Crushed

If someone said working in the dye business was easy, then they’d be lying. Marlyn never expected a life of comfort, but working day in and day out of the Malachite Mines turned into a personal hell. 

The day started like any other day. He brought the pickaxe up over his head and slammed it into the green vein snaking through the rust brown rock. A chunk the size of his fist hit the ground at his feet. Marlyn bent over to pick it up, back cracking and muscles straining. A soft groan escaped his lips as he tossed the piece into the bucket and rested a hand on his lower back as he straightened. 

“Bad back, old timer?” asked Connel, leaning on the handle of his pickax and wiping his brow. 

“Shut up,” Marlyn said, but flashed him a smile. They had worked near each other for the last seven years. Connel was some ten passes of Yrridan’s Comet younger than Marlyn, and his body hadn’t turned on him yet. 

“How’s that kid of yours? It’s been a while since I’ve seen her around.”

“Growing like a wyrm. She’s turning into a young lady before my eyes.” Marlyn heaved the ax, tapped the vein with the tip, pulled back, and struck the rock. He tossed two more pieces into the bucket. 

They clacked against each other as an earsplitting crack reverberated through the mines. Marlyn froze, his eyes on the ceiling as it rumbled. Someone screamed. 

“Cave in!”

Marlyn and Connel glanced at each other and raced through the mine, axes still in hand. The cave in didn’t take long to find. Other miners were already running to and from it. They slid to a stop in front of a newly made wall of boulders. Two people already had their axes to the rocks. Muffled yelling came from the other side. 

“Stop, stop! You’ll cause another!” Someone cried at the top of their lungs. 

Another groan ripped over their heads like thunder. 

“He’s right, run!” Marlyn roared, flinging his ax to the side and booking it as rocks tumbled from the ceiling. Sweaty bodies bumped and slammed into him as everyone raced towards the main shaft. A tall skinny man fell under the stampede, his scream for help cut short. 

A deafening boom followed in their wake as the grounds above let go and chunks of earth filled the void they created. The entrance to the shaft was in sight. Those closest to the lift had made it halfway to the surface already. 

Three strides from safety, a yell caught Marlyn’s attention. He glanced sideways to see Connel thrown from his feet. Without thinking, he veered sideways, grabbed Connel under the arms, and threw them both forwards into the shaft as a rain of boulders completely sealed the tunnel. 

Marlyn hit the ground and a searing agony lanced up his leg. He gasped, then coughed as he sucked in a mouthful of airborne dirt and dust. With a grimace, he turned to inspect the damage, but found a rock half his size and twice his weight covering the bottom half. His breath came in short gasps as he tried not to scream. 

“Marlyn! Oh my gods, Marlyn!” Connel stared at him, dirt streaked across his face and his hands twisted in his hair. He ran from one side of the shaft to the other. “Someone, help! We need to get this thing off him.”

A couple of people ran over and tried to push the boulder off, but it was too heavy. Marlyn laid on the ground, breathing heavily and covering his eyes with his hands. Adrenaline kept the pain at bay, but he didn’t know how long it would hold up for. 

“Can’t you dig it out?” he asked. 

“What?” Connel asked, his cheeks flushed. The lift was clattering down the shaft, ready to pick up the next group. Help hadn’t arrived yet. 

“Dig it out!” Marlyn’s patience ran a thin line. “Dig under my leg so I can slip it out!”

Connel’s face brightened. “Will that work?” 

“It’s that or cut it off, just do something!” 

“Cut it...” His face paled. “I’ll dig first.” 

He raced down a mine shaft and came back with a pointed shovel and placed the tip as close to Marlyn’s leg as he dared. The dirt shifted, but he hit rock just below the surface. 

“It’s no good. It’s all rock, no give.”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Marlyn slammed his fist into the ground. “Anyone have a real ax? One with a blade?”

“No, I can’t cut it off, I can’t—”

“You can and you will, or else I’m likely to bleed out down here!” Marlyn pointed at Connel. “Find someone with an ax!”

Connel didn’t have to move. The few people heard him just fine and passed an ax over. It wasn’t as sharp as he’d like, but it would have to do. 

“Give me your belt.” Marlyn held out his hand to Connel. 

Connel didn’t question. His face turned green, and he refused to look at the ax in his hand. Sliding the belt off, he placed it in Marlyn’s palm, who snapped it once and nodded. 

