THE LIFE AND HARDSHIPS OF HISAU MAIYA.
Author Notes:
Chapter two, here we go! Honestly I have not many ideas to make this arc last much, can't wait to get to the exciting part, but oh well, development takes time.
／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼
Dogs of War Arc.
Chapter 2 – Recruitment.
He was dead...her brother was dead and his cold carcass was decomposing quietly in the same straw bed she had tended to his wounds three nights ago, two days ago she had felt his body colder than usual, but tried to only hold back tears and not give it much thought, no point worrying about what she herself could do nothing, now, the odor inside the hut was unbearable.
Her mother had left with another man to collect some money for more weed and to stay away from the stunk of her child rotting inside. The girl tried not to worry too much about it, she had left them alone for weeks before, only to return drunk and broken to shout at them for not having food and taking away her frustrations by giving them a good beating. The girl usually tried to protect her younger siblings by attracting her mother's attention and becoming the target of her abuse, it wasn't that hard, one little slip of mouth here, one broken vase there...she still held the bruises in her back, arms and legs where her mother had hit her, some still fresh and bleeding due to infection.
For now, the girl had to content with excavating a hole in the ground with her bare hands while holding back the tears, he is better off now, she thought to herself wanting to stave off the sadness, no use crying over the departed.
Meanwhile the rest of her brothers, now five remaining that depended wholly on her were outside, naked and scavenging for some water with which to replenish their 'reserves', little more than a cube that they used to drink and, if plentiful, bathe, an activity that was so uncommon in the town they lived that it might as well be madness. Somehow they seemed happy, as if the loss of their brother meant little, more food for them, that's a plus, thought the girl trying to be positive.
Once the 'tomb' was complete, if it could be called that way at all, the girl hardened herself for what she was about to do, emptying herself of emotion, unnecessary, she would deem them, and entered the hut with resolve. Flies were everywhere, attracted by the powerful smell inside. The girl's insides tried to turn out due to the powerful smell but she resisted, marching forward, to where she knew the husk that used to be her brother was located; there he was, his whole body covered in flies, his stomach bulging, I better take care of him now, don't feel like cleaning the whole room afterwards, she thought; worms coming out of his ears, nose, mouth, and one eye, the other glazed over and blank. She wasn't afraid, she had been in contact with death for so long that it had become a part of her life, as she did her best to avoid that inevitable end. How long will I be able to do it?Was a thought that crossed her mind.
Getting in front of him, the girl lowered herself and used her weak and skinny arms to grasp him by the waist as she had done before, and lifted him from the ground. His flesh felt spongy and she had to use a hand to take away the flies that tried to surround her, confusing her for another snack. Suddenly the girl felt a warm feeling in her back, and noticed that the corpse's bodily fluids were flowing from its mouth and drenching her. Gross, was all she could think and doubled over to vomit; nothing. Mustering her strength, she went out of the hut as quickly as she could and deposited her brother's corpse in the hole, almost throwing him due to the effort.
Once her ordeal was over, she finally allowed herself the freedom of vomiting freely, bile coming out of her mouth at the sight in front of her. She wiped her mouth and back as best as she could, and looked at the corpse one last time.
Perhaps I should start excavating my own and my brother's before I don't have the strength to do so...she thought as she dropped earth and rocks over the corpse.
／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼
That night the girl and her brothers slept together outside the hut, all trying to use some straw they had borrowed to make some shielding from the scorching earth, until it gets clean again, thought the girl, hoping the stench would be gone soon, otherwise, they'd be easy prey to attacks and assaults from their neighbors. In order to prevent that, the girl always carried with herself her 'knife', little more than a particularly strong tree branch she had carefully and patiently sharpened; she always kept it hidden within her persona 'just in case'.
Still the physical and emotional extenuation due to the burial were too much, and the girl fell soundly asleep. That night she couldn't conceive a good sleep as she dreamed of herself, standing over a blasted crater, her brothers in front of her, happy smiles in their faces, the starry night sky above them along with a beautiful white full moon.
