A Beautiful Flower in the Black House

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.

Trust (Part Four)

Region: Key West

Lyn, Jack & Cassidy

As I walked back into the house, the very one I had ran from early this morning in such panic and distress, the first thing I noticed was an amazing smell hanging in the air.  The lights were dim and a bit of music played softly in the background.  I turned questioningly toward Cassidy who was standing behind me in the doorway; she brushed past me leaning toward the wall and flipped on the switch.  “Don’t worry loverboy, Lyn will be back later tonight she’s on duty right now and well we gotta keep our appearances up you know? Are you hungry?”  She didn’t wait for my response as she walked out of the hallway into what I knew was the kitchen from having been there the last few nights.  I stepped into the kitchen and spotted some covered pans on the stove that were simmering and puffing steam into the air.  At least now I know where that wonderful smell was coming from, I thought to myself as I surveyed the area and watched Cassidy rummage around in the freezer. 

Retrospect - A Nathaniel Alistair Adventure

Region: Unknown

Nathaniel Alistair

Retrospect

(Retrospect was a 5 part series centered around one of Nathaniel "Nathan" Alistair's adventures.  
The story is combined in its entirety here so that readers do not need to jump from one part to another)

It was dark and Nathan was getting tired of waiting. He had been squatting down behind a row of trash cans for nearly an hour now, patiently, his legs were getting very sore. He could feel a tingly and burning sensation crawling up his thighs as his muscles begged for a reprieve. As an added insult he happened to be standing in a small puddle and could finally feel the moisture creeping up through his boots and into his socks.  The gang of girls just a few yards away from him had been loitering and doing nothing of any importance for nearly an hour now and Nathan had just about had enough. He shifted his body just a bit to find a more comfortable position and as he did so he accidentally bumped into the can closest to him, causing it to make a small bit of noise. “Shit” he thought to himself as he held his breath.

The girls in the alley, five of them in total, all roughly around the age of 16, were smoking and telling stories about the good old days had gone quiet the moment they heard an unexpected sound. “What was that?” one asked the others looking in the direction of the trashcans. “I don’t know” replied another. They all turned together to face the row of cans on the right side of the alley with their inquisitive eyes squinting into the darkness. Nathan began to panic, he looked left and right, trying to figure a way out of this mess. As he studied the area he stayed motionless, breathing ever so lightly. “Should I go check it out?” Another girl piped up. “We can all go together” responded one of them. Nathan decided it was now or never. He had to make a run for it. He squatted down further prepared to spring up and run for his life as the girls drew closer. But luckily for him, it was at that moment, when all hell broke loose. Across the alley from him another row of empty cans banged and fell as a loud caterwaul pierced the night followed by a symphony of cats and girls all screaming at the same time.

Nathan didn’t move an inch and it may have been that inaction that saved him right then and there.

Retrospect (The Conclusion)

Region: Unknown

Nathaniel Alistair

Retrospect

(The Conclusion)

Nathan stared at the soldier and then glanced at the weapon she had trained on him and then he just shook his head smiling.  “What’s so funny she asked him?”  He looked down at the picture in his hand and folded it while bringing it up to his pocket.  “What are you doing?” the woman asked as he slid the picture into his pocket.  “Keep your hands where I can see them” she demanded.  Nathan looked her in the eyes as he took his hand out of his pocket.  “I was just laughing at the irony of my situation” he said showing her both his empty hands.  “A guy knows when he is beat.” He put his hands down by his sides and asked “So what now?  Is this part where you turn me in or is this part where you drag me off to some slave market and get paid beyond your wildest dreams.” 

