The Story of the Immortal

The beginnings are small

Another lousy morning. Being woken up by many loud people around every day. One could already get used to it. Hard bed under my back, the mattress is an unknown luxury that cannot be afforded in this world.

I look up and all I see is another bed with people of similar fate as mine. Light flickering, sounds of crying and sobbing are added to the constant loudness of this room. Today is only another day of my useless life.

I get out of bed with pain in my muscles, joints, and head. The stench of rubbish, urine, and feces all around. My left arm is aching from several blows I received in the last few days, the arm might be a big bruise but it is manageable to withstand. Thankfully I have always known how to endure all pain I have received.

Time to rise and get up, get dressed and put on my shoes. Fortunately, my shoes were not stolen as the last time. To be in this place without feet protection is only an intensification of the daily suffering everybody is living in. I go closer to my closet without doors where my belongings have to be kept. All the time under the surveillance of the guards at the top of the ceiling. Hidden behind bulletproof glass for no reason, no one here has a gun only they do have them kept tightly on their bodies. The man next to me is small and weak. I don't know his name because I have never asked for it. He looks like he will die very soon and join all those who are finally free to go. For some, it is the only salvation that awaits them. But I cannot just give up the same way as they do.

"Mornin..."

I turn and around quickly and see that one of the people locked up in the same big cell as I am is approaching. In this place, you don't expect anything good. Good and honest people are already dead, killed by those who cling to life like ticks or by dying out of hunger. Someone closing to you means that they are new or they want to hurt you. Only in very rare cases do they mean something good or they want to become one of your friends.

"What do you need old man?" I replied with a bit aggressive voice.

Seeing an old man in today's world means he is from a very far away country from here or he was 1 of 5% of those who declined life-extending vaccine that 95% of 2032 world's population received. It was created as a special project that called for extending people's lives, but in reality, it was only a simple way to make people work longer during their life. In 2030 it was announced that the population started to decline. There were too many adults and old people yet no children in sight.

In past, during the biggest population growth, it was normal that there were 3 born children every second. But in that year it was told that it dropped under 1 child per second and there were already 16 billion people living. Life expectancy grew to an average of 95 years and it was bad for politics. So they introduced a new miraculous vaccine that extended human life at its prime by 50 years! You could be in your 20s or 30s for 50 years. It didn't stop aging but it made it much slower. After those 50 years however people started to decay at a normal rate that seemed way too fast for some who felt like they were frozen in time. Exactly as planned. People have always thought that if some life-extending thing will be created, then it will be the rich ones who will live longer and the poor will die. In reality, however, it was very different. It was the poor and working part of the world that needed to be saved so that they could work even longer and harder during their best years. Only thanks to those working people can the rich people be even richer. They said that they want it to be without discrimination, that everyone deserves a longer life. They made it sound way too perfect and everybody wanted it without a second thought. After all, they knew how to talk to the audience.

What did those people think? That day will live forever with a longer pension? Nonsense. I used to work in a much better job living above the average of a normal human being in this new world. But anyway, I was still one of those who received the vaccine when I was 36 years old. Due to that I still look like 40 years old man, but in reality, I am already 67 years old and I will stay like this for another 19 years. The only thing that is making me look much older might be my long beard that covers my neck. In combination with long, unshaved, and dirty hair I look more like a man you don't want to get close to.

The old man tried to force his way closer to me with every second. I started to feel what is going on. Man on the left, one more on the right. Beating or robbing, typical in these cells. Thankfully I am not someone who is easy to give them what they want.

As soon as they noticed that I see through their plan the two men on sides went straight to catch me without a guard. However, I only look like someone who is easy to catch. I immediately jumped closer to the right man and threw a quick punch at his face breaking his nose. The second one tried to grab me from the back but I went down and ducked. His body flew over me and he hit his own partner in crime. Pathetic amateurs. After they both fell I have jumped on one of their backs and started to beat them till they stopped resisting. The last one left was the old man.

"Should I actually punch someone so old?" I thought quickly.

Mercy in this place will not give you anything. If someone tries to hurt you, your only options are to get hurt or hurt them back. Nothing else is left there as a possible outcome. I walk slowly toward him as he starts to back up more and more away from me. I catch his shirt and I am not the one who gets hurt tonight... After the beating of those 3, more people now remember my face and will try to not approach me. Excellent.

