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The Lottery
Most of the men wept and wretched after entering the community. The biggest grief was, why we're so many people missing either right or left limbs? Crudely cut just below the elbows, man, woman, and child had this grotesque disfigurement. The national guard unit had discovered the community by accident quite literally. While in convoy to another area of the state, one of the vehicles at the tail end of the convoy struck a small boy as he was running carelessly away from the community sobbing and bleeding from an apparent beating.
Eleven-year-old Jack Mason was emaciated, confused, and in need of serious medical care. The guardsmen had stopped the vehicle after striking Jack, right in front of the main gate to the Shadow Pines community. Lying in front of the vehicle, muttering incoherently, about some lottery. The accident was relayed up the command and the convoy had stopped. Tending to the boy's dire medical needs, the guard was informed that the community had serious issues and any aid should be rendered. What they discovered, made combat soldiers weep in each other's arms.
America had experienced an economic Armageddon nearly 14 months prior. Not only America but the world. Everything stopped working the way it should. Grocery stores were empty, dollars we're useless, much of any law and order had ceased to exist in major population centers. The army, at least the soldiers who still remained, was tasked with aiding recovering sections of America that had shown resilience. Nothing was working. Electricity had stopped flowing, the internet was down, water & sewage services we're not online. America and it's unprepared citizenry we're plunged into a life of fend for yourself.
The stench and the absolute stillness of the community upon the opening of the gates was overwhelming. It felt as if you would never get the smell out of your nostrils. Inside the wall, much of the community was, dirty, malnourished, most looked nearly catatonic. From a community of 150 homes, there were roughly 9 families left. The Army had seen some bad places as they worked to get America back online, this one was quickly becoming the top of the misery. Medical attention, food, and support were being immediately delivered to this sorrowful place.
Not all the residents of Shadow Pines were so far gone that a recounting of the occurrences couldn't be relayed to the commander of the unit. Shadow Pines did what every community that had a decent amount of sense did. They consolidated and shut their gates, manned their walls, and came up with a system to try and benefit all in the community. The commander listened intently as the grisly story of Shadow Pines unfolded.
Foraging parties were apparently sent out into the surrounding city. The breakdown of law and order, however, started to make those runs costly. A system of socialism effectively took hold as well. In the interest of the whole. All residents we're mandated to offer up any and all supplies to the community. Rationing of all meals was instituted. Impressively, they had established a society of workers. Some of the residents were security, some were scavengers, some were hunters. They even had a bit of a police force.
There were stories concerning the defense of the community from other communities. As expected in human nature, people stole, they raped, they murdered. If there were a domestic issue in the house, it was amplified. They had a few medically qualified individuals who took up residence in this upper-middle-class community. To some degree, they kept this community going longer than most. When winter set in, things got hairier. The local hunters had driven most of the game away. Mother nature had stopped offering up her usual bounty of meat.
People are just like animals. If they feel there is a better place to survive, they migrate. The community began to dwindle down in numbers in that regard, some simply died on foraging outings, some protecting the community, others to various diseases. This exacerbated the problems. There was simply not enough people to keep their borderline starvation lifestyle afloat.
Shadow pines began to starve. Making matters worse, a stronger community sent raiders and offered the community a deal. They could die, or hand over any medically qualified personnel and food. The people of Shadow Pines chose life.
With few options left. They instituted the lottery. It was basic in its design but gruesome in its application. Every two weeks, the residents drew sticks. There were two short sticks. Those drawing the short sticks were subject to the amputation of a portion of the arm. Obviously, they chose the less dominant arm. The wound was cauterized over a fire, and portions of the limb were stewed in a metal barrel. The remaining portions were stored, under guard, in one of the abandoned homes.
To say we were sickened was an understatement. We were horrified by what these people had chosen to do under extreme circumstances. Even still with this butchery in place, the people of Shadow Pines starved, while slowly eating one another. Weakened from a state of utter hunger, residents who feared they would draw the short sticks, began to flee. Needless to say, this couldn't stand. They began to man the gates. The community became a prison. It seemed most were happy to eat the stew, they simply did not want to be the stew. More and more simply relented. Starvation and the will to survive does funny things to people. It simply breaks the spirit.
