Chapter I

A time—time of horror. Time of despair, time of holocaust, time of hopelessness, time of war. This is the time where the western country invaded the eastern one, simply because the people from the west hated the east, and also, they want power. Because of this, war broke out between the two countries, and later on other countries join the war to liberate the eastern country—and the western one successfully invaded the east. After the war, the people from the eastern country are made as slaves, who were absolutely abused with sheer terror. Western officers often put the eastern people into labor and concentration camps, where they are forced to work in harsh conditions, being discriminated and abused, and mass murder them in mass executions. Simply, it is prejudice, a genocide, a holocaust. Where the human rights of the eastern people are fully stripped off by the people from the west. They're like drifters and ends.

Along with the enslaved people is Yuric. He was once a teacher before the western army caught him in his home and was forced to work in a concentration camp. Now, he's a slave, alongside with fifteen-hundred more enslaved eastern people. Like the others, Yuric was forced to work in unforgiving conditions, is often beaten by officers due to very small mistakes, sometimes never fed, and was forced to sleep in a haystack. But Yuric stayed strong and persevere—he endured the pain and abuse. He knew that if the officers saw him weary and lethargic, they will execute him, therefore he stayed strong.

One day, Yuric is mining limestone alongside with his newly-found friend Edgar. However, when Yuric met him, Edgar was already dying and skinny. While they are working, Edgar went close to Yuric and…

"I can't take it anymore, lad." Edgar whispers to Yuric "My body can't take this torture anymore."

"No, lad!" Yuric exclaims "You can't give up just yet!"

Unfortunately for Yuric, after Edgar whispered to him, he collapsed. The officers noticed Edgar's dying body lying on the ground—the officers laughed at him. And, seen by Yuric in full horror, one of the officers pulled a pickaxe and ruthlessly thrashed the pickaxe into Edgar's chest. Edgar immediately puked with blood, and along with it, his life gone. Yuric couldn't comprehend on what he just saw in front of his eyes, he is just sheer horrified. Yuric then hears the officer saying "That was fun!" And the officers turned to Yuric and said "If you're going tired, just tell us. And this pickaxe will make you comfortable." The officers then laughed maniacally and went back into their positions. Yuric went back to work, still dumbfounded, and his eyes began tearing.

During lunch, Yuric sits in a rock, alone. The officers gave him a sandwich. Yuric was surprised that they gave him a sandwich. Usually, Yuric and the rest of the slaves is given uncooked rice. This made Yuric so hungry, and is dying to eat the sandwich. However, as he was about to take a huge bite, she notices someone at an office building nearby. He saw what it seems to be a lady officer.

"A woman in a military uniform?" Yuric said in his head "It's the first time I saw a woman in a uniform like that. She must be a new recruit."

Yuric kept staring at the woman—but not in a perverse way, of course. Yuric was just simply curious. Simply curious on how the woman became an officer, he thought that perhaps their military decided to recruit women. Yuric saw the woman getting her lunchbox and prepares to eat lunch. However, as Yuric glares to the woman in uniform, four senior officers approached her menacingly and encircled themselves around her. Yuric then overheard what the officers say to the woman.

"Hey there, miss." said one officer "Looks like you have quite a large lunch on you, don't you think?"

"Erm…" The woman began to feel nervous "W-what do you mean, sir?"

"Oh, you know what we want." another officer said. He then touched the woman's shoulders all of a sudden, startling her. The officer then began whispering "We forgot our lunches back at the outpost. And the outpost is far from the camp. Would you mind if we will have some of your lunch? And what I mean by some, I mean all of it."

The woman, feeling helpless and vulnerable, had no choice. "S-sure, I won't mind."

The officers then hastily snatched her lunchbox—her face was in utter defeat and disappointment. "That's what I'm talking about!" said one officer. The officers then simply walked away like nothing, and completely ignored the woman as if she wasn't there. The woman relieved a big sigh and looked down to the ground, disappointed. Yuric felt sorry about what he just saw, he then looked at his warm sandwich. Yuric then stood up, and slowly walked towards the woman.

"Uhm, miss…" Yuric calmly calls the woman. The woman looked to her side, and to her surprise, it was him—Yuric. The woman then switched her face from disappointed to moderately mad and disgusted by the Easterner slave that approached her. By the response of her reflexes, her hand went to her pocket, where a gun was put.

