A lone swing was hanging by a single rusted chain. Jersey watched as it swayed back and forth in the breeze from iron windmills that churched in an ongoing loop. Tall cylindrical towers were plumbing great clumps of gas that soared into the air, amassing to the greying sky. Subliminally aware of her boss, Xaro’s arrival, Jersey turned her focus from the window back to the bot she was in the process of repairing. Shivering a little, she found it hard to concentrate with the chill of the morning shift sweeping through the poorly insulated walls of the factory. Blocking it out of her mind she continued to attend to the bot. Xaro approached her, lips pursed, as though he was about to say something but decided against it. She knew he disapproved of her position but as one of the few workers with Robotechnic experience, she was something of a novelty to the company and firing her would only hinder production. He no doubt felt slighted by the lack of choice he had in the matter; but in this their feelings were mutual.

 

“Attention workers, labourers will continue their respective duties until 4pm, technicians 5pm. Any questions?”

 

His last words lingered in the air as more of a threat than any sort of offer. Once met with silence, he nodded to commence operations. Jersey gulped, feeling guilty at her moment of self-pity earlier. Compared to the others she was in a relatively safe position. One woman had been thrown in to work for the factory after being collected from the streets and with no previous experience was placed in the lowest faction. This wouldn’t have been so bad if not for the physical demands of mining which she simply couldn’t meet. Their boss hadn’t been pleased with her performance to say the least. As Xaro paced back and forth she was reminded of the instance in which the woman decided to speak out for the poor conditions of the workers. What a noble fool thought Jersey. No one was entirely sure what happened to her after that but one could only assume it was enough to cause her to leave permanently.

 

Suddenly the doors wrenched open to the commanding officers. She, along with the other workers, watched as Xaro was ordered outside by the cloaked men. If the confused looks of the others was any indication no one seemed to know what was going on. Their questions were finally answered when their boss entered once more, but this time with a young girl in tow. She couldn’t have been much older than nine and her eyes shifted nervously at the sight of the workers. While the others continued to work Jersey couldn’t help but wonder what her boss planned to do with this child, surely she wasn’t expected to work. And yet she saw Xaro grip the girl’s wrist tightly while he explained the procedures of mining to her. The buzzing of drills and smashing of hammers muffled his speech but Jersey could faintly make out what he was saying.

 

“Now normally we don’t put children in the mining faction but we’ve been cut short of miners so you’re simply going to have to do it.”

 

The pickaxe he handed her looked unnaturally big in her small grasp and the weight of it visibly held her down. Looking up at Xaro the girl retracted her hands from it as though it were a foreign object. Jersey trained her eyes on the young girl as her boss’s indifference turned to frustration.

 

“Listen here kid, we don’t make allowances for any slack behaviour here so you have two choices, either man up and do it or face the consequences”.

 

Biting her lip she attempted to carry it over her back, but struggling to even lift it she opted to drag the axe along the ground, following the others as they made their way towards the mines.

 

*8 hours later*

 

For the remaining hours of her shift Jersey couldn’t stop thinking about whether she’d be alright, that was until the 4pm alarm sounded in conjunction with the return of the miners. The girl was in worse condition than Jersey could have imagined and the young woman gulped at the prospect of her having to stay a single day longer. It was a risky move but she decided to approach Xaro.

 

“Sir, can I speak to you for a minute?”

 

He turned to face her and crossed his arms in silence. Jersey saw this as permission to keep speaking but remained cautious of pushing her boundaries too far.

 

“That young girl who went off mining today… is she really suited for that sort of job?”

 

Xaro continued to stare at her as if to ask why she thought it was her place to question his orders.

 

“I mean, wouldn’t it be easier - “

 

“Let me stop you right there,” he interjected, pacing slowly towards her. “Running this factory is a very complex and involved duty, which means that what you might believe to be the ‘easiest’ option might just end up ruining the entire process. I couldn’t have that happen for the sake of some kid who can barely string a sentence together now can I?”

 

Jersey gritted her teeth forcing herself to remain calm.

 

“If we just put her in cleaning instead then – “

 

“End of discussion,” he cut her off sharply and Jersey knew there was nothing more she could say now. Admitting defeat she returned to her work for the remaining hour but found it impossible to concentrate. Damn Xaro and this factory if it thinks it can get away with child labour.

