007

He sat down in order to regain his stamina. As he sat there, he pondered on what to do next. Obviously, he needed to run away. The question was how he would do that. The entire mine was filled with surveillance cameras to prevent theft…

After having spent so many days working around here, he was aware of where those things were but didn't mean he could easily dodge them. Regardless, it was obvious that he needed to wait for night time. Speaking of which, he had no idea what time it was now.

So, first thing first, he would need to find a fellow coworker and ask about the time. He got up with difficulty and moved his weary body forward. He didn't know which tunnel he was in exactly but through the indications on the walls, he would easily find his way.

After walking for less than five minutes, he heard the familiar sound of pickaxes hitting rocks. He moved towards the sound and discovered a group of miners. There were five of them and judging by their states, they had been at it for quite some time. They were covered in a mix of sweat and dust.

He stood where he was and waited until one of them took a break. It was common courtesy down here to do so.

Once of the miners took a break to drink some water, he noticed 748. He moved his head in a greeting of sorts. 748 did the same before he walked forward and asked him for the time. The miner wasn't quite sure as they didn't have watches. They knew approximately thanks to how much they had worked. That's how one knew the time, thanks to their quotas.

According to the miner, it was around 2 or 4 early in the morning. It wasn't precise but it was better than nothing. Number 748 thanked him and left for another tunnel. He found one devoid of people and stayed there.

The exhaustion came up and, knowing that he would have to wait for the next night, he let himself drift to sleep.

…

He was woken up by a gentle kick in the stomach. As he opened his eyes wearily, he ended up face to face with two middle-aged men laughing. This was probably their station. And obviously, they couldn't work with him sleeping in the middle of it. He got groggily and asked them about the time. It was 9 and some in the morning, the beginning of the new shift.

He nodded with appreciation before moving off towards another tunnel where he could be alone yet having a visual on the miners who began their shift. It wasn't too hard. He stayed there the entire day waiting for the time.

9 p.m. was the time he had been waiting for. It was the official time for shift switch. Obviously, miners who didn't have the time were never stopping right at 9 but they had gotten used to the rhythm and knew approximatively when to stop. And it was rarely too far off from the official time.

As the miners began to pack up and got ready to leave, he made his move as well. He joined the crowd, hiding in the middle of the pack.

At first, there were only a dozen miners in the group he joined but little by little, more people joined in. Groups converged and it ended up becoming a long file of people moving uniformly towards the exit.

He wasn't sure where he was placed in the file but he could see people in the front and behind. This was enough for him. He only needed to move with the crowd, exiting without being suspicious.

After walking for some time, he finally reached the exit. The bright exterior, lighted by lamps, was a stark contrast from the darkness of the mine. He had been down there for longer than ever and he hadn't been so happy to be outside since…He never had.

But he remained on guard and focused.

Whenever he was in range of a camera, he lightly ducked his head or positioned himself so that someone else blocked the line of sight. Knowing where the cameras where truly was a blessing at this moment.

He moved along the crowd towards their next stop. It was the drop-off station. Where miners placed the fruits of their work for evaluation. Of course, he had nothing to show but if he went elsewhere, he would have been the only one moving in a different direction. Way to look suspicious.

He waited in line with other miners in front of the doors of the office. He mused at the fact that he was waiting in line. It had been years since he did. He had always filled his quota before the end of the shift in the past few years. It made it so he never had to waste time with lining up. To think he would do it now when he had nothing to appraise…

It took some time but he did enter the office. There were many workers here and there doing the appraisal. Some miners were grumbling, some rejoicing. Regardless, they were only earning crumbs compared to the business owner. He truly hated this system where those who did the work earned the less… But he wasn't in a position to do anything about it. And it wasn't a goal of his anyways.

He wanted to be the owner to be honest and make profits from that…

Anyways, he walked towards the exit who was on the side. He waited until a decently sized team of miners exited before tagging along inconspicuously. Since he had spent so long in the mine, he looked as much filthy as they were, easily blending in.

As they talked, he joined the conversation. It wasn't hard since they always talked about the same things in the mine. How much did they mine? How much did they earn? What should they eat?...