"Agonizing!"
I unexpectedly woke up from an unusual sound.
My head hurt so much!
My dream world that I only visited every night was a remedy for those painful hours of work. My dazzling dream world filled with contentment was abruptly shattered from deafening chains swinging and workers powering up those rusty machines.
Ouch!
"Wake up Kevin, stop dreaming and return to your occupation!"
John was responsible for the recruits, he used to wake us up every morning. However, no one relished the manner he woke people up. He flogged us with a cane on our backs every day at 4.30 am.
Life was arduous for my family, my family consisted of four members, my parents, my sister Elisa and me. However, my father passed away in a car accident.
Our situation continued to hinder. I was the eldest son of our family. I had just graduated from high school and had high hopes of going to university. My ambition was halted due to our financial situation. My father was the sole breadwinner of the house, thus it justifies our current situation. Money was essential as my sister was in primary school.
My mother began as a cleaner in our neighborhood to earn a living. The money acquired was not sufficient enough to finance my sister's studies.
Fortunately, I obtained a job in a clothing factory. It was approximately 200 kilometers away from my house. I brought along with me the necessities for me to live and earn there.
Although I never adored my work, I had to work under rigorous circumstances.
No choices were left, I kept my mouth closed and proceeded to work to financially help my family.
I met Levan there, he had a similar issue as me, thus we had a great bonding with each other. We lived in a small room, and 10 other people were sleeping in that room as well.
Levan was a fragile boy, not brought up to work in such conditions. Every morning, he was unable to move his limbs, he was unfamiliar with such working circumstances.
His main aim was to flee from here after having saved enough funds to return to his hometown.
Why am I suddenly having a severe headache?
I must wake up now otherwise I'll be in serious trouble!
It was problematic to wake up in the mornings, As we had to control our thoughts and feelings that flashed back every morning from this misery.
By the looks of it, the roommates all had an unhappy face today in particular. We promptly rushed to the factory's canteen.
Disappointment could be noticed on everyone's faces, as we constantly served the same breakfast. Bread and dry sweet potatoes were our breakfast.
The pain gradually decreased and allowed Levan to accumulate strength to start his days. Levan always had a winsome smile, however, it eventually vanished with time.
"Next, Next, make sure to return your plate to the counter".
It was the only time you could hear Mrs Lucy's voice. She was the person who instructed the employees and managed the canteen. She had a small old wooden desk, with a notebook consisting of coarse yellow pages. It contained the names and signatures of those who were present for their meals.
On every Friday afternoon, superiors came to verify who ate or not. Those who skipped meals weren't allowed to have breakfast the next day as a punishment.
Levan kept on glancing at a room that was sealed. As I was laboring there for quite a while, I was told not to ever ask a question concerning that room. I was left in disbelief and never knew what was inside that room.
I warned Levan not to talk about this room as I was also unaware of it.
We proceeded to our spots, where our work began. A 10 hours galley began, a cloud of black smoke was perpetually coming out from those aged rustling machines.
No preservation from those clouds of smoke and intense heat that made all of us sweat like cows in a slaughterhouse. We only got a 2 day holiday every month, those two days were Saturday and Sunday in the last week of each month. Injustice and exploitation of human rights were at their peak.
However, no one attempted to file a complaint against them. All were frightened of losing their paychecks and the owners were well-established people in that locality.
On several occasions, we faced near-death experiences, especially when the chains from those worn machines fell.
Recently the same thing occurred with Levan as he shouted: "Agh we will eventually die at a young age because of these unmaintained machines!"
Calm down, calm down, Levan… Take a few deep breaths and continue with your work.
Fortunately, those words I told him helped him to feel assured and to stop panicking
At that instant, he realized that if he continued complaining, he would eventually lose his job and his paycheck. He was afraid of losing his employment, as his miserable memories flashed back through his mind.
Levan was 22 years old at that time, he had just graduated from University. It was an unusual phenomenon of having a graduated lad working at a textile factory.
His family wasn't wealthy and the current situation made it somewhat unwanting. At that moment his family was solely supported by his mother.
His father was a shopkeeper, earned just enough to support his family. However, his health conditions deteriorated with time. Most of his savings were utilized for treatments. Sadly he passed away a few months later, leaving his wife and Levan alone.
His mother couldn't pay the rent so they were kicked out of their house, forcing them to go into a much smaller house in a rural area.
He ought to find a job to financially help his mother. His mother worked as a cashier from a nearby convenience store, however, its paycheck wasn't enough to last a whole month. He couldn't find any good-paying jobs that satisfied his attributes. Hence he joined the textile industry where we both met and worked since.
