The Peace Keepers By Gerald A. Polley Page 81

The young woman looked sad. "I was kidnapped," she answered, "I barely remember my real parents. I was playing one day on the street with the other children, when a man came up, and said my mother was hurt, and I had to go with him immediately. The man didn't take me to my mother. He took me to a place in the mountains where he made me stay for a long time and do things for him. Then he took me to some other men. They were buying lots of girls. That's when I met Mary. She had been sold by her mother to men who sold her the stuff that made her happy. Those men kept us for a while in a big place. Many other girls were brought to join us. Then we were all put on a ship. We sailed for a long time.
Sophia and some other girls joined us. Then we were landed somewhere and put on a plane. Finally we landed at the training facility. They told us we were going to learn to be soldiers for God. This was our purpose. It was what God had brought us into the world for.
They made us train very hard. We studied, then when we started to be women they took us to the hospital and operated on us. They took it away, they said we didn't need to have babies. It would interfere with our efficiency as soldiers. We would serve God better if we were not hindered by this need.
Sometimes the commander of the training facility would take us to his home for what he called rest and relaxation. He made us do things for hm his wife. Some of us tried to run away. They were caught, brought back, and shot. They said they had tried to escape their duty to God.
Then they started to bring in more girls, younger ones, and we were told we had to help train them. We are among the first to be sent into the field. We determined to try to escape, to get to someone and ask them to come and help the others. Soon they'll take them to the hospital and do to them what they did to us.
Please, sir, please take your soldiers. Go and get our little sisters. Don't let them do this to them!"
The young woman stood up and lifted her dress, showing the scars where she had been operated on.
"They didn't do a very good job," she commented. "Sometimes it still hurts!"
"God damned bastards!" Samuel moaned, "Miserable damned animals! How many of you are there, dear?"
"There's twenty or thirty training facilities," the girl answered. "There's one-hundred girls in each training group. There's ten or twelve groups at each facility."
Samuel whistled. "You've GOT to be careful!" the young woman warned. "I heard them talking. They said if things went wrong, if there was a danger, their project had been discovered, the best thing to do might simply be to liquidate the stock and get rid of the evidence. I believe they meant they would kill our sisters."
"That's precisely what they meant!" Samuel answered. But don't you worry. We'll handle this with the utmost secrecy, and we will do something. We'll get you out of those uniforms."
"NO!" the girl objected. "You better not. And you better keep us in handcuffs and shackles when you move us around. If anyone does see us that works for them, they'll think we're merely prisoners and not giving you any information."
Samuel thought a moment and nodded. "Right!" he agreed.
The next few weeks brought sudden and swift changes. The French government fell. The American government nearly followed it. After an horrendous recording was played of the president speaking to a commander of The Joint Chiefs Of Staff, a few days after the president was killed by his own wife.
The United States quickly apologized to The Republic, and offered troops to assist in dealing with the situation in Chad. They were welcomed.
The Russians, who had stayed out of everything, suddenly decided they wanted to get in on the action.
The president came down to present Samuel with The Order Of Somalia. When the ceremony was completed he ordered the pass in review. As the Somali soldiers passed by Samuel, saluting them on the receiving stand, they began to sing.