My eyes flutter open in what feels like seconds. A dreamless sleep. Hm. I try to rub the sleep from my eyes, only to realize my arms aren’t there. My eyes blow wide, and I glance around for a second. I sigh, and my body relaxes as I spot my shoulders, and the arms that come with them. They’re just behind my back, tied with some sort of rope. At least they’re not cut off.

  My breathing is somewhat restricted. Oh. I’m just gagged. My tongue runs across a plastic gag in my mouth, trying desperately to push it out. Nothing.

  My stomach churns, and my head suddenly has this dull ache. Are we moving? I glance around again. I’m in a small, metal box-looking thing. There’s boxes to the right of me, otherwise it’s empty. I must be in the back of one of those cargo trucks. Ugh. Can’t there be any windows in here? I don’t care that I’m being taken somewhere, I just hate the feeling of motion sickness.

  A small window opens in the front, giving me access to see who’s driving. There’s two people. Where did the other three go? Eh. Probably in another car.

  I glare at them from my spot, and the one in the passenger’s seat stares back at me. He waves with this annoying ass grin. I would cuss him out, but my mouth is gagged. My hands move to flip him off. I forget that my arms are unavailable. I roll my eyes, making sure that it’s exaggerated. He just grins wider, sticking his tongue out at me.

  Oh, he’s just trying to piss me off.

  We suddenly stopped. Likely at a rest spot. I close my eyes and lean my head back, letting out a heavy sigh. My wall to lean on suddenly drops, and I nearly fall backward.

  ‘Ack–’ I yelp as I’m caught.

  ‘Hey~’ The man that was originally in the passenger’s seat waves to me and sets me back up.

  I cuss him out, but it only comes out as a jumble of sounds.

  ‘Aww, you’re cute when you’re angry,’ he bops my nose.

  I’m going to kill him. I’m actually going to kill him.

  He plucks the plastic from my lips. The second he does, I start on my rampage.

  ‘I swear to god you fucking dog if you touch me again I’ll rip out your vocal cords–’ he cuts me off by stuffing the gag back in. That just pisses me off further.

  ‘Woah, woah, woah. Feisty girl, I like that,’ he nods, and giggles, before getting all in my face again.

  ‘That shit’s not gonna fly here. You either be a good girl or a beaten girl. Got it?’ His grin turns into a sneer, tone more serious.

  I think he’s waiting for a nod. With another sigh, I nod in agreement. He takes the gag out once more.

  ‘Good girl. Now, are you going to be nice?’

  ‘Fine.’

  ‘See? That wasn’t so hard, now was it?’ He kisses my forehead. I tense at the touch. I would slap the shit out of him, but my hands are tied.

  ‘It was, for your information,’ my glare turns icy again.

  ‘Wow. You were scary back in the bunker, but now that you’re all tied up, and at my mercy…’ His finger takes a path down my jawline.

  This is disgusting.

  ‘Will you stop and go back to your seat?’ I snap, ‘I’ll scream if you don’t. You don’t want people finding me, hm?’ I threaten.

  ‘Fine, fine. I’ll let you off for now. Just know, once we get to base…’ his grin is wolfish. I can tell he’s undressing me with his eyes. It makes me squirm, like a baby seal in an otter’s gaze. Except he’s not as cute as an otter. Not by a few miles.

  The door shuts again, leaving me in darkness. It’s better than having to see that guy’s face, though. I adjust on the floor. My hands and ankles are tied, so I can’t do much but wriggle around like a damn worm. This is humiliating.

  The truck jolts forward, and I almost fall. I try to grip onto something, but all that is behind me is just metal floor and walls.

  I might as well fall asleep if this is how I’m going to spend the rest of this ride.

  ?

  I’m so rudely awoken from my slumber by a flash of daylight from that same door.

  ‘Rise and shine, sweetheart,’ that same guy screeches. He sounds like a damn pterodactyl. It disgusts me.

  I open one eye, groaning softly.

  ‘Can you at least block my view? The sun hurts…’ I murmur.

  ‘Oh fine,’ he stands directly in front of me, ‘oh yeah. My name’s Kyle Smith.’

  Of course it is. This guy looks like a Kyle.

  ‘Didn’t need to know that, but okay,’ I nod reluctantly.

