The Woman's Game - 7. Part One: The Book of Genesis VIII

It was the evening after the day before.

Ash was put to bed in a room of many other ‘volunteers.’

Of course they were not truly volunteers.

They had been taken over by the never ending face.

However, Ash was always good at playing a part and was always very good at faking emotions.

The serum had no effect on him. Well, it had a placebo effect. He found himself to be entirely unaffected by the serum, so he had to play along with the ‘need’ of the release and the sexual aspiration.

He played along with the plan for a few days and about 3 days later, he left ‘The Centre’.

The other men and Ash following this were taken to the barracks to be sorted into uniform, be handed a gun and told to go patrol the streets. It happened with every single volunteer and now it was to happen to them. The Secret Army was growing in number and soon it would be strong enough even to beat the might of The Chinese Army…

In fact, it was already strong enough. They just needed the unity.

They needed The Shrouded One to give them their next instructions. These next instructions would not come for quite a while. Until after Utopia was established…

They were being transported for physical training when Ash started to notice strange things…

Ash looked over to one of the other soldiers and saw that she was twitching.

Ash reached over to her and patted her on the back. ‘You alright dear?’

‘No. No I’m not.’ She twitched again. ‘It’s just… I remember them.’ She began to twitch again but this time more violently. ‘I can’t remember now. All I remember is that face…’

Ash was ordered to return to his seat and started to talk to the person next to him. ‘So you ready?’

‘Yes Sir.’

‘Do you know who our leader is?’

‘No Sir.’

‘Do you like oranges on cheese?’ A silly question to ask but it contained a potent answer.

‘Yes Sir.’

Ash knew they were being controlled. Their minds had been wiped and each person produced a different reaction when the leader was mentioned. The higher leaders had hidden something from them all. None of them could remember anything.

Even with the twitching solider, all they could remember was that face. All they could feel was the pain of that face, forever implanted in their minds.

All of them were corrupted simply by the sexual desire that each of them felt when they were sat on that operating table.

The soldiers were forced to do things they were not willing to do.

Each of them had to make the wrong decision every time when they had to make a decision.

The Corruption. It infected them with the virus that was The Shrouded One…

Ash looked along the row of soldiers in the transportation caravan and started to worry.

All of their minds were blocked.

And the sad thing was that they could never get their minds back…

No matter what, even if they tried…

**

The order was barked from outside the front of the barracks.

‘Boys. Out for drill in thirty seconds. Come on, get a move on.’

Most of the men left the barracks and Ash was left with just one other boy. He looked over at the boy. He was knelt at his bed. He was praying. Ash observed his small desk. There was a cross and just a glass of water. Praying was forbidden. Ash looked over to the boy’s open locker and saw a photo of him and his father. A priest, no doubt.

‘Hi.’ Ash called over. The boy jumped and turned and looked as if he was begging for forgiveness.

‘You don’t need to worry. You can pray in front of me.’

‘It's just how I was raised.’

‘Why are you here?’

‘They took me in the night. I’m only 12.’

‘Only twelve?’

‘Yeah. I’m scared. That’s why I ask for his almighty help.’

‘If you get caught doing that, they’ll shoot on sight. Shoot first, ask questions later.’

‘I’d rather not worship a false god.’

Ash waited for the pain to pass through the boy but there was none.

Ash had noticed earlier that the young child had been staring at him in the shower. Of course. He would stare considering the discovery he would make in a few years time.

The Conditioning must not have worked for him either. At last, Ash finally had a great sense of hope.

The Never Ending Faces were not as strong as Ash once thought they were.

The Conditioning was just a short term solution. Over time, the control that they have over the human mind weakens. Of course, The Human Condition would fight back. The classical fight or flight situation. The body would use the entire brain to consume the faces or at least the dreams of the faces. This would cause the idea to fade and allow each soldier freedom at last.

But considering what some of the men had been forced to do, would all of them really want freedom? Ash worried for them. But that was not part of his task. He had to breathe. He had to carry on, no matter what.

