Jaycee Woods

Below is a snip from a different Boudica and The Butcher teaser short story. These teasers are planned to be an ad-like introduction to the story setting within the Second American Civil War. Formatted but still raw and laconic.

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Colt ran for cover after his raider team got ambushed upon returning from blowing up a rebel ammo dump in Pilgerruh, which before the civil war had been called Cleveland. Luckily, he did not take any wounds as his team dispersed to break off the engagement. Like him, they were now alone making their way back to the rally point.

Sneaking up on him, Jessa, a rebel soldier, immediately pointed her rifle at Colt, “Drop your gun now or else I won’t hesitate to shoot!” She looked at him with an angry girl pout.

Colt gently and slowly put down his rifle in a non-threatening manner. “Are you new? I haven’t seen you around here before.”

Seeing him disarm, Jessa lowered her rifle a little bit, but did not trust him. “I don’t need to answer to you.” She looked at him with a cold, unsmiling expression, not giving up a sign of weakness or friendliness.

Colt said, “You look hungry. Are they giving you your rations?”

Jessa looked at him surprised as he was the first person recently to see her as a human, not just as the soldier she had become. She was surprised he understood that she may be hungry. “How the hell did you know?”

Colt said, “Rebs have a reputation for not taking care of their own. I have a fresh apple that I picked outside the city this morning. When was the last time you had fresh fruit?”

Colt noticed that her eyes lit up as if she had not had any tasty fruit in a long time. She craved his apple. “A long time ago…can I have it?”

Colt said, “You have a gun so you can take anything that you want. However, I hate to watch you suffer so I will let you have some.” He slowly reached for the apple in his pocket, then took a bite for himself. He offered her the apple to eat from his hand.

As he offered the apple, her expression softened a little bit towards him. She was grateful that he understood her suffering and risked trusting her by offering to share with her this rare treat. As he held the apple, she bit down to immediately beginning to eat it, enjoying its crispy and sweet taste. She took a few bites then looked up into his eyes. She could hardly speak, her mouth full of the apple, “Thank you.”

Colt said, “You’re welcome. You should probably just kill me. As a POW, I am just going to be another mouth to feed. I understand Rebs gotta be heartless and cruel as the war is going bad for you all.”

Jessa stopped eating the apple as his words pulled her back into the reality of the situation. Disoriented by the contrast, she stared at him surprised and shocked. She could not believe what she just heard as it was not what she expected to hear from a Union jackal.

She considered this disparity, and after a while, she finally answered, “No!” Her determined tone clearly communicating that she would not be willing to do that to him.

Colt reassured her, “It’s okay. You don’t have to pretend for me. You are just a blood thirsty killer who drowns puppies for fun. Just make it fast without sadistic cruel torture and bloody games.”

Jessa paused as she did not know what to say. He just did not appear to be giving up despite pantomiming the proper rituals of surrender, which made this all harder for her. “Listen, I may be a soldier, but I’m also a human. It may be hard to believe for you, but I’m not heartless. I do not like killing if I can avoid it.” She looked at him seriously, but her eyes begged for his understanding.

Colt said, “As a rebel, you are a criminal who betrayed our country. The rebels started the war with acts of terrorism, car bombs, targeting civilians before taking over the cities, and trying to topple the government. All because your preferred party lost an election.”

Jessa stopped completely, not sure what to say again as he had a point, which she could not counter. She felt a bit ashamed of being a part of this rebellion given its origins and present condition. “That’s…I mean…you have a point…but..,” she hesitated, looking at him with uncertainty before she finally continued, “…but your country is led by a fascist dictatorship, the people are oppressed, and we deserve to live free.”

Colt answered, “Have you seen the Union controlled areas outside rebel-controlled cities? There is food and happy families rebuilding their lives and community. Children laugh, play, and learn on the farms. We don’t make soldiers out of women and children.”