Uproar

by Michael W. Huard

  The scary looking man had a pen and a clipboard clenched between his bony fingers. As the pen lifted and pointed at the young girl, she paused to study him, preparing to defend herself once again.

  He gave her a wide grin; apparently he cared, but it looked much more like a fake smile to Brin.

  “I think it’s time for your surgery, my dear.”

  Brin had no interest in engaging with this man. More importantly, she could hear another set of hurried footsteps coming down the hall. As she turned and ran out of the building at full speed, the doctor with the crooked nose did nothing to try to stop her.

  ***

  Over the next few weeks, Brin spent her time scouting the grounds of this new hospital place. She found out what the “CPP” meant when she learned the logo belonged to a very odd project called “The Change Princess Project.” These people were taking pretty girls and altering them with cyber mechanisms and brain alterations before brainwashing them into so-called “Perfect Companions” and shipping them off to Chinese men who desired obedient American women. It made her sick!

  Brin made it her goal to bring these people down. Such disgusting transformations made her cringe, and she would not let another young woman face such deformity ever again.

  The pretty brown-haired woman with rare violet colored eyes had grown up on the streets. This gave her an advantage as she sought out refuge and food.

  She stole her meals and found an abandoned apartment not too far from the hospital, which meant she could easily make her way back and forth as she watched over all the strange goings on.

  Yet street life was never easy.

  On return from spying one afternoon, two men jumped her as she entered her makeshift home.

  Brin had accumulated a few items inside her little place, and she wasn’t about to give them up to these street urchins.

  She pushed the two attackers away and backed up to the far corner of the mostly empty single-room apartment. The guys thought it was highly amusing how this young woman had a little spunk in her fight. One of the men, a shorter Asian fellow with a beanie cap on, clapped at her. “Yes, girl,” he said cockily. “Back right up to your bed over there. Then we can have you together.”

  The other attacker was a dark skinned man, perhaps a mixture of many races. He licked his lips and looked to his sidekick. With nothing more than a silent nod, both began to move in on Brin.

  Reaching up to a shelf on which she had placed an old jagged pipe, she prepared to defend herself against the approaching men. The darker-skinned assailant, who had long greasy, black hair and three piercings above his left eye, grinned an ugly smile before calling out, “She’s a feisty one!” While keeping his eyes on Brin, he reached over his shoulder and drew a curved sword out from behind his back. “What do I have here? Ha! You want to play that way, little girl? Feel free to come on over here and taste my blade.”

  His ugly pal was no better in appearance, wearing mostly rags with dirty, messy hair falling all over his face. However, as he moved toward her, she did notice he walked with a limp and looked like he had an injured leg. The little weasel lunged forward and tried to slice into her, but she deflected his advance with her metal pipe. Taking a step back, she then spun back around and swung her heavy weapon directly into the man’s face. The pipe connected with a clang as it hit him hard in the cheekbone, causing him to drop to the floor at her feet. The limping man rushed in to grab her. Whipping her body around to face the second assailant, she kneed him hard in the solar plexus and smiled as he too collapsed to the ground.

  The first guy was now crawling at her, dragging his sword along the floor behind him. Brin hopped to the left and circled about his backside to get herself in position. Using every ounce of power she could muster, she rammed her jagged pipe into his carotid artery. Blasts of bright red blood splattered in all directions across the apartment floor and walls. The man slouched down and came to rest in a pool of his own blood.

  The crippled man was up, staring in awe at this woman before him. “Just let me go. I don’t know who you are, but you’re tough. It was his idea to attack you and take your stuff.”

  Brin shook her head. “You came here on your own accord, and you will pay for attacking me!” She then reached down and scooped the dead fellow’s sword into her palm.

  Wielding the curved blade through the air, she threatened the terrified man to within an inch of his life. But eventually, she let him go.

  Chapter Four

  Brin learned through daily spying that Doctor Von Stockheim was the one responsible for these horrible kidnappings and transformations of young women.

  Nowadays, the city itself had been left in a wreckage from the past changing wars. America was now ruled by a lot of rich men and robotics called the Y-Wood Corporation. These people had the wealth and the power in robotic soldiers to govern the entire nation.

  Brin needed to stick to her goals, one of which was to eventually become a Mystical Slayer, but for the time being, her objective was to bring down this Change Princess Project.

  She had to show everybody she was capable of taking down this German doctor. By doing so, she could gain a reputation in the streets so that one day, just one day, hopefully, she would be noticed by these mystical women.

  The big Corporation would send its flyers out and about every so often, so most people had to keep a low profile. Drones were deadly for any non-law followers.

  There was also the aspect of robots constantly patrolling and searching the area that she had to be mindful of.

  Over the course of several weeks, Brin started to make a little name for herself. She helped the weak and tended to the poor, all between spying sessions on Doctor Stockheim.

  She met people in the city that were just trying to keep their heads above water, but she also met some that had higher hopes for a better future.

