Another YouTube Fairytale: Nate's Life In The Prisons; Book 2

Chapter 5 - Fall Of The Diggers

Nate awoke that night to screaming. He yawned, rubbing his sleepy eyes. Living so deep underground, no one knew if it was day or night, but he still felt as if he shouldn't be awake. But his internal sleep clock never lead him astray before, so he calmly pulled on his clothes.

No sooner than when he did that, he saw a panicked group of men and women running past the window. Curious and worried, Nate crawled through the open hole that he called a window. 

He crawled onto the streets, (which were unpaved, so when it was wet, their feet would sink into the mud) and he silently thanked god that it was so dry that night. He followed the crowds, when his father caught up with him, protectively grabbing his son's wrist.

"What's going on?" Nate asked. 

"I don't know. Stay close, okay, son?" Nate nodded, holding tight to his dad's hands as they rushed to the main square. 

The whole clan was gathered, circling around a huge bonfire. It was huge, flames so bright they couldn't even see what was burning, until Cristina flung open the door of her house, paused, then with terrified eyes, ran up to the bonfire. 

"Mom!" 

Nate's father let go of his son and held Cristina back to protect her from the flames. Nate stepped slightly closer. He could now see the silhouette of a woman in the flames, and when he really looked, he could indeed see that it was Cristina's mother, most likely dead at this point. Cristina was screaming. Nate stumbled back, unable to really process what was going on. His best friend's mother was dead. Murdered, and in such a horrific way. 

"Where are the other elders? Who did this?!" Nate's father shouted. "Anyone, please-" Suddenly, he let out a staggered gasp. He struggled for breath, letting go of Cristina. She ran off to her mother, but Nate held her bag instead, holding her in a hug that was mostly meant to restrain her, calm her down and make sure she wasn't hurting herself. 

Nate's father collapsed, revealing the man behind him. He knew who it was, but he could not belive what he was doing. Cristina froze, and good thing too, because Nate let go of her. "Dad!" He tried to rush forward, but Cristina held his wrist tightly, preventing him from getting there. She stared at the attacker with a thousand-yard glassy-eyed look. 

"Dark, why?!" She was back to screaming again. "You said that-" 

"I lied." He said with a calm smile. He stabbed Nate's father again, finishing him off. Nate screamed, looking to the crowd for help. 

"What are you doing?" He was shouting. "Do something!" 

"They can't." Dark said. "Just like the Hopes, they've been living so peacefully for so long that they don't know how to fight back." Dark addressed the crowd, pointing to the bonfire. "Your elders are dead! In a single night, I was able to wipe them all away. From here, you have two choices. Allow me to share this power with you, accept me as your new leader, or join your elders. The choice is yours, my friends." 

There was an incredibly long pause before finally, Cristina stood, her face steel and cold. She held Nate's hand, pulling him up, too. They squeezed each other's hands, before standing beside Dark. "Good choice. Anyone else who chooses to live?" 

Slowly, some of the adults made their way over to him. Dark was right. They didn't know how to fight. They were weak, mailable. Dark could shape them into whatever he wanted, and he chose to make a clan of murderers and thieves.

Dark scanned the area. Everyone, every single Digger, was aligned with him. Dark stood up on a barrel, addressing the crowd. "Only I can make you strong. I can give you the power to fight, to survive. You can have so much more, but only with me as your leader."

Nate and Cristina still stood beside him, still holding hands. Perhaps some of the adults planned to learn Dark's aggressive ways only to use it against him later, but Dark was right; they were weak. They would soon fall prey to his words of power and strength. 

"From this day forth, the Diggers are no more. We are the Daggers!" 

The crowd couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement. Some had honestly kept a hidden desire to be violent, unhinged, hidden for so long, that now, they followed Dark wholeheartedly. Dark got off the barrel and placed his hands on Nate and Cristina's shoulders, bending his head to talk to them. 

"You two will be... the perfect Daggers. I can tell. Let me teach you, and perhaps you can be even more." He said. He stood up, going back to address the crowd. 

"Daggers." Nate said. "We are..." 

"Daggers." Cristina finished.  She glanced at him. "But when the time comes, we will escape."

"Of course." Nate said nervously. "Of course."