you're like a machine," she laughed, "I'd never imagined it. Still, we did well today. No need to overexert ourselves. We can start early tomorrow and start shoveling some new holes along the river. We might be in more luck that way. Anyways," she patted a burlap sack attached to her side where she stored the specks of gold, "we did more than enough."

"Oh?" I perked up. If working was out of the question, conversation was the next best thing and I'd pursue the thread no matter how pointless. "How much do you normally do?"

"Well, I'm not normally on the western side. I can only imagine how much we'll get done tomorrow when we're both fully here."

"Wait, you're not normally here? When you talked to Rolando, I thought you did."

"Hah, he doesn't keep up with where we work, just as long as we work. If it weren't for you, I'd be back at the eastern side with the others."

"I... I see... but what is wrong with this place then?"

She grunted. "Do you see many people here? This place is undesirable."

I glanced around at all the trees and shrubbery that formed a thin cover around us. With the soft splashing of the river, it was peaceful. Nature wrapped around us in a sweet, albeit fragile, embrace. Even in this dull light, it felt more like home than the barren wasteland. Was I missing something? "Why is this undesirable?"

"Girl," she laughs, "it's because you don't know better." She plopped an empty wheelbarrow down and grabbed a few of the bags of other minerals we collected. "Here, load this up with me and I'll tell you about it on our way to dinner."

I followed and grabbed all that I could with a giddy smile in my heart. Tasks and conversation, just the thing I desired.

We really did collect a lot. A small bag of gold alone, and a bunch of mineral deposits that I pointed out that she nearly cast aside. Fernanda informed me they weren't worth much, but it was better than nothing. By the time we finished, she beamed with a devious grin.

"It's definitely a lot more than I expected," she said.
"That's great, so why don't others mine here?"

Her face soured and she shrugged. I guess she thought she'd get off easy about not having to answer it. Eventually, she'll learn my determination knows no bounds. I trailed behind her as she pushed the wheelbarrow and pleaded with my eyes. I wanted to know.

After a moment, she finally chuckled. "You're quite persistent. Like these mosquitos." She laughed again. "I did say I'd tell you though. There's a few reasons, one of which is that we don't have any heavy-equipment setup here because it floods sporadically. So, everything has to be hand done. Which means it takes longer to find anything rewarding. And trust me, nobody wants to return empty-handed, so hardly anyone comes out here. With that said," she glanced around, "not sure if you noticed, but we're on the outskirts of our camp. There's not a lot of guards stationed out here."

True, I hardly saw any guards walking by. Perhaps once or twice to check up on if we hadn't collapsed. Other than that they were far in the distance, likely keeping a casual eye that we wouldn't escape. Either way, it was a luxury. "I like it." It was nice not to have those leering eyes linger too long. Only a handful of others mined the banks further down, so I had plenty of freedom to ask my questions without drawing more attention to myself.

"Privacy comes at a cost. As much as I don't want those guards around, they're also our safety from any other wondering camps looking for easy loot to snag."

My eyes widened.

She sighed. "See, I bet the thought never crossed your mind. We're out here, illegally. So, anyone who sees us with this stuff can peg us as easy targets. We're sitt'n ducks out there, Ada." Her sharp voice hushed as we traveled the dirt road.

Even though we were far from the campsite, we still covered ground quickly as it slopped downward. A chattering of voices carried in the distance. My arms itched for my robe. Without it, I felt bare and my tattered clothes didn't help. A great first impression. At least it was dark... I bit back my lips from frowning.

"Hey," Fernanda said, "don't fret. I got your back out there, okay?"

She exuded a tough persona, but that genuine care that twinkled in her eyes, it gave away her true self. "I know."

Fernanda shrugged her smile away. "Anyways, after how much we're hauling back, I don't think they'll be letting anyone touch us." She laughed.

I quirked my head to her. "Even Rolando?"

"Hah," she paused the wheelbarrow's and the bags rattled inside. "Just because the guy's a thug, they're still running a business, and the big bosses care more about money than their subordinates getting laid." A lilt flirted her voice as she started moving forward again; "we'll be treated like queens tonight."

Queens? Was that like a Maester? Questions for another time. With how wide her smile was, it had to be a good thing. There were times for questions and time to relish the moment. Joy. That was perhaps the best thing to compete against the darkness. That nausea had finally settled a little. Maybe the night wouldn't be so bad after all.