Keep Digging

The Warden

"Rise and shine! It's a brand new day and there are characters to build and holes to be dug! Let's get moving, kids!" It cannot be morning. It can't be. It feels like I've been asleep for 30 minutes, like a nap and not an actual full nights rest. 

The sun wasn't up but Dr.Pendanski was as awake as ever, with his long socks and sunhat just ready to begin his pep talks and patronizing speech. 
Groans and complaints came from different corners of D-Tent, some from myself. 

I almost felt as if I didn't have as much of a right to complain just yet since the others have been here much longer than myself.
But I couldn't help but protest along with them. 
"It ain't even time to get up yet, Mom." Armpit groaned as he turned from his belly onto his side to look at Dr.Pendanski, eyes squinting through the darkness and passed the brightness of Pendanski's flashlight "And how would you know that, Theodore? You don't have a watch." 
Armpit rolled his eyes and forced himself up out of his cot. The other boys were on their feet and slugged around the tent to dress themselves. I moved slowly, minding the soreness of my muscles. My legs were jelly but nothing compared to the horrible pain in my hands and arms. 
It's been two weeks and my hands are still blistered and my muscles still haven't stopped aching.
Squid let me use his gloves but only after he was done digging, which only very little eased my blistering. I brought the idea up to Mr.Sir for me to get my own pair of gloves and he said he'd get back to me on that but he has yet to do anything. I wasn't about to ask again, considering how short of a temper he seems to have. 
Besides, my blisters weren't as bad as they were my first few days but God, they really hurt like hell. 
'Suck it up, Dev.'  I thought that to myself about 10 times a day. 
Dr.Pendanski exited the tent after making sure all of us were up out of our cots. 
The morning routine went on, Mr.Sir telling us to collect our "hardware", honey tortillas and walking to our random destination with Mr.Sir and Dr.Pendanski driving ahead of us.
The walking actually became something I enjoyed.
Watching the sun begin to rise, the coolness of the night still lingering.
It was heaven compared to the digging that was about to ensue. 

"Here!" Mr.Sir shouted from the truck with his hand out the window, pointing to the ground. 
"Have fun, kids." Dr.Pandenski said that every time. I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. Everything was repetitive and no matter how many days go by, it feels like the same scene over and over. But my body only hurts more each day. 
The sound of shovels impacting the earth began. 
I positioned my shovel on the ground and dug it in as deep as I could. 

'One down, ten million to go.' Mr.Sir had said that once to me before, but it stuck in my mind. 

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The sun was high in the sky and beads of sweat dripped down my forehead. 
"Where is Mr.Sir?" I was getting irritated at the fact that I still drank my water way too fast than I would like to. I need to learn to conserve it better, like the rest of the boys do. 
"Don't worry, he'll be here any minute now." Caveman said as he flung a shovel full of dirt into his pile. "Did you drink all your water again?" ZigZag asked. I put my hand on my hip and hunched over some "Yep." was all I could say. My throat stung and my hands were started to ooze again. This is getting so old. 
"You really should watch how much you drink." ZigZag went on "I know, ZigZag. I really know. Thank you for telling me. Again." I scoffed and went back to digging my hole.  
"Geez, who pissed on your tortilla this morning?" Magnet chuckled "Probably 'Pit." 
Armpit clicked his tongue "If I was gonna piss on anyone's tortilla it'd be yours, Magnet." 
"You wouldn't have the balls to do that, homes. Hey Ziggy, whose tortilla would you piss on?"
I rolled my eyes, getting more irritated as they kept talking. 
"Uhh, like anyone's or just D-Tent?" Magnet stopped digging to think "Anybody's." 
"Yours." He was quick to answer, making the others laugh.
Their conversations don't usually bother me, in fact, they're actually entertaining. Especially when they kind of rag on each other. "Some friend you are then." 
I tried my best to ignore them. The heat, my lack of water and my blistered hands were becoming overwhelming. I wanted to scream. 
Luckily before I chunked my shovel in any of my tent mates' direction, I heard the sound of Mr.Sir's truck approaching. "Oh thank you, God." I said to myself as I got up from my hole and grabbed my water jug.