Lydia 4,400 words

      Duan, Duan led the party of Chinese hunters, who were tracking down women who had fled the cities once they knew they were destined to become wives for the invaders. The hunters got to keep any women found for wives. Many were hiding in the mountains of North America, and the Chinese needed to hire a local because he’d know where the women might be hiding.
     “OK I’ve seen signs of women in and around these caves,” the guide said.
He had led them to a cave complex, and they were silently observing from a distance.
       “There, pointed the guide, and the hunters saw a group of mostly middle-aged women going in and out of the caves. There was only one girl that appeared to be under twenty. Suddenly the guide said, “Look! The young one is leaving alone.”
This pleased Duan, because he had decided this was the one he wanted for his wife out of this group. “Dismount and follow her until we get a chance to grab her.”
       No motor vehicles. That was one of the rules laid down by The Women’s Acquisition Department, so horses were used for hunting.
      “The young one is mine,” he told the other hunters. Duan was thinking he’d have a wife by tonight. He knew if he had to, he would kill anyone who stood in the way of his getting a long sought after wife.
       “It’s too bad most of the other young girls had been rounded up soon after the plague killed almost all of the men.” Said the guide
       “How come you’re still alive?” Duan asked the guide.
       “I’m three quarters Indian,” he answered.
        There were few Caucasian American men left alive, the disease had killed 98% of American white men. The dying time only lasted two days. The smell of death permeated every city and town in the country. The Chinese used this as an excuse to take over this country. They came to help bury the dead to avoid further plagues from the rotting bodies.
       “They’re here, they’re here,” shouted the women who had been assigned the lookout job. “I thought it was a deer until I saw that damned yellow face,”
        “Calm down, now tell me exactly what you saw?” asked Lydia the leader of this group of women.
         “I’m not sure how many I saw, but there’s a bunch of those yellow bastards out there, I ain’t lived in this Goddamn wilderness for eight years to become some Chinaman’s whore, I’d rather die. You know what’ll happen to us if we’re captured, we’ll be exported to Asia to become the highest bidder’s wife.”
        “We’ve trained for this eventuality for years and you all know what to do when they come after us,” Lydia said.

       The hunters approached the cave entrance and they appeared absolutely vicious looking dressed in camouflage clothing with their faces painted black.

       “Try not to damage any of the women,” Duan cautioned them.
        “But honorable Duan Duan, sometimes these Americans vigorously resist our trying to help them.”

         Lydia’s group had prepared for an event such as this and they all knew just what to do. There was a back entrance to the cave that led to the canyon where they had set up the major trap for any hunters. On the way to the back entrance they had set a few minor booby traps to slow the hunters down.

        “All right, there’s twenty of us so you two he pointed at two of the youngest members of the group stay here with the horses. The rest of you follow me,” Duan said.
         He entered the cave and found it so dark inside he couldn’t see anything until he dug out his flashlight, he flicked it on and the light beam showed how immense the cave was. He aimed the beam away from the entrance and the beam went a great distance before hitting any obstruction.
       “There must be another way out, hurry up and get them before they get out.” The men all started running hoping to catch the women before they escaped.

        “Be quiet going by the bears den, we don’t want to disturb her too soon.” Lydia said. The path going by the den was very narrow and there was a chasm next to the trail that went down at least a thousand feet. She led all the women quietly past without disturbing the bear.

        The hunters could be heard now, as they were getting closer and closer. They were making so much noise; the bear was awakened and angry. The hunters were on the treacherous trail that led by the den, the path here narrowed to less than a foot in width and right there was the den. The bear roared, rose up and started forward. Three of the Chinese who by now were very close to the bear stepped back in fear and plunged to their deaths. Two of the remaining pulled out their pistols and shot the bear, this just seemed to make her angrier and she charged them knocking the two leaders over the edge. As the bear turned one of the hunters raised a rifle and shot point blank into the bears face. She slowly sank backwards and fell over the edge.
       “Now we’ll get them bitches shouted one.”

        “Alright, everybody, remember how we practiced jumping on the tree branches we used for leverage to dislodge the rocks, when I yell, jump on them.” Lydia told her group, “I’ll lead them right to the sweet spot before I yell.”
She had set up this section of the cave with boulders ready to roll down the cave sides and crush anyone on the trail below by jumping on levers that would move the key rocks holding the others back. Her group had set these rock piles just in case something like this happened.
Lydia stood on the trail until the hunters spotted her, and then she ran as fast as she could back to where the others were waiting by the levers that would start the rockslide. She looked over her shoulder and saw the hunters were closing the distance between her and them. She saw the mark and knew the rocks wouldn’t crush her at this point. “Jump! Everybody jump she yelled.” They did and the trap worked perfectly, rocks poured down on the hunters killing many of them.