The girl stared at the scenery, knowing what she had to do, wanting to stop but unable to do so. Advancing forward, towards her smiling brothers; she raised a hand and one by one she threw them towards the crater. They fell soundlessly towards the abyss, the smile never leaving their faces. When she had done her task, the crater opened and as the mountain of earth closed upon her still living and breathing form, she saw herself laughing at being released from her suffering...
She awoke screaming, and quickly tried to compose herself to avoid startling her brothers, but still, no one would hear her because they were all focused in the explosion...
／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人\
That morning started with a powerful explosion that shook the earth itself, fragments of debris flying everywhere, dust and smoke covering the place.
Oh no, they're coming!Thought the girl scared at the arrival of them, the Red Hand, the mercenary group that came every once in a while to collect their 'tribute' from the civilians in exchange of protection. She could hear a woman's screams along with several gunshots, a house was on fire in the distance, the screaming coming from inside.
Those bastards!, was all she could think of that action while anger flared inside. They sometimes liked to burn their victims inside their homes for fun, or to make an example of them. But still, no time to muse about it, as she had to protect her brothers.
As quickly as she could, she stood up and five pairs of black eyes stared at her, trembling. "Now, heed my instructions, run home, get inside the straw and DO NOT MOVE until..." she couldn't finish her phrase as they were surrounded by military trucks and men armed with crude assault rifles, the weapons archaic versions of rifles and other assorted guns, but in a land of poverty and scarcity, those weapons were enough to make these men gods among the population. Red banners with a black bleeding gauntlet adorning their trucks and uniforms. Most of them were shirtless, but some had bullet proof vests, those of higher rank. They started driving around, shooting aimlessly while people ran and got driven over or shot by the man, clouds of dust that made breathing difficult covering the whole place.
The girl and her brothers threw themselves to the floor trying to avoid the gunshots, focusing on staying conscious. Shit! We're done for!Thought the girl desperate. The Red Hand came to collect payment, and for those that didn't have it, it meant torture and death, usually they had their mother to get favors and spare them from the reaping, but not this time...
The girl tried to think of a quick escape route, but couldn't find any, about 5 vehicles driving everywhere, shooting, and she with five children, her being the oldest and low in stamina. If we run, they'll shoot us or drive us over, we can't fight them either, maybe I can try to appeal to take me in and let my brothers go...thought the girl desperate and scared, this might be the end for her after all. In front of her, a man with long black hairand an assault rifle stepped. He raised his gun towards her and motioned for them to go to the plaza.
When the group tired themselves and had most of the townspeople rounded, they gathered everybody around the main plaza, a barren circular stage where people usually gathered in the afternoons. There the people, some naked, some bleeding from several woulds product of the stray bullets, trembling like animals to the slaughterhouse, stood. In front of them, about 20 gunmen stared with amused smirks in their faces.
Their leader, a huge tanned muscular man with a Kevlar vest, dark rounded lenses, long black hair in rastas, grinning sickly and showing his golden teeth at the confused population. He walked in a military style in front of the scared peasants examining them through his dark lenses.
"Ekaraj" whispered the girl quietly, leader of this district's Red Hand, known for his penchant of killing people with his barehands, and his cruel methods.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here? It's reaping time fuckers, now I want you to hand your possessions and money to me. Remember that it's for the greatest good." the man said in a powerful voice, his presence commanding the presence of the people.
"If you fail well..." he pointed his gun at a frail old man's head and shot. Blood flew as the man fell to the ground with a gasp and people screamed, throwing themselves to the ground. They wanted to run but the armed men were surrounding them and pointing their guns while leering, evidently they enjoyed their actions.
The girl was trembling, barely able to hold herself steady, clutching at her brother's and feeling a knot in her stomach as people started forming a line and taking out what little they had to give the man, anything to be spared from their fate. Those that failed to satisfy the gang's requirements, which were as changing as those men's wanted, were either shot in the spot or taken to recruitment, or at least that's what they called it when taking someone to be tortured and brainwashed as cannon fodder for their stupid war against the Black Banner. The girl didn't know what to prefer, while she was thinking of what to give them, they had nothing...