  People needed more supplies, more food, more medical help, and she did her best to gather these things. Her new-found street friends also helped her to find food and continued to spread her good name. She was the night girl; the one who took care of the weak.

  Her biggest non-Corporation connection was a dressmaker named Dermont. He was an older fellow, a tailor who not only helped people fix clothing but also helped street people to find basic clothing to wear. He, too, was a big hater of the Y-Wood Corporation.

  Nothing hurt him more than seeing robots walking about thinking they were higher up the pecking order than humans. Word had spread fast that this young girl named Brin was helping people, and the two of them eventually would meet up.

  After finding out the time when a van was scheduled to arrive containing captured young women, Brin waited around the bend of a nearby building before the old hospital.

  She covered her face with a mask put together by Dermont. As the van pulled up, the two back doors swung open to reveal five young girls, probably no more than fourteen years old, all chained together.

  Seeing them being yanked out of the van one by one, Brin knew she had to do something.

  Two guards, one of which was the driver, held laser pistols at their sides as they ushered the girls onward. Brin had very little time to act. She slipped closer; using a nearby steam vent coming out of the ground for cover, then launched her attack by slashing out at the first guard. His neck burst open, and a crimson-red explosion painted the surrounding area in blood. The already nervous young girls slowly descended into panic.

  When the driver pointed his laser gun at Brin, she quickly jumped back behind the steam vent and seemingly disappeared without a trace. Confused, the driver spun around in circles with his gun pointed ahead of him. “Hey, you out there, come out. You are going to pay for what you have just done! Show yourself,” he shouted.

  With no sign of any further movement, the lone guard decided he had to get the women inside the building. He wrapped his arms around the group and pushed them toward the doorway. Just as his trembling hand reached for the door
, the mysterious woman appeared at his side. Smirking menacingly at the guard, she immediately threw an egg-shaped object towards the guard’s face. The egg burst open upon impact and released a storm of black pepper all over the man’s face, blinding him and making him scream out in agony.

  The guard, now unable to see, took his gun and started shooting blindly all about himself. Brin called to the young girls, “Drop down, stay low,” as she ran left, then right, cutting angles and dodging lasers before slamming into the security guard and driving her sword into his chest.

  Brin then grabbed his keys and unlocked the girls. “Run! Go! Run as fast as you can…that way, hurry!” There was no time to discuss anything else because another vehicle had just pulled up, and the tall German doctor, Von Stockheim, was just stepping out of the passenger side.

  “What on earth is going on here?” he asked, looking highly concerned. He wore a long brown trench coat and thin glasses perched on the end of his nose. Brin noticed a gun suddenly appeared in his hand.

  In a strong German accent, he asked, “What are you trying to do here? Are you meddling in things that you shouldn’t be? I could shoot you right now. Remove your face covering and show me who you are.”

  Brin answered his question by yelling out, “I am your worst nightmare.” She then made a move towards the hospital van by leaping high in the air and somersaulting behind it. The other young women had already taken Brin’s advice and could be seen running down the road.

  The doctor fired a laser bullet at Brin, which lodged into the vehicle’s front fender and melted a large hole it. He then yelled out, “Come out, come out, wherever you are. I know you’re hiding behind the van.”

  Then, from around the other side of the van, Brin threw a metal star-like object directly at the doctor’s face. Hurtling toward the doctor at full speed, the metal spikes sliced through the tip of the doctor’s ear, taking part of his flesh with it as it sailed to the ground behind him. The doctor flew backwards from the brief impact, cupping his ear as he cried out in agony.

  Brin ran like the wind, and the doctor saw no more of her—at least not for now.

  ***

  The next step in the girl’s revenge tour against the evil Dr. Von Stockheim was researching the exact time and location of how and when the Chinese men would be coming to discuss or pick up their women for the Change Princess Project.

  Her answer was a party hosted by the German doctor, and through her own investigations, she knew when and where the next one was being held.

  In the meantime, she met a stray dog on the streets and didn’t have the heart to leave the thing on its own. She brought him back to her secluded apartment.

  There was much danger in making friendships out here on the streets of New York. The country was a harsh environment, and most people wouldn’t think twice about killing someone if they had food for the taking.

  But she wanted company, so a dog it was. He was a rust colored animal of medium size, although somewhat under-fed, yet he still had a good disposition. She called him “Bud” due to the lack of having any better ideas for a name, but she did not regret taking him in one bit.

  With the party fast approaching, this was where Brin felt she could make the most noise in acting out against this strange doctor and the people he associated with. Today, she discussed her plan with Bud.

  “I’m going to crash their party. I’m going to let all of them know that what they’re doing is wrong. And those responsible, I’m going to make sure they pay. How’s that sound, Bud?”

  The dog seemed happy enough with her plan and showed his approval by snuggling his head onto her lap.

  “I’m going to make sure they know who I am and what I represent.”

