Desert Children

[TeenFan]

Writer's Note: This story is going to be larger in total scope than the typical tale told here. It will be more focused on character development
and the ENM/ENF scenes won't be as numerous. The setting is in the future, the exact number of years unknown.

Desert Children

Chapter 1. It started off as the perfect day

The day was perfect, a gentle breeze keeping the sun from getting too warm. The late afternoon temperatures can be scorching to the
inhabitants of the town at the edge of the wasteland. Mako was glad the poetry recitals are being done before the mid-day meal break.
As he walks along the cement pathway with his class, Mako glances at the squirrels darting between pecan trees. He envies them. Squirrels
don't go to class. Squirrels never have to rack their brains all night trying to get the words to flow perfectly from the pen, for the words to
flow without stutter or pause from a twisted tongue. Mako smiles, internally laughing at such envy of small wild rodents...'are squirrels
rodent?' he wonders. The enjoyment of watching the little critters chasing each other through the tree branches fits the theme of the poem
he wrote the night before. Mako hopes the teacher likes the words and is impressed. Many of the children in the class are younger than he
is, so he can't be the one to mess up his lines or have mucked-up phrases.

There is barely a winter season so far south in Calizona Province. The children are appropriately dressed for the weather, sleeveless tunic
shirts white and beige in color, knee length shorts. Being dressed in his school clothes didn't keep Mako from wishing he could slip from the
reading/writing class to chase squirrels through the park like a dog would.

"Hurry up, Mako. Don't lag behind." The teacher near the front of the group just scolded him, and Mako turns his attention back to the path,
skipping and hopping his way back to the group. Mrs. Jordana is a fair but no nonsense type of teacher. Any further dilly-dallying or continued
loss of focus could result in punishment. A second warning is often followed by the stinging pain of the electro stick on a bare shoulder.

A little girl turns to smile at him, though she looks a little apprehensive. "My tummy is all tumbly," Meera says while placing a hand on her
stomach. She uses the same round and round motion that kids use when they are hungry.

Mako tries not to chuckle too loudly, feeling butterflies in his own tummy. "You will do fine, Meera. You are not the only one who is nervous."
A folded up sheet of paper is retrieved from a front pocket of his shorts, a sudden panic attack making him think the poem had been forgotten.
Mako clutches the small sheet of paper in his left hand. He holds on, afraid of dropping it, having spent more than an hour working on it
for the big presentation. Meera, a girl two years younger than him, holds tightly to his right hand. Meera is the youngest and smallest kid in
the class, being only seven years old. Having no brothers or sisters, the much bigger Mako looked after her as if she were a younger sister.
Not having a clue what Meera wrote, Mako is eager to hear what she came up with, though he is definitely not eager about having to read his
own poem out loud.

The class of fifteen children, a mix of boys and girls, aged seven to nine, follows Mrs. Jordana on the path to the outdoor miniature
amphitheater. It has a small stage at one end of a circular series of wooden benches. The children take up two rows on one side of the seating
area, the teacher stands in between the first bench and the slightly raised stage. Mrs. Jordana, who is around fifty years old with just a touch
of graying hair, pulls out a small notebook from a pocket, along with a red colored pen.

Mako is relieved when the teacher decides to start with some other classmates. Not paying much attention to their recitations he looks at the
trees, he looks at the sky, mainly thinking about his poem. He's nervous. Speaking in front of an audience scares him. Mako does notice and
pay attention when Meera takes the stage. The little girl looks so fragile and the pony tail makes her cute. If Mako wanted a girl from his
class to see his home he'd invite Meera. Mako might like having a sister around if she were nice and sweet like the one who looks so nervous
as she steps up on the stage.

Meera stares at a sheet of paper in her hand. She doesn't look up as she reads.

"My dog is my friend
he warms my bed on a cold day
and he watches over me
when sleep has come my way."

Looking up, Meera smiles as a light patter of handclaps comes from the other students. Only Mako clapped with any vigor and enthusiasm.
Unfortunately, most of the other students appear to be bored, staring at their shoes or fiddling their fingers. After the girl steps down, the
teacher pats her on the back.

"That's very good. Now for Mako. Is your poem ready?"

His smile feeling fake, feet dragging like lead boots, Mako goes up the steps. His fingers tremble and he hopes nobody notices. Looking at the
poem written on the sheet of paper, Mako realizes it has the same number of lines as Meera's poem. 'Dang it...have I done no better than a
seven year old?' Mako thinks to himself, already doubting the quality of his effort. Having studied it so much since last night, Mako thinks he can
do one thing to improve his chances for a good grade. Don't read the poem. Don't look down. Say it out loud while looking at the audience.