He shortly adapted to this new environment.
Some corridors in the industry were unilluminated. We used lamps to brighten our path whilst going to the washroom. We added a little bit of petrol to it when we utilized it. It had a layer of transparent glass that covered the flame and a handle made of metal.
As the day passed by, some of our colleagues began feeling a throbbing pain in some parts of their hands and limbs as they had to remain standing for most of the day. I was frequently having unbearable headaches.
In that same week, 2 workers managed to flee away from that industry without getting caught red-handed. Everybody was shocked and left speechless after finding out what had just happened. We instantly saw our superiors approaching us.
"Again!, when will they stop this ruthlessness?" Levan murmured in my ear.
I told him to remain quiet and obey what our superiors will tell us. They threatened all of us that if we helped someone to flee or escaped that there would be severe consequences. Although it wasn't the first time someone had fled from there without getting noticed.
They simply were courageous enough to do such a thing, and just have planned for several weeks or months. However, nobody from my close friends had thought of such a thing. They accepted injustice, cruelty and low pay.
Several days later, our curiosity slowly increased. We had nothing planned though we were all fascinated with that room which was kept away from the worker's eyes.
The room was well barricaded, it was made from heavy-duty metal.
A passcode and fingerprint were required to gain access to the room. However, there was a small narrow tube, you could barely fit a 5year child through it. Yet, it was connected with several wires, which were exposed in the open.
It was secured at its adequately, nobody could trespass into the room.
Since my other mate, Johnson was also working there, we three united.
Johnson was the type of person who was wise when making decisions. Though his situation was slightly nicer than ours. He has been working there for 4 years, quite an enormous achievement as no one lasted there for such an elongated period. He was a mechanic and he repaired those machines when they broke down.
The machinery broke down quite often, so he had to remain there with the other bunch of employees. Luckily, we shared the same room. He accepted working under such circumstances, as he was a few bucks more than the rest of the workers. Our group had several attributes namely, experience, most of us were quite wise and creative.
Levan and I discreetly went to Johnson's workplace.
We entered the room, no one was to be seen. Though, we heard a frightening sound.
Bang!
"Oh, it's Johnson," we said with great relief
He warned us to return to our spots, as workers aren't allowed to meet their colleagues or have a conversation during work times.
We briefly told Johnson, if you wouldn't mind having a chat with us.
Fortunately, he agreed to our demand.
We returned to our spots in an eerily manner without getting caught. It was vital for us to add Johnson as a team member. He has always been a kind-hearted individual, he helped us to integrate here as well.
At around 6 p.m, we had completed our work, well most workers had. There were several categories, thus all had different working times. We also had a small dispensary in the factory's yard. Since I came here, I have never seen the dispensary open or conduct treatments for my colleagues. Workers had to treat themselves on their own, although several injuries had occurred since then.
It never got maintained nor did someone verify the location from time to time. It was an ideal location if he had a so-called 'meeting' scheduled.
"But, where is Johnson? I told him it was urgent."
A few minutes of waiting irritably.
I was surveying in case someone could peep at our conversation.
"There you go, here he comes!" Levan informed me.
You could notice Johnson's presence, he was walking freely. He knew every bit of the workplace, his experience kicked in. Johnson was 6 foot tall, quite muscular. But he always smiled throughout the day, he maintained calmness during rough times.
"Well then, have a seat, Johnson."
We sat down, away from the other's attention.
"Johns, what do you know about the room that is kept away from all of us? Levan asked him without any hesitation.
After a few seconds of awkward silence from all of us, he finally responded by saying that the room could also be accessed through another backdoor. He further added that he once saw a car approaching the room during worker's leave days.
We shook our heads in distress.
"Johnson, we are exhausted working here in such cruelty. We can't leave the place until the contract expires in a few years. We can't stay any longer!"
We agreed with us.
"Although you guys have no other option of escaping from us, we will eventually get caught," Johnson replied.
Levan asked him if he knew a way to get into that room. However, we agreed upon working together to escape from here and start a better life. Johnson was motivated, and so were we. That's when we officially started the mission of escaping from this factory.
Day 1 went well, we agreed to work together. It was one of our most crucial days, our thinking got united.
We proceeded to return inside so that nobody recognises and ruins our plan before it even starts as much.
Whilst everyone was asleep, we three kept on thinking in our heads of ideas and plans to execute our goal. We did all of that furtively, none of us wanted to hinder this situation.
