Few days prior to the events leading up to the rebellion on camp Vorkuta, on the southern eastern side of California lies the city of Temecula. Mountains and hills surround the area. Homes still in somewhat good condition, while others burned or have rotted away from the passage of time. A large semi-truck hitched with its trailer behind it calmly cruises down the disheveled freeway. Passing by rooted cars and tents from people who have no homes and have made the side of the road or underpasses their temporary home. Inside the trailer were many men and women from all range of ages. Hakan sits on the floor bed, trying his hardest not to slide across the slippery sheet of metal. He tries to sit upright only to be tossed back down again as the semi made its large and long turns.

Hakan looked at all the other poor souls stuck in the trailer with him. He sees a little girl clutching tightly to her mother as she embraced her back. An old man as he had a beaded necklace with a cross dangling from his hands, prays to himself with his eyes tightly closed. He tries to look out the trailer through the small rusted hole that was just behind him. It was so hard to see what was passing by, everything was a blur for him. His whole body slightly jumped in the air as the trailer hit an unknow bump. The voices all winced with fear as their bodies jumped as well. The large vehicle made a loud whirring sound before it hissed aggressively as they all slid across the floor from the sudden stop.

Voices can be heard as people were commanding others, telling them to hurry and quickly. The doors open and a bright light illuminated the darkness void of the trailer. Everyone raised their hands close to their face trying to block out the sun's rays entering the trailer. The silhouette of several figures climbed up the trailer and spread out evenly going to the prisoners on either side of the trailer walls.

"Hurry up! Get those people out of there, quickly!"

"Yes, sir..."

The silhouettes said as they lifted up the prisoners and guided them to the doorway. It was Hakan's turn now, he was surprised that other prisoners were helping him up and off the trailer. At the bottom of the trailer stood a soldier as he helped guided them off safely but with a sense of urgency. They formed two rows of single file lines as they marched sluggishly to their new home. Piles and piles of trash surrounded them. It was as if they were marching through a dumping ground. Hundreds of workers were on top of these huge piles of garbage mounds. They were sorting the trash as a lone guard with a rifle stood watch on each of their mounds. They were pulling out large pieces of cardboard slip sheets or anything made of cardboard. The two rows of lines walked through this trashed area as a massively large factory appeared in their view. It was very rustic looking with several large windows all over. They entered the building seeing so many working machinery parts and loud noises going all around them.

A loud machine pushes a soft metal with intense pressure as a man pulls a wire and coils it up as he rolls the entire metal wire. Another machine bangs furiously as it was cutting copper sheets of metal nonstop. All these gadgets and flashy light buttons were the machinery for the making of bullets for all their soldiers. A man opens a hatch as they sprinkle down a roller belt organizing them for the lead and copper mix to make the bullet. Hakan stared as he tried to process as much information as he can before being pushed with the line to their unknow destination.

The lines split into two as the first row was separated, heading off to the left side of the factory. Hakan's group was diverted and headed to the right of the factory. The guards made sure they kept the fast pace of walking and to not slow down. Several people were whacked on the back with a baton as they quickly straightened up. Now they were outside of the factory in a large open area. Fences and watch towers surrounded the fence line as they overlooked in the secured camp. Hakan's line now split into smaller groups as several guards broke them up and pushed them back against a concreted area with a single wall standing. The ground was wet and soaked from water. Two guards stood while the third place Hakan and two others up against the wall facing them.

"Strip, now!"

The three of them were confused until one of the guards raised his m4 rifle at them.

"I said strip now!"

They panicked and soon did what they were told. They undressed until they were fully naked. They covered themselves with their hands feeling extremely uncomfortable and embarrassed. The guard picks up all their clothes and tosses them in a garbage bin. The other guard steps forward with a large powerful hose and begins to spray Hakan and the two other prisoners with a sharp rush of water. They tried to block the water but were pushed back all the way up against the wall. The guard spray them as he was trying to put out a fire. The water put them in shock as it was ice cold. They couldn't feel their face or their toes and fingers.

After the barrage of the freezing water, they were finally spared. The soldier handed them towels to dry off quickly and handed them new sets of clothing. He rushed them as he was extremely impatient. They dried off as best they could and walked away back in line with their new clothes. They pushed them forward in a large crowd of people scared and confused on what will happen to their fate. A small wooden stage was in the center as a man walked towards the center in a well groomed manner. His uniform was free from dirt and his boots seemed to shine in the hot sun. He carried with him a cord free microphone and tapped it with his finger, making a loud muffled sound.

