LESSER

“Monsters are stones, humans are flowers.”

   -      Anonymous

[Original idea]

          The darkest of nights could never compare to the abyss that was Fasia. During the day, minerals and gems sparkled like artificial sunlight, but when the sun dropped from sight, the underground world was covered in tenebrous shadows.

          For hundreds of years, stone men ruled under the surface, while humans ruled above. It was the way life had always been, and always would be.

          Or so they thought.

          As the sun rose, a tiny crack from the surface let in the light, illuminating the millions of jewels underground, almost like a chain reaction. Talc trudged on to work, despite the half darkened caverns above him. The creature kept his head low, his dull, stoney skin leaving a minute trail of ebony dust. As Talc arrived at the Kinderfields, he raised his head, gazing at his work place. Around him was large walls, millions and millions of different minerals and stones protruding. Pink, purple, blue, green and hundreds of other colors filled up the Kinderfields. Beside the miles of walls was a brightly lit building. The word KinderCo. was glowing against the azure bricks and black, stone walls.

          Talc didn't hesitate to enter the building, turning his key in the door, and going directly to his office. All that lay in the miniscule room was a picture frame hanging on his cubicle wall, a stack of files and paperwork, and a clipboard. The stone man grabbed his board in passing, writing down a few things, and then flipping a large lever on a white surface.
     
     The lever groaned, and suddenly a brighter light blew up in the wall areas where all the jewels protruded. It was time to begin the work day.
       
  “Good morning,” Talc muttered to a passing stone woman.
   
      “Talc!” The female replied, waving rapidly at the male. She grinned at him, before pulling the large dark creature into her tight embrace. As he pulled himself from her grip, their stones grinded against each other, creating a glittery black dust below them.
       
  “Erudite,” he said weakly, sleep still obvious in his mannerisms. Erudite seemed oblivious to his energy - or lack thereof.
       
  “It's such a bright morning,” the crystal said to Talc. “Everyday, over and over, we get to witness the wonders of the birth of future Fasians. We get to see all the delights of new children.”
        
Talc sighed. Erudite, though a beauty - with sharp, crystal skin and iridescent stones - she was so naive. Day in, day out, the stone man witnessed the death of children, crying of newborns being sent off into orphanages, and the hateful resent of the Luster children. The Luster children were the gaudy stones or jewels who  all the parents wanted or envied. To be a Luster you were beautiful, handsome, sparkly, glossy and colorful. Lusters were ones who were always chosen. The Lesser children were the gaunt, and unflattering, like Talc. The dark and dusty gems with no life to look forward too. It was almost a shame to work in the Kinderfields, being a Lesser yourself. It was a constant reminder of his social status.
       
  “See you,” Talc uttered as he pushed past the Luster, Erudite. She seemed confused as the dull Fasian made his way out the door, down to wall 33.
        
Talc arrived at his designated wall, grabbing his check board. The lights above him gave him the the necessary tools to remove the stones. The wall was decorated in multicolored minerals, most not ready for removal. The walls were high, almost a hundred feet, and a thousand feet in width. As big as Talc was, he always felt small in the Kinderfields. It was unsettling. The Kinderfields always had a feeling about them, as if they were as alive as the people surrounding them.
        
A crack sounded throughout the wall, making Talc whip around. His eyes searched for the source, when a glint towards the end of the wall caught his attention. Talc jogged down, his tie bobbing from side to side.
       
  “What?” The man whispered, when he spotted a pink stone.
       
  It was pale pink, and crystal like. She was a Luster, no doubt, Talc thought, writing down her number and grabbing his equipment from his pocket. Wearing a helmet, heavy boots, and his dust safe coat, he used his pick to chop at the wall around the Luster child. As he gave the tool a final swing, the wall gave, and out tumbled the pink gem, landing in Talc's arms roughly.
       
  The child began to cry. “Hush,” Talc whispered, cradling the baby in his large arms, rocking her from side to side. Her sharp crystal features began to soften, and she gazed into his eyes with her own curious, blue ones. Little jewel droplets felt from the corners of her eyes, clinking softly on the scuffed floor. Talc bowed his head for a second, 
         
“You're a pretty one,” he murmured softly, stroking her cheek with his large dark thumb. A little dust marred her, but she seemed to not care, and stuck his thumb in her own gaping aperture.
       
  Talc was absorbed by her childish innocence, and smiled gently, before settling her in a basket. The dull Fasian grasped his clipboard and wrote down her stone type, effectively naming her, “Cyrilovite” or Cyril for short. Talc hefted her onto his other shoulder, rocking her gently. Cyrilovite giggled. Talc glanced around before tossing up the baby in the air. She shrill laughter pierced the cave, echoing around.
        
  Talc sighed and put the baby onto a carrier that would take her to the birthing center, where parents would chose her and take her home. Most likely, she'd be one of the first chosen. Waving goodbye one last time to baby Cyril, Talc pressed the button, and her basket was taken away.

