Greed | Norton Campell

Loathe

Norton continued to ponder for quite some time. His eyes drifted to every corner of the mine, zoning out each time another thought crossed his mind. The minecarts being pushed on the railings would temporarily make him lose thought. Sighing, he got up and swung his pickaxe over his shoulder. He made his way out of the slim tunnel, heading back to the center. He decided to go down a mineshaft on the middle. Tons of miners were in this area. He decided to go down farther, hoping he wouldn't see as many people. Soon enough, he reached a desolate area.

He began to pick at a huge rock with his pickaxe, the rhythmic clanking sound the pickaxes made rung in his ears. He grunted, the continuous swinging took an extreme toll on him.  The sound of dynamite being used across on the other side echoed throughout the entire cave. He began to cough fiercely. He had always had the habit of stopping himself from coughing, but sometimes he couldn't help it.

While moving some rubble out of the way, footsteps approached his position. It was the same group of miners from before. "Would you look at that.... He's working real hard over here!," They snarled. They knew Norton was easy to pick on now. They found it entertaining to mock him. He did the best he could to ignore them, but as narcissistic as they were, they wanted a reaction out of him. One of them kicked the back of Norton's knee. He almost slipped, but kept his balance. The last thing he wanted to do was give them any sort of reaction. They all laughed simultaneously.

Eventually another pair of footsteps made their way down the mineshaft. "Boys, what's so funny, huh?", a stern and deep voice echoed. "Uh.. Nothin', sir!" The footsteps eventually stopped. The aroma of a lighted cigarette filled the air. "Get outta here. Let 'em work." The miners seemed extremely nervous, quickly taking their leave. Norton glanced over at Claude. "Didn't know you were down here." Norton's feet shuffled as he caressed the back of his neck. "I'm just doing what everyone else is."

"Workin', right? That's your first redeemin' quality yet. Us folk worked our asses off to  get here. You just sat back and used someone for it."

Norton didn't bother arguing. On the contrary, he was right. He kept his mouth shut, until he couldn't help it. "You know nothing about me." Smoke left Claude's lips, as he scoffed. "Don't need to. You were a cocky bastard before you came here. It shows." This time, Norton didn't say anything.

Claude twiddled with his cigarette for a moment. "Well, I'll leave you to it. Get 'er done, I'm outta here." He too, took his leave. Norton was alone once again. He glanced back at the rock he was trying to mine. He saw a single glimmer of a metallic yellow ore. It was a pale yellow hue. His pupils dilated. He reached for his pickaxe once again.

Clank, Clank, Clank!

His pickaxe echoed, until he heard a satisfying crack. He picked up the ore he had found. My first time finding gold...., he thought excitedly. There was a glimmer in his eyes. He quickly stuffed it into his bag, moving onto the other side of the tunnel. Norton didn't expect to find it so quickly, he was proud to say the least. It was a small little achievement.