Uproar

by Michael W. Huard

  UPROAR

  A Mystical Slayers Short Story

  - By Michael W. Huard

  Copyright © Michael W. Huard 2018

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

  The novel is entirely a work of fiction Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. For requests, information, and more contact Michael W. Huard at michaelwhuard@gmail.com.

  Available in ebook.

  First edition: 2018

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Prologue

  Entering the 31st century, America has become only a glimmer of what it once was. There are still pockets of life, but mostly they’re found only in the wreckage of past religious, chemical, and nuclear wars; yet time heals most wounds.

  There are still those that prosper; those being the fifty percent of people that are governed under the Y-Wood Corporation.

  Life in itself is a severe struggle for the rest of the population, unless you keep hidden.

  Only the very upper echelon thrive. There is no middle or lower class; not anymore.

  The families of old have become gatherings of people, knows as clans, and these people did all they could just to stay alive in such a dystopian country.

  For one such family, their leader was a portly black fellow, getting up there in age, who took great pride in the days when he was once a death match fighter in the arena. You see, the Y-Wood Corporation loved gladiator-type fights. They gave them a chance to rid the population of the poor and weak, or better yet, to showcase their many robotic creations and prove them to be the most highly advanced Corporation in the world.

  The older clan head had been a fighter way back. But now, he just led a bunch of good ordinary people trying to make it day by day.

  Maurice was his name. He was never considered a great fighter, but he endured many matches and learned many things. Above all else, he didn’t die.

  People would gather around him for protection, and today, his clan made their home in New York.

  He was a father to many and a protector to the rest, but he often had to watch all with a stern hand. Some even feared him. His motto was “You and everyone around you must do your job.” Together, if the clan stuck to his motto, life would go on.

  If you went out and gathered food through bartering or theft, you did it. If you cooked the food, that’s what you did. If you stood guard over the clan’s makeshift home, then that’s what you did. If you took care of the children, then that’s what you were supposed to do. If you went out and hunted on the dangerous streets or in the wilderness, then that was simply your job.

  It seemed simple enough, and Maurice kept things in good order.

  However, for one young girl, the cute, curly brown-haired lass by the name of Brin, she whose job was to prepare the food for the family, well, in her mind, she had the wrong job.

  Quite often, Brin would sneak off and watch the boys and men learn how to fight.

  She was drawn to the combat and always hoped that one day, she would have a chance to learn self-defense skills beyond the basics that Maurice had taught them. She wanted to make a difference in the world. She did not want to simply survive day by day.

  This is her story. One where she becomes more than anyone else thought she could be. All because she believed in herself.

  Chapter One

  She was just a little girl, but in no way did that stop her from watching her brothers and their friends fighting one another in the clan’s basement this very day.

  Each member of their extended family had a job to do, and Maurice often let them know by yelling at them to do their daily jobs.

  Brin’s job was a simple food prep, but the food was already prepared today so she spent her time sitting on the basement stairs watching the boys go at it instead.

  But this time, she got caught. Maurice opened the door above and saw the youngster doing what she should not be doing.

  “What have I told you, Brin?” he yelled at her. “In order to survive in this crazy land, we must all work together as a family. Each person has something they must do, and no one should be worrying about or concentrating on other things.”

  He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her down the stairs.

  “If this is truly what you’re interested in, let’s see what you got. Maybe a good beating will change your mind.”

  Brin’s brother, Raphael, immediately looked up and was not at all happy to see his sister being brought into the mix. He immediately pleaded to the clan master, “Please, sir, don't make her do this. The fighting is brutal.”

  Raphael himself was a young teenager, a dark haired wiry kid with blue eyes. He was a tough shit, and the boys that fought downstairs with him were just as mean.

  But Maurice was out to prove a point. “Raf, you back away.” He then pointed to one of the other boys to step forward. Stein, a tall boy with curly blond hair, came to him.

  The clan master pushed the small girl before Stein and announced, “She’s been continually sneaking down and watching you guys for a while now, and I know you guys all knew this. It’s not her job. She thinks she might want to fight, to maybe be a guard or a dangerous hunter. Well, okay, let us see if this is something Brin is good at.”

  The curly headed boy suddenly got a cocky grin on his face. He motioned for the young girl before him to try to get in a shot. Brin swallowed hard, nervous and shaking.

  She’d only had a little training, mainly just a few self-defense lessons from Maurice, but this was her moment and she had to prove herself.

  She went right at Stein, reaching out to punch him in the throat. The older boy caught her fist in midair, squeezing it and laughing loud. “Ha! Nice try, kid!”

  But, before he did anything else, Brin surprised everyone by ducking under his arm and spinning around to the back of the boy. She twisted her arm out of his grip and clamped both her hands together around one of his legs before lifting it up off the floor.

