Sara's POV

"Get up girl. What is your name?" The Overseer asked me.

I shook my head. My voice was all gone.

The Overseer sneered. "I'll teach you to obey me tool."

He uncoiled a whip.

"But, sir, why don't we put it to work now?" The Ridgerunner said.

The Overseer considered this. "Very well, take her to the pairing station. Make sure she doesn't get any rest until morning." And the Overseer walked off.

The Ridgerunner looked at me. "Get up tool, you have work to do. Follow me." The Ridgerunner lead me to a large, metal table. There were large shears everywhere. Children were all around me, working, covered with soot and sweat, as well as blood and tears.

"Tool, look here. See," The Ridgerunner waved his hand to a young boy. "He's pairing. It's where you cut the excess metal off of these swords. Most of the time the machine get's it right, but there are still a few times that it doesn't."

I nodded my head. I didn't really understand what I was supposed to do.

Almost as if the Ridgerunner read my mind, he spoke up. "You, Maintenace Manager, teach this tool what to do here."

A boy about my age walked up. "Tool, look here. You take these shears, and cut the metal like this." He showed me what to do. "And then you put the scrap metal in here, to be re-used."

"Ok tool, now get to work." The Ridgerunner said.

I nodded my head. And so I got to work. Every day for months went like this. Work, eat, sleep, eat, work, eat, sleep. Every day was the same. Soon all I knew was work. No talking, just work. The Ridgerunner, who's name was Mobrik, would come by just to tell all of the tools to work harder. The Overseer would sometimes come down to the work floor, and yell at everyone, even Mobrik. I was constantly told that I was abandoned by the Maker. I didn't believe that. Somehow, I knew that I would get out of that horrible factory someday.

And that time came.

It came in the form of Janner Igiby. I remember, I was working on the floor, when the carriage went out. The Overseer would randomly take the carriage out, then come back with two or three more tools. Then, one tool that was already in the factory, would suddenly leave. It confused me a lot. The carriage had gone out. When it came back, I saw two boys come out. The first one looked familiar. He came out and immediately defied the Overseer. I recognized him. It was Janner Igiby. We had met months ago, at the Dragon Day festival. It had been a small meeting, but I remember thinking about Janner for a long time. Even when I was in the factory, I still thought about him. I remember the Overseer hit him, when he talked. As Janner had walked with Mobrik, I remember making eye contact. Janner later told me that it tickled recognition in his brain. After that, it was a few days before I saw him again. He asked me if I would help him escape, that we could escape together. I didn't want to go along with the plan, because I was scared of being put into the coffin again. But, I went along with the plan. Janner would bribe the Ridgerunner with fruit into putting me on portcullis duty, the night that the carriage would go out. Once Janner would make the call, I would open the portcullis, setting not only us free, but possibly more children too.

But, sadly, that part of the plan was foiled.

I remember being at the portcullis, waiting for the call. Then I heard it, and started opening the gate. Janner ran over, but instead of running out, he jumped onto the carriage, and grabbed the reigns. The Overseer came running, along with Mobrik. Janner had begged me to go with him. I wish I had. But, I was very scared, and was getting tired from holding the portcullis in place. When I went to try and lock it, Mobrik came and grabbed me, trying to hold me back from locking it.

"Janner you have to go!" I had told him.

But, he was determined to get me to come with him. "No Sara, I can't leave you!"

"You have too!" I told him. "Go!"

Janner looked back at the Overseer, who was tending to his hurt foot, then sighed and cracked the reigns.

That was the last time I saw him for months.