Refuge

Chapter 16

About half an hour later, most of their travels individually were about a couple of yards at most. I decided that was long enough to watch and wait. I grab my plow and stick the back metal part in the ground as centered as I can between two barely started rows.

I planted my feet on the grass and pulled the wooden handles with all my strength and it barely moved an inch. "#$%*," I muttered. I pulled it so hard that it made my muscles strain and It still barely moved. I was going at the same rate as the men before me.

I pulled the contraption forward with all my strength and didn't stop; hoping that if I kept pulling constantly it might do better.

The plow moved slowly through the ground and each time I thought I was making progress once I looked back and saw that I had only traveled half a foot. My feet were planted into the ground and with each step, I pounded it down harder.

I forced myself to go forward but the hard rough ground detested and tried to hold me back.

Hours passed and I had barely stayed at the rate of the others. Sweat covered my clothes and body, and my tongue was dry. I had traveled about a quarter of the field through determination but the job was far from over.

By now all the others had started as well and were "far" behind us. We pushed ourselves through the work with little reward. The sky darkened quickly but the guards didn't speak of any indication that we were done.

My muscles ached from the abuse I gave them and my hands from the numerous splinters they'd acquired. I tried transitioning the woodmen beams to my shoulders instead of simply in my hands at the height of my waist.

It allowed me to go slightly faster but it barely made a difference. My legs were too tired to let me go the faster pace this method could allow.

The sun was setting and we barely had anything to show for our efforts. Then suddenly our guard yelled, "Finish up!"

I sighed a sigh of relief and I slung the plow around my back. I had seen one of the other mwen doing it and it was much easier. I looked up to see that the others behind me had barely moved. They all seemed to be about Katie's age and much weaker than me and the others. They're feet dragged as they carried their plows back to the shed. 

That's just pitiful. I ended up reaching the shed long before they did. I dropped my plow to the side and with each tep I took I was reminded of my %$&^ new skip-it. Thats when I looked over to a girl exiting the chicken coop with an anklet of her own. I walked over to her and said, "Hey, wanna give me a hand?"

"What's in it for me?"

"Maybe freedom from your anklet"

"What's the job?"

"Stand there," I told her. I reached down and picked up her weight. My muscles ached from our plowing and my hands shook as i held the heavy ball. My knees ached as well and vibrated as they wanted to buckle from underneath me. I put all of my strength into lifting it. I pulled the metal up to my waist's height but I couldn't stop there.

I put all my strength remaining into lifting it but i couldn't lift it higher than the base of my neck. I dropped the mini wrecking ball onto my chain and dropped into a squat to help guard myself from being hit. I threw my hands out in front of me and i kept my eyyes open to watch. A loud metal clang and rattling of chains filled the room. The ball bounced tpowards me but i made it to fling away from me in a lightning fast move that barley hurt my hands.

 The ball flung out and crushed her foot. She let out a loud scream and began obbing loudly. 

Weak.