Three rows from now and the man in front of them was trembling, drops of sweat fell from his body as he approached with only some loafs of bread to offer. Won't be enough, thought the girl, and true to her word, that man fell in front of her, struck in the head by one of the armed men's gun, there, not wasting a moment they struck him repeatedly in the head with their weapons until his head cracked, blood and gray matter puring out in a gross fashion. One of the gang's slaves took out the body, a weak and old woman that looking at the floor got a hang of the corpse and threw it to the side.
It was their turn now...
The girl's brothers were all clutching her as if their life depended of it, and it did, was the girl's thoughts as she marched forward. No mother this time, even if she had to endure a painful death at their hands, she would do what it takes to save her brother's life.
"What do we have here, some fresh meat" spoke the man while looking down to meet the girl's gaze. His cold penetrating eyes making her shiver, saliva coming out of his mouth and landing in her face. "Well, hand the tribute whore, and return when you're older" said the man directly, unrestrained.
"I...I don't have anything...but me...in the name of my family, take me in as your slave" the girl said staring at the floor, clenching her hands trying to avoid showing how scared she was, still, her legs were trembling and her voice sounded very faint, she was surprised she could talk at all, her mouth was so dry...
"Ha! As if we could find any use for you, not even as a whore, you're so skinny and ugly, bitch, guess we'll have to kill ya then" said the man while laughing at the girl. The men raised their weapons prepared to hit the girl, she lowered herself and prepared for the hit, until one of her brother's stood in front of her, it was Naadir, her six years old brother, one of the youngest, "leave her!" he said as he approached the armed men.
The man laughed at the child, "ha, this one has guts", and with a powerful blow, struck her brother in the face. The child fell to the ground clutching his bleeding nose, and the man got closer, raising his weapon for another blow. "Stop it!" screamed the girl and faster than she could think, unleashed her wooden knife and swung it with all her might. The move was brusque, lacking in grace and power, but the weapon was sharp enough and carved a deep wound in the man's stomach.
He let out a scream of anger, clutching at his abdomen where the knife laid, a piece of if broken in his skin, the other half was in the girl's hand. Still, that wasn't enough as the man quickly recovered and slammed his gun fast and painfully against the girl's cheek. She fell to the side with the force of the impact but was grabbed from behind by two other man who bent her wrists painfully. She let out a scream as they bent them almost to the breaking point.
"Who do you think you are, bitch!" the man said, angry, slamming his gun against the girl's chest, she felt a powerful burning pain and the sound of what seemed to be her ribs. "hitting me like that!" he said and smacked another blow against the girl's head. She felt herself faint, blood flowing and clouding her vision. It was over, this was the end...
"Stop it." the man called Ekaraj, the leader, said calmly, raising a hand.
All of the men stared in disbelief, but didn't say a word, if they did, death would ensue...
"I like what I see, and killing them won't give us our tribute, so...we'll take them!" he said smiling at this girl's guts, you don't find this everywhere, perhaps they'll be entertaining, he thought, and commanded the man to grab the children. The men approached them and started grabbing them one by one. The children screamed and tried to escape but were quickly surrounded.
"No! Stop!" screamed the girl trying to free herself from the other men's grasp, but it wasn't enough, they were too strong and she couldn't do a thing about it. She tried to plead to the townspeople to help, but they were all looking at the ground in shame, unable and unwilling to do anything.
Grabbing them all, they were thrown into a wooden prison in one of the trucks, the kind they used when torturing prisoners. The prison was pretty sturdy and was lined with blood and what looked like excrement, it stank heavily of vomit and piss. The children grasped the girl for dear life and she gasped in pain at the feeling against her now broken ribs. They were all crying so she held out the pain and stroked their heads, trying to comfort them. She herself felt like crying...
And so the reaping began, and they took them as bounty, marching against the setting sun...
／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼
END OF CHAPTER
／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼
End Notes / Rant:
Yada yada, things still boring, can't wait for some action!
What do you think? Is it good? Bad? Boring? I'm trying to improve this piece of...story, and I'm trying to make this into one of my most ambitious projects, so if you have any suggestions, any and all suggestions, thoughts or complaints are welcome.
Have I put Maiya through much? I've tried to keep this as realistic as possible, right this minute in some third world country a child may be going through a hell like this, gritty as it looks, I agree with Kiritsugu with the idea that 'War is hell on earth'.
Thanks and keep in touch for more!