ONE NATION: A Post Apocalyptic, Dystopian Saga

by Michael W. Huard

  The woman gave her a small smile. “I appreciate the offer, I really do, but the problem is more than meets the eye. My husband is still on the island.”

  Karma was confused and about to ask more, but then she heard shouting. She focused on the shoreline and water again.

  It looked like an auction. The newly arrived people started bidding on the teenagers in the water. Juan pointed to each one as men and women raised their hands to bid the amounts he yelled out.

  Karma’s stomach lurched.

  When each was offered, they would step forward and many of the onlookers would walk up and study their bodies in great detail. They even removed the sacks from the teenagers’ heads to look into their eyes and pinch their ears. They fondled their body parts. It was just so creepy.

  One older man looked at a younger man and declared, “I would like to have his nose.”

  Another announced, “I want his eyes.”

  Yet another bidder, a woman, called out, “I’d prefer her breasts!”

  More bids were offered, some for various other body parts.

  Karma knew something was way off here. It was then some of the captives jumped into the river to try to escape, but none made it far. They had been drugged and implanted with a control device, which paralyzed them, preventing them from escaping. All were dragged back before the village bidders.

  Then she saw something even more odd. The door of a large van opened and several doctors, all wearing blue scrubs and white masks, climbed out, pulling out and setting up a long table. With them was a woman. Barb Deville.

  A scream drew everyone’s attention. A young woman had started to run down the shoreline. Her control device seemingly didn’t function. She got about twenty feet away before a soldier shot her with a dart, dropping her to the ground. She was then dragged back towards the operating table. Headlights came on, brightly illuminating the area.

  Miggie grabbed Karma’s arm. “We have to go.”

  Karma looked back, not wanting to leave just yet. ‘We have to help her.”

  Miggie shook her head no.

  The wicked redhead, Barb, shook the girl, and then slapped her across the face several times to wake her up. The girl was then placed before all the doctors.

  A woman in the audience called out, “I have already paid for her. Don’t hurt her.” She ran up to the table as they strapped the teen down.

  Karma swallowed audibly. She looked at Miggie. “Really, we have to do something.”

  Miggie just shook her head. “There are too many of them. We need to go.”

  The sixty-year-old woman who had bought the girl earlier announced, “I want her pretty eyes, her teeth, and hair. I want to be young again. I’m ready for this. Take all my money, my land, my soul, but give me my winnings.”

  Karma growled and started toward the water, but Miggie grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “Are you nuts? We can’t do anything. Let’s go.”

  Karma finally listened.

  The woman ran off, Miggie all but dragging Karma with her.

  Karma kept talking though. “I feel so sick to see things like this happening in the world. I made a mistake. I already know it. I'm a fighter. That’s what I am. That’s what my sisters are. They’re the only ones who can make a difference in this crazy world. It’s them, the Mystical Slayers, who can change everything. I should have never left. You’re right. I do need to leave this place, to go back, but I will return and do everything in my power to help these people. I swear.”

  Miggie stopped to rest some and looked at Karma. “Listen. You have to stop talking, otherwise we will be heard and followed. We can talk later.”

  After traveling in the thick woods more, they came upon a rowboat that they took across a section of river, then downstream to another small island. Miggie had a little place there. It was a broken-down shack, to say the least, but it was cozy inside.

  The black as coal woman had all sorts of Wicca-like things within. Dead animals, strings of shells and beads, incense, beakers, pots, herbs, candles.

  “You will be safe here for the night,” explained Miggie. “In the morning, we’ll get you as far away from this place as possible.”

  Karma, still not ready to settle down, asked, “What do you mean he's still here? Your husband, I mean. Why don’t we get him to come with us and all leave?”

  Miggie shook her head. “It's not that easy.”

  Karma just sat there waiting for a better explanation.

  “He was so frustrated with our new Y-Wood government running around on their own, controlling everything. He still sees this place as a utopia.” She hung her head. “He’s one of them.”