"Good evening, everyone. My name is colonel Reyes. I am the facility manager of camp Arroyo."

All the talking and whimpering from the newly established prisoners suddenly went silent as the older man in the uniform speaks.

"As of today, you are now the new inhabitants of this facility. You will be on a strict schedule all day of everyday. You will follow this schedule and will not deviate from it unless you were told to do so on commanding orders. Everyone will work, no one freeloads on my facility ground. Deviants will be dealt with swiftly with the appropriate punishment befitting them. The harder you work the more incentives and privileges you can earn. You are lucky to be in one of the few work camps that actually gives their prisoners incentives to promote efficient work ethic. Do NOT abuse this privilege that has been given to you. In just a moment, all of you will form up into rows and will be given an assignment as your job. This will be your permanent job unless told otherwise by high ranking officials to switch like myself or the other officers standing before you. Once again, welcome to camp Arroyo. Your new home."

Colonel Reyes steps off the stage and quickly hands the microphone to another high rank officer.

"Alright everyone get formed up quickly! Form up form up let's go!"

They quickly lined up at the table stations that formed a row as each table had a coordinator and two armed guards stand on either side of them. The coordinator looks at them and inspects the prisoners carefully before assigning them their forever job.

"Hmmm, sanitation. Hmmm sanitation. Let's see... order filler. Ummm, operator. Hmmm... scavenger."

Hakan was looking all around nervous as he kept fiddling in place. After some time has passed, he finally made his way to the front as he stood before the coordinator, sweating and scared. The coordinator stared at him told him to lift his arms wide up and turn around in a three sixty direction. He followed his command as he inspected him. He can feel his eyes piercing him coldly. The man writes something quickly down, marking notes on his clipboard. He quickly signs it and tells him his occupation.

"Hmm, order filler. Next!"

Hakan stood out of the way as guard pointed him to follow where the other order fillers were heading off. A burst of commotion can be heard as someone yells from the crowd.

"No! No! I'm innocent! I shouldn't even be here!"

"Stop! Stop where you are right now!"

One of the prisoners yelled as he tried to escape. He pushed away people quickly as he can. They fell hard onto the ground as they yelped in pain. The man was close to the fence as he was trying to climb and jump over the wired fence. It wasn't long before he was tackled aggressively by another armed soldier. They planted his face deep into the muddy ground as they pulled out their batons and proceeded to beat the man into a pulp. Over and over again they began to strike the man as he cowers, covering his face from their harsh beating. After the batons they then proceeded to start kicking the man. Until finally he was weak and couldn't protect himself. He almost went limp but stop just after. They hauled him away as they dragged him by his feet, leaving a small trail of blood.

After that little incident, he continued to follow the group of other order fillers he was now with. They all looked young, as the same age he was, to be precise. They entered the factory building and headed off to the side, past the whirring of all the machines. They all were in a medium size room with nothing inside except a carousel conveyor belt that went in circles in a slow steady speed. A small belt hung from the ceiling as it connected to the other room and glided downwards towards the carousel. It ends just above the carousel as a pile of bullets come rushing down, filling the conveyor belt. All types of bullets came rushing in from the classic 9mm to the 5.56 to the 7.62 calibers. The empty conveyor now shines like a river of gold.

The guard steps forward and gives the prisoners their task for their new jobs at camp Arroyo.

"Alright everyone listen up and listen good. I'm only going to say this once so pay attention. You are order fillers of camp Arroyo now. That means your job is to place each of the calibers neatly as much as you can in these cardboard box cartridges. Once you fill the box cartridges, you will all placed them in the large wooden crates for shipment. The signs hanging over head will help you remember which cartridges go with which box. On the double now, chop chop!"

The guard left as the workers slowly grabbed a couple of the cardboard box cartridges that were inside a bushel laundry cart. They all grabbed armfuls and placed the cartridges right near their feet as they stood in front of the moving conveyor belt. Hakan followed their lead doing as the guard instructed them to do. Hakan stared at the slow moving belt unsure of where to pick first. He looks at the others again as they already began to sort out the bullets.

