In a dystopian future, the world had transformed into a society that was unrecognisable to those who had lived in the previous century. The nation of Femtoria stood as a beacon of prosperity, A female supremacist regime, had risen to power, enforcing a strict hierarchy that placed women at the pinnacle of society while relegating men to a subservient role. Men were stripped of their rights. They were not permitted to work or get an education, and usually forced into marriage by their parents. Men also lost autonomy over their own bodies, adultery laws enacted aimed specifically at men, treating even masturbation as grounds for adultery. This allowed their wives to obtain quick divorces, causing men to lose all their marital assets and often leaving them without a home.
One fateful afternoon, Henry was summoned downstairs to meet Amy, a woman significantly older than him, whom his mother had chosen as his future bride. As he descended the staircase, his heart raced with dread. Amy sat there along with his parents and sister Amelia. His mother proudly presented him to Amy, boasting of his skills in cooking and cleaning, and how he had been trained to satisfy a woman’s needs. Amy, intrigued by the prospect, agreed to the marriage, leaving Henry feeling trapped before he even had a chance to voice his objections.
“Mom, I don’t want to marry her,” he protested, but his mother’s response was cold and unwavering.
“That’s just the way things are, Henry. Stop complaining.”
With that, he resigned himself to a life of servitude, cooking and cleaning, until the day he found himself standing at the altar, bound to Amy. Life with Amy was a nightmare. Behind the facade of a perfect marriage lay a cruel reality; she was abusive, her frustrations manifesting in violent outbursts. One day, during a visit from his mother and sister Amelia, As Amy stepped away to answer a phone call from work, Henry finally broke down.
“Mom, she hurts me,” he sobbed,
but his mother dismissed his pain,
“Honey, Amy’s just dealing with a lot of stress at work, give it time, I'm sure things will get better”.
It was Amelia who offered Henry a glimmer of hope, whispering about a place in the old industrial sector where men lived free lives, away from the oppressive regime. She explains her boyfriend Deon is a member of a resistance group, who are fighting to topple the government, she invites him to come to the house tomorrow morning to meet Deon.
The following morning, Henry wakes up early to meet Amelia and Deon. While Amy gets ready for work, he prepares breakfast, and they eat together. As she leaves, she calls out,
“Henry, I’ll be back late tonight; I’m meeting a friend after work.”
Henry recognises that her so-called friend is Michael, a colleague with whom she has been having an affair for months. After finishing his chores, he cooks dinner for Amy and puts it in the oven. As the evening approaches, he quickly heads to his mother’s house to see Amelia. When he steps inside, his mom is just heading out to work.
“Hey mom, where’s Amelia?” he asks.
“She’s in her room; she was expecting you hours ago,” she replies as she walks out the door.
He heads upstairs and opens Amelia's door. To his shock, he finds Amelia and Deon doing it.
“Get out, Henry! Don't you know how to knock?” Amelia yells while hastily trying to put her clothes on.
Henry, feeling embarrassed, quickly shuts the door and waits downstairs.
When Amelia and Deon walk down the stairs, Henry conveys his apologies.
"I'm really sorry; I didn't mean to barge in on you. You told me to come over," he states.
“I said to come in the morning,” she replies. “It’s all good; the important thing is that you're here now. This is Deon,” she finishes.
Later, Deon outlined his strategy. The border wall is well-protected, but through his connections, he discovered a vulnerability. There's a factory located on the city's edge, close to the border wall, that hires men as laborers. This section of the wall is lightly defended, with only a single guard in one watchtower. If they can secure jobs at the factory, they can use the back entrance to make their getaway. On the other side of the border is a liberated territory, where men and women coexist as equals. There, he can gather fighters to take down the government.
Securing a position at the factory won't be simple, as the factory is one few companies offering jobs for men, leading to high competition. But Amelia is aware of a woman named Emily with connections to the elite and powerful, who can assist them, but her services come at a price. Amelia proposes using her savings to cover the cost. Later they travel to the outskirts of the city to meet Emily. When they arrive at her mansion, the security permits them to go inside. They are instructed to wait in a designated room. Shortly afterward, Emily enters, accompanied by a male concubine, who is fully naked. They are taken aback. Emily welcomes them to her home, and asks them how she can assist. Amelia explains that she needs her help in securing jobs for Henry and Deon at the factory. Emily agrees but requests payment in advance. Amelia complies and makes the payment.
A couple of weeks later, Henry and Deon successfully landed jobs at the factory after months of careful planning for their escape. Henry realised that there was a brief moment when the watchtower was unguarded during the guards’ shift change.
The day he had been waiting for finally came. With his heart racing, they quietly exited through the back door of the kitchen and dashed toward freedom. As soon as they cleared the border wall, alarms erupted, and guards pursued them, gunfire narrowly missing them as they fled for his life.
After what felt like an eternity, Henry and Deon finally reached freedom, They had made it the free territory, a thriving settlement where men and women coexist as equals.