      Duan had stopped to retrieve the bear cubs after the bear was shot. When he found out what happened to his men he knew how lucky he was to have stopped otherwise he would have been buried under tons of rocks with the others. He returned to the cave entrance with his surviving men and the American guide who had stayed with the two men guarding the horses told him he thought he knew where the women were heading.
“There’s a valley on the other side of the mountain where there’s a cave entrance that’s connected to this cave complex. More than likely that’s where they’ll exit. If we ride hard we can be there by the time they’re coming out of the cave.” The guide said.
        I have eight men left, not counting myself or the guide. I know eight can easily handle this group of women once we caught up to them. “Mount up, and bring all the horses with us so some of the choice women can ride instead of walk back to our base,” Duran said. “we need to get around this mountain base so we’ll be on the other side to surprise the women as they exit from the cave there,”


      “I want a volunteer to help me set off the next trap we have set for these so called hunters.” Every woman raised her hand as to volunteer. I better pick someone young enough to have the endurance for this task. “You,” she said pointing to the youngest member of the group. “Come with me, the rest of you take the high exit that brings you out at the top of the canyon.”

       Finally daylight, I thought as I came to the cave’s exit that was at the bottom of a canyon. I can go straight up the canyon, which will soon turn into a narrow passage surrounded by walls of solid rock.
      “We need to go Straight ahead and we’ll run for two miles until we get to the dam.”
The dam that’s thirty feet high but only twenty feet wide jammed in between solid rock walls that are at least forty feet high.

       “You climb that side and I’ll go up this side, now here’s what you do on my signal…” The group had cut hand and footholds to the top while building the dam. Once at the top I could see the water backed up behind the dam we had built. There were many trees growing almost right to the edge. The young woman did as she had been instructed and went straight to a rope holding a massive tree trunk in position. It was obvious to me that when she cut this rope made from twisted vines the tree trunk would swing in an ark that would hit the dam squarely in the center. She could see me standing by the other swinging ram as we called the tree trunks.

      We had a view of the cave entrance and we saw the horsemen now moving cautiously toward the entrance. I yelled as loud as I possibly could to attract their attention, I kept on yelling until one of the riders pointed and shouted, “There they are” and they all came as fast as they could. When they got close enough to the dam, she yelled
      “Cut it now.”
      The younger woman cut the rope and watched as the giant tree trunk arched through the air and hit the dam dead center. It made a tremendous noise and she could see the dam had moved but didn’t break. It did start leaking and by this time the riders below were looking at the water pouring through and turned to run. Just then the tree trunk that Lydia had cut loose came swinging into and right through the center of the dam and the water poured through. She could see the horses and riders washed down the gully by the torrent of water. She grabbed a rope that had been left hanging from the tall tree by the waters edge and with a good run and jump she swung to the other side of the canyon. And landed almost at Lydia’s feet.
       “I don’t think they’ll follow us any longer,” she said.
       “ I don’t think they’ll ever follow anyone again,” the young one said.
       They got to the top and found the others waiting for them. They had an excellent view from up here and were able to see what had gone on below. They told Lydia that none of the men escaped, but they hadn’t seen Duan pull himself from the water.

      “Good, let’s get down there and see if any of the horses are still alive. If we find any dead men get their boots and clothes.”
      They found four horses alive and one man. The rest had washed far down the canyon and they didn’t want to take the time to look for them. Lydia said,     

            'It’s imperative to get as far away from this location as soon as possible.
           “What about the man?”
            “Is he alive?” Lydia wanted to know. 
             She kneeled beside the man to see if he was breathing and just as she put her ear to the man’s nose to feel for breath, she was grabbed by the hair, and a gun stuck against the side of her head. Lydia screamed and this surprised and distracted the man. While he was distracted she took the knife she had used to cut the rope from her belt and thrust it into the man’s throat. The man just dropped his gun and grabbed for the knife, but it was to late as she twisted it and pulled it free.
           The man lay back in the puddle that was now turning red from his flowing blood. Lydia had been trained to defend herself since she was a child, but this was the first man she had ever killed and she was surprised that as long as it was a Chinese she killed, she felt good about doing it.

          “WE now have four horses and can make better time. We set out to make as much distance from this spot as we could before night when we would have to rest. Canada was our destination. Lydia said, “It’s an international border and whoever is following us won’t be able to cross legally. Of course I don’t know if that will stop them or not but we have nowhere else to go. I remember when we first came to the caves. The country was in an uproar because there was a virus that selectively killed only white human males. It was obviously a genetically engineered virus and it spread so fast no one was able to find out where it came from. I was a bioengineer working at the Center for Disease Control (CDC) at the time. We received some of the first casualties who were killed by the virus. I got a culture and immediately identified the virus. It took me less than two hours to accomplish that.
By then all the men in the center were already dead. I thought I could make an antidote if given enough time, but I didn’t have time. Men were dying everywhere. I concocted what I thought was an antidote and ran to the day care center where my son stayed while I worked. I injected him with my concoction and it didn’t work. I’ll never forget holding him while he convulsed and then died in my arms. I swore then to get revenge on whoever did this.

