After writing The Greater Good, someone told me about a story Ursula K. Le Guin wrote called The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas. The idea of my original story and Le Guin's obviously stuck with me over the years, but I didn't always realize it.
This year, I've written two commissions. The first is a private one, but the commissioner graciously let me release the second one. So, I'm going to post both of these on Sunday and enjoy the stories unfolding.
Stolen Sacrifice 01: The Ring Villages
Not every mother was willing to let her daughter be chosen by a creature for the purpose of being raped and killed. Quinn's mother, Merci, listened to the screams of the last victim for three years, trembling at the high-pitched sounds of terror while holding her daughter who was chosen to be the next one.
So, in the middle of the night, Merci packed up her family and fled the Ring Villages to save her daughter. But, there were other creatures out there, ones with their Omelas, and they were forced to continue fleeing until they came to a former barbarian city, The Mountain Cunt, and where Quinn could finally grow up without fear of the creature from the Bordeli Forest.
But, it was hard for Quinn to fight her nature. She was an Omelas, even if she didn't know it.
Dolcett Girls 08: Dreams of a Spit (F-solo dream cann)
Sonja has finished building the strange device in her basement. It is a guillotine, which scares her since she doesn't know how she built it or the reasons for such detailed work. But, as much as she fears it, it doesn't stop her from thinking about it with her hands between her legs.