The Slaughterhouse

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It is not unknown to anybody that the Earth as we know it is getting destroyed more and more every single day by humans, raving and pillaging its seemingly always renewable resources. Despite each and every country's government attempt to stop global warming and to stop the ice from melting in the poles, even united, the countries were helpless, and the Earth as we know it soon transformed into this desertic, arid and inhabitable place. For survival, humans scouted the planet further than they had ever done before to search for the last few trees and resources that could keep their dysfunctional capitalistic systems functional for a little longer, just so they could still enjoy the pleasures of consumption. Barely ten weeks after the last tree had dropped down and that the last few pieces of coal available for the general public had been burnt down, every single form of governmental institution had either fallen or had been destroyed easily by rebels. Society as we know it rapidly went down in flames, and anarchy seemed to be ruler everywhere where humans still managed to thrive. Furthermore, the only law people seemed to still go by was the simplest rule of nature that dictated, from the beginning of time, that it was "everyone for themselves". From all of the chaos emerged a new civilization, and soon enough, a new type of government established itself from the ashes of the older ones. The higher class, not wanting to live in the dirt for the rest of their lives, like the middle class and lower, built this immense city-like building they called affectionately "The Slaughterhouse". Airtight and almost self-sufficient, people fancied the idea of walking one day in its corridors, but very few were the privileged ones that actually got to have a closer look inside the fortress and even less of those people were actually treated like princes and princesses. Due to its mysterious and appealing charm, many stories were being perpetuated in the middle class about what actually laid inside. Some described The Slaughterhouse as this gourmet Paradise, where plates upon plates of the most extravagant foods were being served whenever one wished so, and where the most gentle of nectars floated perpetually in the corridors, while others described it as endless corridors of the most intriguing of brooded tapestry, of shiny spick and span white marble floors, where the most delicate pieces of music played continuously. Since the world was in shambles and technology had considerably regressed, the information travelled much slower than before, and most of the poor middle class actually wanted to have a chance to look inside of The Slaughterhouse, even though the few "lucky" ones that got a closer look inside the fortress never actually came back. Impenetrable, the building shaped like this elongated saucer and it was situated on top of this hill, which gave it even more of a mysterious and peculiar look, especially during nights of full moon, when it was dark outside and the only thing hanging in the raven coloured sky was the moon, the stars totally eclipsed by the brightness of the night star. On those occasional nights, the gray moonlight was the only thing that reflected on the black walls of The Slaughterhouse, giving it a very spooky, almost frightful look. The people that weren't rich enough to buy themselves a ticket to The Slaughterhouse actually survived by hiding themselves in caves and any kind of crevasse, returning to the Medieval times, and, regrettably, their primitive lifestyle clashed heavily with the richer class'. Those unfortunate souls survived off the very few plants they were able to grow and lizards that managed to survive through the worst conditions imaginable of this now inhospitable planet. The thing very few of those miserable inhabitants didn't realize was that, every few months, once before the harsh months of winter and once before the torrid, cruel almost months of summer where the Earth was literally turned into a desert all around the globe, the rich men of The Slaughterhouse organized a great hunt, where they travelled great distances to hunt down the world's most dangerous and destructive species: humans. Of course, they didn't kill them, since it would be considered a waste of precious and otherwise useful resources. The few people that decided to go out and brave the extreme conditions to go capture a few isolated souls got heavily rewarded for it monetarily wise, but it was a very risky business since the hunters never knew who they could fall into. Today was the perfect day for the semi-annual hunt as the sky, despite being as gray as the dirty uniforms of the hunters, and it was a little warm for a winter day, and a platoon of hunters was making its way into this desertic wasteland. Their boots were clicking with each of their steps as their belts filled with equipment such as electric nets and plasma guns and batons shone brightly and proudly shone under the faint winter Sun. A light scent of fear, as well as excitement, floated in the air, as the officers of The Slaughterhouse were walking around what the poor people called their home, searching for a living soul into those natural cavities.