 

At 5pm sharp Jersey swiftly left the building to make her way through the streets she was made to call home. Houses of mismatched brick and rotting wood lined the streets, the never ending black of the windows hiding the shady dealings within. Rubbish, empty syringes, plastic bags and rubble were all intermixed with the black grains of dirt. Jersey sniffed in displeasure at the foul odour coming from the neighbouring factories, thinking herself lucky that she wasn’t shafted into chemical handling or sewerage repairs. Nearing the underpass she made a sharp right to walk parallel to it until she reached the riverside house. It was close enough to walk to work but mercifully isolated enough so that unwanted visitors were few and far between. Besides most knew not to mess with her having gained a bit of a reputation around town.

 

Entering the run down building Jersey let out a great sigh and sat on her couch. Staring into the distance old family photos caught her eye, her mother, father and finally herself all studying contrasts to what they’d become fifteen years later. Her mother was easily the boldest of the three, she always had a presence to her, which made her disappearance all the more hard to bear leaving Jersey and her father to fend for themselves. He actually looks like he wants to be here Jersey scoffed, thinking to the last years of his life, or rather his existence. She’d come to see less of him and in her father’s place more empty bottles strewn across the floor. Which was still better than when he decided to act on his emotions. Trying to contain the rising pain her old memories were giving her Jersey lay down, immediately regretting it as a large spring pushed into her arm.

 

“Piss,” she hissed at the cut it gave her as she headed to the bathroom sink to stop the blood-flow. Amid the cleaning Jersey caught her reflection in the mirror and in a moment of nostalgia felt her hair, no longer long and wavy as it was encapsulated in the picture but short and staggered, her fringe flicking around her face. Looking away before her eyes reached the reflection of her body she made her way back to the lounge to fix the couch.

 

As day made way for night her mind couldn’t help but turn back to that child which had seemed to occupy her thoughts more than necessary. How had she ended up working there, did she have a family? Doubt it, otherwise she wouldn’t be stuck with Xaro in the factory. In the briefest of thoughts she considered taking the girl in but shook it off before it could develop into any tangible arrangement. Feeling her eyes grow heavy Jersey was suddenly overcome with the exhaustion of the day’s work, sinking into the couch and letting her mind be at peace for at least a few hours.  

 

The next morning was no different to the last with the exception of two missing figures catching Jersey’s attention; Xaro and the kid. The others seemed unaffected by it, simply getting on to whatever work they were assigned at the start of the week. She noticed the miners hadn’t left and they cast nervous glances towards one another. It was only when she heard shrill cries from outside that Jersey sprang into action. Running to the source of the noise she stopped, horrified at the sight before her. Xaro was beating the child. All notion of deference was cast away she felt pure anger pulsing through her core.

 

“YOU STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM HER YOU PIG!” She charged towards him, pushing him off the crying girl who lay helpless. He fell bruised trying to punch her face, but fell short from her kick to his chest. Xaro lay winded and Jersey used the seconds he took to recover to attend to the girl.

 

“Take my hand, we’re getting out of here,” the girl was too injured to stand properly and Jersey gave Xaro another kick out of spite, rendering him unconscious. Animal.  

 

Jersey motioned from the girl to take her hand as she hoisted her onto her back. The girl was might lighter than she imagined and the young woman gulped at the thought of all the days she must have gone starving. Carrying the girl on her back Jersey made her way to the other side of the building. Wet grass crunched underneath her runners as Jersey sprinted through the backdoor of the factory and into the streets. Last night’s rain had left the path dotted with puddles and dodged them, darting side to side. She cleared the last puddle in a small jump, heading down the track to the other side of town where an old friend of hers lived. She hadn’t been down that path in years; it all seemed so vague but Jersey was desperate to escape this hell, even if it was just for a day or two.

 

Hamish will be able to help her, she thought, pausing to make sure the young girl was alright. The old path lead to the main street. Reaching his redbrick house she called out, knocking on his door frantically.

 

“Jersey! How long has – oh my god what happened?” He looked at her bruises and the presence of the child who seemed in an even worse condition.

 

“No time to explain, please just tend to her,” she said pleading. He nodded, taking the girl to his spare bed and immediately applying antiseptic to her more severe cuts. She winced at the pain of the antiseptic and Jersey found she couldn’t watch on. She made her way to the balcony while Hamish continued.

 

Sitting across from the stretch of houses her mind cast back to the days in which she shared this town with her old friend. It seemed even more beautiful than she remembered it, possibly due to the absence of the noise of cars and pedestrians that once dominated it. She’d forgotten how much she’d missed this place. There was no fight, no chaos, no struggle to survive, the freedom in a cool breeze kissed her cheeks.