  Karma swallowed hard at her statement, “Oh, my god! How can . . . How can he live with himself?”

  “It doesn’t matter. You have to get off the island. When dawn breaks, I'm going to help you get away. They’ll be searching for you. The hounds will be out.”

  Karma looked puzzled. “What do you mean?” She wondered how she would ever get any rest now. What hounds?

  They pair talked more into the night. Soon enough, her eyes were finally closing.

  In the morning, she was surprised to see that Miggie was not as old as she appeared. She had cleaned up, taken her layers of clothes off, and fixed her hair. She now looked to be no more than perhaps in her late forties.

  Miggie turned, seeing Karma awake. “Good morning. I have baked blueberry muffins and made a little sweet tea. You should not fear me.”

  They chatted some. Karma then learned a few more details about this mad isle.

  Several doctors from the mainland, as well as scientists and robotic experts, lived here. All came to this area at the start of the community. The older islanders were the first here, taking life into their own hands, escaping their war-torn cities.

  However, using the young people's bodies and organs for a life-extending purpose was beyond words.

  As she listened, Karma wanted to throw up.

  If she only had her sisters with her now . . . Oh man. Mahira would kick some serious ass, and Reagan and Jansa . . . She shook her head. How she wished they knew of this vileness.

  Miggie continued. “This place has the technology. They’re fighting Father Time. Anyone who wants to live here has to make a sacrifice and turn a cheek.”

  Karma could not hold back. “It's pathetic!”

  Miggie agreed. “Those who don't follow the law, well . . . They usually end up at the bottom of the river, while others are said to be sent back to the mainland . . . but I doubt they ever make it.”

  Karma fought her thoughts. “I don't just want to leave. I want to help you. I want to do something about your husband.”

  Miggie changed the subject. “You speak about your sisters, a gathering of women in Washington . . . Who are these people and why do you think they could help this island?”

  Karma was about to explain more, but suddenly, they heard a noise outside as a man yelled out. “Hey, monk woman, you seen a teen wandering out this way? Asian, strange tattoo . . . Anyone in there with you?”

  Miggie immediately ran and smudged some stuff on her face to make her look older, then she made Karma hide in a secret cellar below the floor, placing a rug over a trapdoor. She messed up her hair and played her role as the crazy witch, opening her door.

  “Nope. Can’t say I have seen anyone out here as of late. She’s not with me!”

  The man, a sturdy, tall, bald-headed fellow dressed in woodland colors, looked at Miggie, his buddies looking on. “She?” he contemplated. “How did you know it was a female? Never said that.”

  Another of the men, this one shorter with a full red beard, yelled, “Are you harboring her, crazy lady?”

  Miggie shook her head. “No. There is no one here. Come look for yourselves.”

  The men barged in, ransacking the place, tossing her stuff all about. They then went back outside and out back to look around. The place was an overgrown mess, the garden and its weeds scattered all over the
place. The leader called out, “We’d be searching for hours out here in this overgrown weed factory.” He turned to Miggie, who stood at the back door, watching, and pointed at her. “You’d better not be lying.”

  They searched for fifteen more minutes, finding nothing.

  The red-headed guy then announced, “There's no one about. I don't see any signs of anyone . . . Wait.” Back inside, he picked up two teacups. “What do we have here?”

  Miggie knew they were in trouble, so she ran out the front door to get them all to follow.

  The first man after her, who she now saw had a noticeably crooked and half-cropped ear, grabbed her wrist from behind. Miggie immediately rotated her arm inward and pulled it free, as all went out front.

  The bald guy growled, “Oh, so you're going to resist, huh? If that’s the way you want it, devil, you got it!”

  The redhead pulled out a curved knife with a thick blade. “You want some of this, freaky lady? I'll slice you into a million pieces.”

  A third tall, skinny guy took a fighting stance, ready to assist the other men now as well, but it just made Miggie smirk.