  She then hooked her foot behind the boy’s leg and dropped backwards, perfectly executing her tackling takedown.

  The two other boys, one being her brother, the other a chunky kid who was dead set on lifting weights daily, were surprised to say the least. The stocky kid pounded on his muscular chest, getting right into the impromptu girl-on-guy fight.

  Stein was too big for a much smaller Brin to hold down, so as she tried to get the upper hand, he tossed her onto the floor. He then stood up and kicked the girl in the side. His smart-ass grin had long since vanished.

  Brin yelped out in pain.

  The clan leader again motioned to the tall Stein to continue on. This time, he went to stomp right down on the young girl’s chest. As his hefty foot descended, the speedy girl rolled out of the way and spun her body all the way around, kicking out with her feet to sweep Stein to his backside. That there was a brilliant move. Even Maurice made note of it.

  Stein got back up once more with anger painted all over his face. “You stinking shit! I’m going to smack your ass real good,” he proclaimed, charging at Brin.

  He kicked out at Brin, hitting her in the stomach, and then he grabbed her by the throat. She tried to fight off his grip but was having no success. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Maurice stepped in and grabbed Stein’s hand, swiping it away from the young girl’s neck.

  “I have seen enough,” he announced.

&nb
sp; “Let’s see what she can do with Bobbin over there. Come on over, muscle boy.”

  The stocky teen charged right at Brin and tried to grab her in a bear hug, but she kneed him in the nuts and then stomped on his foot. With the boy doubled over in pain, she moved away to create some space between them.

  As soon as he straightened up, she bolted at him with another kick, but he caught it in mid-flight and flung the girl around in a circle like a rag doll.

  He then threw her to the cement flooring, making her scream out in agony.

  Howling with laughter, he walked over and sat on top of her curled up body, smacking her face from side to side with the palm of his hand.

  Raphael leaped on top of the boy, knocking him flying off of Brin, and both guys started to grapple one another in an all-out battle right then and there.

  “That’s it! Enough!” yelled Maurice as he pulled the boys apart.

  Holding both boys at arm’s length, he then declared, “I have to admit, you got spunk, kid.”

  He went to her and put his hand on her shoulder. “Probably too much to be wasted on food prep. So, from now on, you get the train with the guys, and you get to train with me personally.”

  Brin was shocked but thrilled. She jumped up and down in excitement before leaping up on the clan master’s chest. Maurice caught her in his arms and a big smile appeared on his face.

  “Okay, okay,” he said, giving her a big hug. “You’re going to ruin my reputation of being a mean old man.”

  The other boys shook their heads, but Raphael had a grin a mile wide as he gave his sister a well-earned high five.

  Brin went on to train with the boys, as well as privately beside the former gladiator Maurice, for several years of her life.

  But that was only the start of what would turn out to be a great adventure.

  She would go on to learn hand-to-hand combat, grappling, and weaponry. Living on the streets of New York City was never safe, so she was also schooled in the ability of staying in the shadows, much like the legendary Ninja of ancient times.

  This is where she thrived the most. Since she was not a large woman, she had to make use of spying and other methods of trickery to stay alive and prosper.

  As she finally reached the age of sixteen, she had become a well-disciplined young woman.

  But this was not the life she dreamed of living. She had learned how to assassinate anyone that caused any issues for her clan. She even studied deadly poisons and various weak spots where she could drive her weapon into the body of another human being. But she still wanted more out of life.

  The clan had very few firearms. Such weapons had been illegal in America for many, many years. Only the Y-Wood Corporation was allowed to possess them.

  So, for Brin, the sword became her weapon of choice.

  She often wondered if this was all there was to life, struggling to survive as she continued helping the clan to live on.

  It all changed one afternoon. While she was grabbing some necessary items for the family down an alley, she overheard a few people talking.

  They spoke of a Sisterhood of elite women; those who were out to stop the tyranny in the country. These ladies were making a name for themselves all across the land. They were Hope Bringers. The overheard chatter brought about a revelation within her, that she too wanted to become one of these women. She wanted to become a Mystical Slayer.

  Chapter Two

  Brin quickly found out that one does not just become a Mystical Slayer. The word on the street was that each girl was born and bred into a society of these futuristic, freedom fighting, ass kicking warriors. No one in her clan knew any of these women, and there was no other way for her to contact them.

  She decided the only way to perhaps get noticed by these legendary sisters, was to create an uproar. She had to make a name for herself.

  The time had come for her to leave her clan.

  The family were all sad to see her go, in particular her brother.

  On the day she was due to leave, she and her brother met and discussed the future together.

  “Raf, I’ve always loved being your sister. Thank you for watching out for me and sticking up for me whenever you could. The time has come for me to set out into the world and become all I have ever dreamed of being. I want to make a difference in the world!”