"What do you want, you low-life scum?" The woman angrily said "If you want lunch, the rice sacks are on the back!"

"Uhm, I apologize for approaching you miss. But I saw those officers getting your lunch." Yuric said "And I don't think that's nice of them to do that."

The woman blushes out of embarrassment. She couldn't believe one of the slaves saw that. She gripped her gun harder, indicating she's going to pull it out and ready to shoot Yuric.

"So! What now if you saw that?!" The woman angrily said "You're gonna laugh at me for that?! Just tell me, and I'll feed you bullets!"

"No, no miss. You got it all wrong." Yuric said "I'm here to give you a sandwich. It's the least I can do to make you feel saturated." Yuric then gave the sandwich to her, but the woman was disgusted.

"Like I'll accept that!" said the woman "Why would I eat something that came from a filthy Easterner's hands? I'm sure that that sandwich is—"

Before the woman could finish her sentence, a slightly loud grumble came from her stomach. Upon hearing, the woman felt so embarrassed and her face went red, and Yuric was just still.

"Miss, I think you should eat." said Yuric "Don't worry about the sandwich, it's clean and is still warm. And I washed my hands critically before touching this. So please, accept it."

The woman, being hungry, left with no choice but to accept Yuric's sandwich. The woman hastily snatched Yuric's sandwich and then takes a bite. She made a good chew on her first bite, and to her surprise, the sandwich tasted good for her. She didn't want to express it, so she still made a tough face.

"How does it taste?" Yuric asked.

The woman swallowed her bite and said "Get back to work or I'll shoot you." The woman then turns her back and began to walk away from Yuric. Yuric, however, smiled as she finished talking and walks away.

"You're welcome, miss." Yuric responded "Enjoy your sandwich!"

The woman stopped for a good second and takes a look back before completely going back inside her office. Yuric still smiled—he helped someone from the enemy. Though after that, his stomach grumbled loudly. Yuric was absolutely hungry, and he just gave his sandwich to one of the officers that enslaved him and his people. But he never regretted giving it, nonetheless. Yuric then snaps out of it and went to the back of the office to get raw, uncooked rice.

As Yuric walks to the back, he noticed that there were no officers guarding the rice sacks. In fact, there's no other people but Yuric. Yuric went closer to get a sack, and to his surprise, he saw the fence behind the sacks with an open hole. The hole was wide enough for a person to crawl in. Yuric suddenly felt hopeful, hopeful that this might be his chance to escape. On the other side of the fence were bushes and trees, and he immediately saw that this was indeed a hole to the outside of the camp. Yuric immediately thought of escaping here—but not at this moment. Yuric decided to escape at night, were the darkness might help him do his escape. For now, he grabbed a sack, covered the fence hole with the remaining sacks from the inside and a thick pile of leaves from the outside. In that way, there's a huge chance that officers won't notice the hole.

The day has passed, the sun set, the sky began to go dark, and the enslaved people, including Yuric, are now put into their respective barns where they sleep at haystacks. The poor people moaned and struggled as they lie down with their bodies severely hurt after a hard day's work. The inside of the barn was dark, except for the moonlight illuminating from the windows. Yuric woke back up and looked at the door, and conveniently, the guard that has been guarding them left for a moment to pee. Yuric just saw an opportunity, he immediately goes out very slowly and quietly—tiptoeing and trying not to wake up the people or get the officers' attention from the outside. Eventually, Yuric got out from the barn and continued tiptoeing to where he found the fence with the hole. Yuric released a big sigh after he successfully sneaked himself away, and was more relief when he saw the area which was still unguarded.

"Oh, thank God!" Yuric sighs "Finally, after all the suffering, I can finally get out of here!"

He then began opening the things that hid the fence as quiet as he could. He took away the rice sacks and the leaves that covered the hole. Yuric smiled as he saw the hole again. He enthusiastically began crawling. However, as he starts to crawl inside the hole…

*CLICK!"

A pistol cocked behind Yuric's. From that, he knew he was caught. His enthusiasm and excitement turned into disappointment and fear. Yuric turned to look at the officer. And to his surprise, it was the lady officer from earlier—the one that Yuric gave a sandwich to. She pointed a pistol that is ready to fire, with her face being intimidating and mad.

