*Desert Breeding

Intro: Last year during NaShoStoMo I wrote a story about time traveling slavers. I didn’t like it. So I tried again. I am still a little hesitant about it but I think it turned about better. Who knows? I may do something more with it because I like the idea.

Xudu raised his bow, his sight on the antelope grazing just a few dozen feet away from him. The tip of the arrow was coated in a poison that would cause the animal to grow drowsy. Then he would slit it’s throat, quickly and as painlessly as possible.

The earth rumbled. The antelope ran off. Xudu lowered his bow and looked up at the sky. But there was no man-bird in sight. A few years ago Xudu’s tribe hadn’t realized the loud birds were men who could fly, but after a group of the large pale people had ended up in their tribe they had learned more about the world outside their land.

Xudu turned to head back towards the village, hoping he could find some more possible food on the way, but froze. Two pale people walked towards him. They spoke, the words being sounded in their throats. Xudu turned to walk around them, but they mirrored his movements. He turned the other direction. The men lunged at him.

Xudu stared at them in disbelief. His bow was knocked from his hand. The dirt and sand bit into his back as they pressed him into the ground. They flipped him over and wrenched his arms back binding his wrists together. Xudu struggled and everything went black.

When Xudu woke he was sitting in darkness. He looked around but couldn’t see any stars. The ground he was sitting on was hard and cold, it wasn’t like anything he’d felt before. It wasn’t stone. It wasn’t dirt.

“He’s awake.” The words reverberated in Xudu’s skull. It was as if he was hearing double. “Clean him up.”

Hands grabbed him. He tried to resist but his body was weak and his head swam. The dark shapes loomed over him. Xudu’s feet dragged along the ground, still that same cold surface. They threw him into a room that felt like it had a stone floor. Cold water blasted him. Xudu slipped and landed on his shoulder.

“Get up.”

Xudu pushed himself up, gripping the smooth, wet stone with his toes. Wet, cold, and mad, Xudu was led down another dark tunnel to another cave. Unusual animal hides were thrown at him. They reminded him of the clothes the pale people had worn.

“Get dressed.”

When Xudu couldn’t figure out how to put on the strange hides someone came in and beat him then did it for him. The worst was the coverings over his feet.

Outside the sky above was a clear blue. Xudu shaded his eyes and took a deep breath. He wasn’t home, but the air smelled better than before. There was a tang and bitter edge to the air. Xudu took his gaze away from the sky and focused on his surroundings. More people than Xudu had ever seen in his life milled around. Many of them wore similar coverings. Xudu was on the short side. He was of marrying age in his village, but there were obvious children in this area who was taller than he was.

“Keep moving.” A shove in the back punctuated the statement. Xudu tripped along with the heavy coverings on his feet. At another solitary cave, Xudu was fitted with a cold band around his neck. He tugged at it.

“I wouldn’t do that.”

Pain flamed up from the back of his head and around his neck. Xudu crouched down, grasping his skull and gasping.

“While you were unconscious we implanted a chip into your head. If you tamper with your collar it registers with the chip.”

Xudu shook his head, his mind tumbling the unknown words around. He touched the collar again. The pain returned. Xudu understood. The band was to be left alone.

“You are now a slave. You will do everything that is told. If you don’t you’ll be killed.”

Xudu looked up at the man. He opened his mouth. The man swatted the side of his head.

“You will remain silent. H2L9”

The next month was a blur for Xudu as he absorbed all the information he could. Not only was he living hundreds of miles away from where his family was, he learned he was thousands of years away from them too. Though the none of the slaves spoke while serving their masters, they were plenty talkative when by themselves. The implants in the backs of their head allowed for translation of languages, which is why Xudu heard double. The masters didn’t have the implant so even if the slaves had talked, the majority of them wouldn’t have been understood.

Xudu was the shortest of the slaves and the most nimble. He was often given the task of picking fruit from the orchards. Raw marks from the straps crossed his shoulders and back.

“H2L9, get down here,” this was said by J8P1, the head slave. Xudu climbed down the branches and set his basket on the ground.

“You haven’t paid me my dues.”

Xudu stood, and waiting. His mind was sharp, remembering the training his father had taught him when he was just a boy. The pale people had caught him by surprised before, but now Xudu knew. If he was going to survive then he was going to have his own pride.

J8P1 attacked, and Xudu was waiting. It was over by the third blow.

“You follow me now.” Xudu said. “Understand.” The other slaves nodded. Xudu picked up his basket and climbed back up the tree.



###



The master of the home sat back in his chair and stared at the video feed. He turned to the slaver at his shoulder.

“Didn’t I tell you? That slave will make the best soldier. Go back and get the rest of the tribe. All of the bushmen you can find. Once they get up to speed, get them into the crash training program. The Kalahari breeds a hard people. Perfect for our war.”

“Are you sure?” The slaver asked. “His brows furrowed.

“We’ve scoured the centuries looking. Who better to send to Mars than someone who practically grew up there? Besides, it’s not like they’ve had a great impact on society. Don’t worry about the timeline. It will be fine.”