“Fine leather, young man. I hope you can still wear it.” Marlyn pulled the belt tight over his thigh and stuck the end between his teeth. “Do it.”

Wiping tears from his eyes, Connel hefted the ax to test its balance, lined up the blade, and swung as hard as he could just below the knee. 

Bone cracked. Marlyn screamed. His back arched, and the world went black. 

***

“Does it hurt, Daddy? The alchemist gave me a tincture of devil’s claw, rosemary, and lavender for the pain,” said Zinnia, Marlyn’s eleven-year-old daughter. 

“Of course it hurts, and a few plants aren’t gonna make it feel any better.” He crossed his arms, glaring at the tiny brown pouch between her fingers. He was laying in bed, his half leg elevated, and wrapped so tight he couldn’t move it. There was nothing he could do except watch the world go by outside the window next to his bed. 

“I’ll make some tea, anyway. You’re going to want it, and I won’t be here to make it.” She kissed his forehead and tucked a strand of her long red hair behind an ear.

 Marlyn nodded and frowned. “You should be out with your friends, not stuck in that shop all day, turning your hands green.”

Zinnia tucked her hands between her skirts. “Someone’s gotta take care of things. I’ll have more than enough time to play when you’re healed.” She smiled, patted his hand, and walked out to make the tea. 

Marlyn rested his head in his hands and sighed. Weeks had gone by and still he wasn’t allowed to get up. Sometimes he would drag himself out of bed using the crutches when the boredom had become too much, but he always regretted it later. The pain would come back with a vengeance and he’d spend half the next day in agony. 

It was hard not to think of his wife in those days. The mines had at least given him a respite, working him so hard he had no time to think, but now he had all the time in the world. He’d lay awake, staring out the window and remembering her brilliant red hair, and dark eyes that gazed into his soul. But with it came the memories of blood, a dagger, the screaming child whom he took care of as his own being dragged away. The only thing he had left of her was a wooden bead he pulled from her hair that night, a bead Zinnia now wore in her hair. 

Days passed in this fashion and Marlyn sank deeper into his bed, relying more often on the pain relievers. Zinnia would walk to the alchemist once a week to gather more herbs, and soon it turned to twice a week. Moving became more tolerable, but his mobility was limited, and working became a thing of the past.

Zinnia worked instead of playing with the kids her age. She made his tea, cooked and cleaned, and helped him walk. Marlyn could do nothing. She didn’t need him anymore, and yet came back every afternoon, anyway. Marlyn couldn't understand why. He was just an old man taking up room and holding her back. 

When night fell again, he decided he had enough tea, enough pain killers, and enough pain. He gave Zinnia an extra hug and took the tea without complaining, but left it sitting on the bedside table to turn cold. 

He waited until he could hear the shrieks of the kimeras before dragging the crutches to his side and using them to lean on while he stood. It took some time to hobble from his room to the front door, being extra careful not to wake Zinnia. 

She would be free by the time morning came, and Marlyn smiled at the thought. He slipped out the door, breathing in the fresh air. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a week's worth of herbs and stared at them, the only light a candle in the window of his neighbor’s homes. 

He shoved the handful into his mouth and chewed, wrinkling his nose at the sour taste. Hobbling down the main road running through Greenrock, he cursed every time he stumbled over a loose stone. This was the closest town he could get to while he ran with a one year old Zinnia from the burning village that was once their home. He had promised himself they would leave one day, but they never did, and if he stayed, they never would. This way, Zinnia had a chance to go out into the world and make a name for herself. 

The last house loomed from the darkness on Marlyn’s left. He didn’t look at it, just gazed into the void. The herbs were kicking in now, and he couldn't feel the pain in his leg. In fact, he didn’t feel much of anything. 

A screech broke the silence, but it didn’t bother him. He spent the last ten years afraid of these monsters, but now they come as a blessing. They would fly him away from this world, the pain of his leg, the pain of losing his wife, the pain of knowing he held his daughter back from everything she could one day be. 

Wind lashed across his face as a kimera swooped by him. Marlyn continued walking, a small smile curling his lips. A force hit his chest, knocking the wind from him, and forcing him several steps back. He gasped, and a new pain came. A welcome pain as claws and teeth buffeted him on every side, tearing and ripping, until he knew no more.