He looks down staring indecisively, until finally he picks up a 9mm bullet. He begins picking the same type of bullet as he stacks them in the box on their side. Once the box was filled, he placed the fully stocked cartridge on the floor and began to fill in the next box. Slowly he filled the cartridges and placed them all inside the crates that had the picture of the bullet type for them to place in. The crate was filled quickly as they sealed it, and the worker pushes it out of the room. After several minutes, the worker comes back with a new empty crate for the replacement. This process was the entire day, with the exception of one lunch break. All day they stood in that room as a stream of bullets shower onto the conveyor belt for them to sort out once again.

Hakan was extremely exhausted from standing all day and bend over picking up the shells bit by bit. He was suddenly startled as a loud whistle blew directly above him, signaling the end of the workday. The guard comes in and tells them to follow his lead. They shuffled in a line as they slowly walked behind him. The guard brought them to rows of shacks as people stood outside sitting on the wooden porches. They all looked at them to see who had arrived at the camp. The guard stops and directs them to head into any available space inside the shack. He walks off as the other prisoners just stare at him annoyed. Hakan stands there awkwardly not knowing what to do next. He crosses his arms as the cold wind blew and made him shiver slightly.

He saw two men standing near a burning fire barrel as they reached their hands out for warmth. He awkwardly goes up and tries to introduce himself.

"Ummm, hello there... I'm Hakan... nice to uh... meet you."

They just stare at him not moving a single inch. Hakan becomes a little more embarrassed,

"Uhhh... I'm new so uhhh... can you guys help me where I am supposed to go?"

They continue to stare as the glanced at each other for a brief moment.

"Kid, if you know what's good for you, you'd best keep to yourself. Otherwise, you'll find yourself on the end of a shank. You get me?"

As the disgruntled man said as he got towards him menacingly. Hakan began to sweat as he excused himself and quickly walked away before the situation became worse. He walks just a few feet away until he hears someone chuckling at him.

"I mean that's one way to start making friends around here hahahaha."

He turns around to see a girl leaning against the side of the shack. She had frizzy golden hair and bright blue eyes that seemed to glow in the night. He looks side to side, confused on what to say.

"Yes, I'm talking to you dummy. Geez, you're like a goat in the headlights."

She giggles as she walks towards him,

"I... I don't know where to look to sleep. I don't just want to barge in."

"Well you're gonna! This place isn't a commodity you know. People really don't care if you pop in for a quick peak to see if there's room for you. Everyone's is too exhausted to care."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"Oh... I see then..."

"Don't give me that gloomy face, tell ya what, you can bunk in my shack. There's a space open in my bunk. But I get the top bunk, no exceptions!"

"Um... alright then?"

He stared at her confused as to why she's so cheery.

"My names Hailey by the way, what about you?"

She reaches out for a handshake.

"Hakan... my name is Hakan."

Meanwhile, on the eastern side of California

"let go of me!! Unhand me you bastards!! Fight me like real men!!"

Makya was struggling to break free from the two armed soldier's grasps. They were pushing him down a long dark corridor that was illuminated by candlelight. A large cell appeared as they turned the corner of the hallway, they opened it as they struggled to put him inside. The guard punches Makya knocking him off balance as they tossed him in. He tumbles onto the dirty floor trying his best to get back onto his feet. The slammed the cell in his face as they locked it.

"By the gods I swear, I hope the gods smite you down with a wrath that even the heavens shake!"

The two guards looked at him with very wide eyes, then they looked back at each other with the same reaction. They both burst out laughing with tears of laughter in their eyes.

"What the fuck?!"

"Who the fuck did we bring in? Thor, God of thunder over here! Bwhahahaha!"

They both walked away laughing at the ridiculous phrase he said to them.

"Hey! HEY!!! GET BACK HERE! GET BACK HERE YOU COWARDS!!!"

Makya grabs onto the bars as he repeatedly shakes them trying to force them to come back and fight him like a real warrior. His anger and frustration roar the entire cell. His voice echos throughout all the walls around him.

"Hey pal, can you please keep it down. Some of us are trying to get some sleep around here."

Makya turns around quickly as he was startled hearing the voice come from behind him. He looks deeper to the back of the wall as several other people were sitting on the floor or laying on their sides trying to rest.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize there were others with me here."

