Blood and Knifes

3

When Megan was finally dismissed from their examination, they were led to a group of benches that lined the back wall. They were seated in front of the blood stained glass, and at this point they were stunned into silence. Occasionally a woman would slip up and answer a question wrong and would be led back to The Room. Every time a woman died, Megan could hear her screams, hear the blood splatter the glass, hear the body hit the floor. Some lucky women like Megan were also brought over to the benches. They noticed that nearly all of the girls that refused to let them sit at their table survived the massacre, and were now sitting near each other, gossiping like no one's business. Megan clenched their eyes shut, trying to ignore all that was occurring. They barely noticed when Sif sat next to them.

"Megan?" Sif said, softly. "How are you dealing with this?"

Megan's eyes flew open. "I'm fine," they said very unconvincingly. Another body hit the floor behind them and they inhaled sharply. Sif turned her head away from the window. Faintly Megan could hear footsteps and conversation growing in the distance. As the sound grew, they could make out snippets of conversation.

"Why so solemn, Heimdall?" The unmistakable voice of King Thor boomed even through the closed doors and cement walls.

"Oh thank Odin!" Sif breathed. "Thor and Heimdall survived."

The other women in the room started laughing loudly; a stupid thing to do, really. The soldier stationed in front of them raised his weapon and shot two warning shots just above their heads, causing them all to scream.

"Silence." The soldier Megan dubbed as Darth Vader ordered.

The gymnasium doors swung open and the men all streamlined into the room, led by a man in a business suit. The smile on King Thor's face dimmed and faded away as he scanned the room. Heimdall was maintaining his grim persona. Loki's expression did not falter, but even from Megan's position they could see his eyes harden and the room felt like the temperature had dropped a few degrees.

"I am President Witson. Men, stand behind this line, facing the women," the man in the suit identified himself, and immediately began to take charge. Once the men had complied, he continued. "It is now time for the men to choose their wife."

Megan recoiled, eyebrows raising and mouth opening to protest but the woman in front of them beat them to the chase.

"What the fuck? I am a woman, not a fucking chair to be auctioned off! Fuck you and your fucking patriarchy!" She shouted. Before anyone had time to react, she bolted from her seat and ran towards the gymnasium doors. The soldiers shot at her wildly, but she made it out without a scratch on her. The corner of Megan's mouth quirked upwards.

"God, I swear I stepped into a Star Wars movie. Thank goodness for the Stormtroopers." They muttered.

Vice President Madison glared at the soldiers around him. "Soldiers shall get first pick of their wives. Commander 7-A-A, choose."

A soldier with an extra blue chest plate over the rest of his black armor stepped forward. He pointed at one girl and said nothing, only sharply jerking his hand back towards himself. She hurried over to the Commander, and stood beside him, shuffling around nervously.

As the rest of the soldiers chose wives, Megan waited, fervently twisting their ring. Slowly the number of soldiers dwindled down until none were left. Next, it was time for the other men to choose their wives. Thor chose Sif, Heimdall chose a nice looking girl with red curly hair, and Loki chose Megan. They practically fainted from relief, but before they had even taken their place standing beside Loki, the next woman was chosen. They should have gone with the rebellious feminist when they had the chance. Every woman in the room was chosen by a man, and President Witson made another announcement.

"You are now officially married according to Act 1 of the official governing document, The Reconstriction. The men shall perform basic jobs, such as farming, carpentry, construction, and running businesses. Their wives shall tend to the house, and care for the children." There was an audible inhalation of breath as soon as children were mentioned, but President Witson merely smirked. "The first law to be enforced under this new government will be as follows." He paused to pull a small sheet of paper from his breast pocket and read off it. "All married couples are required to reproduce at least once every two years. Violation of this law will result in the death penalty or forced impregnation. Now, I shall escort you to the military trucks. Do not panic, we are merely taking you to the town we have constructed for you to live in."

He turned and gestured for them to follow him. Megan started formulating a plan to keep track of the turns the truck took, in case they needed to return here eventually. However, as they walked out of the gymnasium, they turned through winding hallways and nearly immediately, Megan was lost. They could already tell that their plan was not going to work. Their brain whirled with increasingly improbable ideas as to how to escape, even as they approached the military truck, even as they climbed the steps, even as-