"I call this 'Freedom Is Not A Cloud'. I hope you like it."

Mako looks up at Mrs. Jordana, as he tries to flash a smile. He looks at the class and some of them are looking at him, some staring
disinterestedly at something else.

"I sit and watch the birds fly
I wonder where they've been
Sometimes I watch the clouds float by
Sitting here I am left behind."

Mako hears the tepid applause at first, but the sounds fade as he notices a man running toward the amphitheater. This guy runs along the
pathway, and he seems to be wearing the blue and white uniform of a security forces cadet. The cadet shouts something as he comes closer,
but Mako can't hear what is being said. The shouting gets the attention of the teacher and the other students. Turning their bodies on the
wooden benches, they watch the running man come nearer.

Slowing down his run, the cadet shouts again. "The Eddonites are coming. Run!...find your families and run!"

[TeenFan]

Desert Children
Chapter 2. It's An Attack


It started with a humming sound, a constant whining like being near a disturbed hive of bees. The sound was lower in tone, much more ominous,
and it got louder by the second. Mako looked all around him as he hurried along with the other children. Then he could see the source of the
sound. A formation of triangular shaped drones swoops low over the roofs of the apartment complexes. Mako had never seen machines of war
before, but of course he had heard about them. It was fascinating and horrifying, such fabulous technology being used to destroy people's lives
and property. The drones had an odd shape, three sided while attached to a frame with four twirling blades above the three sided mainframe
of the drone. Mako was amazed by the beautiful simplicity of it, frightened by the destructive power. A cannon points down from the nose.
Missiles fire from the front row of flying machines in the formation, a small missile launched every few seconds that blasted one's ears and
caused the ground to tremble.

WOOOSH...BANG...WOOOSH...BANG...the world is thrown into chaos and confusion. People are running in every direction, some must be
trying to head home, some seeking any form of shelter. Crying and wailing, the kids, led by Mrs. Jordana, want to get off the streets. Mako
can't see much of what is going on, but what he does see is enough. The first one he saw killed was the young cadet soldier who ran to warn
them. The death and destruction is more than a child can comprehend and Mako wishes he could wake up from this nightmare.

Meera was running by Mako's side, their hands clasped. The younger girl falls down, and Mako is many paces ahead by the time he can stop.

Mrs. Jordana notices and she calls out, "Mako. Got get Meera. Help her catch up."

The urge to continue running is strong. Fighting against survival instincts, Mako runs back to pick Meera up, trying not to think how this could
affect his own safety. "We have to hurry. Run faster," he shouts at the young girl. Catching up to the group, many of the other kids are crying
but with the sounds of a town under assault their whimpers are barely heard.

Streaks of red shoot across the sky, with more explosions rumbling in the distance. Hovercopters loaded with ground troops fly by to
land in open areas, the heavy whirring sounds of the giant blades adding to the verbal assault on Mako's ears. Several other children fall
down, and the teacher must stop again to help them to get up.

Mrs. Jordana stops the group when a group of soldiers approaches them. It could only be Eddonite soldiers, dressed in tight fitting body
armor, their heads and faces enclosed in a helmet with darkened visors. The armor is colored black and yellow, giving the Eddonites the
unearthly appearance of giant walking paper wasps. Three of them carry laser rifles, and the children's class is stopped from moving
forward.

The most eerie thing about them, the Eddonite soldiers, is there eyes cannot be seen. The face shield is reflective. Up closer, Mako can
see where the joints look enlarged from the extra padding at the elbows and knees, thick chest protectors make them look barrel chested.
How can they be killed Mako wonders. One of the soldiers points at Mrs. Jordana.

"You will all come with us."

The teacher bravely maintains control of her class, "Do what he says, children. Don't run. Stay together as a group." She stays in front as
the soldiers steer the group towards the central market area of the town. It's a short and a long walk at the same time. In distance it's not
much, but to see the fallen bodies of multiple people keeps all the children at the edge of mental collapse. Only the threat of being shot
keeps the group together and moving. Other groups of children are being formed, as the soldiers move from building to building. Groups
of adults are also being herded the same direction, and eventually a large group of townspeople are clustered near the village center.

The sound of fighting seems to be lessening, but the horrors continue. A young man resists and he is butted in the head by a laser rifle. An
older man falls down and is pulled back up to his feet.

