Decaying Seas

3rd POV

It has been over two years now and the once small but significant smile on Pythias face has disappeared and his hair once as white as snow has grown darker and darker, become blue. Nearby his grandfather, Melva had grown weaker over the years as his body became more shriveled up over time and his cough far more common. 

He would stop everyone in a while to cough, with far more blood than before that fact was, it was a miracle he survived for so long but there was only so much a human body could do to hold out. Pythias would look over to him with a face that was about to burst into tears, knowing what was to come. 

His eyes were red, nearly covering up his natural red pupils as he saw his grandfather fall to the ground and begin a coughing fit. Dropping the small pickaxe he rushed over and began shaking him all the while crying. 

"No, you can't die...YOU CAN'T DIE GRANDPA!"

Melva merely smiled as he grabbed his grandson and brought him in close, to give him a hug. It was one of the few things he could do as his body continued to get weaker and weaker. Even the other older and new slaves watched on helplessly and were unable to help him, or even try to treat him as none of them were trained doctors and even if they were they would have none of the equipment to even try to figure out what was wrong or find a way to treat him. 

Eventually one of the old slaves walked over, using the pickaxe as a crutch and put his hand on Melva's shoulder patting him before slowly moving over to the neck trying to figure out his heart rate. While it still let out a thump every once in awhile, it was getting slower. He then began to speak in a low raspy voice. 

"I'm so...sorry old friend but you're going to die soon, it's best...*sniff* to start saying your goodbyes now."

He then moved away, crying alongside a few other people probably villagers from the same village Melva came from. They allowed the grandfather and grandson to say their goodbyes.

"I'm sorry...Pythias...looks like... it's your...job...to see the...sun again *huff* *cough* *cough* you deserve to see...it at least once...please find a...way...out."

He then began to cough violently as Pythias cried into his shoulder unable to look at his face, and unable to move an inch not wanting to let go. Feeling this Melva would continue hugging him, giving him all the comfort he could during his last moments. 

"Please don't live, I wanna...I wanna hear more stories of you and mom...I wanna learn all about the outside world, I want you to see the sun again!"

Looking over at the crying boy Melva smiled, as his hand started slipping from Pythias and his arms slacked to the ground. Then he noticed his eyes were starting to grow weaker and weaker, eventually closing themselves off. Then his breath started growing weaker and slower, alongside his heart.

Eventually, everything stopped and Melva sat there dead, unable to move or speak taking his last breath inside the cave, inside the darkness instead of under the sun. Similar to the other slaves in this accursed mines it left Pythias alone with no family to lean on in the mines as he cried next to Melva's corpse. 

Eventually, gatherer slaves entered the cave and started taking the bags full of mined minerals and one approached the corpse of Melva with a sad expression. He tried picking him up but was stopped as Pythias held onto him tightly and he tried to shrug him off with a face full of sadness and tears, trying his best to shake Pythias off without hurting the boy. 

Eventually an old woman, she was a short woman who could barely lift the pickaxe, began walking over. She had short dirty blond hair and eyes that were long since dead even if her body wasn't yet. She would slowly remove Pythias hands, allowing the gatherer slave to take Melva's body outside to join the corpse pile. 

Even if the old woman has long since abandoned her emotions, she still gives Pythias all the comfort the boy needs right now. 

"It's alright boy let it all out."

"Don't become like me, like almost all of us, don't let your emotions die in this place."

He then let out a loud cry in the tunnels, as a river of tears formed on his face as he cried into the granny's shoulder, as the corpse collector/marines came down collecting the various corpses as more slaves followed after them, joining the forced workforce as the bodies were carted up the stairs. 

Hours passed with the slaves alongside the mourning Pythias going back to work eventually and as the marines left to go rest for the day, it allowed the slaves to rest for a bit as well. Entering the cavern Pythias whose eyes were still red from crying would go over to the nearby water vein that fed them all fresh water from the surface and sit down all alone. 

One by one the various slaves went to sleep, some in well-established groups, others ate a bit of their food or the last of it anyway. All the while Pythias sat there emotionless with a growling stomach as his food slipped away from him, and was taken by one of the common rats this mine had. 

*Sniff* Sniff*

While he was no longer balling his eyes out, every once in a while a tear would escape his eyes, as he remembered all the stories Melva told him, of his mother, of their village and the brightness of the sun, the wide open sea. and of all the countless islands that the world had to offer. 

Eventually next to him as everyone was fast asleep, a fruit came out of the water, a pure black fruit with swirls all around it and a long green stem coming out of it. The fruit was almost hand-shaped for some odd reason, maybe it was just how certain fruit grew outside or at least Pythias thought so. 

As his belly grumbled, he would pick it up and remember the words his grandfather told him as he died, and with tears no longer coming out of his eyes, Pythias would take a big bite out of it and ignore the disgusting flavor, that was far worst then even the most rotten food this place had to offer. 

He'd eat the entire thing, not caring if it was safe to eat or not, because on that day a promise went through his head.

{I promise Mother, Grandfather, no everyone that I'll destroy the World government, the Navy, no everyone who even works with them.}

{I swear your deaths and everyone's suffering with be avenged ten-fold!}