All the King's Men

Region: The Badlands

Sally Haley

All the King's Men

(One Shot)

Sally wiped the bar down with a dirty rag that was saturated in stale beer and whiskey. Looking over the hazy air towards the dirty window that showed a hint of the evening sun, she pondered better times. She thought of days when a band played loud music intermingling with the sound of men and women laughing in unison as they drank. She remembered times when patrons partied until the night drew to a close and the dawn began. She envisioned couples dancing really close together, breathing each other in, not knowing that things would soon change way beyond any of their darkest dreams. Sally continued to work the old wood into a soft shine as she remembered yesterday, lost deep in thought. “Evening Sally.” Sally glanced up at the young girl standing at the bar, all dressed in black, the usual uniform for the town’s volunteer female army, an army that now held women of all ages and ill repute, especially those that felt it necessary to hunt men down and use them for breeding. This was something Sally did not agree with one bit but as with the trait that goes with a bar owner you keep your opinions quiet and smile, just listening, never making comment or scaring off the paying customers, no matter who they were.

Retrospect (Part Four)

Region: Unknown

Nathaniel Alistair

Retrospect

(Part Four)

Nathan stood quietly in the darkness confused by what had just happened. A billion different thoughts ran through his head at the same time, most of them bad and handful good. As he listened to the soldiers moving throughout the rest of the house he kneeled on the floor, once again hiding behind the bed just to be safe. While he waited there in silence, he narrowed his scrambled thoughts down to the two most obvious possibilities about his run in with the blonde soldier; she was either one of those 8th Day sympathizers he had heard stories about or she had plans of her own for him. It no longer surprised Nathan how women reacted these days when men were involved, not to mention how tempting the black market male slave trade was. Someone one like him could make a woman wealthy for life. Either way Nathan decided he was not sticking around to find out what the soldier’s motives were. At the first chance he got he was getting out of the house and getting as far away from here as he possibly could.“

A Long Wait Between Trains

Region: New Spain

Emilia Renee Coronado Cortes

A Long Wait Between Trains

(Part one)

As the train rumbled along its intended path she sat and stared out at the passing landscape watching it turn from flat beige fields and grey desolate towns to dark cities and then back again.  Every once in a while the fleeting blue horizon would offer up something other than the scorched war torn remnants of yesteryear.  On occasion she would see a sprawling region that was vibrant with life and activity and she yearned to stop, hoping that she could have a few moments to wander through it.  She sighed to herself when her imaginings where whisked away by yet another annoying interruption.  “Your mother wants to see you” came a heavily accented man’s voice.  She turned away from train window and eyed the man.  He was an older man with grey hair and noticeable posture issues.  “What does she want now?” she asked in a flat monotone voice with a slight accent of her own.  “I was not told what or why Emilia, I was just told to come get you.” he responded intent to be done with conversation.   She stared at him for a moment or so and then resentfully got up from her seat to follow him.  He walked a few feet in front of her wordlessly as they traversed the train’s cars one after another.

 

At each doorway they passed through leading to the next car stood two fully armed female soldiers.  None of them ever made eye contact with Emilia.  It was something her mother had strictly forbidden and it made her angry knowing this.  Day in and day out she was surrounded by distant, cold, calculating brown eyes, at least for the most part, occasionally someone with green or blue eyes stood in uniform, but none the less they were all no more alive than the furniture around them.  As she stared at yet another pair of stoic soldiers she did not realize the man in front of her had stopped and Emilia ran right smack into him nearly knocking him over.  “I am so sorry Victor.” She exclaimed as she helped to steady him.  “It is ok, I am alright.  Do not worry my dear.” He responded clasping her hands allowing a small smile to pass over his lips.  Emilia smiled back.  The moment did not last long because the next door opened and her mother’s voice came booming out of the room.  “Why are you taking forever?” Emilia’s mother was always one to over exaggerate a situation, this time was not to be excluded.  “Victor I sent you to get her nearly an hour ago.”  Victor swallowed his smile and hurried through the door toward Emilia’s mother.  Emilia herself made no point to rush into another one of her mother’s boring lectures about the way of the world and whatever other droll advice she had to offer. Instead she proceeded to walk as slow as humanly possibly into her mother’s presence, knowing full well it would get under the Queen’s skin.