A Day In September - BTS Zombie au

41: Ab Intra

The sun seemed to hide from the world, afraid to witness the atrocities that transpired after only two years. It was cloudy and windy, rainy and cold for the hundred miserable people that slaved away in the forests, cutting down trees and chopping logs, gathering water, and eliminating brutes. Despite their grunts and heaves, the men and women continued in silence on their empty, hopeless path. They bore their tattered clothes and the matted hair without shame—it was useless to feel shame. Their palms would form callouses from endless days of work on tired hands. Their bodies donned bruises and scrapes, but even with sore arms and legs that trembled with every step, they did not complain. They only looked forward with dark bags under sleep-deprived eyes and the ever frowning lips of a thirsty, mute mouth.

The synchronized steps would echo in the streets, along with the rattling of chains in which these humans were bound to. The high fevers and hypothermia to those exposed to this bitter weather were ignored, prompting them to die off slowly and painfully if not by the hands of the brutes or guards. People of all ages were subjected to the same cruel treatment, one to which a young Mara was no exception to.

Life under the rule of the Ateos, a group of barbaric men and women dedicated to the uprising of a new world order, was nothing remotely close to easy. It was grueling and endless work. Their greedy and formidable actions were rooted in their desire to take over and claim the city as their territory. They sought to forever reign, but this came at the cost of the lives and stolen fates of several, hundreds of people. In order to expand their dominion, unknowing survivors were captured and brought back to the Ateos' camp, where they were forced to work every day, for the rest of their lives under constant surveillance.

History had repeated itself, all because of one, wicked, abominable man. It was the leader of the Ateos—

they called him Hades.

Mara

Women and children were not spared from this cruel treatment. Women were put to work outside of the walls, just as men would be. Some were placed to cook and unfortunately breed, while others were occupied as maids to service a demanding group. Children were taken from their parents, indoctrinated with the beliefs of the Ateos and taught to renounce their own mothers and fathers in the effort to eliminate any kind of opposition or retaliation. The refusal of any instilled beliefs lead to child labor. The refusal of child labor lead to the unthinkable.

Mara abhorred the idea of children dying to the hands of barbaric men. However, it was clear that they had no mercy, and that they never would, regardless of who you were or how old you were. Their ruthless ways were never challenged, and this lead to children growing silent, only accepting their doctrine to keep themselves from befalling the fate of their fellow children.

Mara detested them, with every atom in her body. She had been scavenging on a random day, regrettably into Ateos territory, and it lead to her untimely capture. Her strength had proven an advantage for the Ateos, and they sent her out with the other hundred people into the forest to work. With chains around her wrists, she was forced to work from dusk 'til dawn. Workers were fed very little, somehow expected to still be healthy enough to work such long hours, lifting logs and walking long paths to lift buckets and barrels of water.

It was ludicrous and unfathomable.

The workers slept in several bunk beds around each other, chained to the bed posts to keep them from escaping. They rubbed Mara's skin raw, making it difficult to walk some days. Being surrounded by people who did not bat an eye to the treatment made her feel weak. She wanted to be unaffected by the harsh conditions, but she was so young and vulnerable that she couldn't help fall down every now and then. She felt alone, even with a hundred people around her almost 24/7.