  The woman grabbed a well-placed walking stick, which was leaning against a nearby tree, and took a stance herself.

  The last of the four men, with a black, bowl-cut hairstyle, seemed to be the quiet, tough type. He had earrings in both ears and a strange nose piercing. He squinted a bit at the sunlight as he looked at the black woman.

  “She knows something,” he announced.

  The redhead added, “I think it's time we teach this voodoo woman a stinking lesson. Then we’ll throw her into the river for the eels.”

  The one with the crooked and cropped ear brushed sweat from his shiny head, and then pulled out a set of brass knuckles, sliding them over the fingers of his right hand, lifting it up and pointing at the black woman. “Tell us where she is or you’ll feel some real pain. Maybe you should call your ‘spirits’ to come help you.” He laughed.

  Everyone then turned to see the cabin door swing open, the young Mystical Slayer charging forward. “One spirit, at your service!” she yelled, jumping and kicking the earring man in the chest, sending him flying into a tree.

  The old woman tried to wave her off, but it did no good.

  Karma pulled out her blade and sliced the tallest and lankiest of the four now charging at her across his legs. She was quick. Really quick!

  The redhead and his knife then came at Miggie. She slapped his hand with her staff, then his leg. He buckled in pain, then straightened up, even more in a rage. He drove the knife right at her face, but she again slapped it away and spun the stick to hit him in the temple. He crumpled to the grass.

  The last guy, a big, bald boy, tried to hit her with his brass knuckles, but Miggie slid out of the way and swept her stick behind his feet, pulling up, knocking him to his backside. She then thrust her staff into an eye socket. He went out like a light as well.

  The earring guy, still conscious after being kicked, scrambled up from the ground and ran off down the river’s edge.

  Miggie looked about at the other three, all seriously hurt and bleeding, then to Karma. “Oh boy. Look what we’ve done. You really need to leave. There’s no time now. With what we have done, they will kill us both.”

  Karma nodded. “But you're going to have to come with me now. There’s no way around it. I can't leave you here.”

  The black woman smiled. “You make a good point.” She then blew out a breath, frustrated. “Hopefully we can come back so your friends can make a difference in this crazy place. Let me just grab a couple things.”

  The women headed back to the cabin. Miggie explained how she knew people who would help them. They had their own boats and would take them back to the inland . . . for a price.

  The men outside had picked themselves up and also left the area. The two women had no time to debate.

  They started on their way soon enough, jumping streams, ducking overgrown vegetation, and pushing aside cattails. Miggie warned, “Watch out for snakes as well. They love this swampy area.”

  They soon came to a little boating community. Miggie told Karma to wait as she went up a large dock and made her dealings to get them safe passage across the bay.

  Karma looked around, eyes narrowing. Some of the people here were missing limbs, others eyes, ears and fingers. All tried to cover these things up, but she saw the truth.

  She wanted to scream out, but there were no words. She took it all in and realized that there was no better place for her than with the sisterhood she had left. There truly was strength in numbers, just like Jansa always reminded everyone.

  She now wished to be back with them more than ever.

  As her mind went to thinking of Gavin, Karma knew that the overbearing issues the sisters faced daily sometimes got in the way of emotions one would expect. Like, perhaps, being sad over the young man’s tragic death. It could make one feel isolated, like she had. Yet, she now knew they cared. She was overacting, had overacted in leaving the sisterhood.

  Glancing up, she then heard and saw a flyer above her, zooming in. This can’t be good, she thought, yet she had no time to run.

  It landed near the dock in an open, sandy area. She wanted to either dart up to her new friend out there on the big boat or back into the woods, but she just kind of just stood there, paralyzed for a moment.

  Looking at the ship, she was shocked to see Barb Deville and Juan walking out of it. This time, they did not have their men with them. Cyborgs were beside them. They, who were covered in metallic silver metal armor, raised their guns now at her, as the red-headed woman yelled over, “Do not move, kid, or you will be shot.”

