Warning: If you happen to be a vegan or a vegetarian, the below story might be offensive to you.

Meat the Resistance

"Psst ... want to buy some, uhm ... medicine, Sir?"

Duncan looked at the kid standing next to him wearing a long jacket that looked ill-suited for this warm spring day. The boy looked troubled, and with all the gang violence in the neighborhood, Duncan resolved to act as if he hadn't heard the boy calling out to him.

"How is your daughter, sir? I noticed she didn't look that good. I'm sure the medicine I have to offer would help to strengthen her up again ... Sir?"

The boy softened his tone when he spoke the word 'medicine' in a way that made it sound like a strange kind of reverse emphasis. Why did he bring up his daughter. Obviously the boy wasn't trying to sell him drugs. Duncan involuntarily turned his head to end up staring at the boy quizzed. At that moment the boy took hold of the left side of his opened jacket, and made a movement exposing the dark green head and the brown and gray body of a dead male mallard.

'Shit!', Duncan thought and quickly looked away. Then he spoke, whispering:

"Kid, put that thing away, you'll get us both in trouble."

At that moment the elevator door opened, and Duncan quickly but nervously stepped into the elevator. Then as the door closed, the young kid looked intensely at Duncan and, took a small device out of his jacket pocket and pushed a large button. A split-second later, the elevator came to a halt.

"What the ..."

Duncan stepped back and pressed his back and shoulders sightly against the corner of the elevator. The boy didn't look all that threatening, but what was he up to? This could only lead to troubles.

"Don't worry sir, I stopped the elevator, so we could safely talk."

The boy took the dead mallard out of his jacket and extended his arm with the mallard towards Duncan. Duncan raised both his hands with his fingers spread.

"Kid, where did you get that dead duck? Do you know how much trouble you could get in if you were to get caught with a dead animal in your possession? Fuck, you could get 10 years for that if they'dd suspect you killed it yourself. I'm not going to buy no meat from you. Even if I wanted to, I don't have that kind of money to spent."

"Sir, take it, please, it is for your daughter. It's medicine. I've seen her, she is sick from eating only grains , vegetables and legumes this long, not all kids are as resilient to the new nutritional reality. She is dying Sir, I've seen it before with other kids. Take the duck sir, this one is free."

"Yes, she is sick. Your concern is appreciated. But I'm sure it is the radiation like they say in the news. President Thieme warned us about health effects from the radiation in her inauguration speech. Eating dead flesh isn't going to help Anouk, nothing is."

"President Thieme my foot! Thieme is simply a puppet for President Booker spreading propaganda for her psychopath American overlord. Every word coming out of her mouth is American propaganda, they are his words, not her, the words of the psychopath that pushed his little red button over a couple of geese. You need to believe me sir, for her sake. It is the food, sir, not the radiation. We are more than 500 kilometers away from the closest nuclear impact site. We have seen zero nuclear fallout closer than 300, and even if that were too close, kids are dying at equal rates even in Scandinavia. Please sir, take the duck, feed it to your daughter, what do you have to lose?"

"I'm tempted kid, truly I am, but what do I have to lose? You know how illegal it is to eat meat? What if they find out? What kind of life would my daughter have with a convicted carnist as father? And what if it works? One duck won't be enough, and I'm sure you and your meat gang won't sponsor my daughter more than one duck. I'm a simple man, kid, I would likely end up living a life of crime, just to support my daughter's new meat habit. No kid, no disrespect, but I don't think I am going to take what you are offering, however generous."

"We are not a gang sir. We support the true government in exile. And yes, we do charge for the meat we share, but there are ways to pay other than money. Take the duck. I will bring you another duck every other week until your daughter is fully recovered. If she doesn't get better there will be no charge, zero!. If she does, you will owe us, owe your king and your government, your country, a favour that you can't refuse to pay. Don't worry, it will be an easy favour to fulfill, nothing unethically illegal."

"The King? Shit! You are one of those terrorists fighting for the outlaw king? No no no no, get away from me, I will have nothing to do with any of that madness!"

"It is president Thieme and her animal rights party who are unlawful sir. Her presidency in unconstitutional. The Netherlands being a single party republic instead of the multi-party democracy and the kingdom that it has been for centuries before President Booker started the foie-gras war and nuked France out of existence over a couple of force-fed geese. We aren't terrorists, we are the Resistance sir. We won't ask you to commit any kind of violence sir, far from it. Trust me sir, we are not the bad guys. We can help you safe your daughter from a slow and painful death from nutritional deficiencies, and all we will ask in return will be to pay it forward at a time and in a way of our choosing."

"This is all a lot to take in kid, I will need time to think about what you are offering. It sounds all very dangerous, but I am concerned about Anouk, yes, her health is getting worse every week. Could I think about this for a few weeks?"

"Sir, as I said, the first duck is free, no strings attached. Here sir, take it. I'll come to talk to you in two weeks. That should give you time to consider and to observe if her health improves from eating the duck. Make sure to feed her every edible part, sir. I'm sure there will be improvement soon."

Duncan looked at the dead mallard in his hand and then quickly hid it underneath his own jacket. At that moment Duncan felt the elevator going up again. Then the door of the elevator opened.

"Long live the king" the boy whispered and ran out of the elevator, in the direction of the staircase. When Duncan stepped out of the elevator, there was no more sign of the kid. Duncan quickly strode to his apartment, opened the door, stepped in with a strong sense of haste to it. As he closed his apartment door behind him his heart was pounding in his chest. He took the mallard from under his jacket and looked at it intensely. Was the boy right? Could this bird help his daughter? Or was the President right about the radiation? Duncan knew better than to involve himself in politics, but his little Anouk's life was at stake, and as a father, despite his almost debilitating fears, there was nothing he wouldn't do to try to save her.

Nutridiluvian

This was the third short story in the Nutridiluvian series. In this series of speculative fiction short stories I try to explore some of the wild theories, ideas and concerns about current developments with regard to nutrition. Earlier stories in this series are:

• Room Of Consequences
• The Photocalypse

Ragnarok Conspiracy

If you enjoyed this short story, please consider getting a copy of my novel Ragnarok Conspiracy that is available on Amazon, Play, iBooks, B&N, Kobo, Bol and Smashwords.