  ‘Anyway, come on,’ he suddenly grabs me by the thighs and lifts me bridal style. I thrash and squirm in his grasp. This is disgusting. I hate this. Nobody can carry me like this except for Finn. That’s literally it. Ew.

  He carries me into some sort of office building. I squint, trying to see what’s inside.

  Looks like a normal office building.

  The lady at the reception desk doesn’t seem to notice me at all. Wouldn’t she even bat an eye at a girl that’s fucking tied up?

  ‘Hi, Mollie, I’m checking in a new resident,’ Kyle’s demeanor switches up immediately. He’s more formal, less of a womanizer.

  ‘Alright. This one’s Tomi, right?’ She types something in on her laptop.

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘Okay… take her up to floor nine to get her started,’ Mollie flicks her hand.

  ‘Thanks!’ Kyle starts walking toward the elevator, squeezing my thighs.

  I feel violated, powerless, even.

  The elevator music is shit. I don’t know what I expected from an office building.

  ‘Hm… nobody would see us in here,’ Kyle comments.

  My eyes widen, and my thighs clench together instinctively.

  ‘Please, don’t,’ I shudder, voice raised.

  ‘Hm. I probably wouldn't be able to do anything with you as tied tightly as you are. You're safe for now, honey,’ he chuckles, eyes flashing with something darker.

  I need to get out of his grasp, and quickly.

  I’m snapped out of my thoughts as the elevator beeps and opens. Here we are. This floor seems to have no windows.

  Three hallways lie in front of me, from what I see. Two on each side, and one larger one in the middle. Kyle moves to the left and starts walking through.

  In the hallway, there are at least five different cells on each wall. Each cell is covered in glass, but they all seem to be empty.

  ‘Where is everyone?’ I ask.

  ‘Every subject is at lunch right now. You’re not hungry, are you?’ He phrases it more as a threat than a question. I think the answer he wants is no.

  I would be a pain in the ass, but I’m completely at his mercy, and I don’t want anything bad to happen to me, at least for now.

  I shake my head in response.

  ‘Good girl,’ he takes me to a cell at the end of the hallway. I tense every single time he says those two damning words. Makes me feel like a damn dog.

  ‘Now, just sit here, and we’ll see if your roommate feels like untying you. Bye bye~’ he sets me down in the corner and waves at me before leaving.

  I look around the room, taking everything in. It’s actually similar to an asylum, with padded white walls, and an identical floor. The ceiling is smooth, yet still white. It almost hurts my eyes to look at. There’s no beds, or toilets. Am I supposed to live in this? I lay on the floor and adjust as much as I physically can, gauging the comfortability. It’s not too comfortable, but it isn’t hard cement, so I guess I can make do.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  ?

  I must have fallen asleep, because when I open my eyes, someone kneels over me. They’re very androgynous looking, with a sweet face, short white hair, and stormy gray eyes.

  ‘Hello?’ Their voice is meek; I can hardly hear them.

  ‘Hi…’ I squint, bringing my hand to my forehead. Wait. I can move my hand.

  They must have untied me. Perfect!

  I stand from the floor almost immediately. Freedom. Ironic, because I’m in a cell. At least I have the freedom of movement, somewhat.

  ‘What’s your name?’ They stay on the floor, just looking at me curiously.

  They’re so pale, like they haven’t seen the sun in years. Same with food; looks like they haven’t seen a proper meal in decades.

  ‘Name’s Tomi,’ I answer.

  ‘Mine’s Quinn,’ they nod in greeting.

  Hold on. Quinn?

  That sounds so familiar. I rack my brain to find where I heard the name Quinn before.

  ‘Hold on,’ I hold a hand up to them, ‘how old are you?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ they shrug.

  How does one not know how old they are? I stare at Quinn for a long time, trying to gauge based on their appearance. It’s giving me nothing. Oh well.

  ‘You’re weak,’ they state bluntly.

  I scoff, completely flabbergasted. One, how would they know that? Two, that is a terrible first comment.

  ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ they immediately flinch and hide in the corner. Holy shit.

  My expression softens quicker than ever, and I put my hands up.

  ‘Wow. There’s no need to hide like that,’ my tone softens as well.

