blizzard brothel

j.a. banks



.......the train barrels across the wastelands at an astonishing 770 mph. the cabin's been stabilized to allow for the maximum comfort for the elite on board, myself included in this category. how i was allowed this certain luxury still amazes me, but it saves me time in getting to where i have to be.

the gemini is the only active transit system in what was once the united states, before "the fall". usually reserved for government officials and the rich collective known strictly as 'the pavers', the train itself surpasses every other technological advance since the revamp.

my business aboard this certain vessel is in direct relevance to my newly appointed position as the census taker of the AAF(advancement for the american federation).

i've kept my own agenda a secret due to the fact there is absolutely no one i can trust with who i really am. to them, i'm just a simple bean counter. a remedial man sent to do a remedial task. it doesn't help that i'm constantly compared to a stick of a man named ichabod, a character from one of the few remaining stories that survived. at least some culture was saved. to think of all that was lost still makes my head swim.

as we cross the border of a unified territory that was once nevada(according to the old maps), i sneak a glance out one of the tiny windows near the ceiling of my cabin and sigh. the clouds are already rolling in thick, i just hope we can make it there before travel becomes impossible. i have to get there before the storm. i have to get to her before the storm. i just pray there is enough time. i can already feel it in me.

still an hour till the depot, so i decide to try and relax. shut my eyes and suddenly i'm transported to a different time and place......

chamisa turns back and smiles at me. so innocent, but who isn't at nine years old? after mama died, and daddy just being how he was, we had to rely on each other more than ever. not that i ever minded being the one she looked up to. i would have done anything for her. after spending so much time in the earth, we had only been top-ground for about a week when mama caught the sickness. she passed soon after, while daddy was on one of his expeditions of self-preservation, and greed. he was truly a vile creature. he had quite a few secrets himself.

we'd been warned of the creatures that inhabited most of the land, but weren't taught about the other humans, which in some cases, could be a lot worse. chamisa, finishing the laundry in one of the remaining clean water reservoirs, smiling at me while the trampling of a hundred horses closed in.

sammy?

the fear growing in her eyes is what snaps me out of the relaxion of the shade from the pine.

suddenly, they were everywhere. screaming their terrifying banshee cries, war paint made up of the victims they have slain along the way. pelts of human and animal alike adorning their near naked bodies.

i see chamisa's eyes go wide as we both realize there is no way that i can reach her in time. i try to yell but have no voice, so i start running all out, though my destination will never be reached. still about thirty feet away, one of the bigger tribesmen snatches her up. she's still screaming. he pauses long enough to give me a bloody smile through jagged teeth before turning around and tearing away with the others. that's the last time i saw her.

.....snap awake as the break-system kicks in and everything seems all too real.

a simple robotic voice lets us know that our destination has been reached and departure will begin immediately after docking. god give me the strength to do what i came here to do.

walk outside from the bright white, overly sterilized hospital-like station into the dusty, thick air. even though it's middle afternoon, the darkness is taking over the skies with frightening efficiency. the first dirty flakes are beginning to fall. have to make this quick before they find out who i really am. nothing holding me back now. if anyone gets in my way, they die. i'm not about taking risks at this point. i'm only here for one reason. her.

it was jenny green-tooth that gave me the only clue to where she might have been taken. she said that all of the younger girls were taken to this god-forsaken land with the intent of selling them to anybody with the means to sustain them. the horror stories of what they've been used for resonates through every bone in my body.

but so does my rage.

hurrying, but smiling while thinking of the outcome, i head to the center of this man-made burg, the Andromeda brothel. the hive of every sadistic sentient being left. basically, where the women are. the thickening snowfall blankets every step i take, which is a blessing for what will progress. no one outside, which also is good for me, my shape taking the form of something that no one could recognize, outside of their nightmares. she must be close.

clothes shedding from my body to hit the filthy snow of this shit town. a promising growl trying to escape my lips, but don't want to give to much away yet. almost there.

only one drunkard outside of the Andromeda. his caterwauling as his limbs are torn off bothers no one inside. all business now.

open the door to absolute quiet. bartender is scared shitless, so i end his suffering quick. as i'm finishing him off, i hear a scream from upstairs and know the cause. chamisa. my family.

making my way upstairs the old-time harem, i hear random doors opening to figure out the source of the torment. doors shut just as quickly as they see me mounting the stairs. lucky for them, my goal is already set.

top floor, a multitude of doors framing the long and somewhat warped hallway, i notice that one has lazily opened.

no fear in me, not as i am now. i turn into the opening door and watch the second most vile creature i've known. ripping the skin off an unsuspecting drunk with his shit covered pants around his ankles. the screams take me back. chamisa.

time is running out, so i walk straight in......