  Raphael gave her a hug. “You’ll always be my baby sister, Brinny. I remember that day long ago when you swept the feet out from underneath my buddy. Oh my, right then, I knew you were destined to be more than just a cook.” He took a long breath and added, “I really don’t want you to go, but I want to wish you the best of luck and tell you that I love you. I hope you find what you’re looking for, my beloved sister.”

  Brin smiled and hugged Raf once more. “I’ll miss you, too, very much. I hope one day we meet again. Take care, brother.”

  ***

  Brin made her way to the busiest part of the city. She knew that’s where the action would be, and if she was truly going to make a name for herself, that’s where it was going to happen.

  She was an attractive woman, so she needed to be on high alert, especially as her route became more populated by those on the streets. Danger was lurking around every corner for a single traveler.

  When she reached a sector with even more people, she decided to walk down the opposite side of the road where it was less crowded. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she was jumped. In the commotion, she couldn’t see how many of them there were, but there must have been at least two or three of them. They were all men, that much she knew for sure. They grabbed her by the arms, and one put a burlap sack over her head while the others hoisted her up off the ground. Before she had a chance to fight back, they tossed her in some sort of a van.

  Then, something was injected into her neck and her world went black.

  The next thing she knew, she woke up in some sort of hospital, with one male and one female bustling about her. She was, as she now realized, chained to a bed.

  These people each had some sort of a logo on their jacket. She would come to remember that logo, but had no idea what it represented—not yet anyway. The label was a duel set of connecting circles with the letters CPP in its middle.

  CPP? She wondered what on earth that might stand for.

  Unable to break her bonds, it soon became clear the workers had given her some sort of sedative. She felt very lightheaded and sleepy. As she attempted to force her body to fight against the drugs, she overheard some muffled words being spoken between the workers.

  The man explained, “What we’re doing here is something we now have no say in changing.”

  The woman countered, “This was not what I expected to be involved in.”

  “Well, if you say or do anything, we’ll both end up out on the street with our throats slit.”

  Before the woman could respond, the man went on. “Get the wires in her so the surgery can begin. Then, just go home and live your life, Stella. At least we get a life being part of all this.”

  When the woman then asked for the implant, Brin felt a sudden rush of anxiety but still played like she was out of it.

  Eventually, after poking and prodding her with wires and needles, both workers left the room. What was to come next? She feared it would be something bad, and she in no way planned to stay around to find out what it was. She struggled to get free once again, but she still could not break her bindings.

  Seeing that her patient was now fully awake, the woman reappeared before her.

  “I can’t let this happen to you. I’ve seen enough,” was all she said before she released Brin from her chains.

  “Take this,” she said as she held up a syringe. “It’s a shot of adrenaline to get you going again.” Brin, after being untied, had no choice but to trust the so-called nurse and took the shot.

  “Run now!” the woman insisted. “Go left and down the hall, then right. There’s a door you can leave through there
. Go, run quickly.”

  Brin ran out the room and down the hall, her sudden burst of energy leading her onward at a great speed. Suddenly crashing into something solid, she looked up to see a tall security guard dressed in dark blue clothing with that same logo on his chest. He squinted his eyes at the young woman in a blue hospital gown and asked, “Where will you be going, young lady? It looks as though you are a patient, so I think you better get back to your room.”

  He then pulled out some sort of a pistol from his side holster and pointed it at Brin.

  Chapter Three

  No way was she turning back to the freak show she had just left.

  “I had to go to the bathroom, but I don’t know where it is,” she calmly fibbed.

  The guard, who had a creepy mustache draped over his upper lip, seemed puzzled but pointed back down the hall. “You have a bathroom in your room. Get back there now!”

  She continued to speak softly as she slowly crept toward the guard. “Could you help me? I’m feeling very lightheaded and dizzy.”

  With her eyes focused on the gun, Brin latched one hand around the guard’s wrist while her other hand twisted the tip of the gun out of his grasp. The ugly man reached out to grab her.

  “What in the world are you doing, you stupid girl?” he blurted out in a panic.

  Brin ducked under his reach and swiveled around behind him before kicking the back of his knee out. The guard buckled forward and landed on his hands and knees with a thud.

  Giving the guard no time to recover, she reached over his back and snapped his head to the side. She wasted no time in finding out if he was dead or not and continued her sprint down the hall.

  She was nervous yet determined, but as she prepared to exit the building, a tall man with a crooked nose and spectacles—definitely one with a German-like appearance—stepped out before her.

  “Well, well,” he said, rather amused. “Such a pretty little thing you are. I love your pouty little lips and your lovely eyes. Where would you be going in your tiny smock dress?”