 

“Hey Jers’” she heard Hamish say affectionately as he sat down beside her.

 

“How’s she doing Hamish?”

 

“I cleaned the wounds and stitched some of the nastier ones, she’s just resting now. I think she’s just shaken from what happened,” he trained his eye on her expecting an answer, “so are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

 

Jersey looked back at him, his laidback demeanour replaced by the gravity of his question. He’d never liked the chain of factories she’d worked at and she knew he suspected foul play.

 

“Xaro put the kid in the mining faction, she’d had trouble the first day and I assume something happened today, making him angry enough to… to put his hands on her,” her voice grew hoarse “so I took care of him and got her out.”

 

“That bastard, you’re not going back there are you? Because there’s no way in hell she’s going back.”

 

“She’s not my kid Hamish, she probably has a family.”

 

“Sorry I just assumed you were looking after her,” he replied somewhat accusingly “besides what sort of family would let their child work in that dump.”

 

Jersey let his sentence linger in the air as the question of what to do with the kid remained unanswered.

 

“Well I could always take her in,” Hamish continued “she could go to school with Amelia.”

 

“She’s already starting school?” Jersey gasped and Hamish beamed.

 

“She’s really excited, Amelia said she’d be happy for her daddy to walk her there,” he said clearly sharing her excitement. He utterly doted on his daughter. Jersey had only met her a couple of times but knew she was possibly the most loveable six-year-old she’d ever met.

 

“That’s really great Hamish,” she smiled sincerely “It seems like so long ago when we were kids.”

 

“Oh man I remember when your father would take us over to that bakery after work and let us choose any pastry we wanted.”

 

She frowned, trying to recall these instances “I don’t remember.”

 

“You know that old pale yellow brick shop, the one with the bright red flowers at each window”

 

Fragments of her past were coming back to her. She remembered putting her face to the glass and pretending to consider each option, but without fail always chose the same crème bun. She’d always say thank you to the lady at the counter in her creamy sweet voice and her father would run a hand through her long red braid, beaming proud of his daughter, his little Jem.

 

“Of course that was before… before it happened” Jersey reminded him.

 

His smile faltered as he realised what he’d inadvertently done.

 

Feeling a tap on her shoulder Jersey flinched, calming down when she realised who and where it was. She vaguely tuned in to Hamish saying “I’ll be back soon” and watched he walked off into the distance. Deciding to return to the girl Jersey watched as she lay awake in bed.

 

“Please let me stay, don’t take me back there” she said as tears started to well up in her eyes.

 

“I won’t,” she replied, attempting to reassure the fragile girl. Hugging her seemed too personal so she opted for an awkward pat on the head to stop her from crying. It only made her cry even more and Jersey started to panic.

 

“Ah look kid, I promise I won’t make you go back… but what about your parents?”

 

“I don’t have any parents, I live with my grandmother. But I ended up getting lost one day and Xaro took me in, making me to work with the miners.”

 

“As soon as you’ve recovered we’ll get you back to your grandmother ok?” She nodded smiling a little at the prospect of returning home.

 

“So do you know your way around this area well?” Jersey asked

 

“Sort of, I’m pretty sure my grandma’s house is in the town next to this one, we only come here for shopping.”

 

“I see…” she trailed off at the sound of the door opening. Hamish must have told Amelia about their new guest as the sound of small feet running made way for the arrival of Hamish’s child.

 

“Hiya Jersey!” she said beaming.

 

“Hey Amelia,” would you mind talking to ah… “what’s your name kid?”

 

“Katherine,” she responded feebly.

 

“For a moment, I need to ask your father something.”

 

Jersey found Hamish at the entrance but something was very wrong. His eyes were downcast and his hand started to shake slightly. She noticed he was holding something in his shaking hand but before she could ask he silently motioned for her to follow him to his kitchen. Spreading what turned out to be a poster onto the kitchen table he turned away with his hands on his head.

 

“They’re back Jersey”

 

She looked at the A3 poster to see a group of business men with stiff backs all staring past like robots, aside from the centremost man who was reaching out a hand. An intricately designed logo was plastered in the middle; it read CYRIAX – making a better tomorrow.

 

Cyriax… where had she seen that before?

 

“The group responsible for the raids ten years ago, the guys that took your mother, they’re back.”