Just then, the entire room began to shudder, like a massive engine roaring to life. At first, it was subtle—a faint tremor. But as the seconds passed, the vibrations grew stronger, rippling through every floor of the factory. The troops of guards initially thought the entire structure was collapsing on them. But the source of the rumbling soon became clear, it was coming from the main mining cave at the far end of the lower floors.
Something was happening.
RUMBLE.**
RUMBLE.**
It felt like drills were running at full throttle, shaking the very foundation of the factory. Then, suddenly, silence.
The shift from chaos to complete stillness was chilling. Workers, guards, and troops alike froze, their tension palpable. It was the calm before the storm—a deafening quiet, like the dead stillness of the ocean before a tidal wave crashes ashore.
And then it came.
A single man charged out of the cave. Silco's troops raised their weapons, ready to fire, but they were met with gunfire from the other side.
"CHARGE!" A thunderous voice echoed through the factory. It was Scar—the man who was usually as quiet as a shadow—now roaring at the top of his lungs, his voice bouncing off the walls like a war cry.
From the cave, what began as one man quickly became ten, then twenty, and then more. They weren't a disorganized mob; they were armed with rifles and drills, surging forward with a single purpose: freedom. They sprinted with everything they had, because this was their only way back—back to their homes, back to their lives.
Silco's troops were caught off guard. They hadn't expected the miners—trapped underground for who knows how long—to rise up, armed and furious. The miners' rage was a fire that had been burning inside them for years, fueled by oppression and exploitation. They discarded safety, discarded fear, and charged forward like a flood, overwhelming everything in their path.
The troops had no choice but to fall back. The shift in momentum was staggering. Just moments ago, they had been in control. Now, they were being swept away by a tide of fury and desperation.
Men and women fell on both sides, but there was no stopping the miners. This was the revolt of the oppressed, the uprising of those who had been beaten down for too long.
Powder held onto Isha tightly, running toward the exit. Her priority was the girl's safety. But Isha reached her arm out toward me, her voice trembling as she made a sound—a plea, a rejection, I couldn't tell.
Silco's men didn't bother with me. They were too focused on saving themselves. There was a clear difference between well-trained troops and the men under Silco's rule. Silco ruled through fear, and fear made people selfish. They obeyed him out of terror, not loyalty.
I was still lying on the ground, too weak to move. Honestly, I was afraid I'd be trampled. But then Scar appeared, lifting me up with a grunt.
"We're close," he said. "We just need to make it to the gates. Freedom's within reach."
My focus had been on Powder and Isha, but now I had to think about myself and my people. If I remembered correctly, the tunnels leading to the sewers were nearby. Even in this different timeline, there had to be that tree—my old hideout. It would be the perfect place to regroup.
The workers and tinkers, seeing the tide turning, quickly joined the fray. What began as a revolt of miners became a unified force of workers, tinkers, and miners—all fighting for one goal: freedom. Together, we surged through the factory toward the gates.
"Scar, was the plan successful?" I asked, needing to know if everything was in place.
"Yes," he replied. "Just like you predicted. When the guards came down into the mines and found no miners returning, we used the darkness and the sound of the drills to ambush them. We stripped them of their rifles and armed ourselves. We were waiting for your signal, but when we heard gunfire from the workstation above, we thought the plan had failed. So we moved early. You're lucky we did."
As we reached the gates, Silco's troops were already fleeing.
"You know they might set a trap for us," he said. "Or track this large group. Is there really a way out of here?"
"I know just the place, It's our only way."I said.