Simon Andrews swiped at the sweat dripping down his face.
His dirty, calloused hand left a smudge on his face, but he didn't pay it much attention as he looked towards the spot where his friend was idly pulling at weeds with one hand while talking on the phone with the other.
"Really?" Simon said with a perfectly arched eyebrow.
Hans Schuller grinned at him and made a sign that he would get serious soon.
Then he immediately turned away, with his phone back to his ear.
"Babe, I told you to trust me. I will do it. I am expecting some money soon and...
Simon shook his head and immediately returned to the rows of potato mounds and the delicate green sprouts of snap peas breaking through the soil.
He bent down to continue carefully weeding the potato mound to avoid pulling out the snap peas.
He stopped hearing his friend's conversation as the latter walked farther away from that side of the farm.
He was so happy that planting the snap peas with their potatoes turned out well.
His parents used to plant only potatoes on the mounds before. But since Simon had read about other vegetables that could be planted on the same mound with good yields, the harvest had been a bit better.
"Maybe..."
"Si! Si!"
Simon almost dropped his hoe as he jerked upwards.
Hans was running towards him full-force, and the silly smile he always had on when talking to his city girlfriend was gone.
"Wha....?"
"Let's go! Let's pass the other side before they see us. They are almost here!"
"Who are almost..." Simon realised immediately, and he knew there could only be one person who could make Hans get off the phone that fast.
Just when he thought he was going to have a problem-free day.
Simon's stomach dropped the sounds of footsteps.
Theo.
The man owned half the farmland in the region and wanted the other half.
Especially their family's one-acre plot. His goons had already threatened them twice and his Ma was beginning to get scared, but Simon refused to abandon their only source of income.
"No," he said as Hans dashed past him. "I am not leaving. You know they will only ruin something if I leave."
Hans stopped and turned back to look at him. "Are you crazy? If you stay, then they will ruin your face too. Let's save ourselves first."
"No, you go," Simon waved him off and turned towards the direction where dust was rising, and the footsteps were getting closer.
Hans hesitated for a second, then he kept running while saying, "Sorry, man. I will get you some money for medication later. My dad will kill me if I get involved."
Hans had barely left before Theo's men emerged from the edge of the dense bushes.
Four of them were led by a balding foreman who looked more like a disgruntled butcher than a farmer. They carried sticks, shovels, and the kind of smug confidence that came with knowing they outnumbered their target.
"Well, well, look who's playing hero today," the foreman sneered, picking his teeth with a splinter of wood. "Still holding out for a miracle, Andrews?"
Simon said nothing, his gaze steady despite the unease in his chest.
Talking with these muscled idiots would make no difference anyway.
Theo had sent them to deliver a message again, and he was sure they would do it whether he talked or not.
Not that he was going to make it easy for them though.
"Something got your tongue, pretty boy?" one of the four men at the back said with a raspy chuckle.
The others laughed like there was something funny in trying to run people off their land.
"Well, I am in a good mood today, so I will be polite," said the leader. "Master Theo said to teach whoever is here a lesson and to leave a message, of course. So, we are just going to do just that if you don't mind."
Simon said nothing.
"Get him, boys," said the leader, and the men rushed forward.
Simon turned the wooden hoe in his hand and pushed its iron edge into the first man's stomach.
The men trampled on the sprouting peas and scattered the mound as they tried to get beyond the hoe he was wielding.
One of them struck his hand with the shovel, and he almost dropped to his knees.
But then the sight of the mess they had made firmed his grip again, and he rammed his elbow into the stomach of the man who had almost grabbed him.
He aimed the hoe well and one of the men fell while grabbing his smashed face.
The others seemed to think twice about their decision when the foreman shouted again, "Get him, or you will explain yourself to Master Theo!
They all rushed forward again and Simon danced back to strike at the closest one.
He mistakenly stepped on the edge of the shovel that the first man dropped, and the handle reared up, smacking him hard on his back.
Pain lanced through him and he doubled over.
The men quickly took advantage and all fell on him with punches, kicks and prodding.
By the time the foreman yelled, "Hold!", Simon was bleeding from many parts of his body.
The foreman bent towards him with a mocking grin.
"Too bad that you refuse to see reason like your foolish parents. You will always be a loser, you know. A worthless loser is always just that. A loser!" He spat the last word, a glob of saliva hitting Simon's bloodied cheek.
Then the man gave a sign that had his men drag Simon away from the middle of the potato farm.
When Simon first heard the sound, he thought maybe his hearing had gone bad from one of his falls.
But it didn't take long at all.
A tractor soon came clearing the path and before Simon's eyes, they cleared off every single spot of the potato and snap pea mounds.
Simon struggled with the last of his powers against the four men holding him down but it was useless.
By the time the tractor left, months of hard work had been reduced to trash.
"Deliver the message to your stupid parents. Tell them to act sensibly now and take what Master Theo is offering, or the next thing might be worse. Who knows what we might do next, eh?" The foreman said with a wiggle of his bushy eyebrows.
The men laughed and kicked Simon more for good measure before turning to leave.
With a strength borne off the rage of losing everything, Simon launched off the ground to grab the foreman.
He didn't make it before a beefy fist smacked him in the face.
He fell hard against a false rock on the ground, weakening his body.
His bloodied fingers curled into fists as anger surged through him.
"They'll pay," he rasped, the words heavy with determination. "I swear... they'll pay."
"What will I tell Ma?" was his last conscious thought before his vision dimmed.
The image of the ruined farm burnt into his mind as darkness consumed him.