                                                                              Duan Duan

         Duan couldn’t get over the vast wilderness and open spaces here in the Northwest of what used to be the United States, but are now The United Provinces of China. Everyone knew China had planted the toxin that killed all the American men. White men that is, that’s what the toxin was designed to do and it worked and worked well.
        There were millions of men left who were of African, Asian or American Indian extraction. The plague passed these races over. Of course this was planned, because someone was required to run what was left of the country until enough Chinese citizens could be imported. 2% of the white men were immune to the virus; the scientist concluded they were immune because they were of mixed race. They were now an endangered species protected by the Chinese Government. The whole world knew it was China that was responsible for the plague when two days after the die off, Chinese troops were ready to be transported to the United States under the guise of humanitarian assistance.

       “Son, you’re aware that for years our government had a one-child policy and almost all parents chose a boy. Within a few generations our country had millions more men than women. Young men started fighting over the available women and there were riots throughout the country. Many men wanting wives demanded the government do something to rectify the situation. Every time our government would attempt to find women for our men in other countries they would be rebuffed. We had become the wealthiest nation in the world and wanted to buy enough women to stop the population of wifeless young men from becoming more riotous. There didn’t seem to be a solution for the shortage of females because the shortage was widespread. India, Korea and most of Asia suffered from it.
       “If anyone finds out I told you this we’ll both be killed. What I tell you now can never be repeated, but you’re my flesh and blood and I think you should know what I’ve been doing for our country.” Duan’s father had worked for the Ministry of Population, and he told him of the experiments performed over the years in order to produce the perfect toxin that would kill, selectively and quickly.
“       For years our scientists have been jumping species with all sorts of animal and human viruses; creating chimera viruses. This research produced many man-made viruses that we combined looking for the perfect one.
     “I’ve sent many experimental viruses abroad. There was AIDS in the early eighties. That was a good one, because the United States got blamed for spreading that one. Then there was SARS and several others that didn’t spread as well. Finally we got the perfect corona virus that infected every species it came in contact with but would only harm the ones whose genetic code we programmed it to. That way it would easily spread because every living thing that came in contact with it became infected, but it was harmless to all except the ones whose DNA matched what we had programmed it to kill. Once activated, by the correct DNA, the virus takes over cells and makes more copies of itself until all the cells burst in an impressive splash of blood, and this not only quickly spreads throughout the body of the infected, but the victim become extremely contagious and this helps everyone else get infected.”

       “Are other nations doing the same as you?” He asked.
       “That’s how we got started, one of our spies learned that Australia was creating genetically engineered animal and human corona-viruses to specifically infect persons of Chinese origin. They feared us, the whole world feared China because of our immense population, and all nations knew if we ever went to war we would ultimately win because of our superior numbers. Then we discovered that other nations were experimenting with these racial specific bio-weapons and we developed viruses for diverse racial characteristics. Because of overpopulation of our homeland and the women shortage it was decided to kill of the white male population of the United States, and send millions of young men there to find wives and repopulate the country. We simply mailed infected packages to the residents of every city and town in the United States. If there were any who didn’t get a package the virus would be spread by insects, birds, dogs, and any other living thing so it only took two days to wipe out the whole white male population. Because that country was feared and hated by the rest of the world there weren’t many objections to this action.”
      “Why didn’t the virus kill all Caucasians worldwide?”
       “I created the virus so it would self destruct after forty-eight hours. Even if the virus inadvertently spread to another country, by the time it got there it would be dying and probably to weak to cause any damage. I personally oversaw the shipping of the plague-laden packages to be sure they were all delivered directly to America with no stopovers anywhere.”
       Duan silently thanked his father for giving him this thrilling opportunity. He knew he would never have gotten an opportunity to hunt for a wife like this if it wasn’t for the plague developed by his father and his associates. The thrill of the hunt was almost as good a feeling as knowing he was finally getting a wife. It all seemed so easy until the log smashed through the dam and drowned everyone except him. Outsmarted by a woman He was glad there were no other survivors to tell how he had led his men into a trap. Now he could make up a story how he was heroically attacking a much larger force when his men were killed.
      His satellite phone he carried with him survived as he was washed down the canyon and managed to get hold of an overhanging branch. Once he pulled himself from the raging water. He called the counselor at the hunting academy and told his story; then requested reinforcements.
      “The helicopter I sent is in your area right now, I’ll have them locate these murderers and exterminate them.”
       “Don’t do that. These are spirited women and will make excellent breeding stock. We want to capture them, not kill them.”