On Day 2, it was the first time I managed to wake up early without any severe headaches. Levan felt at his peak, concerning his health, he felt better. Kevin, the guard was mind blown, he saw us awake before the others. Johnson was already in the canteen waiting impatiently for us. We couldn't talk much at that time, just a few heads shaking, winks and thumbs-ups.
It felt like our thoughts were connected through Bluetooth with our heads. We remained discreet throughout our work, nobody suspected us of whatsoever. At 6p.m we proceeded one by one to our meeting spot. I surveyed if somebody followed and observed us. Everything was clear.
"It feels better today doesn't it?" Johnson asked us with a grin on his face.
"Yeah yeah, it does indeed." We both replied.
Johnson announced the news that there'll soon be a two day holiday, thus everybody will have the liberty of meeting their family for a day. We immediately comprehended it.
Well, surely something will happen behind the scenes during employees' leave?
It would be great if we could get to know more about that secret room and how we could manage to flee from this mess.
A few days later, we made sure to keep an eye on any strange movements as the holiday date approached. Nothing extravagant occurred throughout the whole day.
Well, I cut my finger with one of those rusty sewing machines. An enormous amount of blood gushed out, I was afraid I wouldn't get any disease or whatsoever. Luckily Levan helped me out with a first aid plaster.
Without further ado, at around 6.30 pm, we three kept close attention to that backdoor of that hidden room. It was well barricaded; it wouldn't be obvious we just trespassed there and infiltrated through that door.
Bang!
Our hearts sank, we thought somebody had caught us. Perhaps, it was a car accident on a nearby road. Although something caught my eye, I saw a figure resembling Kevin. The latter was allegedly carrying a huge bin bag.
I instantly tapped Levan and Johnson's shoulders.
"Guys, look it's Kevin, he is carrying something with him," I murmured.
"Stunned!"
Our instinct kicked in, and our doubts were clarified. Kevin is indeed among our superiors. As cruel as he already is, he is also involved with those horrible people.
"Pathetic!"
We couldn't observe any longer otherwise we would surely get caught. We proceeded and returned to our rooms. Nothing much happened later.
Until the last day before our holidays. Most employees had a grin on their faces, all of them were joyful as they awaited long for this dreaded holiday. However, we had a mission that we needed to accomplish.
" Lev and Mike come here, I've got to tell you something," Johnson told us.
We moved forward to where he called us.
Johnson proposed an idea to us. He simply said that today we should remain there and hide somewhere.
"That was absurd!"
"We are getting caught today and why don't you guys wanna go out and get some fresh air?" Levan asked us.
There was total silence between us two. Well, I didn't disagree with Johnson nor did I agree. It was therefore a yes. After so much convincing, he finally agreed with us. He had no choice left but to agree with us. The hostels and canteens were already closed. We had no other option but to make an arrangement where we would sleep and eat for those two days.
Luckily, we went out with the rest of the workers and bought a few emergency foods. We waited outside for two hours until the security had left the premises.
We snuck inside, the sun already had set. It was as empty as a shade. It felt unusual, we were slightly frightened however we hid in a nearby tree. Well, we camouflaged there easily. Levan was terrified of the dark, Johnson and I kept giggling when told us so.
At around 7 pm, no one was there, we had left a window which was open wide enough for a man to fit through it. We snuck inside, it was pitch black and so silent. We sat by a window that emitted some light.
We got desperate, we felt that nothing will change and we will find what was inside the room. It's probably a meeting area or where the safe is kept. We were devouring some snacks throughout the night and continued peeping through the window and observing the stars with hopes that things would turn around.
At around 10 pm, Johnson caught our attention. "Guys, I think I know a path that will take us to that room." We were astounded, well trying won't harm us.
We agreed to follow Johnson.
Though, he took us somewhere in the factory that Levan and I weren't quite familiar with.
We had to use those lamps that required petrol, discreetly.
The walk felt endless, I never knew that the factory was as vast as it appeared. We entered a room that seemed to be a storeroom. However, there was a secret hidden path that could lead someone to that room. Neither the workers nor the superiors were aware of that passage. Johnson claims that he was the one who first found that passage but kept it a secret.
Though he had never attempted to pass through theirs. Levan was terrified of us getting stuck inside there. Nobody would come to save us either as the room is quite abandoned and away from the workers' view.
"Well, there's always a first time for everything."
"Silence…"
A few long seconds later, we all agreed to go through that tunnel in the ceiling. It was narrow inside, so I went in first. My heart was beating hastily, no one knew what was awaiting us on the other side of the room.
