Zell went back to peering out of the slot, after a long while the door to the bus finally opened, the bus driver came out first, followed by the new apprentices, Zell smiled as he watched the lads come out of the vehicle, he was tickled by the touch that had been added– uniforms!
The newcomers had all been dressed in brown shirts with black shorts, he recalled the various bus-load of boys who had been brought in over the years, including his batch, they had all come in the tattered clothes they had left their homes with.
Something must have changed on the outside for the employers to go to these length, Zell watched as the boys were asked to gather at the assembly point used for the fire drill, a couple of the company’s investors looked on as one of the local Managers addressed the boys.
Zell could not hear what was being said, but he was sure he could guess much of it.
“… and this will be your home and workplace for a very long time” the manager continued in a local language, “.. Iam sure you all saw what happened outside when you arrived”
“Yes we did” some of the older boys mumbled.
“Well, let none of you ever dream of trying anything like that because we will look for you and we will find you”
“Tell them that the dogs they saw have been trained to eat up children and that is what will happen to them if they try to escape” chipped in one of the investors who was obviously following the conversation that was going on in the local language.
The local manager repeated the threat and continued with his little speech, ” you will be separated into two groups depending on how you perform at some tasks tomorrow, for now you will be sent to one of the dorm and your perfect will brief you”
Zell watched as the lecture went on, the light was fading fast, it was certainly too late for the newcomers to be sorted into ‘water’ or ‘surface boys’, he wondered which of the dormitories the lads would be taken to.
Finger crossed, he prayed it would be theirs, he knew some of the older guys in the other dorm were planning escape and would like to find new partners to plan with, Zell wanted to have the first choice in choosing any new lads he could discuss his plan with.
The briefing was over and the boys were being steered towards the dormitories, Zell watched, praying for his wish to come true, they walked past the first building, then the second, the newcomers were coming to zell’s dormitory, he quickly moved away from the slot and ran to his bed, the last thing he wanted was for the managers to discover their secret spyhole.
Zell decided against pretending to be asleep, so he sat on his bed and waited for the party to arrive.
A metallic clang and escaping air signalled the gate was being opened, seconds later the group walked in, Zell quickly got off his bed and approached them.
“These boys will sleep in this dormitory this evening, which means they are under your care” one manager said to zell.
“Yes sir” Zell replied.
“Their food will be delivered in an hour time, brief them on how things are done around here, there are twenty four boys here, and there are enough beds for them” the man continued.
“Yes sir there are twenty two of us in this dorm and fourteen unoccupied bunks beds, that is enough space for twenty eight extra people” Zell responded promptly.
“Good, make sure they are up and early, ready for sorting tomorrow morning”
“Yes boss”.
The men left the building, locking the gate after them, Zell eyes the twenty four lads like you would a parade of cadets, he was looking out for the older guy he could plan an escape with, there were about eight boys who looked like they were Sixteen and eighteen years old, there wasn’t much he could talk to anyone about for now.
Besides, he had to be careful, one could never tell who was spying for the manager, it was well known that some of the younger kids were given treats of sweet and chocolate to report on discussion and events within the dormitories, all he could hope for was that at least half of the new lads would be sent back to this dormitory.
“Welcome guys, my name is Zell and Iam the prefect for dormitory ‘B’, where the ‘ surface-boy’ live, ELF will be your home for a very long time, no one will visit you and you will never leave this facility ever” Zell told them.
“Did you just say we will not leave this facility ever?” Kenny asked.
“You heard right, as I speak no one outside this place knows where you are, your parents don’t, and neither do the authorities, this place is run in such a way that any inspectors that come through do not get to see us children at work” Zell replied, ” we are on the inside, don’t have a clue as to where we are now and how close to, or far away we are from civilization”.
“Oh wow!” Kenny exclaimed, ” you mean we are stuck here for life?”