"And where the fuck you think you're going?" The woman asked.

Yuric, now felt more hopeless than before, began to tear and kneel with his head bowed down "Trying to escape from this…misery, miss."

"Ah, so you ARE trying to escape, eh?" The woman said "Well, too bad I caught you. Looks like I'm going to blow up your head now—"

Just as the woman finished her sentence, Yuric immediately talks "Go ahead! Please! For the love of God, please blow my head up!"

The woman was a bit confused on what he just said. Yuric was about to cry uncontrollably as the woman grips her handgun firmly.

"I don't know why. Why are you doing this to us?!" Yuric said "Tell me, what have we done wrong to you?"

"Because…" The woman pauses for a bit "Because you Easterners are dirty, a nuisance, a pest, savages, and will always be an inferior race. And you don't have the right to be free, you get that you scum?"

"No, not at all." Yuric responded "I don't get it at all why we're dirty and inferior. But alas, if this is how you see us, if this is how you see me, then please go ahead. Shoot me. If me being dead will make you Westerners happy, then you're welcome to blow my head up!"

The woman now began hesitating if she shoots or not, but her face was still menacing and firm. "I think I'll let the senior officers be the judge of this. Now go sit on that bench as I fetch them!"

"W-what?" Yuric asked in confusion.

"I said sit in there you utter moron!" She exclaims. Yuric slowly stood up and followed the woman's orders. He goes and sat at the bench. As the woman was about to go and fetch the officers, Yuric called her.

"Ma'am!" Yuric called "Please, have a heart. I know that you know what's good and evil. Please have some love on you."

The woman looks back at Yuric and said "You Easterners don't deserve love, you hear me?"

Yuric, after hearing those words, teared and bowed his head down in utter sadness. The woman goes inside to a nearby office, where the officers are in. The woman went in without knocking. Inside, four officers were drinking liquor.

"Commander, good evening." The woman said "I have something to report—"

woman's words were cut off as the commander interrupts her "Oh, it's you. The newly recruited lady officer! What a pleasure to see you!"

The commander and the other officers are not in a good state—they're drunk. The woman was confused.

"Uhm, commander…" The woman said "I don't think drinking is legal during duty hours. And… are you already drunk?"

"So, what, Miss Guteherz?" The commander said "What are going to do about it? Tell the other seniors?"

The other officers laughed as the commander said that. The woman felt embarrassed afterwards.

"B-but, commander, there's an esca—" The woman said, but was immediately cut-off by the commander.

"You know, miss Guteherz, you're actually a sheen beautiful maiden from up close." The commander maliciously said "Plus, you have a sexy posture. And how old are you? Twenty-two? Damn, you look sexy and young!"

The woman began to tremble in fear. Without her noticing, two of the officers began touching her from behind—one touched through her shoulders, the other one through her hips. The woman knew where this is going, but she felt helpless.

"Erm… Uhm… No, please, sirs." The woman pleaded "T-there is something I need to report—"

"Why are you stammering, miss?" One of the officers said "Are you enjoying this?"

"N-no, I don't. Please stop!" The woman began panicking. Then, immediately, the four of them hastily grabbed the woman and forced her to lay down to a table in an…inappropriate and vulnerable position. The woman began to tear.

"But, why?" The woman said "Please stop this, you sirs aren't on your right selves!"

"We know, miss Guteherz." Said the commander "And I don't think we're going to stop just yet, aren't we boys?"

The two officers began unbuttoning her uniform slowly. The woman just hopelessly closed her eyes and began to cry. She then talks to her head.

"Well, I guess this is it. I thought the military will be fun, but no. It's just hell for a woman like me. And now I'm about to get raped by these officers. Perhaps this is going to be the end of me—my chastity and dignity will be stripped away. I could actually fight them back, I have a gun on me. But why didn't I think of that? I'm fucking stupid! They might even murder me after this one. Wait, why am I crying? No, don't you dare cry! You're a brave woman!"

The woman opened her eyes back up, she saw these four officers who were about to **** her. But, as she looks at them, she noticed a silhouette at the back. She can't see it clearly, but she can see that it's coming towards her and the officers. What comes next baffled her; as the silhouette came closer and closer, it raises a what it seems to be like a pickaxe. And…

*SLASH!