  Karma snapped out of her trance and ran for the woods as fast as she could.

  The borgs, however, did not shoot at her, but did give chase. She ran for a good fifteen minutes before scrambling behind a tree to catch her breath. She peeked around the trunk, and then felt a sharp pain in her head before her world faded to black.

  The cyborgs had caught her.

  On the boat, Miggie heard all the commotion. She had no choice but to dive into the water so as not to endanger the people talking with her. She would see about helping Karma as soon as an opportunity came about.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  When Karma awoke, she was strapped to the back of one of the island’s trucks, heading down a wide dirt road. Barb Deville slid the back window open and looked at her.

  “Just who do you think you are? You come here and think you know what we're doing, but you know very little. Being this rambunctious, well . . . It leaves us no choice but to deal with your antics.”

  Karma fired back, her mouth not covered, “What you are doing is sick! No matter what you people think, no one has the right to take parts from people's bodies . . . whether their parents agree or not. You know as well as I do that these kids do not willingly agree to this. You won't get away with it.”

  “You’re a sassy little one, aren’t you?” Barb smirked. “We'll get away with anything we want. There is safety in numbers. This is what we've created here, and sad to say, young lady, you're going to be right in the middle of it. Someone's going to want some piece of your youthful body soon enough. Before, I might have groomed you as a leader here. Your willpower is impressive. But now, I'm going to let the highest bidder take what they want. You probably have some fresh legs, maybe some firm thighs. Perhaps the older women here would like those sweet, overzealous lips of yours.”

  Karma just shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. What had she done? Why had she ever left home?

  They eventually pulled up to a long building and carried her inside. They passed several small operating-like rooms. In one room, she spotted a man, perhaps in his late fifties, having an arm placed into his shoulder socket. The doctors heard the commotion in the hall, turning in their masked faces to look out, and then one quickly shut the door.

  Another cell showcased a woman having some sort of breast exchange operation
. Karma had to turn away.

  She was then placed in a holding cell. She hung her head low.

  Late morning the next day, they came for her. One of the guards, who had long black hair, threw her a gown. “Remove your clothing, and put this on. You’re about to go up on the auction block. I guess you're special. They’re not going to wait for a normal night. It’s going down now.”

  He then pulled out a cow prod, making electricity shoot out of it. A second guard appeared in the hall behind him. He was brandishing a machine gun. He grinned at her, looking in her cell.

  “Don't try anything. I don't want to have to shoot you.”

  As they opened her door and grabbed her by the wrist, she resisted, so they zapped her. Karma still fought, being shocked in the side of the neck multiple times thereafter.

  Finally, she raised an elbow into one of the guard’s teeth, then kneed him in his nuts as he fell to his knees, letting the cow prod scatter to the floor.

  His buddy came up, pointing his machine gun at Karma’s face. “Stop, or I will fire. Enough bullshit, girl.”

  Karma raised her hands.

  The other guy groaned as he climbed to his feet. “I think you knocked out my front tooth, bitch.” He slapped her across the face.

  The men dragged her down the hallway, gun pointed at her head. It was then, just as they rounded a corner, a tall, lean black man appeared.

  The guard with the gun said, “Josiah, what are you doing here? Get out of the way.”

  The dark-skinned man shook his head. “I can't do that. This has to stop.”

  The long-haired guard pointed his cow prod at Josiah. “That's not how it works, big man. Move aside. Don’t make me slap you with this thing.”

  Josiah moved just a bit to the side.

  As they tried to pass by, he grabbed the cow prod right from the guard’s hand and zapped it into the other one, who shook about, dropping his gun. Karma knew it was her chance and went at to the gun holder, who was reaching for his weapon. She head-butted him in the face. He staggered back. Josiah grabbed him and slammed his head into the wall, sending the man bloodily down to the floor, unmoving.