      Sunrise came and they were already moving, heading for the border that was only twenty miles distant now. They all heard it at the same time and she recognized it for what it was, a helicopter Her exact location was pinpointed and the aircraft carrying the knockout gas was already flying over the area, just waiting for coordinates to drop the gas and it was now floating to the ground all around them. Everyone was unconscious in a matter of seconds.
The helicopter landed and Duan found the young one he wanted so badly and put his mark on her. Now everyone would know he had claimed her. Other helicopters landed and they loaded the group members on them to transport to the detention center.
Lydia woke up while being transported and saw the Chinese helicopter crew wasn’t wearing any protective clothing. She reached under her left breast where she had surgically concealed a capsule eight years ago before she fled the Center For Disease control. She dug it out with her fingernails, held the capsule in her hand behind the pilot’s head and broke it open by forcefully closing her fingernails into it. It made no noise, nor was the escaping virus visible, but she knew it was there and the destruction it would cause.
Once all the prisoners were delivered to the detention center they were herded into a cement enclosure without any windows; just the heavy steel door that closed them in with a sound of rubber against rubber and cement walls. They knew it meant the door was a seal and when the decontaminant started seeping into the room from unseen vents they knew the room was sealed. The contaminant saturated their clothes, hair and lungs before it was finally shut off.
     A little late for sterilization Lydia thought.
         They were separated and taken to individual interrogation rooms for questioning. Lydia was telegraphing her nervousness by crossing and uncrossing her legs and arms, then looking around the room where all she could see were mirrored walls. She waited for what seemed a long time until one of the security agents opened the door with a tray of food for her. As soon as the agent opened the door Lydia was at him. He was knocked to the floor and she attempted to exit the way he had come in, but Duan, who was watching on the monitor just pushed the red button and instantly she was rolling on the floor in pain. He repressed the button and the pain stopped.
         “Please don’t do that again,” he said into a microphone, “we have the best security here and it’s escape proof.”
          She thought that pain was worse than any she had ever experienced. The agent picked himself and the tray of food off the floor and left.
Duan pushed the door slowly open and cautiously entered. “Before you try anything please remember before you can accomplish anything you will experience extreme pain, so do yourself a service and don’t do anything untoward.”
          “O.K” she answered, “what do you want from me?”
          “Twenty-nine of our hunters were murdered by your group. That makes you all guilty. I have the option of executing all of you, one of you or none of you,” he told her.
        “Try none,” she said.
        “Why should I do that?”
        Just then another hunter rushed into the room and whispered to Duan. “So,” he said, “our face recognition software has come up with your history. Thank you,”
        “For what?”
        “For making me a rich man.” He got up and left her alone, but he soon returned with a smile on his oriental face. “It seems you’re wanted by a lot of important people who have put a large reward on your head. They’re sending the best interrogator in the whole country to talk to you. He’ll be here first thing in the morning. Nobody has ever been able to resist answering any question he may ask; so sweet dreams tonight and I hope you dream about him. She didn’t dream, but she prayed that overnight was time enough.
Lydia was returned to the same cell the others were in and she knew the cell would be wired for sound so she scratched a note on the floor in an area she knew a camera couldn’t read. It said, “Two days and it’s over.” She knew the plague would have spread worldwide by then.
None of the others knew what this meant, but knew it was somehow important to them. When the interrogator didn’t show up in the morning she prayed harder that it was working.
       On the second morning a woman came with the keys to release them. “They’re dying, they’re all dying,” she said with a scared look on her face.
      “Don’t worry.” Lydia told her, “it won’t infect you.”
      “What won’t infect me?”
      “The Chinese Plague.” She went on to tell all her companions how in those desperate hours she was working on an antidote to try and save her son she had bio-engineered the plague that was killing all the Caucasian men into one that would seek out the genetic code of any Chinese male. She had made several different viruses for different nationalities. One Chinese, One Russian, One Middle Eastern and One Indian, They were easy to make once she had figured how the virus was programmed. She wasn’t sure who had manufactured the one killing the Americans; As soon as she found out who was responsible she destroyed all the others and using a scalpel made a small incision in her breast and hid the virus there. She had been conflicted about using it for revenge all these years, but once they were captured she decided it was time to use it, and she had created it in a way that once one person was infected, just his breathing would cause the infection to spread globally in a day.
      They walked into a guard’s area where four bodies were sprawled and everything was spattered with blood from when the virus made them explode. A blood spattered TV was blaring. On the screen there was a female news crew walking among piles of dead Chinese men. The reporter was saying, “This plague is worldwide, it seems every ethnic Chinese male has died….
      Revenge is sweet and Lydia felt vindication for her dead son.