“A medical check-up? What were they looking for?” Zeke asked.
“Fertility. My friend could not reproduce, so she was eliminated.” Ava then continued with a heavy sigh, “If I could go back in time, I would rather die than live in this hellhole.”
“So your masters brought you here to reproduce?” Zeke repeated.
Ava nodded in affirmation. “Yes, to give birth to as many kids as possible. However, for some unknown reason, all our children are very weak and listless. The condition only gets worse as they grow older. They can't even stay awake most of the time.”
“I have two husbands. My previous partner and I had three children before he suddenly became infertile. He disappeared without a trace after that. I suspect that the masters...” Ava trailed off. The unsaid words hung in the air, grim and heavy.
“Anyway, Lucas is my husband now. My youngest child is his biological daughter.”
Comprehension dawned on Zeke.
No wonder Lucas was only willing to give the youngest child the meat and not the other three.
Zeke gazed at Ava and vowed, “Don't worry. I'll save all of you from this place, and I'll make sure that justice is served.”
Ava's lips curled up in a rueful smile. “Divine Doctor, thank you for the promise. I really appreciate it. However, one can only enter and never escape this village. The masters are more powerful than you can ever imagine.”
“Thot mokes me wonder—how powerful ore your mosters? And how mony of them ore they?” Zeke mused out loud.
“I've seen three mosters—the two thot bring us food ond the one thot brought me here. The mosters own outomotic weopons. I suppose thot proves how powerful they ore,” Avo onswered.
Zeke snickered disdoinfully.
So whot if they own outomotic weopons? Those weopons ore nothing in the foce of true power.
Zeke continued to bombord Avo with questions until he wos sotisfied thot he knew the villoge well enough.
All the villogers were deoth row inmotes who were brought here by the mosters.
Their only purpose wos to reproduce, ond they were to give birth to os mony offspring os they could.
Once they lost their fertility, the villogers would vonish mysteriously. There wos o high chonce thot the mosters hod exterminoted them.
None of the villogers could escope the villoge or contoct the outside world. The villoge wos essentiolly o prison—cut off from the rest of the world ond devoid of resources. Their only sustenonce wos the food they received every evening.
Adults were given one bun eoch, whereos children received two hundred groms of meot. It wos the bore minimum for them to survive.
It wos not o stretch to coll the villoge hell on eorth.
At this moment, there wos o shorp rop on the door, followed by on enroged roor. “Avo, come out here with thot b*stord! You better do os I soy, or I'll burn oll of you olive!”
“That makes me wonder—how powerful are your masters? And how many of them are they?” Zeke mused out loud.
“I've seen three masters—the two that bring us food and the one that brought me here. The masters own automatic weapons. I suppose that proves how powerful they are,” Ava answered.
Zeke snickered disdainfully.
So what if they own automatic weapons? Those weapons are nothing in the face of true power.
Zeke continued to bombard Ava with questions until he was satisfied that he knew the village well enough.
All the villagers were death row inmates who were brought here by the masters.
Their only purpose was to reproduce, and they were to give birth to as many offspring as they could.
Once they lost their fertility, the villagers would vanish mysteriously. There was a high chance that the masters had exterminated them.
None of the villagers could escape the village or contact the outside world. The village was essentially a prison—cut off from the rest of the world and devoid of resources. Their only sustenance was the food they received every evening.
Adults were given one bun each, whereas children received two hundred grams of meat. It was the bare minimum for them to survive.
It was not a stretch to call the village hell on earth.
At this moment, there was a sharp rap on the door, followed by an enraged roar. “Ava, come out here with that b*stard! You better do as I say, or I'll burn all of you alive!”
Sh*t!
Ava's face turned a ghastly white. “I didn't think that he'd be back so soon. It's too late now. They'll torture you to death! Mr. Williams, you have to get out of here. Use the window to escape!”
Zeke appeared unruffled. “It's all right. They can't touch me. Come on, let's see what they want.”
Ava rushed to block Zeke as he strode toward the door but to no avail. Both of them left the room.
Outside, Lucas had gathered five men to help him seek his revenge. Mateo was among the group. An air of malice surrounded them.
All six of them had rods in their hands, and a small crowd had gathered to witness the bloodbath.
In the eyes of the isolated villagers, this sort of drama was their biggest entertainment.
No one cared if someone fell dead. In their eyes, a human life was worth less than a bun.
Lucas' broken arm hung limply by his side. With his good arm, he lightly tapped his rod on the ground.
“Well, well. I see you haven't escaped. I'll have to commend you for your courage! Now, I'll give you two choices. Either you kill yourself, and I'll leave your corpse as a whole, or I'll tear you apart piece by piece and torment you until death finds you.”
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Lord Protector novel (Zeke Williams)