LAND of the FREE (A Dystopian Society in a Post-Apocalyptic America) (Mystical Slayers Book 1)

by Michael W. Huard

  Winding down from her orgasmic experience, she took some time to look over her prized crystal collection. A large, circular amethyst was her favorite. The stones gave her comfort.

  Jansa, using a combination of mental and touch healing, and she was in constant demand by the Q-Jin members. Hundreds of years in the making, knowledge gathered from both western and eastern cultures and philosophies had put together her doctrine of teaching. She thrived on teaching someone to heal themselves, not only on the outside, but more importantly, on the inside. These virtual pit stops helped her to find some much-needed stress relief. It always ended too quickly.

  ***

  Jansa and Sinaye had been given an emergency notice to get to New York as soon as they could. Neither knew why. Nevertheless, they would be on their way within the hour. Both were currently stationed in the inner belt regions of Mississippi, Utah, Alabama, Arkansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, and North Carolina. A very small Q-Jin compound was hidden in South Carolina, which is where the ladies now lived.

  Sinaye was a robotics scientist and sword specialist. She was also a very sexy, highly intelligent woman. Her expertise in robotics went far beyond the knowledge of anyone else in the sisterhood, or the country for that matter. To define the world of robots today would require a lot of thought, but the raven-haired sister, Sinaye, never altered her description when asked that very question.

  "Robotics is the science and technology of designing and manufacturing robots. Robotics combines artificial intelligence and mechanical engineering." She then gave her layman's explanation, "They are metal beings with computer brains." Yes, Sinaye was the one to call if you needed to know something about anything metal with a brain. She could fix it, kill it, or use it, and that made her a valuable asset in times of need. She finished up a class she was teaching and left quickly. Sinaye then made her way to Jansa's private sector and ascended in the elevator to meet her comrade.

  Jansa was waiting for the brown-eyed woman to arrive. She was winding down after enjoying her virtual affair and positively empowering herself with her relaxing crystals. The two would soon fly out to New York. She would have to keep her mind off her latest research, the New Relaxation Response. She had finally reached the pinnacle of a great accumulation of her efforts in mind and body healing.

  Her findings resulted in reduced levels of adrenaline, blood sugar, blood pressure, and heart rate all in one sitting. It combined a series of yoga movements, music, crystals, and a musical chip implanted into a person's brain. All in all, this discovery was making leaps and bounds in the right direction. Jansa was pleased, and was just up to the task of the final polish when the instructions of this New York trip came in.

  Her lingering thoughts were interrupted by Sinaye knocking on her door. She would save her research for another time. A more peaceful time. The two high level Mystical Slayers greeted one another, and moved up to the rooftop where their flying vessel was waiting. They flew off at great speed and looked down on a world that had once been clean, but now was rampaged with the spoils of war. Both women lingered on how this could have ever happened.

  They would reach the New York headquarters in just a few hours. Jansa thought of Lomax and Raegan. Raegan, the religious, prim, and proper one, now turned rebel. She, who had made her way to the bigger city to be a reporter. She, who was forced out of this very region, was a true friend and hero.

  When the first old religion states were hit by Y-Wood many years ago, it was more of a warning shot. These so-called religious states mustered the courage to fly a new American flag to represent the states not under Corporation control, and that triggered the Corporation to strike out. The powers of Y-Wood would no longer go unnoticed. The young newsman, Lomax, a child raised by the Corporation, would head a huge publicity campaign. A campaign that would let everyone know, if you’re against Y-Wood, YOU WILL FALTER. When the young man began to spread the word via R-Bel, the only news station in the country, everyone would know the code. Years later, the old religion states were once again attacked, tamed, and brought to their knees.

  Jansa remembered when another new flag was raised, one with shades of gray and red. People said the gray was the metal of the associates, the half clone soldiers and robots who worked for Y-Wood, while the red represented the blood they spilled. Y-Wood was no longer a hidden entity, and deciphering the meaning of their name was easy for the remaining humans on Earth. Y= YOU, W= WILL, O= OBEY, O= OR, D= DIE!

  Lomax worked hard, and he put everything into the company and the cause. It was all he knew and all he had. That was until that amazing blond reporter joined R-Bel, Raegan James. She changed his life forever. Jansa smiled at the thought. Hopefully the two of them, and their son, Jonah, would be together now and safe. Oh, how things had changed

  Jansa’s thoughts were a reality. Back then, Lomax would sit alone in the news office, the same office which hired Raegan soon after she reached the big city. Together, their reports began to carry the dreams and concerns of two people, not just one. Lomax was not only enthralled by the young James girl's looks, but he would soon discover she was really smart too. This young woman was relentless in her coverage of all stories, big or small. Every detail was investigated. He also saw and understood her deep respect for what once was America. She yearned for times of old, for structure, hope, and a better world. Lomax had known this reporter job would give Raegan great pain and confliction, but he would not stop her. In his heart he had felt the same.

  The two reporters had covered subjects such as life expectancy, energy, cloning, population, and genetics. The pair naturally became very knowledgeable about all of life’s major issues. Who would have guessed that these two reporters would become pivotal pieces in the battle to restore America.