  ‘You…’ Quinn pauses, slowly looking up at me, ‘you won’t hit me?’

  ‘Not unless you try that first,’ I shake my head.

  Their expression relaxes, like the weight of a thousand suns has been lifted off their shoulders.

  ‘Sorry. Everyone in here hits me so I figured,’ their voice trails off.

  Oh god. What have I let myself get into?

  ‘Do they do that to everyone?’ I ask after a minute of thought.

  They freeze, then nod.

  ‘There’s torture. Everywhere. They’ll drill holes into you, electric shocks, stabbing, all of that,’ their voice breaks.

  Quinn rolls up their sleeves, revealing countless scars. Some big, some smaller, others that aren’t even scars. Fresh. I just stare.

  ‘Oh…’

  I can’t even fathom words. What am I supposed to say in response to this? I look at my own arms, mostly clean, besides my old scars from when I was fifteen.

  There’s a bang on the glass. I flinch and spin around, while Quinn doesn’t even seem fazed.

  ‘Nemoto!’ A woman yells through the glass, ‘come with me!’ She opens the door to the left of her, and beckons me out of the cell. She immediately places handcuffs on me, and walks me out of the left hallway.

  I take a peek into the middle hall. It’s a huge ass cafeteria from the looks of it. The woman yanks me back to her side, and continues walking. She takes me down the right hallway instead.

  At the very start of the hallway, she shoves me into another room. It’s got a bunch of hangers along the walls, all holding the same outfit: the same one I saw Quinn in. Just a white shirt and white pants.

  The woman lets go of me and un-cuffs me, only to grab two hangers and throw them at me.

  ‘Change, now. I’ll look away,’ she faces the wall while I’m still trying to process what’s happening.

  I slowly remove my shirt, and replace it with the white one. It feels like sandpaper.

  Ew.

  I shudder, and start with the pants. I slowly, and reluctantly, remove my own pants.

  I’m taking too long, apparently. The woman spins around while my pants are down and slaps me across my face. What the fuck.

  My hand comes up to touch my cheek. Damn.

  ‘Go quicker,’ she demands.

  I change as quickly as I can. I feel like I’m in a psych-ward with how uncomfortable these clothes are. I pull the shirt away from my neck. How does she expect me to wear this?

  ‘Do I have to wear this all the time?’ I complain, expression twisting into that of pure disgust.

  ‘Yes. What do you think this is, your house? Hell no,’ she shakes her head, gearing up to hit me again.

  I see what Quinn meant earlier.

  I flinch back, hands going up of their own volition.

  ‘That’s what I thought. Ask any more stupid questions, and you’ll be on the ground. Do you hear me?’ Her glare is intense. She almost reminds me of Xia, but any trace of warmth she may have had is gone. If she ever had one kind cell in her body, it died alone and afraid.

  ‘Got it,’ I shrink. I’m quickly learning that this is the way to survive here. Quinn was doing it, so I probably should too.

  The handcuffs come back on just as quickly as they were taken off. I’m tugged out of the room once more and into the room next door. Inside is a simple table and two chairs. It reminds me of the conference room in Lucas’ bunker.

  Oh god, how I miss that place already. It wouldn’t be the best, though. Not without…

  I blink the tears from my eyes. Goddamnit, why did I have to think of that?

  ‘Sit in this chair, and wait,’ the woman commands, pushing my shoulder down and into the chair. She pulls another pair of handcuffs seemingly from her ass, and handcuffs my ankle to the chair.

  ‘Is this really necessary?’ My gaze drifts downward, then back up at her.

  ‘Yes, now shut up. I’m going,’ she rolls her eyes before leaving me alone in this bare, lifeless room.

  Eventually, after I’m just about to go insane, the door opens once more, and a different woman walks in.

  ‘Hello, Tomi. We’ve been expecting you for a while,’ she sits down, and crosses her legs immediately.

  ‘My name is Evelyn Athanasiou, and I’ll be picking your brain for a little bit. How does that sound?’ She tucks her clipboard in the crease of her arm, getting ready to write.

  I can’t seem to read her.

  ‘Yes, ma’am.’ Being polite is always the correct answer, especially when you don’t quite know if you’ll get killed.

