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Dump Miner - Chapter Ten
mariA finds ten dollars.


Meanwhile in the mines, mariA is digging with her hands, removing bottles, cans, and paper, anything that could be reused. She moves a pile of dirt to one side and something catches her attention, it is a ten-dollar bill. mariA looks around quickly to see if she is being watched, grabs the bill and frantically tries to decide where to hide the money. Her frantic movements catch the attention of a guard.

Guard:
Get back to work!

mariA takes the bill, crushes it into a ball, sticks her hand in her pants and forces the bill into her vagina.

Guard:
What are you doing there!

mariA:
I have crabs.

Guard:
Work now; go to the infirmary to have that taken care of later. God I hate this job.

mariA goes back to work with a spring in her step. Finding the ten dollars is surely a sign from God that he is coming. A siren blows signaling the end of the day. All the miners gather their equipment and slowly return to camp except for mariA. She runs to the tram station and can hardly repress her joy of finding the money.

The tram makes a stop near the Bishop’s mansion. mariA sees leO in the courtyard and jumps out of the tram. She grabs his arm and asks him to follow her.

mariA:
Come with me quickly.

leO:
mariA you look happy, would you share your thought?

mariA (whispers into leO’s ear):
I want to tell you, something wonderful, I can’t tell you here, wait till we are alone.

leO (with a suspicious look):
I can’t wait.

mariA holds back her smile as they make their way back to the camp. All the miners struggle to get back to camp before their AM pill wears off. mariA is practically dragging leO to the barracks. A guard notices her odd behavior.

Guard:
What is going on here, what is the rush?

mariA and leO pause, leO looks at mariA, mariA stops short.

Guard:
Are you trying to sneak contraband into the camp?

leO:
I have nothing to hide.

Guard (to mariA) :
What about you?

mariA pauses, the guard starts to get suspicious.

Guard:
Do I have to scan you?

mariA:
I am sick.

Guard:
From what?

The guard starts to walk towards mariA and leO. mariA quickly grabs her stomach, bends over, and forces herself to fart as loud as she can. She can feel the ten-dollar bill pinching the inside of her vagina, which brings a tear to her eye. The Guard backs away from them.

mariA:
Please, I have run out of stool hardener and have no med vouchers, please don’t make me explain more.

The guard looks at mariA and leO and with a little disgust waves them on.

Guard:
All right, move along.

mariA grabs leO by the hand and they make their way back to the barracks.

leO:
Quick mariA, get to a stall before you soil yourself.

mariA:
No leO, I lied.

leO looks at mariA and shakes his head.

leO:
It is written that the path to damnation is paved with….

mariA:
Forgive me I have more to confess.

leO looks at the ground and shakes his head, mariA turns from him and sticks her hand into her pants, making a twisted face and retrieves the wadded-up ball. She unravels it to reveal to leO that it is a ten-dollar bill.

leO:
mariA?

mariA:
I stole today.

leO looks at the bill astonished.

leO:
Where did you get that?

mariA:
I found it while mining. I have been thinking about this since I found it. I am going to sneak out of the camp tonight and go to the black market, and then tomorrow we can have fruit and bread after Sunday service.

leO:
No mariA, it is not right. If you are caught you will surely be punished and then all our efforts will be in vain.

mariA:
I will not be caught.

leO:
You will never make it, you will pass out from the exhaustion before the night has ended.

mariA:
I still have an extra AM pill that was willed to me by bettY. I will feel wonderful!

leO stares at her and pauses.

leO:
Fruit would be nice. An apple…that would be delicious. I have not had an apple for what seems to be an eternity.

mariA:
An apple, I have never had an apple, if you say they are good.

leO:
Oh yes, very tasty.

mariA:
Then I will get apples.

leO:
I cannot stop you, so say three Hail Mary’s and go in peace.

mariA:
We are blessed today.

weaseL enters, catches sight of the money, and rushes over to mariA and leO.

weaseL:
What is that?

leO:
This is none of your concern.

weaseL:
Where did you get that?

weaseL grabs the money and leO slaps his hand.

weaseL:
If I don’t get mine, I will tell the Bishop. What is it?

mariA:
This is a gift from God to celebrate the coming of the savior.

weaseL:
It looks like money.

weaseL again lunges toward mariA and grabs for it. This time leO forcefully pushes weaseL and weaseL falls to the ground hard.

leO:
You will not say a word. If you do, I will crush you with my bare hands.

Other dump miners start to enter the barracks after their day is complete. The commotion caused by leO and weaseL draws their immediate attention to see what is happening. A fight is always entertaining and every miner in the small run-down barracks would surely agree that weaseL probably has whatever is going to happen coming to him even though the other miners have no idea why.

toM:
What is happening?

juliE:
Kick his ass!

suE:
Fight!

leO:
Everyone calm yourselves, there will be no violence. We are to have a secret celebration tomorrow.

weaseL gets up quickly and moves away from leO.

leO:
Tomorrow we will have fruit after the service.

juliE:
How? We have no vouchers for fruit.

toM:
I have never had fruit, where is it coming from?

The crowd starts to talk amongst themselves.

mariA:
It is a gift from God.

leO:
Yes, a gift from God, but the guards cannot know of this or they will take the fruit from us. Do we all agree?

All the members agree with the exception of weaseL, who just stands in the back. leO walks to weaseL

leO:
We must all agree.

weaseL:
I agree.

It is nightfall and mariA sneaks out of the camp and goes to the black market. Using the facility’s back gate that the massive dump trucks use to collect bulk items for recycling, she crawls under the fence and evades the guard’s attention as he goes through a checklist with one of the dump truck drivers.

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