"It's fine, It's not a big deal. We just want to catch some quick shut eye before they haul us off to our new and "happy" little home."

As the mysterious figure who sat on the floor said very calmly. His voice was smooth and well spoken. Makya got closer to try and get a better view of his face. As he got closer, he can see the long hair of his droop down his face as he was resting. He was a tall thin man around in his late twenties. The thin man looks up at him slowly, as if he sensed him somehow.

"Oh my, aren't you a big brute."

"Um thank you, I guess."

He sits down in front of him as he politely converses with him, apologizing for his outburst a moment ago.

"No need to fret, It's quite alright. Everyone gets jumpy like that once they are sent here. It's quite a common reaction. The man slides his hair back for him to see Makya better. He stares at him up and down, inspecting his whole entire body.

"You're not from around here, are you?"

"Why yes you are right, but how did you-"

"It's the look on your face. Your explosive reaction to them and confused demeanor. Nobody in their right minds would challenge the soldiers of L.A. Yet here you are, standing boldly and proud against them. And saying about the gods to smite them, I thought you were some huge fantasy nerd with a persona acting that way. But it seems like you're not just acting. Where are you from originally?"

"I don't know exactly where my people are located is called, but I come from far north. Way north where the trees and forest run wild with beauty."

"Oh? That sounds like a lovely place to be at. So why come all the way down here?"

"To be completely honest with you, it was to protect a girl. A foolish girl who only wanted to know more about her people and the world around her. I made a vow and swore to my chief that I would protect her from any harm that came at her way."

The man closes his eyes with a sorrow heart.

"But it didn't go exactly as planned I take it?"

Makya clenched his fist and gritted his teeth.

"Not one bit. Everything began to crumble when we learned the truth about this... this... whatever place you call California. The more we dug ourselves deeper the more wounds we keep driving ourselves in. I admit, even I was encapsulated with all the new items and trinkets I was exposed here, coming to L.A. And this is the punishment sent by our gods for leaving the safety of our home. That barrier was up for a reason and now I see why..."

The strange man was confused on what he was saying, but stayed silent to let Makya's feelings flood out. Makya rubbed his eyes quickly as for tears not to come bursting out of him. He takes a deep breath and collects himself once more.

"Now I don't even know if she's alive or dead... because of my failure. Because of my incompetence, my lack of self awareness, that she was captured and now taken to god only knows where."

"You are being too hard on yourself friend, my name is Roy, it's a pleasure to meet with you."

Makya sighs and goes to shake his hand,

"Makya, my name is Makya. Sorry to release all this anger and self pity on you like this. It felt good to release it somehow."

Roy smiles as he softly chuckles to him.

"It's quite alright, I don't mind it one bit."

They both softly chuckled feeling more at ease. Roy rubs his eyes as the wave of exhaustion hit him greatly.

"Oh I'm sorry! I kept you up more than I should have."

"No need to worry, we still have time to rest before we get shipped out. For now, sleep is taking over my body for tonight. But I would love to hear some of the stories you have of back home more sometime."

Makya smiles and agrees. The next day, the few people who were in the room were now sitting on the long bed of a truck. A cage surrounded them as chains bonded them on their wrists. They were all suffering from the huge amounts of exposure from the sun. They were around the area of the Mojave national preserve. Not a single building in site for miles. Only rock and sand were the main viewpoints of the trip. Even some rusted collapsing wire towers scattered from time to time. Makya was curious where they were taking them. The group look absolutely dehydrated from being in the sun for so long. He closed his eyes and hope they were close to their point of interest.

The truck finally stopped and woke the prisoners up with a fright. The sun still blazing up in the high sky, not giving them a chance to catch their bearings. He saw was a makeshift camp. The buildings that the soldiers were in were all pop up buildings. Meaning they can tear down the walls of the building quickly and efficiently. The prisoners were all nailing down and hammering nails into what appears to be a railroad track of some kind. The guards suddenly grabbed a hold onto Makya as they strapped his neck with some weird metal iron collar. It had a very slow blinking red light just slightly off to the side of the lock mechanism.

They placed this weird collar on all of the prisoners. A guard stepped forward as he shouted with his diaphragm.

"Good afternoon workers! You are part of the great California expansion railroad system emplaced by our leader Jackson! You are part of history in the making! Be proud of this endeavor you currently are in, so bravo, all of you!"