It wasn't that lengthy however it felt like a marathon. We reached the end of the ceiling that led to that room. Our adrenaline kept on increasing, but it was completely dark in that ' tunnel'. We lightened the part that blocked us from entering the premises. There was a piece of wood separating the sections. We knew we would eventually fall to the ground.
"Come on Johnson push it, with all the strength you've got!"
"Crack…"
We managed to open it slightly. There was approximately an eight centimeters gap. We could barely peep through it.
Although what we discover left all of us speechless. There were numerous cabinets and safes. All appeared to be locked, no one was to be seen. There were several chairs and an immense table, I think several meetings must have occurred there till now.
Our owners weren't compassionate nor friendly with any of the workers. They did all of that just to exploit us and work for them for insignificant salaries. That room revealed what other type of business they were doing. Their earnings didn't just come from this factory but mostly from all of these businesses.
We had no option, but to enter that room. We all lost our fear of getting caught and followed what our instincts said. We carefully climbed down, one by one through. I placed my foot on one of the tables and then jumped. Although it was quite luminous inside, those fire lamps were on.
Our goal was to find our passports and other legal documents that this company kept in possession of when we started working for them. It was a major risk we took in the beginning, though we had no choice but to accept the regulation. It was a trap, as they knew if they retained our legal documents, we wouldn't flee from there.
We proceeded to start searching our documents. The room was vast, it had several safes which surely contained their incomes. There were lots of well-sealed cupboards. It certainly must have contained some of their confidential information on the deals they had been doing. We eventually came across the products they were dealing with, and other proprietors. The products were well covered and kept in the corners of the room. Nobody was bothered by it.
Levan and Johnson were searching in those gigantic shelves in the back of the room that contained workers' legal documents. Anyhow, luck didn't remain by our side. I heard somebody walking in Levan and Johnson's direction. I was afraid of creating a noise whilst alerting them. I rushed there without making any fuss. A stream of white light hit our faces. Our hearts sank, we became numb. We got caught by Kevin.
Kevin was supervising that room on that day.
" So, you guys think you are very smart and will trespass in this area without getting caught?"
Levan was on the verge of crying. I was hopeless, all of our efforts went in vain.
Johnson still didn't get caught. Though he eventually heard us and came in our direction. We couldn't escape from there, Kevin appeared instantly. We had no time to think about something.
Levan and I were completely surprised when we saw Kevin and Johnson looking eye to eye with each other. I knew that both were working there for several years.
"John, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at your place tonight?"
They both started talking with each other with familiarity.
On the other hand, Levan and I kept looking at each other with fear and confusion.
I eventually asked them if they knew each other.
" Guys, we are both from the same location. Furthermore, I helped him to get this job."
Wait what… we were completely stupefied, we couldn't believe what our eyes and ears were witnessing. They were just like brothers.
Johnson pleaded with him to have a seat, it would be the opportunity for us to negotiate our way out or to simply forget what happened. We let Johnson handle this matter with his own hands.
We stepped back, and Levan and I proceeded to stand in a nearby corner. The talk lasted for a while. Neither of us knew what would happen to all of us. Since I started working here, I have never enjoyed the way he treated all of us. He was one of our superiors, though he didn't have many authorities, nor the right to impose rules or make decisions. I've never liked his presence, and neither did Levan.
Our hopes were low, though Johnson was a good friend of his. Perhaps Johnson can save us from these issues.
Their conversation finally came to an end. They waved at us, we staggered our way there.
What a relief!
Kevin allowed us to flee from there without him informing the superiors. We couldn't thank him enough, I take back what I had said, Kevin is our saviour. He warned us to be quick and to search for our documents and flee from there. Meanwhile, he will repair the mess we had made. The owners won't arrive till sunset. We rushed to the shelves and searched for our papers.
Finally, we got our papers and passports. We are no longer retained there and we can escape from there.
Kevin vowed that he wouldn't inform anybody about what had just happened. We trusted him, we further added that we would act as if nothing had happened.
He also advised us to pass through the backdoor in order not to make this escape look so obvious.
Kevin told us to take a bus to return to our hometown. The whole time Levan and I were speculating what Johnson could have said to convince Kevin.
The surprising part was Kevin suddenly became so sympathetic towards us two.
Enough of speculating things.
The important part is that he agreed upon us escaping from here. It was around 4 a.m, he offered all three of us bottles of water.
Kevin was hospitable with us.
We decided to help him out with cleaning and erasing the evidence and traces we had left behind.
Johnson certainly played an important part in our escape.
And from now on, we hoped to live a peaceful and stress-free life. Though it wouldn't be easy to achieve it, we would try our best.
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