Escape to Home

Child Labor!!

~Nathan~

(Listen to while reading. Sorry if the song doesn't quite match up with the chapter. Was a little rushed to choose a proper song for this 😅)

If Nathan had a journal, he would've written, "Today was the worst day ever." The rest of the day, the girl had him doing backbreaking, farm chores that he had not liked at all. To make things worse, there were a few of his kidnapper's henchmen (at least, that's what Nathan assumed them to be) who had picked on him.

Maya made a list for him to check off every time he completed the chore. As if he needed one... He scrolled down the list and saw all the work that was ahead of him the following days. That is, if I don't escape, first, he contemplated. The girl made him check off today's chores. 

Picking the veggies, ✔

Feeding the horses, ✔

Bundling up the hay, ✔

Gathering water from the well, ✔

Cutting and sorting the wheat, ✔

Milking the cows...

Huh, that last one I've managed to avoid... Nice! thought Nathan. "Come on, move!" the girl ordered.

"Huh? Why?!" he asked.

"We've still gotta milk the cows!"she answered, speaking to him like he was an idiot.

Drat it! Nathan thought, fiercely. "I've been working all day! Can't I get a break?!" he whined.

The girl grabbed Nathan by the collar, lifted him off the floor, and pushed him against one of the outside walls of the barn, all with one hand. Nathan tried escaping her hold, but she was too strong.

"Listen, jerk!" she snapped, "I've heard nothing but whining coming from you the whole day and I'm sick of it! If you don't change your attitude fast, and I mean within the next few days, you're gonna be a whole lot less comfortable than you are now! I am in no mood to play games! Do you understand?!"

Nathan nodded meekly.

"Good." She released her grip and Nathan slumped to the floor, rubbing his neck. "Up. We've got work to do," she ordered.

Nathan pushed himself off the floor and followed her into the barn. As soon as he entered the barn, he was hit with a tornado of smells. The smell of cow dung and hay was the first thing Nathan noticed. He also smelled the rust of metal tools and the hint of milk. He heard the jingle of the bells the cows were wearing and the rumble of the cows themselves mooing. A dim lantern was hung from the ceiling, allowing him to make out the details of the barn.

On the far left was the cow stable, on the right were tools, buckets, and stools. The side across from the entrance was hidden in shadows but Nathan could make out the faint outline of a ladder and square stacks of hay. "Do you know how to milk a cow?" the girl questioned as they were nearing the cow stable.

"No," Nathan replied.

"Get a stool and bucket."

Nathan looked to where she pointed and headed over to the corner she indicated. A minute later, he headed back with a low, rusted stool and a dented, white bucket. He gave her the items and they entered the stable.