We understood now why Jack was running into moving vehicles. The numbers in the community were so low, it was just likely that he would draw the short stick next. We helped the community as best we could. I'm sure most of the men remember the "old world" lottery. What happened in Shadow Pines was nothing like that. You most definitely did not want to win this lottery.
© Rising Darkstar
Eleven-year-old Jack Mason was emaciated, confused, and in need of serious medical care. The guardsmen had stopped the vehicle after striking Jack, right in front of the main gate to the Shadow Pines community. Lying in front of the vehicle, muttering incoherently, about some lottery. The accident was relayed up the command and the convoy had stopped. Tending to the boy's dire medical needs, the guard was informed that the community had serious issues and any aid should be rendered. What they discovered, made combat soldiers weep in each other's arms.
America had experienced an economic Armageddon nearly 14 months prior. Not only America but the world. Everything stopped working the way it should. Grocery stores were empty, dollars we're useless, much of any law and order had ceased to exist in major population centers. The army, at least the soldiers who still remained, was tasked with aiding recovering sections of America that had shown resilience. Nothing was working. Electricity had stopped flowing, the internet was down, water & sewage services we're not online. America and it's unprepared citizenry we're plunged into a life of fend for yourself.
The stench and the absolute stillness of the community upon the opening of the gates was overwhelming. It felt as if you would never get the smell out of your nostrils. Inside the wall, much of the community was, dirty, malnourished, most looked nearly catatonic. From a community of 150 homes, there were roughly 9 families left. The Army had seen some bad places as they worked to get America back online, this one was quickly becoming the top of the misery. Medical attention, food, and support were being immediately delivered to this sorrowful place.
Not all the residents of Shadow Pines were so far gone that a recounting of the occurrences couldn't be relayed to the commander of the unit. Shadow Pines did what every community that had a decent amount of sense did. They consolidated and shut their gates, manned their walls, and came up with a system to try and benefit all in the community. The commander listened intently as the grisly story of Shadow Pines unfolded.
Foraging parties were apparently sent out into the surrounding city. The breakdown of law and order, however, started to make those runs costly. A system of socialism effectively took hold as well. In the interest of the whole. All residents we're mandated to offer up any and all supplies to the community. Rationing of all meals was instituted. Impressively, they had established a society of workers. Some of the residents were security, some were scavengers, some were hunters. They even had a bit of a police force.
There were stories concerning the defense of the community from other communities. As expected in human nature, people stole, they raped, they murdered. If there were a domestic issue in the house, it was amplified. They had a few medically qualified individuals who took up residence in this upper-middle-class community. To some degree, they kept this community going longer than most. When winter set in, things got hairier. The local hunters had driven most of the game away. Mother nature had stopped offering up her usual bounty of meat.
People are just like animals. If they feel there is a better place to survive, they migrate. The community began to dwindle down in numbers in that regard, some simply died on foraging outings, some protecting the community, others to various diseases. This exacerbated the problems. There was simply not enough people to keep their borderline starvation lifestyle afloat.
Shadow pines began to starve. Making matters worse, a stronger community sent raiders and offered the community a deal. They could die, or hand over any medically qualified personnel and food. The people of Shadow Pines chose life.
With few options left. They instituted the lottery. It was basic in its design but gruesome in its application. Every two weeks, the residents drew sticks. There were two short sticks. Those drawing the short sticks were subject to the amputation of a portion of the arm. Obviously, they chose the less dominant arm. The wound was cauterized over a fire, and portions of the limb were stewed in a metal barrel. The remaining portions were stored, under guard, in one of the abandoned homes.
To say we were sickened was an understatement. We were horrified by what these people had chosen to do under extreme circumstances. Even still with this butchery in place, the people of Shadow Pines starved, while slowly eating one another. Weakened from a state of utter hunger, residents who feared they would draw the short sticks, began to flee. Needless to say, this couldn't stand. They began to man the gates. The community became a prison. It seemed most were happy to eat the stew, they simply did not want to be the stew. More and more simply relented. Starvation and the will to survive does funny things to people. It simply breaks the spirit.
We understood now why Jack was running into moving vehicles. The numbers in the community were so low, it was just likely that he would draw the short stick next. We helped the community as best we could. I'm sure most of the men remember the "old world" lottery. What happened in Shadow Pines was nothing like that. You most definitely did not want to win this lottery.
© Rising Darkstar
