The two men marched the two women through the torched and upturned earth past charred trees and stones where echoes of the living had found their resting place. Though the dull and grey and blackened vestiges of bloodshed dotted the countryside, to the south remained a symbol of past and future. A village, or what seemed like one, aligned with stinging metal and men standing watch and looking towards the great abyss beyond. In the center of it all was a relic to law and order. Perhaps it was a courthouse before the days of the alleged war but to the women it was a tawdry reminder of a failed establishment.
The men pushed the women towards the harem where they were stripped and searched and issued new attire. When it was over, the man took the older woman aside.
“Where were you going?” he asked her.
“It’s…it’s difficult to explain,” she stammered.
“Will there be others coming through?”
“I don’t know.”
The man took out an old pack of cigarettes and offered the woman one. She refused. He placed one in his mouth and lit it. “What’s your name?” he asked.
“Regina.”
“Regina. What did you do before this?”
“I’m a follower of Jonny.”
“Jonny? The magician?”
“He’s not a magician.”
“Well you know that he died in an attack many years ago.”
“He promised he’ll be back.”
“It’s hard to come back from being blown to smithereens.”
The man stamped out his cigarette and escorted the women to their quarters but before he left the woman Regina stopped him. “Why are you doing this to us?” she inquired.
“You are now property of the Milner Corporation,” he informed her. “The men executed. Were they your family?”
The woman nodded.
“According to law, we are permitted to liquidate men of fighting age,” he said. “You may not understand but as we told you, this is private land. When the war is over, everything that you saw will be fully developed into something greater than what it was before. There is a lot of money to be made. A future to restore.”
“But what will happen to us?”
“You needn’t worry,” the man said. “As women you will bear the future. You will be a part of something wonderful and in time you will understand.”
The women took their bedside. But before the man left, he stopped and turned around. “My name is Wade,” he said. “Welcome to the Promised Land.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
The Internet Ruined Everything 