  It wasn’t long thereafter, when talking to their computers was put on hold, that the two would secretly sneak off and enjoy one another’s fleshly company. It was during one of those secret meetings they had come up with the idea of broadcasting coded messages to the general population. These coded messages would help to fight against the ever-growing threat of Y-Wood’s guilt-ridden second coming, and the planned elimination of the human species on Earth. Lomax had fallen in love with Raegan. He no longer was a pawn to the Corporation. Love had overcome reason.

  Jansa regained her thought process from her friends, Lomax and Raegan. Sinaye flew their spacecraft closer to land and the two peered ahead to New York City.

  Their first vision of the Q-Jin's New York headquarters was one of utter destruction. This would be the reason behind the urgent message to get here as quickly as they could. They landed on open ground to the left of a desolate building. Immediately, they rushed to help, messaging Boston underground about what they were first seeing. Now, they would fight, they would do anything they could to help. Both women rushed into the burning devastation of buildings. But, they were too late.

  Chapter 11

  The Corporation knew that underground Boston had never been hit, but they also knew the Q-Jin would realize their contact, Lomax, was in danger of revealing the location of their hidden people. If Lomax lead the Corporation hunters directly to their secret location, all the Q-Jin would be sent to defend their city below Boston. Another plan was to be put into action by an assistant Corporation associate, Resin Cador.

  With Cador's smart idea, the top leaders of the Corporation sent their minions to New York where the sisterhood would now be vulnerable. The sisters would most likely be sending many of their members to defend another location, leaving them weak. The desired result would be to destroy the sisterhood at its very core. Y-Wood already knew the sisterhood had a place in New York, and this was a perfect time to strike it to the ground, when defenses would be at their lowest point.

  ***

  Mahira looked at Raegan, who appeared to be in deep thought. The leader of the women was pondering what to do. "Mahira, you must go back to New York. Now. I fear the entire sisterhood’s base of operation may be in dang
er. Something is not right. Go now, and report back to me as soon as you know if those bastards have made a move on us while most of our leaders are absent."

  Everything stood quiet in Boston's underground city. A majority of the sister’s forces, many with fighting skills, were all standing about and still waiting for an attack.

  On a nearby computer screen the women overheard, R-Bel News Commercial Interruption Broadcast: Bringing action as it happens. Our country's terrorism is all but gone, with Y-Wood at the center of cleaning up immigrants and rebels. Our bomb handling bots leave no stone unturned, no device unchecked. Thank you, Y-Wood, the world is a safer place. They all shook their heads in unison.

  Zaey paced the room while debating a plan to defend the common people. No matter what plan the group discussed, she felt nothing would work. Y-Wood would deploy full robots and prototypes of raw clones bent on utter destruction. Chaya stepped into the Q-Jin chamber and hugged her sister. "It is hard to comprehend, Zaey, we know this. We just have to be strong. I will talk to the public in an hour or so, tell them where we stand. They need a reassuring voice. Blu has the aircraft being prepared for fast departure. Remember this, we must carry on. If we lose the core of our sisterhood in this battle, the entire human race will falter. We will save all we can, but we must save the sisterhood first."

  The two paced about in silence. Blu arrived and broke the nervous steps of her two sisters. "The people are ready to hear your voice, Chaya, and the aircraft are ready to leave Boston Underground when we are." Blu found herself pacing with the other two women, all three knew an attack could strike at any moment.

  Their eyes met. The time had come. Chaya loosened her neck, "I’m ready for my speech. Raegan must already be at the podium, it’s time for us to join her."

  ***

  In New York, the Y-Wood Corporation struck hard! The main Q-Jin complex was a series of buildings in the heart of what used to be downtown New York. Access was via landing pads on rooftops or by bullet trains scattered across the city. Like most cities in the former United States, this area was half intact and half in a state of ruin. There was no middle class in so-called America anymore, only the rich and the poor. The skyscrapers were wondrous here, but the common grounds were messy with debris.

  With most of the sisterhood's numbers in Boston, two leaders had remained back in New York. Tyne Gem, a tall, slim blond with blue eyes, who liked her black leather, was a true weapons expert and computer wizard that very few could match. She was also quite unique in that she was half cyborg. The other leader was Wynne, a slim blond who could easily be mistaken for Tyne’s sister. She could shoot a rifle better than anyone. She had only returned the previous day from a trip to New Jersey.

  Twenty-two aircrafts landed on the rooftops as two hundred or so raw Y-Wood associates arrived by bullet trains around the corner. Today, the Q-Jin headquarters had ten main sisters with a decent level of training, several younger inductees, a few female children in the main complex, and some of the older women.

  It was a quiet day, the sun was out, and it was a warm. Breaking the peace and quiet, fires suddenly began to break out, and screams filled the midday air.

  The Corporation’s black and silver soldier robots dropped from the sky and rushed through the complex, firing lasers at anyone who appeared to be trying to defend the sisterhood. This was by no means a search and seek, or even a capture operation. Y-Wood was out to kill. Perfectly timed bombs were falling from the air around them, blowing up many of the buildings which made up the Q-Jin headquarters. Mercy would be shown to no one.

