Spark: Sins of Grievance (Part 2)

 Spark: Sins of Grievance

Part 2

Carlton opens up the door into his office and sighs. Same everything as always day in and day out. Some days he wished that there would be a slave or another guard hiding somewhere in his office waiting to kill him.

It wasn’t that he wanted to really die, as far as he could tell based on all the death he had inflicted on those unfortunate slaves throughout the years that dying hurt. At least in the manner Enforcers extracted it. He summed up his feelings as just plain tired.

He walked further into the room and sat down at his desk. He leaned forward and looked at a scribbled on sheet of paper containing recent numbers of both slaves and Enforcers Grievance had to how much energy they were producing that week.

“Numbers are getting a little low. I better crack some skulls… literally, if I don’t want Victoria breathing down my neck,” he said quietly enough for his helm to actually keep his voice normal.

He leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on his desk. What to do, what to do, he thought.

There were the two girls he got yesterday and he would need to babysit them until he was sure they could both handle being an Enforcer while handling the slaves properly. He guessed that he could set them up in the east wing with the more experienced slaves. They were less likely to be unruly and would do the work they were told to. It would be a good place to start.

The two girl’s shifts would start two hours from now, it was 6 AM. Carlton himself didn’t need to be awake for another hour. As of late he found it very difficult to sleep for long periods of time. After tossing and turning during the broken six or seven hours of sleep, he would wash up and throw on his armor.

Suddenly his door burst open and he dropped his feet to the floor quickly and stood up. His chair spun around as a result of him getting out of it so hastily.

Spark: Sins of Grievance (Part 1)

This is a short story set at a location that I absolutely love within my Spark world. The short story itself has in it a secondary character from my 1st book, Melanie. The events in the story happen to her many years before she comes in contact with Magnis in Spark: Evolution. I hope that those who have read my book in it's rough state enjoy this tidbit, and those who have yet to learn about the world of Spark will find it rather interesting. I did not spend a large amount of time refining or editing this story, nor will I do the same on any other short stories, as my novel has my real focus.

Spark: Sins of Grievance
Part 1

 

A gruff crackled voice spoke through an armored helm that covered the head of a man fully clad in maroon and black armor. “Two thousand is my best offer Sampson. They are girls and there is no guarantee that they will even last as Enforcers.”

An older man’s voice answered back. “So be it then.”

“Would you like to say goodbye to your daughters?” the armored guard asked.

“What for? I think I’d rather avoid the waterworks.”

The guard sighed, a sound that his helm didn’t modify. “Your call I guess.” He took a pad of paper out of his desk and scribbled something onto it. He looked up at Sampson who waited eagerly for his payment. He returned his glance back to the paper and finished writing his note. “Two thousand clicks. Bring it to the bank in town and they will give you your money.”

Sampson took the piece of paper and stared at it to be sure he was guaranteed the amount they agreed upon. He looked up from the paper and smiled from one side of his mouth to the other. “It was nice doing business with you. Carlton was it?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I won’t be seeing you around,” he cackled as he strolled out of the room.

Carlton looked down in disgust at the carbon copy of his clerical note. He didn’t like being an Enforcer at Grievance. From under his helm of dark eyes and long black mouth slits he thought about the nature of Grievance.

Grievance, he thought, a slave city inside a mountain that produces geothermal energy. The concept itself was good enough minus the slaves. It didn’t always used to be that way. It wasn’t until their leader, an insane woman named Victoria, took control when her father died, that the place changed so much. Grievance made enough money as it was, but she saw the place as more profitable when she turned the workers into slaves. Those with families that tried to resist the decision ended up being enslaved themselves.