The silhouette hammers the pickaxe into the commander's head, now dead. The other three officers immediately reacted to this and began pulling out their handguns. The woman saw one silhouette fighting the three officers. As her sight began to de-blur, she finally saw the silhouette in clarity. And to her absolute surprise, it was… Yuric. Yuric put up a good fight against the three officers, he managed to knocked out the three officers. Yuric bought a fist and a pickaxe to a gunfight, and won. However, one of the officers managed to pull out the alarm before getting knocked out by Yuric. The alarm sounded loudly around the camp. Yuric then looks at the woman, still lying and with some parts of her body slightly exposed.

"W-w-what the fuck are you looking at, you pervert!" The woman said.

"Calm down, miss. I'm not looking at your chest." Yuric replied "I'm sorry this happened to you."

"Why are you sorry for?" The woman said "Isn't this what you wanted after I caught you?! You want me to get raped, you pervert!"

"What? No!" Yuric exclaimed "Why would I think of that, miss? Can't you just be thankful for once? I helped you, and this is how you respond to me? Why? Is it because I'm 'inferior'?"

The woman was lost for words. She couldn't find a way to respond to that. She began re-buttoning her coat and covering back her exposed parts. They noticed the alarm eventually.

"Look, miss. This is up to you." Yuric said "Soon, officers will come here. It's up to you if you want to escape or still want to report me for escaping."

"What are you talking about?" The woman said "You'd think I'll fall for your traps?"

"Look, miss, we don't have time." Yuric said "I can accept my faith of being a slave forever. But will you accept you being bullied and raped by these officers? Constantly tormenting you for simply being just a woman? You don't deserve that kind of treatment from a woman like you. But, it's still you're decision."

The woman remained speechless. And thought about it for a second. They began hearing the officers' voices and footsteps coming. The woman then looked at Yuric, with a frustrated face, and then nodded.

"Fine, you lifeless scum." The woman said "But I'm in charge, you hear me?!"

Yuric smiled "Yes, miss. I'll be on your mercy."

The two then immediately went out of the office and hurried through the fence with a hole on it. They ran as fast as they could, however they were stopped for a moment when the woman tripped. Yuric was just inches away from the hole, and the officers' footsteps are getting louder. Without hesitation, Yuric went back to help the woman get up.

"Hey, don't touch me with your dirty hands!" The woman exclaimed.

"Can you be just thankful for a bit, miss?" Yuric responded.

A flashlight suddenly hit them, one of the officers saw them and immediately called for backup. The two then immediately continued running towards the fence. The backup soldiers showed up with rifles. Yuric and the woman crawled through the hole and to the bushes—and they escaped. However, what they didn't know, was that behind the bushes was a cliff. And below it was a river. Yuric and the woman stumbled, but the woman managed to hold on to Yuric's leg, and Yuric managed to hold on from a strong branch. They were there, at the side of the cliff, just hanging out. The two then heard footsteps getting louder and louder.

"Now what?!" Said the woman "You're dragging me to this and for what? This?!"

Yuric looked below. He saw the river and began to analyze it. He then knew what to do.

"Look, miss," Yuric said "I'm going to let go!"

"What?! Are you serious!" The woman said "Are you going to let us get killed!"

"We'll be dead if we don't let go, miss!" Yuric said "The river's too deep, which means we can jump and dive to it! And the current's very slow, which means we're not going to get dragged by the river easily!"

"Are you insane?!" The woman said "You think you're smart to know this?!"

"I'm smarter than you think, miss!" Yuric replied "But, please, trust me on this one. Just for once, trust an Easterner! Trust me! This is going to be a rough dive, but I promise you. We'll be more alive if I let go than staying here hanging until the officers arrive! So please, just trust me for once!"

The woman fell silent. They hear the footsteps growing louder and louder, and voices can now be heard. With no other choice, the woman reluctantly agreed.

"A-alright! Do it! L-let go!" The woman said.

Yuric then let go the branch. The two of them fell from a cliff that was as tall as a four-story building. The two have nowhere left, but to rely on the mercy of the river below them. Yuric and the woman braced for a rough dive. And then, they've fallen to the river. With a loud and painful splash, the two managed to dived into the river. And as for now it's uncertain if they truly made it alive… or dead.