Ash was at last strong enough. He was strong enough in his soul for the faces to fade instantly and for his soul to be totally free.

The boy packed his glass away in his locker, kissed the cross and placed it also in the locker.

The religious ones would be the first to be destroyed in the new Regime…

There would only be one god.

Her.

**

There was a loud scream that travelled through the corridors of The Centre. The staff of course knew which room it was coming from.

The Mental Patient. He would always scream but this scream was louder than usual.

‘I cannot take this anymore. Please release me. Allow me to be with those I should be…’

He could feel such a strong urge. He knew it was coming. He felt himself scratching the table every night, with his fingers being turned to blood. Every night he would scratch the same phrase in to the table. It was something that kept reoccurring in his mind. A very simple phrase.

‘The game is coming. The game is coming. The game…’

He had to escape. He had to try to escape from The Centre. He had to escape from there, in order to become part of The War and save humanity or more importantly those with gifts, from themselves.

He was a shining light in the way that he saw himself. He had the power to stop everything. If only he was a free man…

He needed to teach. He had to educate someone in something forbidden. He had to teach someone how to play The Game. And how to win at it. He had to pass the information on.

He couldn’t observe the end of the world without having a major part in it. He couldn’t just sit back and watch the ride. He had to corrupt someone for his own enjoyment, in order to get what he has always wanted.

Complete Freedom.

He must make the phone call. He had to. He didn’t want to, but he had to.

He must call The Shrouded One and plead for mercy…

**

‘As I always told my ex-husband Frederick, the thrill is in the chase, not the capture.’ Mrs. Greenwood laughed. She was at tea with Ash’s Mother.

She laughed to herself, "But you don’t understand. Both of my boys have been taken. I miss them horribly.’ The Mother took her tea and tried to drink some, but couldn’t bring herself to. Her reflection in the tea showed her something she didn’t want to see.

‘So? You go find another.’

‘I’m faithful’. She stroked the locket she wore, a photo of her and her husband. Oh how she loved him so much.

‘I was faithful. Faithful for twenty years. Then after the war was over, I got a letter in the post saying he died on the day before it ended. Caught by a stray bomb. I could have been meeting soldiers on leave but no, I stayed inside. I stayed faithful. Look where it got me.’ She took her scarf off and showed it to The Mother. ‘A lonely old bat, who refuses to put her central heating on because of the expense. Don’t turn out like me.’

‘I won’t turn into that don’t worry. He will be back soon, I’m sure.’

A rustling in the bushes. She missed him but she knew, all along that she was going to win the war.

She just knew…

They charged into the house. In her age, she had become much more unaware. But Mrs. Greenwood knew it was coming. The Mother dived under the table to keep herself hidden.

They took her. They took Mrs. Greenwood. They took her away.

It was them. The Secret Army…

The character was confused. Why would she be taken away? The Mother was totally aware of why it had to be.

She was so aware but she had to forget the thoughts of being unfaithful. She loved her husband so much that she would never be with anyone else. So she had to forget…

She had to be alone.

If she was not, she would get far too worried about the safety of her husband and most importantly the safety of her child…

**

Ash was alone. He was on guard duty because of the other cadets had fallen ill. Strangely enough, they were each meant to be impervious to these sort of illness but Ash believed The Never Ending Face was already starting to weaken in some of the soldier’s minds…

Ash looked up to the flag of The Shrouded One and then at the moon. It was bright that evening. It shone so strongly in the night sky. It was free. Oh how he wished to be that young 14 year old boy again. Just going to school with his mother and being dropped off and just leading a normal life.

Not too much to ask. But to the rest of the world, that was one of the biggest asks of all.

A free life.

Ash coughed. He felt something in his chest. He wasn’t sure if he was hallucinating or not but he started feel something extract from him.

Like a pool of light coming from his chest. A red light.

He started to feel an unbearable pain. He uncontrollably collapsed to the floor.

It appeared to form a shape in front of him. The red light transformed into a beast of fire. An all consuming dragon like beast…

And it looked like it was preparing to pounce…