Obelisk; 4 sides, narrowing upward, ending in a point. A singular structure baking in the sun. And for what purpose?
I can’t eat it, drink it or live in it. Certainly, it shelters one from the sun’s heat when summer is nigh, but I can’t live in it. Neither does the sea — the thing it casts a shadow upon — provide more than fish. And fish is of no use without fresh water to wash it down.
“You…girl!” A man calls from the obelisk.
I have 2 bullets remaining in my gun, the laser rifle almost spent, but the edge of my sword is still sharp. The wind at my back, I sniff at the air. More behind me. I turn to find 3 women and a man.
“How many in your party?” I ask.
A woman, taller than the others, answers. “We are from a village not 3 kilometers away.”
The man standing at the obelisk runs toward us. He’s unarmed, eyes showing a hint of fear. He joins the tall woman, standing at her height.
“What do you want?” I ask.
“We offer solace from the war to those willing to work,” he said. “Are you interested in a home?”
“I will not be hasty in my answer,” I said. “For more years than I remember, I have walked the Earth looking for what you offer. In my innocence, I was ravaged by men and escaped their grasp when other men fought them for me. In my haste to find solace, I followed a woman with kind eyes who led me to a slaver camp. When a missile took out my captors, I escaped again.”
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Sue Vincent's Daily Echo 