He claps as some of the prisoners were confused but slowly clapped with him as well. While others are fiddling with their neck collars as it was unbearably uncomfortable.

"Ah, yes, as you are all wondering why you have those collars on, it is for security measurements. As we are a mobile unit camp, traditional fences are not the ideal course for containing the workforce here. Here allow me to demonstrate."

He points to a small Mojave yucca plant as another guard plants a collar around the long trunk of the plant. He aims a small button remote and clicks. The red light began to flicker extremely fast as it made a loud beeping sound. A final click sound was made as the beeping became a flatline high pitch. The plant explodes into trillions of pieces from the powerful explosion of the collar. Everyone backed up in fear seeing how powerful the explosion was.

"As you can see, if you try to harm us in anyway, the remotes will set the collars off. If you try to run away from us, the collars will detect the proximity of the signal and explode automatically. Oh my! Look, here's a great example now!"

In the far distance, a man can be seen running away from the guards as he screams. Dodging everyone and making a sprint into the open vast of the desert. The guard next to the announcer aimed his rifle at the escapee but the announcer denied his shot and let the man escape. The man was making good distance from the work camp but suddenly a giant pink red mist expands everywhere where his head used to be. He ragdolls across the rocks as his body flops downhill. The prisoners looked in horror as they looked back at the announcer.

"I hope we all have a great understanding on what not to do in the California expansion railroad system."

He gives an unsettling smile as everyone winces in fear of him. Few days have passed, and they all work nonstop from dawn till dusk. Makya was getting the workout of his life as he places the rail line down with the others. They swing their sledgehammers down hard with each of their strikes. The clanging with each of their strikes rings the air with the tang sound of the metal stakes. The guards were very laxed with the prisoners. They knew they couldn't escape or fight back. It was an immediate death sentence for even the slightest rebellion. A group of guards were playing a game of poker on a makeshift table as they used bottle caps and pull tags from soda cans as their chips. They were a rowdy bunch as one celebrates by winning the large pot on the table.

Another guard looks at a hanging mirror as he shaves with a half broken razon. Another rests his feet up on a broken fridge that was dumped by god knows how long as he listens to oldies songs made in the nineteen forties and fifties. It was soothing and relaxing, but it still didn't help with the strenuous work they were doing. They kept adjusting their collars from the rash they caught on their neck. The hot steel and sweat build up around the collar made some of the worker's neck infected from how bad the rash had gotten. The days were grueling and hellish. Water was worth more than anything to the prisoners and the soldiers exploited that for them to be more obedient in their jobs. The night finally came as Makya fell to the ground in his sleeping bag right next to Roy.

"Hey Roy..."

"Yeah... what's wrong Makya?"

"Where are we building this... contraption line too? It feels like we're building this thing to the middle of nowhere. You have a clue on where we are heading?"

"Yeah, the other day I was chatting to a guard, he seemed really nice. He told me that the expansion of California was going to another state next to us."

Makya got up with haste as he turns toward Roy.

"State? Another state? There's more out there like California?"

He looks at Makya with a confused gesture but remembers he's still new to the outside world.

"Ah, I forgot you're not from here. I always keep forgetting about that ahaha. Yes, there is another state. It's out of Jackson rule, so he's expanding hoping to get a more hold of territories out here. We're in the bad lands right now. A lawless place for bandits and marauders. The fact we're building this railway is most likely for people to use safely from those bandits. Assuming they don't blow up the railway if they do."

Makya looks in worry as he stares up into the stary night sky. He now wonders what the other place of that state is like, the freedom without Jackson's rule. He softly smiles to himself as they both drift off to sleep. Later on, in the night, everyone was sleeping soundly and peaceful. The chirping of the crickets can be heard all around them. The sounds of harsh snoring filling the cool night air. When large amounts of noise suddenly burst through the camp. Makya and Roy both woke up with a terrible fright to see what has happened. Rusty old cars of buggy cars and old Cameros drove through the camp. They had spikes and all these kinds of modifications. People were screaming in fear as the soldiers fought back the unknown invaders.

