The Count of the Dead Shall Rise [2014WC]

Today is my 18th birthday, but there will be no celebration. As a slave, the best gift I could hope for on this day is not to be beat excessively, or maybe to make it into the food lines before the food runs out. All in all, it's only another day in the Slave Labor Work Force of America. Birthdays and holidays no longer exist in our world, unless you are one of the elite.

Things weren't always like this, but memories of that world fade with every passing day. The wars, the floods, the droughts, the solar flares, and the economic collapse of late 2012 and early 2013 pushed the world to the brink of ruin, and what remained of it isn't a very nice place to live. As the world stands today, unless you were one of the extremely wealthy when the SHTF, you are a slave, forced to work for only enough food to barely make it though another day.

There are no survivors outside of the system. The world has been swept clean of anyone that showed a mind of their own and refused to be a part of this new world. We are housed in large industrial complexes with no concern for comfort. We are allowed no bed, no personal possessions, not even as much as clothes on our backs. This world resembles a nudist colony for skinny people with no other purpose than to work.

I live in Housing Complex D just outside what was once Atlanta, Georgia. How many of us are among the work force here, I cannot fathom. As I sit on the concrete floor at the end of the work day, I see an ocean of naked bodies huddled together for warmth. It gets so cold in here during the winter, and without so much as a blanket, all we have is each other to warm us through the nights. You might think that with all the naked bodies massed together, it would become a giant orgy, but since reproduction is strongly monitored, anyone caught committing any sexual act is immediately shot on sight. Sex is only a pleasure for the elite.

Each of us is given a assigned task to follow each day. We are not allowed any variance from what we are told to do. If we are caught doing the work of another slave, we are shot. We aren't allowed so much as to pick up a piece of trash off of the ground unless our job assignment is to do so. My best friend was murdered last week because she tried to help someone who had fallen. She was instantly shot because she wasn't assigned as part of the medical unit. Watching people die is part of everyday life here.

I have often thought about escaping, but it's really impossible. Even if I made it away from the complex, the thousands of armed guards, and the automated security system, there's nowhere to go. Most of the world is a desolate void. The only remaining places that are inhabitable are run by the elites and more heavily guarded than the Housing Complexes are. There's no hope for any other life than to be a slave, naked and starving, living only to work another day.

I had such great expectations for life when I was a small child, but it doesn't appear that any of my dreams will come true. The best I can hope for is that I will live long enough to see another birthday, and that's even wishful thinking. If I don't starve before then, I'll most likely be shot for some violation of the rules. Some days I feel like intentionally doing something wrong so they'll just shoot me. At least my death would be quicker than the alternative of suffering starvation.

There are rumors of "ghost" in the Housing Complex. They are people that just disappear. Even the guards and administrators don't seem to know what happens to them. They just don't exist anymore. Some of the other slaves believe that there is a secret chamber or tunnels hidden somewhere within the complex that people find, or are taken to, but there's really no evidence to support this. I believe it's only wishful thinking again. I think that with as many people that live within these walls, it's just hard to keep track of everyone, and some of the dead slip through the cracks. When bodies are stacked from floor to ceiling, it's difficult to identify them all. I'm thankful that removing the dead is not my assigned task. I would have had myself shot long before now if it was.

Even if I was so lucky as to reach my 19th birthday, there little to look forward to in life. My life is a series of beatings and acts of humiliation that are designed to break the spirit. My one thing to look forward to is my release. My death. The day that I'm no longer one of the slaves. The day that the count of the dead is raised by one more, and that is the only number that matters to me. In reality, we are all already dead. We're only waiting to quit moving.

Wow sound like 1984

reply to post by iwontrun


Yes, it's has a feel of 1984. The only real differnence is that there is no comfort at all in this world. There is only complete control, domination, and humiliation. A slave only exist to work, and no care is taken to keep them.

Thankfully, it's only a world that exist in my imagination.

Originally posted by isyeye
reply to post by iwontrun

 

Yes, it's has a feel of 1984. The only real differnence is that there is no comfort at all in this world. There is only complete control, domination, and humiliation. A slave only exist to work, and no care is taken to keep them.

Thankfully, it's only a world that exist in my imagination.

It's called life im afraid..
It could be alot worse but alot of life is what you make it

Well written, and terrifying.

Good story. If things were to turn out this way, we have no one to blame but ourselves. There's a lot more of us than there is of them. Not that they won't try though.

Originally posted by isyeye You might think that with all the naked bodies massed together, it would become a giant orgy, but since reproduction is strongly monitored, anyone caught committing any sexual act is immediately shot on sight. Sex is only a pleasure for the elite.

Stil i would rather die with a smile on my face, let the orgys commence i say.

reply to post by denver22


Amen to that.

In my opinion, this story is startastic and flagerrific.

Slave camp. People with terminal diseases today are the lucky ones, huh?

reply to post by isyeye


Well i have one thing to say sir and that is get laid or die trying i think it's time for
an uprising as by the sounds of things u have nothing to lose living in your world chap.

reply to post by denver22


In the world that we exist in today, the get laid or die trying attitude may hold true. The problem with it though is that if a situation such as the one in the story were to come about, sexual acts would unfortunately be thought of less due to starvation, constant torture and beatings, the humiliation of being forced to walk around naked all day, and simply the breaking of spirit.

That being said...I'll agree...I'd be the first one that got shot making love to my beautiful woman....they'd probably have to shot me several times to get me to stop.

Originally posted by isyeye the humiliation of being forced to walk around naked all day, and simply the breaking of spirit. I doubt one would feel the emotions of humiliation of having to walk around naked all day
After time .

That being said...I'll agree...I'd be the first one that got shot making love to my beautiful woman....they'd probably have to shot me several times to get me to stop.

For not having sex for awahile, i also doubt you would get caught as after a minute you would
have shot your woman six times allready before the stormtroopers arrived to shoot you and your
missus

Originally posted by isyeye
reply to post by denver22

 

In the world that we exist in today, the get laid or die trying attitude may hold true. The problem with it though is that if a situation such as the one in the story were to come about, sexual acts would unfortunately be thought of less due to starvation, constant torture and beatings, the humiliation of being forced to walk around naked all day, and simply the breaking of spirit

Well you will probably find that after awahile humiliation of walking around naked would be the last
thing on your mind chap.