  The dog again seemed fine with the idea and looked up at Brin with his big brown eyes. “You like my plan, don’t you, buddy,” Brin said, smiling at her companion.

  “I suppose, since you’ve been such a good listener, we probably ought to go out and pick you up some food.” As soon as she began to stand, Bud was right up with her. They both left the small apartment and went out shopping.

  The outdoor market was only ever open for business during the daytime. It was much safer that way.

  An area with the smell of fresh-baked bread caught both of their attention. “I can smell it, too,” Brin said, looking at Bud as he walked beside her with his wet nose sniffing the air.

  Once they had picked up a few things from the square, they turned to make their way back down the street towards home. Bud suddenly looked to the sky and let out a small cry. As Brin followed his gaze to find out what had spooked him, a man jumped down from a fire exit ladder above and landed on top of her, knocking her to the ground. Bud, seeing his mistress was clearly in trouble, started barking like crazy at the man.

  As the stranger pinned his weight down on top of Brin, she could just about see strands of red hair and freckles under the shadow of his sweatshirt hood.

  He stared down at her and said, “I got you. I’ve been watching you and how you’ve been thinking you’re so good, but I gotcha.”

  Without any warning, he punched Brin square in the face. Dazed by the blow, she had only a moment to try and counter his body weight and defend herself; another hit may very well knock her unconscious.

  He sat high on her shoulders, bearing his weight down onto her upper body. Using one smooth maneuver, she brought both her feet up behind his back and hooked her heels under his armpits before bucking the man off balance and propelling him over to the side. Now free of his weight, she then flipped herself over and spun out from underneath him.

  She tried to get up, but he grabbed her again and twisted her to the ground once more. This dude was tough.

  Bud now came to Brin’s aid, snarling and biting at the man’s legs.

  This was enough of distraction that the man struck out at the dog, giving Brin enough time to wrap her legs around the red-head’s neck and lock on as she tried to strangle him. The man wriggled himself free from his position beside Brin on the street, but she was quicker this time and drove her knee straight into his ribcage.

  As he tried pushing her leg away, Brin grabbed his hand and circled around his arm. She then grabbed her own wrist and twisted his arm like a chicken wing. The guy cried out in agony as she swiveled his shoulder and arm around until it snapped loudly.

  Due to this fight, commotion started up all around them and curious people were now approaching the skirmish.

  This could potentially put her identity in grave jeopardy, so Brin had to make a run for it, closely followed by Bud as they left the scene.

  Chapter Five

  The time had come for Brin to make the most important move of her life.

  The hospital had become more secure, and drop offs were heavily patrolled with more guards and tighter security. She figured it would have to be at a party where the Chinese diplomats would come in to receive their restructured human cyborg women. Yup, she had figured it out. After all her time spying and researching, this is where she would need to attend and make a stand.

  As the night finally arrived, she sat in her apartment with Bud contemplating the final plan when a big rat scurried across the floor in front of them.

  Bud went after it immediately, and the thing tried to escape but the dog was too fast. He grabbed it in his mouth and thrashed his head about from side to side before ripping into it.

  Almost like a human after a victory, he made his way back to his master expecting a reward. Brin patted him on his head and praised him.

  “Not much of a life we have here, is it, Bud? But you know sometimes, it’s not where you live or how much you have, it’s what you do in life that makes a difference to the people. Compassion and good acts. That stuff really hits you right in the core of your spirit.”

  Bud snuggled his face on her lap. He seemed like a good enough listener.

  “Tonight is my moment. The question is, how am I going to attend that
party?”

  Bud looked up at her with his big brown eyes but didn’t seem to have the answer. “I don't think they’re going to let dogs in,” Brin added.

  “I’m going to spend what little money we have left on a nice dress and a new pair of shoes, and when the time is right at the party, I’m gonna isolate that German doctor and I’m gonna put an end to him. The awful things he is doing to all those young women…it will be over.”

  Bud again placed his head on her lap.

  “I hope to make it back to you, and when we get back to normal, we’re going to move. We’re going to find a better place to live, and then we’re going to somehow locate those freedom fighting women and join them. Would you like that, Bud? Do you think they would allow a nice doggy like you in the mix?”

  ***

  She bought a green sleeveless dress that had a fancy sparkle to it, and although her shoes were not new, they were clean, black in color, and they had a nice heel. To finish off the look, she let her long brown curls cascade down her shoulders and applied a little lipstick to her big pouty lips.

  Brin was a beautiful young woman indeed.

  It was not overly difficult to get into the big bash; her training had taught her to be coy in these situations. Her trick for tonight was to latch herself onto the arm of a wealthy man for the evening.

  Earlier, Brin had found out where most foreign guests were staying and had made it a point to show up there and catch the eye of a wealthy man. It didn’t take long for one to approach her and try to make her his own. She played the part well and successfully became his companion for the evening.

  Inside the so-called company party, there was a bevy of Chinese men, perhaps a dozen or so, and other men from other countries too.