          The day continued on this way, with Talc calculating who'll be born next, pulling out the ready children, and sending them off to the birthing center. Six were Luster, nine were Lesser. Ninety four gems in total were removed, and eighty were taken. The fourteen left over were dull, metallic stones that would be sent off to an orphanage until they grew old enough to work.
      
   Days blended into months, and everyday was the same. It wore on Talc, turning his black dust a grey color. The stress and sadness wore on him like a bag of bricks. Wake up, work, sleep. It was all her did. It was all he would ever do.
        
“Good morning,” Erudite greeted as usual, sending her illuminated smile towards Talc. He only gave her a miniscule wave in return. Talc flipped the switch, making the cave walls illuminate. Erudite gave the dark stone man a strange look as he pushed past her. Talc struggled to hold up his eyelids, stumbling out the front door like a drunkard.
     
    For the first time in years, Talc was assigned wall 1, the original wall. According to Fasian Folklore, an angel came down from heaven and created the walls where the people would grow. The Angel was called Faciaticus, and thus the name of her world was called Fasia.
      
   According to the First King, Faciaticus came to him and told him to pick only the most precious of stones to serve him. Ever since then, worth was based on Faciaticus’s words. Status was determined by wall and gem. The further the wall, the lower the status. The duller the stone, the lower the status. There was thirty five walls. Despite gems like Cyrilovite being born in walls like 33, they were still socially acceptable. But stones like Talc were very much so shunned, as they were not what was deemed worthy of their Angel. It was a curse and a blessing. Talc had been lucky someone took pity on him and adopted him, rather than let him become miserable in a Fasian run foster home. But at least he didn't have to serve the king.

Every five years, the most beautiful child was picked to become the King's property. No one ever knew what happened to these children. Perhaps not even the King himself knew.
      
   The clipboard in Talcs hands seemed to slip. He was distracted, being tired and bent over to pick it up. As he rose from the dust ground, a roar erupted from within wall 1. Talc sprinted over to the rushing sound, when a fiery red liquid spurted from all the way down wall 1. The sound was like a superheated waterfall, gushing towards him at incredible speed.
       
  Magma was released into the Kinderfields, burning all sorts of stones. Talc could only hear the screams of the different gem and jeweled children, as he ran far from the inferno waves beat against the walls. He pressed the emergency button, and the Igneous Squadron were sent in immediately to drain the premises of magma. They used volcanic stones to stop the magma from going further, while the rest of the Squadron sent people into the building to be protected. Talc watched from the front doors glass window as they cooled the magma. The soothing hiss reached him even through the thick walls.
       
  Erudite approached Talc, her hand latching onto his tightly. The dark creature gazed at her, but then focused on the tragedy at hand.
     
    All of wall one was covered in sizzling igneous rocks, steam seeping from above. There were no more screams, but the silence was far more terrifying to Talc, and he squeezed Erudite’s hand.
      
    Barely any of the children on wall 1 were alive. Most were burnt, half of their bodies Luster, and the other half Lesser, like some sort of mutant. Some were so malformed their crystals were melted and were left a pile of hard stone, unable to speak or cry. They were just deformed dead bodies. Out of one hundred sixty four Fasian children, only six survived.
      
   “It's okay,” Talc whispered to Erudite as she mourned the deaths of the children. Her sobbing was heart wrenching, and as Talc held her closer, his dust clung to her crystals like her jewel tears that littered the ground.
        
Body bag after body bag was swept away into the magnetic vehicle, operated by the Igneous Squad. Many other co workers of Talc's were jammed against the door, trying to get a grip on what was happening. One stone woman banged her fist on the glass, collapsing in the arms of another.
        
“Its okay,” Talc said again, although there was no conviction behind his gravelly vocals.
       
  “No it's not,” she wailed, gripping Talc's clothing as if on the verge of fainting. “They're dead! No one can bring them back! We nursed them, cared for them, and they're gone! I'll never get them back!” The woman buried her face in Talcs chest, not the slightest bit worried about but the dust now staining her fragile crystals.
     
    Erudite was loved by many, and did love many more. She nursed the children, removed them, helped with adoption, and raised the ones who were left. She was young, for a Kinderfield worker, and all she did was love. It was her secret to being so successful. Erudite had known Talc almost all her adult life, and he had come to learn all the children in the Kinderfields were hers. They were all her babies.
     
    Talc could not help but feel tears well in his dust covered eyes, and drip onto the Luster woman. They sprinkled softly on her shoulder. He swallowed the bile in his throat, eyes shut in horror. The life of a Kinderfield worker was hard, heart breaking, and difficult. You witnessed death. You witnessed abandonment, and even cruelty. He loved as much as he could, yet he sti felt a hole in his heart as he watched the Igneous crew carry out the corpse bags, all marked, “unidentified rock”.
     
    As his eyes shut that night, all he could see was the tags on the carriers, and the screams of the kids who were ready to be taken in by a family who would love them.
     
    Now, it would never happen.
      
   The image of distorted gems was burned into his eyelids.

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