500: An Anthology of Short Stories

The Red Army was rapidly gaining ground. Although the soldiers of the Black Army were throwing themselves in battle-crazed, mindless charges against them, the Red Army soldiers were inexorably nearing their goal: to replenish their rapidly dwindling slave numbers. It would be senseless to relent now, after having already suffered such vast losses. The sergeants knew this and mercilessly spurred the seemingly inexhaustible combatants onward.

The battlefield was littered with the fallen corpses of both armies. Headless torsos; torn limbs scattered every which way; severed legs and crushed bodies created a Black and Red garish carpet. It stretched far afield and into the distance across the vast plain existing between the citadels of the two hostile armies. In each fortress, a queenly monarch continually broadcast a compulsive message that simply stated, “Kill! Kill! Kill!” The warriors were mechanical automatons engineered to follow her strict commands. Not a single fighter so much as thought of resistance or desertion. They fought without any concern for themselves.

The battlefield soon made movement difficult for both forces as the bodies steadily piled up. Soldiers faltered when they stepped upon a fallen comrade’s decapitated corpse, unintentionally making themselves vulnerable to attack. Many a brave young one fell without a sound as an enemy soldier struck him down and moved on to the next target.

Eerily, there was hardly any sound. The only noise that could be heard came from the tramps of thousands upon thousands of feet as the soldiers streamed out of their citadels to engage the enemy. The air was redolent with a spicy scent of blood mixing with released chemicals. It gradually covered the combatants in a delicate miasma.

Opportunistic scavengers lurked on the edges of the battle, eagerly snatching up a corpse and running off further into the underbrush to enjoy the fresh meat of a previous predator. In death, these soldiers posed no threat to them. Others struck leisurely from the sky, having the luxury to select a target and pounce, as the fighters’ attention was entirely fixated on their foes. Hundreds of them were snatched up and borne off to feed hungry mouths eagerly awaiting the return of their raptor parents.

When the largest and most vicious of the Red Army soldiers finally breached the fort, the Black Army Queen telepathically signaled the retreat. But it was no hasty, dishonorable or chaotic one. The Black Army soldiers efficiently evacuated their castle, ensuring that their most precious cargo was protected in their retreat. They could not afford to let the Red Army soldiers capture the next generation of Black Army children.

Sooner than expected or anticipated, the largest, strongest of the Red Army warriors came upon the Black Army Queen still ensconced within her inner sanctum. Her personal bodyguard threw themselves in fervor and berserk loyalty upon the invaders, but it was in vain. Ten of the Red Army militias surrounded the immobile queen and ruthlessly hacked her to pieces. All resistance crumbled as her death scent permeated the air…