The Saw Is Family ch 1

The factory was closing down today. Everyone knew it. Thomas knew it.

After Mindy went into labor and gave birth in the factory, the workers reported the incident to the health inspectors. A group of them came to the factory and declared almost everything they saw unsanitary. They ordered the factory be shut down for good. Without this factory, the town would be left jobless and starving. The place was the only one providing the town with meat. With the factory shutting down, everyone started moving away. All except for Thomas.

Thomas didn't want to leave. He liked working at the slaughterhouse. This was the only job he ever had or was even good at. What else could he do? Without a job, how was he going to take care of his family? How was he going to support his baby girl? How would he feed her? He had an idea. If Thomas stayed and worked through his lunch break, showed how hard he could work, maybe the boss would let him stay. He stood alone in the slaughterhouse and chopped meat like always.

He heard footsteps coming from behind him. Hopefully it was the boss. Was he going to say he could keep his job?

"Hello, Hewitt."

It was the boss' assistant. The short man slowly walked toward Thomas. What could he possibly want? Thomas turned back to the meat and continued chopping. Maybe if he saw how good he was doing he'd tell the boss and the boss would have to let him stay.

"We're shutting down the place today", the assistant said. "You know that, cause I done told you. Shutting down for good?"

Thomas continued chopping. He didn't want to believe he was fired.

"We ain't packing no more meat. Ain't killing no more animals…so you just leave the equipment. You just get on home now, okay?"

Thomas stopped chopping. It was hopeless. No matter what he did, he was still left jobless. How was he going to take care of his daughter now? It wasn't fair! He could still do good in the factory! Thomas raised his meat cleaver and started chopping at the meat in anger.

"You got to go I said", the assistant said.

He didn't want to go. He wanted to stay and continue working. He did not want to lose his only job.

"You got to get the hell out of here, you dumb animal!"

Thomas froze in mid-chop. Did that little man just call him a dumb animal? Thomas slowly turned to face the assistant who looked like he just realized he said the wrong thing. The assistant looked at him afraid, with good reason. With the cleaver in his hand, Thomas stepped closer to him. He had the nerve to call him a dumb animal? The assistant backed away as much as he could.

Thomas clenched the cleaver tightly in his hand. The assistant called him an animal? Well, then he'd give him an animal. Thomas glared at the assistant, but then looked up at the boss' office. The boss was watching his every move. Thomas was going to get in trouble if he did anything. He then realized the assistant was not to blame.

It was the boss' fault. He's the one who overworked Mindy. He was the one who left her to die when she went into labor. He was the one who started all of this starting with Thomas' mother. He left her to die the same way he left Mindy to die and dumped Thomas with the trash.

Thomas dropped the cleaver leaving the assistant alone. He walked through the factory and stopped when he entered the area where they killed the animals. Laying on the table was a sledgehammer that was used to kill the cows and pigs. Thomas picked it up. The lights in the factory started shutting off. The only light left on was in the boss' office, meaning he was still there. Thomas took the sledgehammer and walked in the direction of the boss' office with only one thing on his mind.

This is for you, Mindy.