Canlanma Street Level, Story 13

Story 13

   How long have you been here? You don't know for sure. There is no signal of the passage of time in Neraka. Sure, the sun and moon rise and set, but the days and cycles are lost to you. Did they even exist in the natural state of being? You don't even know anymore. All you know how to do is survive. 

  You grab your labor clothes and equipment for the mines. After sliding your dirty long-sleeved shirt over your head and your heavy duty pants over your legs, you sling your mining tool onto your back and make your way out of your shack and toward the mine in the center of town. 

  Do you even remember your life before Neraka? Fragmented images of a temple flash in your mind, but nothing concrete. How do you know those images come from real experiences? You can hardly remember your full name. All you know is Maria. Maria. Maria. Even the name tastes foreign as you mouth it to yourself. Was it even Maria? You look down to your left forearm. You can almost see the brand of cuffs through the fabric. You know what it says. 

  127.64N.M.

  The brand barely has a meaning to you either. For a moment, a vivid thought come through. "Is this the Void?" You look around to make sure no one might have heard you. Did you even say that out loud? You keep trudging through the mud. You go back to that thought as it begins to float away. Are you in the Void? The list of "things that mean you're in the Void" pop up. 

  Have you lost your name? Sort of.

  Have you lost your place? Nope, you're in Neraka, in Shinar to be exact. 

  Have you lost your time? Kind of. You're not sure.

  So you're not in the Void? Does that place even exist? Is there some place between the Void and real life where you are barely in a haze? Of course. It's called Neraka. You smirk to the ground as you cross from mud to cracked concrete. You look up to the computer screen and shove your sleeve up to reveal your forearm. You find the concrete cylinder and pace your arm in. You hear the computer sputter. Does the computer share the same fate? You know some of your neighbors are basically computer or mechanical. Does that mean this computer might be sharing a similar fate to you?

  "127.64N.M. Your mining task is to collect iron." The chipped voice states under the pain of a stab. The stab of three large needles pumping some sort of liquid into you. "The drugs will wear off when your work is completed." You remove your forearm and see three dots of blood under your brand. The "dulling drug" is known as Nuller around here. Nuller can be nice when its in a drink after labor, but the Nuller they shove in you for labor is not as friendly. You pull your sleeve down and waddle to your marked mineshaft. You grab your mining tool's accessories from the rubble of your last labor day. You look toward the rock in front of you. The drug take more of a hold as you pick a random part and begin to pull everything apart with your tool.

  "What does your brand mean?" Your mind asks as it loses awareness of your labor. Not that it matters. Your body recites the labor well enough. What does your brand mean? Your head bends down a little for a moment. Part of it looks like a date. Was that when you were born? Or when you committed your crime?

  It doesn't matter anymore. Your fate is here now.