“I don’t know man, I came here at the age of fifteen, I have been here for almost six years now and I don’t think they are going to come to me one day and say, ” hey pack up, it’s time to take you back to your mother” Zell answered.
“That is definitely not cool” Kenny said, ” I don’t think I will survive this, I can’t stay confined in the sake place for a long time”
Zell observed Kenny carefully, he certainly spoke like someone who would like to breakout if the opportunity presented itself, and he looked old enough since Philip could directly see Zell as he spoke, Zell had been translating the questions Kenny was asking, one of the older boys decided to ask a question of his own, he raised his right hand and Zell pointed at him.
“What did the man who just left mean by we will be ‘ sorted out tomorrow’?”
Zell smiled, ” all the children on this complex are divided Into two groups, ‘ water boys and surface boys’, as the name suggested, the water boys work in the water and the surface-boys in the preparation facility, a hidden section of the factory”
“Oh I see” the boy replied, ” with many of us, it can’t be too bad a place to work in, can it?”
“Don’t be deceived, it’s is extremely difficult work and very dangerous for the Waterboys, especially there have been at least seven drowning since I have been here” Zell lectured with a Stern look, ” this place is no paradise, don’t let the environment fool you, you will understand what iam talking about when you have to dive bare-chested into cold water in the dark of night”
“Night? You mean Waterboys work in the night?” The boy asked in shock.
“Not in the night, throughout the night, they have a nine hours shift which lasts from eight in the evening to five in the morning, within this time they are supposed to harvest atleast eight hundred lobsters”
“All these can be done in one night?” The boy asked, still baffled.
“We cannot be seen during the day, these people are involved in childtrafficking and child slavery, this saves them tons of money in salaries, they do their best to keep it a secret” Zell said softly, so that only the older lads closer to him could hear.
By this time some of the boys who were sleeping had woken up and were exicted by the sight of the newcomers, it was a chance to get to know what was happening on the outside, or in their communities, if anyone is lucky they might meet someone from their village, there were four or five different groups holding their own little conversation now.
“Before we all drift off, let me show the new guys to their beds and the other facilities we have” Zell shouted above the din, ” guys, kindly come over and let’s get this over with”
The boys who had wandered away returned.
“Thus is our sleeping area” Zell said, pointing to the space behind him with the bunk beds, ” you are free to choose which bed you want to sleep in”
“Where can we take a bath?” Someone asked.
“To my right, behind you guys, is a washroom where you can have a bath or take care of other business, to my left is a crude eating area, those plywood boards placed over a few bricks, make a good dinning table”
“Ask him wether we will be given any food to eat tonight” Philip signed, hunger written all over his face.
“Oh Iam sorry” Zell responded, ” I forgot to signal to you when the manager spoke, we will be served supper soon”
“Okay, you guys can now settle in, choose your beds, have a bath, get changed, whatever food will be served in about half an hour” Zell said in conclusion.
The younger kids ran off in all directions, happy go see an end to all the talk and instructions, and happy to see many other boys their age.
Zell approached Kenny and Philip who was standing with the older new boy who just came.
“Hi guys” he said, hand outstretched, ” where are you coming from? What is happening out there?”
Kenny and Zell introduced themselves and Philip as well, they told their stories of how they came to be at ELF, while Zell translated for his brother, Zell became concerned as he realized that Philip was disabled and he kept wondering how Philip was going to survive in this new environment change since the new boys will be taking over their position.
“It will be better if Philip gets selected as a surface-boy” Zell suggested, ” that way the lads will be able to look out for him”.
“Iam sure communication is very important to the Waterboys, since they are working with partners in the dark” the new boy chipped in, ” it will be dangerous for him to be on the night shift”
“I think it will be best if I tell the managers about Philip’s condition before the sorting out process” Zell said.
“What is this process like?” The boy asked.
“It’s two task which all the lads will be asked to perform, you will then be sorted depending on how well you perform on each task” Zell replied the boy
They learnt the managers needed more boys to harvest lobsters than to work in the preparation facility, the task for the surface-boys was therefore more difficult than that for the Waterboys, the Waterboys task, swimming was very easy for most of the boys since they lived in communities by the lake.
It was something one learnt to do before you could sometimes even starts walking.
Zell described to them what had occured just before their bus had driven in, and the boys were delighted to hear the rest of the story of what happened from their own point of view, Zell also narrated about the events of the last three weeks which had led to the introduction of the dogs on the night shift.
There had been ten attempted escapes in the last month alone, four times more than had happened in the last five years.
“I don’t know what your sorting ceremony is going to be like, but if you guys make it back here, there is something we should talk about” Zell whispered.
*******
The oldest of the new boy woke up with a start in the middle of the night, for a few seconds he was confused, ‘ where was I?” Then it all came rushing back as usual, his mother had taken money and had allowed her child to be trafficked into the Middle of no where.
It was pitch black in the dormitory.
As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could just make out some shapes and forms in the room, his bladder felt ready to burst, he needed to find the washroom quickly.
Feeling his way, he carefully skipped out of the space between the two beds, the washroom was opposite where he stood, so he headed in that direction, because he could barely see anything, he decided to feel his way using the brick wall as a guide, slowly he inched forward one step at a time, he was almost halfway to the cubicle when he tripped over something soft.