Wasteland Ferns

Ray of Hope

I was in the slave colony for a week.

It was hell.

My stuff was taken from me after the branding. I was too weak to resist.

I stood in the pen, my back aching from the punishments I got from trying to escape. Every step I took, it would hurt. How long I would last, I had no idea. Out in the hot sun all day, with barely any shade, I developed the worst sunburns I had ever known, despite getting a tan in my skin tone.

The metal collar around my neck rubbed against my skin day by day, and the burning feeling would be agony. It was said to have an explosive, but no matter how defiant I was, it never exploded. Though, I might have known why.

One of the slavers, a man named Xever.

His scarred face rendered him half blind, and his caged armor only enhanced the image of him. Apparently, he took responsibility for me, since I was supposedly his favorite. Instead of dying, like other slaves who had any ideas, I got beaten when I got out of line.

One day, while sitting in the shade, something caught my eye. Two figures, standing near one of the slaver huts. The first thing I noticed, they were ghouls. One of them was shorter, wearing a striped suit, looking like he just left the jazz club. His skin carried a yellow hue, and he had a look on his face.

The taller ghoul wore leather armor, and had a stone-faced expression. His arms crossed as he stood behind the short one. I felt my eyes widen slightly at the sight of the shotgun strapped to his back. It seemed better to avoid attracting attention, so I averted my gaze.

Soon enough, they left my line of view, and I let out a sigh of relief.

My moment was interrupted as Xever walked to my pen and unlocked the gate. He smirked and sneered, "Big day, girlie." Before I could respond, he roughly grabbed my arm, and started dragging me to one of the huts.

He tossed me in, and locked the door before I could get up. I tried to open the door, but no luck. My face lightened as I remembered the switchblade I had hidden in my shirt. I quickly pulled it out and activated it. The blade flung out, and glinted in the dim light. I gripped the handle tightly as I heard footsteps coming closer. I also heard voices conversing to one another.

"You sure you want this one? She's a bit of trouble. Girl should count her blessings we didn't click that bomb yet."

"I'm sure I can handle it. Now, let me see her."

I took a breath in, and held the switchblade tightly, thinking to myself, It's now or never.

The door clicked and opened, revealing Xever, standing by the two ghouls from earlier.

I didn't waste a second, lunging towards the ghoul in the suit. Before I could land a strike, the taller ghoul stepped in, grabbing my arm and throwing me to the wall. I hit the wooden wall with a loud thud, and winced, clutching my shoulder. My switchblade clattered to the floor.

"Fuck..."

The ghoul glared at me as we made eye contact. My view shifted to the switchblade on the floor. I tried to grab it, but he quickly pressed his foot on the handle, preventing me from grabbing the weapon. My heart sank when I realized what this meant for me.

Xever scowled at my defiance, and stepped forward, raising his hand as he snarled, "You little bitch! How many lessons do I have to teach you, huh?!"

My eyes widened, and I flinched as he prepared himself to strike me, but the suited ghoul stood in his way. "No need for that. I'm sure we can work something out."