Kibishi's POV

  The next day...

  Just like any other day, I woke up and formed a line with the other prisoners. There wasn't much to talk about. It was a messy scene, especially for those who couldn't walk anymore.

  The main unit I was in collected rocks and piled them up inside some machine with a fire burning. Whenever I tossed them in, the heat touched my bare skin. If I wasn't careful, the fmes inside might burn me. There were many victims of that. It was almost like being in an oven, baked alive.

  No one really knew what that machine was for in the first pce. It felt so out of pce compared to the bck and dark world we were trapped in.

  Of course, the location we were in resembled a dead field after a fire had burned everything to the ground, but at least it was normal compared to this metallic thing. It was a bit rusty, but I assumed it got the job done.

  Once we piled enough rocks, some of us got "breaks." Some had to follow the jelly-like creatures, while others could rex under the scorching heat. I slowly sat on a rock, my chains making a clinging sound. I held my neck and leaned forward, lost in thought.

  Were we really going to be like this for the rest of our lives? Doing meaningless chores for monsters that didn't seem intelligent enough to put them to good use?

  Maybe thinking about it was pointless. For all I knew, they might just have been copying hard bor.

  As I exhaled and pondered, I saw a shadow hovering over me. I looked up and spotted David with a worried look. He had bck braids, brown skin, and wore the same prison clothes as I. From what I could tell, he was pretty fit, too.

  "What are you sitting here for, Kibishi?"

  "Ah! Hey, David. I'm just rexing before those creatures decide to work us overtime like always," I replied with a small smile.

  This was David—a strong man born in the Caribbean, specifically on the isnd of St. Thomas. I'd heard it was a beautiful pce, with tourists coming in for fun during carnival times. The carnival was part of their history and culture, if I recalled correctly. I didn't know many details, but I was sure it was as important as any cultural tradition.

  "You should train your body! That'll fix you up, Kibishi!"

  "I already train enough to keep my sanity in check. I don't need to do it every single minute of the day." I instinctively touched my neckce. "Why are you really here?"

  "Really, dude? You can't be serious." David gave me the stink eye and frowned. "Look, I know Tao is your main squeeze, but you and I are like brothers at this point. We've been through hell and back!"

  "I'll pretend I didn't hear the first part..." I said bluntly, sweating.

  "Seriously, I'm worried about you. You barely stood yesterday, and I heard you and Tao were hugging for hours without rest. Now, I'm all for my boy getting his pleasure in the darkest of times-no one can judge that, since we've all been in your shoes, trying to stay silent without moans escaping, but you need to rest, man!" David announced, pcing his hands on his hips.

  "I'm not sure if you're being serious right now..."

  "I am serious. All of us get our moments." David slowly sat next to me, one knee up, as his palm touched the prison's dirt floor. "Riley and I have been with you since the first day. I know when you're pushing yourself. Listen, man, you're not the only one fighting to break out of here. Tao is also trying her best to come up with an escape pn. One that doesn't get our heads cut off the second we step out of prison." He scratched the side of his face. "Have a little faith, would ya'?"

  "It's not that I don't have faith. I'm just trying to find a way to avoid killing anyone, unlike st time."

  David furrowed his brows. "You're still hung up on that? Come on, man, it wasn't your fault. How were you supposed to know they'd kill people instead of sticking to good ol' torture?"

  "Don't even joke about that," I said with a straight face.

  "Sorry! I was trying to lighten the mood." David stood and dusted himself off.

  "Well, the rocks aren't going to burn themselves! Let's get back to work so they'll go easy on us!" He banged his fists together.

  I gave him a nervous smile. His logic didn't make sense to me, but I appreciated him trying to lighten the mood.

  I followed his lead and hurried to my post before the creatures got restless and tried to kill me.

  David started jogging, and I instinctively joined him.

  I wasn't sure if I was trying to one-up him or just proving I was alright. But one thing was certain, I'd be fine as long as I had people who cared about me. And when Tao returned to our cell, I'd make sure to take care of her and keep her safe.