  ‘So, my men found you in a bunker of sorts? Who owned it?’ Her tone suddenly grows sharper, like knives.

  I recognize her last name.

  Oh. That’s Lucas’ last name.

  No way.

  ‘I don’t know,’ I answer immediately. I get the feeling that if I answer honestly, she’s going to kill me or something worse.

  ‘You must know.’

  ‘I don’t, ma’am.’ I shake my head.

  ‘Fine. I’ll get it out of you eventually…’ she glances down at her clipboard, before looking back up at me again.

  ‘Wow. You really do look just like Heki,’ she cocks her head to the side.

  ‘We used to keep him here. It’s a shame he didn’t want to cooperate…’ she shakes her head.

  ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ I tense at his name. She should really keep his name out of her dirty ass mouth.

  ‘Come on, sweetheart. I’m sure you saw the news,’ her lip juts out into a mocking pout, before going back to monotone.

  ‘Anyway, any dietary restrictions that I would need to know about?’

  ‘No.’

  She scribbles something down. ‘Good. I would’ve ignored those anyway.’

  Asshole.

  ‘Are you just asking meaningless questions for the fun of it?’ I ask bluntly. I don’t care if I’ll get beaten at this point. This is just stupid.

  ‘Mm. I don’t like the sound of your voice. Maybe we can change that as well,’ she scribbles something else down.

  ‘Okay,’ my lips press into a thin line. Who does this woman think she is!? Ugh.

  ‘Are you okay with various injury methods such as cutting, stabbing, burning, and electrocuting?’ Damn. Way to be straight-foward.

  ‘What if I say no?’ I raise an eyebrow..

  ‘It will probably be more severe, then,’ she shrugs, ‘is that your final answer?’

  ‘No–no ma’am. I’m okay with all that,’ I laugh, eyes betraying a hint of anxiety.

  ‘Good, good,’ she writes an entire paragraph.

  I haven’t said much. What does she have to go on?

  ‘That is all for today. You can see yourself out. Isla should be waiting for you outside,’ she flicks her hand towards the door.

  ‘Well, I sorta can’t,’ I hold up my cuffed hands, and rattle my ankle that’s tied to the chair.

  ‘Right, right!’ She smirks, ‘let me help you with that,’ Evelyn rises from her seat, taking her sweet time to come to me. She kneels first, fumbling with the handcuffs.

  ‘Oh! Silly me, I don’t even have the key. Hold on for just a moment,’ she stands once more and exits, only to come back with that same abrasive woman. She must be called Isla.

  She pulls out the key, presumably to the handcuffs, and quickly unlocks me. It was really that easy. I bet Ms. Asshole over here just decided to fuck with me. I roll my eyes when neither of them are looking at me.

  ‘Alright, let’s go,’ Isla yanks me from my seat, eliciting a small yelp from me.

  I’m surprised the shirt didn’t rip from the sheer force, and the sheer delicacy of the cloth.

  She walks me back to my cell, and shoves me back inside.

  At least she takes my handcuffs off before I’m on the floor.

  Quinn sits in the corner, just staring at me. I don’t know what their problem is, but I don’t know if I like it.

  ‘Did you meet Ms. A?’ Quinn asks once Isla is gone.

  ‘I did. I fucking ha–’

  Quinn covers my mouth immediately, eyes blown wide.

  ‘Don’t say that. There are cameras everywhere,’ their tone hushes to a whisper, ‘if Ms. A hears you saying that, you’ll be sentenced to the shooting range.’

  Hold on. I stop them for a moment.

  ‘What? What the hell does that entail?’

  ‘Simple. A few of the men that roam these halls shoot you in non-fatal areas. I watched it happen to someone else. She was only a year younger than me. So sad…’ tears well up in their eyes.

  I don’t know what else to do other than comfort them. I gently pat their shoulder.

  They look up in the corner. I follow their gaze; there’s a clock there. Hm.

  ‘It’s around three. Are you ready?’

  ‘What should I be ready for?’ I fidget with my fingers.

  ‘Three is for conditioning,’ Quinn answers bluntly.

  That doesn’t help me at all.

  ‘What’s conditioning?’

  ‘They take you to a room and brutalize you for thirty minutes. Then you get a break for five, and another thirty minute round.’

  …

  What?