I finally finish my morning routine just to get closer to the exit doors. Lightings are always showing everyone the way they need to go. Today I have to walk to "Exit C", which means I am going to the surface of the mine. Finally, after 2 months I am going to see the sun and the sky. The only thing that is not good about the surface will be all that stinky smell that's all over the place and almost no shade for the whole day.

I start to get closer and closer. Guards are letting people in one by one so that way they can do some routine checks to look like they actually work. After the door, there is a long and narrow hallway leading to the long spiral stairs without any railing. Those stairs go pretty high and they have a wide diameter. They lead from underground to the surface, 20 meters of climbing stairs. There is an actual dark pit at the bottom of the stairs, it is about another 10 meters deep and if you walk too close to the edge of the stairs you can fall in there. That pit was used many times with some of the slaves to free themselves from their suffering. It is said that they don't even clean it, they just left the bodies in that pit to rot and decompose. It must be full of bones already.

Finally the last room before getting out. This is the giant room that looks like some sort of military hangar with a huge metal door at the front that is opening by the hydraulic system. The door starts to open and air from the outside rushes in. New people locked in this prison are starting to get sick and vomit immediately from that nasty smell. Someone like me who is closed there for many years doesn't even recognize that smell that much anymore. Finally, we walk outside.

Being outside is something many people thought is the necessity of life but in this place, they would more likely want to live inside. It is around 9:00 based on where the sun is. Where am I is always a good question but no one knows the answer to it. The only ones who know are the guards or higher-ups of this place, but they don't talk to us. All people who are forced to work here got there while being unconscious and woke up in the cell the same way as me.

Clouds are coming closer to the giant mine. Maybe salvation from sun rays that are even more dangerous nowadays than they were in the past. Nature around this place is probably long gone as well. Forest is destroyed, lakes dried up, cities are burned. All of that is gone because of years of war and heavy battles between 3 major world powers. No birds or animal sounds, only heavy machinery all around. This is what they wanted, this is what they all did to this world.

Next to this mine is a giant fortress made out of steel concrete that is so massive that it casts a few shadows on this mine as well. Small salvation if there are no clouds like today. Mine is surrounded by walls, patrols, and heavy robots that stand their guard all around us. This fortress must belong to the European Federation.

There are 3 last major world powers left. Smaller states and countries are destroyed, occupied, or enslaved. Out of those 3, the strongest one is actually the European Federation. They occupy lands from the Atlantic ocean to the Ural mountains that are located in past Russia. And from the arctic states of Norway and Sweden all the way down to the bottom of the Africa continent. They share land borders only with Asian Nations that are at war with them for the last 6 years. Battles never end and casualties are probably in billions.

The 3rd world power is holding both North and South America continents. It is known as American Union. These 3 share the whole world and they always fight each other. It is not even called the 3rd World War, it is simply an all-out war of 3 powers that actually own the whole world.

I am from one of the occupied and enslaved countries in Europe. Unfortunately, no one expected this to truly happen. The world before this all started was at the top of modern technology. Everybody thought that all-out war is impossible to happen yet it truly happened.

This mine is probably very important, with so many guards and a giant fortress it is expected. This mine is used to mine coal. The world before the war was already working on solar, thermal, and wind energy alone. Due to war, however, these nations needed much more energy to use in their military, and nuclear and fossil power plants had to be opened once again. We are digging coal for over 3 years at this place. It is a much-needed resource, more needed than water.

And because of all of that how do I fit in all of this? Well if you need machines for war, you cannot spend your valuable materials and energy for some fuel digging. Because of that major cities and nations that were occupied by a force of the greater nations were forced to send their citizens to mines as workers. Although we are no workers, a slave is more of a fitting name for us all. Working from dawn to sunset, some even don't get their rest for the whole night and are forced to work till they fall to the ground. Rations are small, people are replaceable, many of the men who get there won't live for very long.

This place is the worst place you can ever imagine. Many tried to escape but there is no way to do so. People are slowly waiting till their death will finally free them from this place, there is no other escape.

Today is the 7th or 8th of August 2063 I think. No one here knows anymore. It is already 3 years... 3 YEARS since I have lost everything I hold dear in my heart.

"Hey!" - I look to my right and I can see my good and only friend Frank,

As I have said, there are only two options, people either want to hurt you or they are new. Frank is something different, he is the only one I can truly call a friend.