10 Work (2/2)

”Get going, or you'll get the whip!”

He whispered the words, and Daneel blinked before hurrying forward, remembering what he was supposed to do. He had to try hard not to gawk at the particles as he neared them, and when he stepped through, he once again experienced the sensation of being drenched in cold water.

While the teleportation took effect, he swore that he wouldn't let what had just happened repeat. It would just bring him unnecessary pain, and he was determined to be done with agony being such a major part of his existence.

Only…as soon as he emerged, the most dazzling sight he had ever seen was waiting to take his breath away.

It was a large cavern, with piles of rock lying here and there, indicating that it might have been dug out recently.

Everywhere he could see…shards of blue crystal were present, poking out of the stone and flooding the cavern with azure light.

'PLINK! PLINK! PLINK!', the sound of slaves chipping away at the rocks around the crystals reached his ears, but it didn't distract him, at all, from the beauty in front of his eyes.

Radiant dots of light were gamboling around each crystal, as if attracted like fireflies to a blazing fire. They dove nearer and nearer to the crystals, with much more speed and strength than those he had seen in the opening. They never touched the crystal, but each time they bathed in its glow, they came away energized before flying around the room happily.

Even the sensation of being whipped did little to bring him away from this new world that he wanted to lose himself in. It felt as if he had been blind until now, blind to the charms of nature waiting to be discovered if one only had the means. With the expression of a child seeing a magic trick for the first time, he stared, and kept staring as the whip flew in his direction again.

Drawing blood, the second lash finally brought him to his senses. Wincing, he turned to the tall man and blinked, trying to get everything he had just seen out of his mind so that he could concentrate.

”Either that beating you got made you stupid, or you're asking to die. Death won't come so easily, boy...not when you have so much to pay. Get started! I'll be keeping my eye on you!”

He could tell that the lanky enforced was itching to whip him again, but something seemed to be stopping him. A nearby slave shoved a small hammer and a large nail into his hands, before directing him to an empty spot. They left him alone, then, so he resumed staring...until the whip returned, and sent him to his knees.

Lying on the floor, Daneel gasped with pain while being screamed. His mind had become muddled due to his fascination that just wasn't leaving no matter how much he tried. Even now, his eyes locked onto a small, insect-sized crystal in front of him and the pinpricks cavorting around it, free of all care and concern.

The pain kept radiating throughout his body, and he wanted to make it leave, somehow.

'You...you're glowing so brightly. You probably know nothing about suffering, right? All you do is fly, fly, and fly...oh, if only I could be as free as you...'

He felt jealous. He wanted to touch them, to make them stop, to make them listen, and to make them understand how lucky they were.

The pain was enough to make him faint, again. In a half-dizzy state, he felt oddly compelled to fulfill his wish...so he reached out with his mind, his subconscious guiding him as he did something he had never done before.

His mind's touch groped blindly for a few moments, then latched onto the crystal.

For a second, nothing happened. He didn't even know what he wanted to do. He had meant to touch the particles, but they had slipped away easily. So, he had found the crystal, and he realized that he was jealous of its brilliance, too.

'You have so much within...can't you share?'

He frowned, vaguely understanding what he wanted, but unable to figure out how he was supposed to obtain it.

Then...he breathed in, and the crystal went dark, before crumbling into nothingness.

The whole world suddenly felt as if it had grown clearer, brighter, louder. The whip came again, and he heard it whistling through the air, its fibers pushing aside the air as it traveled to its destination.

His mind was fast, his body faster. He knew he could easily catch the whip and render it harmless, but he also knew that doing so might mean death, or worse.

He let it land, and as the pain shot through his body, even it felt muted. Still, he shuddered and got on his stomach, his face to the stone.

While the slaves and the enforced all though that he must be howling silently with pain, his lips broadened...and he grinned.