  Tyne and Wynne quickly gathered as many of the sisters as they could. Together, they made their way to a tunnel where they planned their escape, desperately hoping for survival. BOOM . . . the entire room exploded around them, knocking them off their feet. The roof was gone. The outside world, the flying ships, the fire and smoke, all of it was so loud. The Q-Jin leader's ears were ringing, muffling the sounds from around the entire complex.

  The Q-Jin New York headquarters was nestled in a once heavily populated sector of the main city. Skyscrapers had been thrown about everywhere, making the locale hard to decipher from other wrecked buildings and tall towers. The changing wars had put a pretty big dampener on all the cities across America, but here the population still maintained some sense of a huddled up life. The Mystical Slayer sisterhood had their own secret homestead. It was now under fire, crumbling and exploding, and everyone scrambled to stay alive.

  Y-Wood had been tracking this so-called secret location for some time now. The Corporation waited until they had thought up a plan, and waited again until it was ripe for the perfect execution. The entire sisterhood had feared underground Boston would become a target once their assault on the grand ball had fallen through. The Corporation would follow their escape, crush their underground city, and thousands would be lost. This was not to be the case. The Corporation had known of the New York location for a while, and catching the Slayers off guard was their best form of attack.

  Most of New York was a training setting. New recruits were sparse and Starigen 6280 was limited. Newbies were still above average by human standards, but unless a steady diet of the powerful enhancing drug was used, new recruits were only as good as they could be, being human in an era of powerful machines. Wynne worked her ass off to at least get the women in shape by teaching them how to fire a weapon; a laser weapon like no other.

  Daily life was a system of helping one another to survive in the compound. A series of towers, callers, and rooms made up the sisterhood's base. Every single person had a purpose. Growing food, finding food, building, cooking, hunting, training, raising kids, and everything else under the sun.

  The entire complex had been hit in precise spots so as to drop its connecting foundations to the ground. It was reduced to heaps of rubble and scraps of metal in a matter of minutes. The Corporation spacecraft flew in straight after the first bombs were dropped and surrounded the entire area with robots and gunfire. There would be nothing left alive. They planned on having zero survivors.

  Wynne was thrown almost twenty feet across the shooting range building when the blast hit. The ceiling fell in and fires began to blaze as soon as the destruction kicked off. She was a tough cookie, and even with a severely damaged backbone, she picked herself up and rallied together all the survivors she could find. Tyne was nowhere to be seen. It appeared the fallen ceiling had collapsed and buried her. Wynne tried to search for Tyne, but there was no hope. She grabbed the best laser rifle she could find and ushered all the survivors out of the burning building, dodging around the falling debris. Shots came at the group as soon as they emerged from the collapsing building, and before they could retreat, all were shot down apart from Wynne, who had managed to scramble back inside.

  Several robots, built with black armor and helmets of gray steel, closed in on the area and began firing at those who were barely alive. Wynne was in shock at how this could have happened and how little regard these thugs had for the lives of human beings. The Corporation's robot soldiers could not care less. They were programmed to kill anyone in the area who did not abide by the law. Strict laws forbade citizens to have unmonitored homes or locales without the express written and prejudged consent of the Y-Wood Corporation. Those who resisted or broke the law would be sentenced to death. Very few disobeyed these laws.

  A young girl named Vicky and a middle aged woman called Tally were spotted and grabbed out of the rubble by Wynne. The three of them took cover as the entering operatives began to fire at them. Screams could be heard all across the homestead. Those who had survived the bombing screamed for help, their calls were mixed with those trapped under fallen columns and metal structures. The voices would eventually become silent.

  In the distance, familiar sounds of Q-Jin laser fire could still be heard, which gave the three women a glimmer of hope. "Stay very low to the ground," Wynne advised the two beside her. They held still. Some sort of a battle had broken out
behind them. It seemed to be further back by the dining and kitchen areas. Shots were still being fired, and nothing else could be heard.

  Another skirmish was breaking out to the right of the three women. A rush of robots and half clones crowded the adjacent hallway, which was now wide open since the explosion had tumbled its walls. A few stranded survivors fought with the robot-clones, but they had no real chance of survival. They were already injured and ill prepared for such a mighty onslaught. The fires continued to rage and more clones and robot soldiers dropped down from their ships in the sky.

  The leader of the Corporation's attack, Field Marshall Berlin Purcell, had now arrived dressed in bronze armor plates and was surveying the area. He was accompanied by a huge robot, the one he called "Galax." His metal robot suit was sliver, blue, and black. There was no expense spared for this elite, multi-billion dollar, mega fighting killing machine. His brain was more knowledgeable than the entire planet's intelligence put together when it came to combative measures, survival, and strategy. Galax strode out from the smoke, his general in the backdrop watching him with pride as he removed his helmet to reveal his spiky blond hair.

  Wynne knew they had nowhere to hide. She turned quickly to her friends, "I want both of you to run! Head to the stock room and try to get out through the bin drops. Cover your faces and run. You cannot help me here. Live and seek revenge," the Mystical Slayer told them while coughing and wheezing from all the smoke. "Go now and don't look back!"