Canlanma Street Level, Story 5

Story 5

   "I know I shouldn't have done it."

  The Protector riding next to me shakes his head. There are a few other entities in the boxcar who chuckle. We've been in here for a little while but already our shifts in fate had an effect. The judges of Canlanma know how to bring the consequences of actions in full force. It now brings me and my nine other travelling companions to a place where we hoped to never go: the ride to Neraka. It is known informally as the Dark Path of Fate. "The Dark Path only lead to the Dark Place" became a reminder to any child or adolescent during schooling. 

  The Protector next to me shutter slightly in his protective clothing. I barely begin to wonder why as I feel the shift in energy and atmosphere as we leave the bridge between Canlanma and Neraka. The joy and peace I felt in Canlanma seems to be swapped with an unrelenting wave of tension and chaos. Is that why we are all chained? To remain still? I see one of my other companions struggle slightly. A couple of them lower their heads more than I thought was possible.

  The boxcar we are in slows to a halt in a darker environment. I can make out a gentle glow from the Protector's clothing. I can see nothing more, but I can hear the sound of sharp claws against some stone outside the boxcar. There is the beep of the reader outside and a grunt. "Ten more today. Five with, five without." The voice outside sends shivers down my spine and the stench of rot and decay coats my nostrils. "Alright. Open the car." The boxcar door slides open and some force yanks our chains hard. All of us fly out of the car and hit the ground. As I lift myself up, I hear the door behind me close and the boxcar speed away. Some of my companions help each other up. The claws stop in front of us. I look up to see an eagle-hybrid looking down on all of us. The eagle's feathers look greasy and stripped back to be woven into braid of black hair underneath. 

  "Welcome to Neraka." It says, "This is your last -pleasant- stop before you enter into the territory. There is only one rule here: do your work." The eagle touches our chains. They do not come off, but instead burn into our flesh. Some of my companions scream. I just flinch. "If you fail to do your work, your chains will tether you into the ground you are standing on. You will become easy pickings for those around you." I feel the chains on the cuffs fall away. I stand up fully and rub my wrists. "Five of you need to stay here and complete one final task. The other five are coming with me to -orientation."

  The entity finishes his speech with a hand signal. Our cuffs glow one of two colors. Those with black glow are dragged toward the building. I can see it now, in front of us. It looks like a fortress from a horror story. The rest of the us have red cuffs. I jerk at the pull of my cuffs to a new boxcar, this time with seats. Neraka's strange magic slams us into seats and freezes our feet into place. The eagle entity waltzes in and sits in his own seat in front of us. He folds one leg over the other and whistles. The door closes and we are off again. 

  "So, what kind of orientation are we getting? Maybe something nice?" A younger entity asks.

  The entity laughs. "Did you forget your fate?"

  I give the bad news. "We are only slave labor now."