For some reason a separation of prisoners begins. Adults are placed into one cluster, children in another. At the city hall, the children are
placed on the opposite side of the road from the three story building of government. The adults are lined up against the wall of the building,
and Mrs. Jordana is forced to leave her class to be added to the line of grownups.

An Eddonite soldier rips the tunic of a young woman, just a teenager. Her breasts are both exposed and Mako would normally have been
overjoyed at seeing such a sight. The teenager strikes out with her arms flailing. The soldier hits the teen's face with a gloved hand, nearly
knocking her down. Subdued, the young woman stands sobbing. The other adults can only watch.

On the other side of the street, Mako can only watch as more people are added to the lineup. Then he recognizes some faces.

Mako shouts loudly, "Mother. Father. I'm over here." He tries to run across the street, and he's not the only kid who tries. But the way
is quickly blocked by more Eddonites. All Mako can do is hold out his hand as he continues to shout.

An armored personnel carrier pulls up, and an Eddonite in a fancier helmet steps out. This officer approaches the adult lineup along the
wall of the City Hall. This officer carries a hand held megaphone, and speaking into it he gets everyone's attention.

"Today we take control of the border with Armag. Captain, execute these prisoners. Burn all the buildings and homes of this village."

The captain, must be the captain as he responded to the order, takes out a silver colored laser pistol. Without hesitation or warning he shoots
the first prisoner in line. With screaming and shouting becoming deafening, the captain goes down the line shoooting each one in the head.
Mako sees the next ones to be shot are his parents. His mother is crying, father hanging onto her.

Holding out his hand toward them, Mako screams

* * * * *

A sudden shifting to the left jolted Mako awake. Groggily, with a pounding headache, he opens his eyes to look around. It's dark, but he can
see other faces in the gloom. Many of these faces are with eyes closed, heads slumped down. A few of these faces are awake, but the lost
look in those eyes matched the feeling of disorientation that Mako feels. Then he remembers being forced to get onto the truck, but it's hazy
and he can't quite get the details of it. For some reason, all the kids of Angel City had been spared. Mako has a foggy image of the huddled
masses of survivors, most of them around his age. They had not been killed, but to what fate awaits them?

"Any idea where they are taking us?"

Mako looks in the direction the question came to him. Leaned against the back of the truck's holding area, a much bigger kid looks scared.
Bigger boys aren't supposed to be scared, but the destruction of the town, the deaths of the adults, makes every survivor a quivering and
pathetic child searching for solace, searching for answers but not really knowing the right questions. What comfort would there be in
knowing the destination of the caravan of vehicles?

Shrugging his shoulders, Mako says, "Does it make any difference where they are taking us?"

The big kid stares at Mako, face mostly blank, and then suddenly he gets to his feet. Stepping over the legs of other sleeping kids, the bigger
boy comes closer, keeping his balance despite the rocking of the truck. The slumped over sleeper next to Mako is grabbed and hauled nearly
upright. Showing great strength, this sleeper is carried over to the open space vacated by the larger kid's body and gently placed down. Coming
back toward Mako, this taller, broad shouldered, giant of a kid looks lumbering but is amazingly agile and well balanced. Mako isn't sure what
is going on, what are the intentions? If he's about to be attacked there isn't much that can be done about it.

To Mako's great relief, the hulking kid sits down next to him. "I'm Herman. I'm ten. Most of these other kids are too small...too young to do
anything. The older ones...you and me...we figure something out."

Mako can't think of anything. What can they do? What can kids their age do when a war breaks out? Looking across from him, Mako sees the
slumped over form of Meera. The seven year old girl has looked up to him for quite a while. Mako kept the other girls from picking on her,
but that was a bunch of school bullies they were dealing with, not murderous Eddonites. However, a sense of big brotherliness slipped through
the helplessness. He's taken care of Meera in the past. He'll try to take care of her going into this god-forsaken future. Turning his head to
the biggest ten year old he'd ever come across, some guy named Herman who he has never seen before, a hand is held out.

"I'm Mako. I'm a year younger than you...You're right. We have to do something to help the little ones."

[Freesub]

An interesting start, certainly.

I wonder if this story will end up having everyone be naked, but the girl will not be bothered due to her age, while the boy will be quite embarassed?

[TeenFan]

I wonder if this story will end up having everyone be naked, but the girl will not be bothered due to her age, while the boy will be quite embarassed?

These opening chapters set up how these children end up being in the desert. Once that is established, there is a time jump. Any nudity
at these young ages will be merely incidental, not typical ENM/ENF type scenarios.