PHOTO PROMPT © J Hardy Carroll
The nondescript warehouses between the tracks and the hills had become a landscape feature over time. The county books listed it as abandoned; yet every year, like clockwork, the property taxes were paid.
Engineers on trains passing through at night saw flickering lights and sometimes caught what sounded like howls on the wind but figured it was coyotes.
Warehouse activity chugged to life around midnight and kept on until just before sunrise. Illegals, runaways, and the careless waited, strapped to gurneys. Those with money paid well for organs on the other side of the border. The tunnel made transport easy.
[100 words]
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields is the illuminating host of Friday Fictioneers.
Tao Talk 
A ghastly trade. A stain on the characters of those of us who look away
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Agreed, Neil, along the same line as human trafficking and poaching, lowest of the low.
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Very well-written indeed.
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Thank you, forestbather.
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Gruesome story
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Yes it is, thanks for reading, Sadje.
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You’re welcome ☺️
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It could be set here! A well told horrifying tale, Li.
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I had the US-Mexican border in mind but it could be set just about at any border, you’re right, Punam. Thank you.
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You are welcome.
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*Shudder* What a story, I fear not entirely fantasy though.
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Thank you for reading and I fear I agree with you, Elmo.
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You lulled me into that one. I knew something was amiss, but was not expecting that horror. The understated way you portray it makes it even more horrific.
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Flying under the radar is how this evil is perpetuated. Thank you very much for reading and your comment, Jenne.
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Oh my. How gruesome this turned out to be!!
Well done!
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Thank you very much, Dale.
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🙂
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All very true. The real history of America lies in its railbeds.
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Thank you, Josh. So much to learn about them.
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OMG I wasn’t expecting that. Something horrific yes, but not that… Well done.
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Thanks much, Sandra!
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That’s chilling. But people are often desperate. (K)
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😦 I’d like to catch them and those who pay them and put them out of commission.
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Every day I wonder what makes humans do such horrible things.
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I think we can guess pretty well on this one 😦
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(sigh)
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A wonderfully mysterious and sinister tale. Well done.
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Thanks much, Mason!
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You’re welcome.
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Dear Lisa,
A chilling story well told. I hate to think this actually happens but I know it does.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Rochelle, thank you. I have to shake my head in sorrow at what humans do to each other.
Shalom,
Lisa
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it’s too real it’s scary
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Thank you, Plaridel. I wish it wasn’t based on truth 😦
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A story that took a twist I did not expect.
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haha! Glad to have surprised you, Michael.
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All those people passing close by with no clue of the ghastly trade going on.
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I know!
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A grim tale indeed. If only it was pure fiction. Well done Lisa.
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Thanks much, Keith.
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A grimly good tale. You’ve told the story very tautly, picking out crucial details “landscape detail” and “strapped to gurneys” are particularly telling.
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Penny, thank you very much for your feedback. It is appreciated! 🙂
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Oh, how dreadful that this is too true, but fortunately, rare. The newsworthy. You did a great job with this picture prompt.
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Oneta, it may not be as rare as you think it is:
https://humantraffickingsearch.org/organ-trafficking-around-the-world/
Thank you very much for reading and commenting.
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I didn’t mean human trafficking was rare. I believe it is a plague on us! I meant the row of warehouses used as cover. Victims of this horror are kept in isolation as long as the results of abuses are visible. I fear the perks that are visible are an allurement to young ladies who fail to see the misery side of the “sex” industry. The run-away who end up on the streets.
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Thanks for saying more about it, Oneta. It helps me understand where you’re coming from on it. I agree that on the surface it might look glamorous or not that bad to a runaway. Kids on the streets scare the heck out of me.
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A horrific tale well told. Human trafficking is an evil which needs to be eradicated.
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Thank you. Yes, it does! There are so many institutions and policies that make trafficking easy to do. Once trafficking victims are “off the radar” anything can happen to them 😦
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Hopefully, more awareness will lead to policies which will make trafficking more difficult for it to thrive until it is abolished. Keep writing these stories and raising awareness, Lisa.
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I will!
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Oh! Horrors! Literally. Really well done.
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Thank you, Linda!
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Ew! Immigrant organs. I prefer good ol’ ‘Murican made organs.
It was coyotes just not that kind of coyotes. This is the kind of horror story that gets me, the kind that happens to real people. It’s hard to believe this shady underworld exists. It’s something we hear about, but most of us never see, fortunately.
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Thanks for the thoughtful comment.
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I have read where dates wake up after a mickey and be without a kidney or whatever.
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So gruesome! I think it happens more than we want to know 😦
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The slow start, the descriptions that followed made it clear that somethimg eerie was happening. Still, the last lines took my breath away! Very ominois. I fear not it is real, though. What a well etched story.
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Neel thank you for reading and your feedback on the story. I appreciate your comment very much.
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Very well told and makes me sick to my stomach to know that this really happens all over the world.
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It really is a jungle out there, more and more. Thank you, Gah.
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Yikes! You got me. Cleverly done.
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Thank you, Bill!
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