No One Left

Humans As Meatshields

   Time passed quickly and we didn't even know when it is day or night so I lost count of the days. Considering my assumption, we should have spent close to five days in this room doing nothing. 

      Jane had kept crying out of fear of everything that is going on but she soon put everything at the back of her mind. I advised her to do so because crying won't take us out of that horrendous room. The Man kept coming at intervals to check on us, maybe not as he will just come, issue his threats to us that we should never let it cross our minds that we have a chance of escaping or give him or his 'boys' any 'matter'.

     There's been a lot of changes in things and I've made some discoveries over the past five days. Incredible ones. I will start with The Man. Something about The Man is very amusing to me. You see The Man talks in some kind of slang which I probably didn't notice the first day due to the trauma that comes from being in abduction. The man once said to one of his subordinates; 'O-boy, go down'. I'm just as confounded as you are when I heard him say that but I later discovered one way or the other that he was only telling that subordinate of his to come. Crazy right?. Yes. That's how I've been hearing my captor say one incomprehensible phrase after another. Do you know what it means to decome? I shouldn't be explaining every little thing to you, you know that. Well, if come means that you should come, then what do you think decome would mean. That's it. 

      I've spoken with Dad like twice after the initial call. The calls this time are full of threats and they seem to be using my life to coerce Dad into becoming their transporter...of humans. The Man would let his men use some equipment to inflict pain on me and force me to scream so my Dad would hear over the phone and perhaps get compelled by it. Well, I'm still here so obviously, he is still adamant about working for The Man's boss.

      I don't know why but things began to change when The Man entered our room one day and started saying things I consider ludicrous. He came in the normal way with his subordinates following closely behind him. He bid them leave the room when he sat down and I wonder why because they always stay in the room with him even when I spoke to Dad over the phone.

       "I can see you don't fully understand the situation you and your father are in right now. I'll do well by explaining things to you. You are still young but it'll be good if you put your little ears down, listen to me, and never lose concentration. Your little damn life is on the line so I don't need to tell you what to do" The Man said as he sat down. I didn't reply as I see he still has a lot to say.

    "I will start by explaining the state of everything to you; the cause of this whole mess and why your father is needed in the first place. You folks in Old Town might not know what is going on in the upper-class cities like Greg, Crute and the likes. I doubt you ever heard of those places"

      "Well it doesn't matter, I might die nonetheless. Just continue" I said coldly. He was trying to throw a jig at me so I saved face. Mase never loses face. He gave me a very cold stare that tells me not to interrupt him again and continued.

    "The upper-class cities are located at the borders of Silverland and have been susceptible to attacks from invaders. The attacks have been coming more frequently this time. The army has not been making progress in its fight to defeat the intruders and large numbers of the Silverland soldiers fall each day. The problem now is that Silverland still has soldiers that can fight off Asheville but only if there are meat shields. Do you know what I mean by meat shield?" The Man asked us. Jane and I shook our heads. 

    "When people who have no battle experience or little or no military training are put in front of a battle as just an increase in number to shield the soldiers and allow them more time to deal with the enemy. They will most likely be killed in the battle so they are meat shields. That's how the topic of transporter comes into the picture. I shouldn't be telling you all of this as it is not ideal that's why I sent my boys out, so you must not reveal everything I've told you and that which I'm going to tell you to anyone. Do you understand?"  We nodded again and he looked at us as if to make sure we are not lying and we gave him that 'we are with you' look. So he continued.

     "You see, those meatshields are men kidnapped just the way we kidnapped your Dad and the way you kidnapped you guys. We move them to a discreet location, away from prying eyes. They are given minimal military training and then sent off to the battlefield. It is the transporter who does the work of moving these people to the battlefield. You would wonder why they are adamant that your father be the transporter. Well, transporters face a lot of problems on their way to their destination and that's why they always select two to three soldiers to follow them but the important thing is that the transporter has to be someone very skilled at combat and has knowledge of weapons."

     "Do you know why these transporters are waylaid even if they are working for the government? It's because of a group that has gained knowledge of what the government does with people so they formed a group to stop the action of the government. The thing is these people are also in the military or once in the military so they are skilled in combat and possess dangerous weapons. This group killed the last transporter and rescued the meat shields. That is why your father is being rushed and threatened with everything he has including your mother because they need a new transporter and urgently at that" he saw the expression on my face change but didn't stop. "Now let me tell you why your father has been chosen to be the transporter. I don't know if you are aware that kids learn some level of martial arts and combat skills when they get to high school. Those who excel in these combats and martial arts lessons are put in a military school to further enhance their skill and thereafter choose to either become a soldier or just go out and do their thing". He paused here then continued.

    "Well, your father was the best in martial arts and combats and was the first and remains the only person from Old Town to win the all-school combat competition at the high school and military school level. So you know why your father has been chosen to be the transporter because there are only a few around that can defeat him in combat.  So that's why they are adamant about making your father the transporter. You know the problem here boy?  Your father is not someone who will agree to become a transporter knowing fully well what it entails but if he does accept, there's the probability that he'll be killed perhaps after everything has settled down and if he doesn't the consequences will be graver than he could imagine because you his son will be tortured and killed, then he will be sent to the battlefield to die as well and I guess the same fate awaits your mother as well."