A man can be seen jumping off the car as he lands on top of the soldier. The guard screamed in pain as the man lifted up a modified machete. He bashes his head with it over and over again as the man cackled with insane laughter. Makya and Roy tried to run for cover but were stopped as a car bumped them, forcing them to hit the ground hard. Luckily, they didn't break any bones or done serious harm, but they were badly bruised. The unknow attackers gathered all the soldiers and prisoners into the center of the camp. The headlights of their modified vehicles shine brightly at them as they waited for their imminent doom. Slow footsteps can be heard under the crunching of the sand beneath his feet.

A very large man, wearing junk form various items as armor, walked to the group. He was bald, tall, and very muscular. He had many scars all adorn on his entire body from the many battles he has dealt with. He stares at all of them looking directly into all of their eyes. The scrawny one twitches multiple times as he speaks to the giant brute.

"Boss! This is all of them! They're all here for you in your great NAME!"

He stares at the scrawny tweaker as he backs off in respect to his boss. The boss speaks to them, his voice was rough and coarse like sandpaper on skin. His tone of voice was so otherworldly, as if a demon had possessed him.

"All of you are now the property of the warboys. You are all slaves from here on out. Welcome to the badlands."

Meanwhile, in the heart of Los Angeles

The room was dark and damped, the sound of rats can be heard scurrying across the floor. Chains slowly rattled as Maxson is hung from the ceiling. The chains dig deep around his hands as they begin to slowly bleed. The wound around his arm has not closed up and still bleeds down his body. His breathing is slow and heavy. His body shakes from the shock he has taken. The guards only left him his pants as he was bare footed and shirtless. His body was badly bruised as it dangles and turns very slowly from the hanging chains. The metal door unlocks with a loud bang. Two guards walk in as one had their sleeves rolled up, while the other had his m4 at the ready. The guard with the rolled up sleeves pulls up a chair and sits in front of Maxson. He doesn't say a word to him or the other guard as his eyes barely opened from how exhausted he is from the beatings.

"Still not willing to talk aye?"

Maxson says nothing as blood slowly drips from his body. The guard scoffs and stands up immediately, standing face to face with him.

"Why are you making this harder than it needs to be? Tell me, how did you acquire the project documents?"

Again, he continues to say nothing. The guard is feed up and strikes a hard blow to his stomach. He grunts in pure agonizing pain but does not scream. The man punches him again and again, but Maxson refuses to scream. The guard pushes him, making his body turn the other way. He sees the open gun wound and decides to jam his thumb into the open wound. Maxson grunts loudly as a few screams manages to slip out of his mouth.

"Tell me where you got the project documents from!"

He continues to sift around the open wound, making it larger than it already was. He grunts loudly as he grits his teeth. The guard plucks his thumb out as Maxson breathes heavily from pure exhaustion. This continues to go on for another three hours until the guard decides to call it quits for the day. Maxson was very pale now from all the adrenaline his body has been producing. His body shakes without his response. Muscle spasms continue to soar throughout the entire body. The door opens once again as a nurse pushes a small cart with two bowls of water and many rags. She places the rag into the bowl and proceeds to wipe off the blood from him. She uses the other bowl and wets another rag as she places it against his mouth for him to suck on.

His body instantly reacts to the water as he hastily bites down on the rag and sucked up the water. She uses a pair of tweezers as she slowly pulled out the bullet that was lodged in his arm. He winces a bit but is relieved that it was finally out. She sows up the arm and disinfects it properly. After a couple of wipe downs, she bandages the arm in a clean white wrapping.

"Don't be a hero. This is only going to get worse from here on out you know."

He doesn't respond and continues to space out from any conversation.

"Please, I'm begging you mister. They will only treat you more and more harshly."

He doesn't respond and continues to ignore. She sighs with sadness and worry as she excuses herself from the room.

"If... you had the chance... to save the ones... you love... you will do anything, won't you?"

She stops as she stares at him digesting the words he said to her.

"If... you had the power... to help... isn't it... your obligation... to help the ones suffering..."

"I- I don't understand."

"When you look outside... and see the scorched earth... are you satisfied with your way of living... If I die... saving the ones... I care about... then my life... wasn't in vain..."

She stared at him with a confused look as she was trying to understand what he meant. She quickly composed herself and excused herself politely out of the room. He blinks slowly as he smiled at her. He coughs hard as slight blood comes out of his mouth. He sits in the cold damp room, dangling from his chains, alone, once again.