Region: China
Shiwang Heng
Meili Hua Xiang
A Beautiful Flower in the Black House
(One Shot)
Shiwang Heng huddled in the corner of his cell as the other
men ate. Hunger had been just one of the
many hardships Shi had endured since he had been captured and eventually
transferred to the Black House. He
looked on with his stomach growling while the other 11 men all had their fill
of whatever the meal was for this evening.
Shi watched as two the soldiers, who were on guard, stood outside of his
cell and pointed in his direction as they spoke. One of the women snickered at their exchange
of words and then both yelled for the other men in the cell to back off and
allow Shi to eat. He didn’t move. The guards yelled again and as the men in the
cell backed away from the food they either stared angrily at the guards or at
Shi. After a moment and few more foul
words of encouragement coming from the guards, Shi stood slowly and walked to
the center of the room where plates of brown unrecognizable mush sat. He didn’t know if this was all some sort of
cruel joke or if for once he would actually get a little more than the crumbs
that he usually picked from the floor and plates after everyone else had had
their fill. As he grabbed the first pieces
of food he shuddered a bit knowing he would pay this moment at a later time.
Life at the Black House was not easy for the guards let
alone the men who were held captive within its walls. The labor camp was more of a last resort for
the region’s men who were deemed useless.
If you were a soldier in the Empress’s army who got in trouble for one thing
or another being assigned to the Black House was your punishment and possible
chance at redemption. At least that’s
what the women were told if they were transferred to the Black House. In reality many knew they would never leave the
god forsaken place, but rather than face a life on the run from the Red Army,
most chose to do as they were commanded so that they at least survived. For the men that were held within the walls
of the Black House it was an even crueler twist of fate. This was their last chance at life. The men at the Black House were considered
failures in many regards. The only thing left for them to do was forced labor
and if they could not accomplish that then they were no longer of any use to
the Empress of China or her people.
