Our plan was to leave that night while James was asleep, but Ruby never came to meet me. I waited for hours, packing and repacking Gracie's bag, until things were neatly folded into the sack. By the time the sun was starting to rise, I was worried. Had Ruby changed her mind? It didn't seem likely. She had been resolute about our need to leave the city, had pressed the issue since long before Gracie was born. She wouldn't just not show up for us when the time had finally arrived.

Stuffing my back beneath my bed so that it was out of side, I gathered Gracie from her crib and dressed her like it was a normal day, trying to keep up pretenses for James. I took deep breaths, trying to keep myself calm. Things hadn't gone to plan, but we would just try again the following night. I had lived over two years under the iron thumb of my husband, so what would it hurt to wait another day? It wasn't a big deal.

Though I tried to convince myself that I was overreacting, that Ruby had fallen asleep before she could make it to my room, or she hadn't thought it was safe to leave, or she had changed her mind, something felt off. It wasn't like Ruby to leave me to worry this way. I needed to talk to her and make sure everything was okay.

I propped Gracie on my hip and made my way downstairs. James sat in the dim kitchen reading his newspaper, just like most mornings, but I could already tell that something was off. The smell of freshly brewed coffee didn't meet me when entered the room. The fireplace that was usually teeming with flames was dark and empty, making the room an ice box. There was no breakfast spread on the counter, waiting to be eaten. And there was no Ruby waiting to greet me.

"Good morning," James said when I walked into the room. "I'd like you to make me a cup of coffee."

I furrowed my brows; this was normally Ruby's job. "What about the housemaid?"

James shrugged. "I got rid of her."

My stomach gave a nervous lurch as I tried to absorb his words. "What?" I asked, my voice deadened.

"I said I sent her back to the Factories. She'd begun slacking in her duties the last few months. I have no use for a No Name woman who can't do her job," James grumbled. "The Guardians came to retrieve her late last night. Don't worry, we'll get a new housekeeper," he said, misinterpreting the dread on my face for disappointment. "In the meantime, you can take care of the home."

My body and mind went numb. Somehow I found a way to put Gracie in her walker and start the coffee, but the movements were involuntary, a subconscious reaction to avoid meeting the same fate as the woman I loved. I couldn't speak. Ruby had done so much to keep me safe, and I hadn't been able to return the gesture. She'd been sent back to the place that had caused her so much pain, the place she still had nightmares about after years of being away from it.

I kicked myself for not leaving when Ruby first suggested it. If we had packed our bags just a day sooner, she wouldn't be confined to the Factories enduring God only knew what. She wouldn't have been ripped from her home, her lover, her child, without being able to say goodbye.

After James left for work, I sat on the floor and sobbed into my hands, too weak to get to my feet. Even Gracie couldn't stop crying. It was as though she could sense that her entire world had been flipped upside down, that the woman who carried her for nine months and birthed her had been subjected to a cruel fate that could ultimately result in her death.

Somehow I managed to get to my feet and lifted Gracie into my arms. I bounced her on my hip, walking across the room like a zombie as I tried to calm her, but my efforts were half-hearted. How could I console Gracie when I couldn't even console myself? Would I ever see Ruby again? The idea broke my heart. I loved her so much and wasn't ready to say goodbye to her.

In that moment, I vowed that this wasn't how our story was going to end. I couldn't leave her to rot in the Factories after everything we'd endured together. Ruby had saved me so many times; now it was my turn to save her. One way or another, I was going to get her out of the Factories and out of Grayson for good.

***************

I rushed upstairs and grabbed the bag I'd stuffed beneath my bed. Then I put the baby in her carrier and strapped her to my chest, refusing to leave the baby behind for James to raise alone. Whatever happened today, I would try my hardest to get her out of this life.

My heart hammered as I made my way toward town, glancing over my shoulder, paranoid that I was being watched. I wasn't sure exactly where the No Name Factories were located, but there was only one part of town my parents had been adamant that Charlotte and I avoid as children. There was only one reason that I knew of as to why they'd keep us from that area, and it was because they feared we might be influenced by these women who were deemed corrupt and ungodly.

With all of the courage I could muster, I made my way toward that forbidden area, trying to look like I belonged. I prayed that the Guardians would mistake my black shirt for the dark robes the No Name women adorned so they wouldn't question me.

As I walked through the parts of Grayson I'd never experienced before, my heart hammered in my chest. The heavy foot traffic and the cozy houses and storefronts of the square were beyond me, replaced by dark and rundown buildings with bars on the windows and bolted doors. At first glance the buildings looked abandoned, left behind for the more sophisticated houses on the other end of town. Had it not been for the slight movement behind the cracked glass and the flash of black robes now and then, I would have thought about turning around.

Instead, I kept forward, walking down the sidewalks alone with Gracie, who was sleeping soundlessly against my chest. I shivered when I caught a glimpses of No Name women appearing and disappearing from behind the windows as though they were ghosts. The luscious trees and teeming city were gone, replaced by desolate drylands where the air was so dusty I felt like I was choking on it. I covered the baby's face with a burp cloth so she didn't breathe in any more dust than she had to.

I spent the entire morning walking through the abandoned town, going further and deeper into the desolate area until I feared I couldn't find my way out again. I was beginning to worry I'd made a mistake, when I find a handful of buildings heavily guarded by Guardians. They paced the rooftops with long range rifles, kicking at empty soda cans or taking a nap to pass the time in the relatively quiet square.

I tiptoed to a nearby alleyway, allowing the shadows to submerge me, and praying that Gracie wouldn't make a peep and alert the guards to our presence. I wandered through the alleys, making my way around the area, careful not to be seen by the Guardians- the last thing she wanted to do was be mistaken as someone who belonged here.

All of the buildings looked identical, and I soon found myself disoriented, unsure where to even begin searching for Ruby. I was about to give up and go back to town and try again another day, when I noticed a young woman walking my way. She wore black robes and had the standard red "X" on her cheek, indicating she was a No Name woman.

The woman kept her head facing downward, so she didn't notice my presence. Desperate for a hint on where to start my search, I leaned forward, careful to keep hidden, and tried to catch the girls' attention.

"Psst," I whispered, keeping my eyes on the Guardians. The woman turned her head slightly, discreetly in my direction, her eyes widening with alarm when she saw me. "I need help finding someone. She was brought here late last night. Her name is Ruby."

The girl shook her head fervently. I reached out and shook her shoulder slightly, causing her to whimper. "Please," I said. "I don't have a lot of time, and I'm desperate."

Worry lines creased in her forehead, but she continued to shake her head, gesturing with her hands as her eyes filled with tears. She opened her mouth to reflect a dark cavern with a nub where her tongue once was, and made a guttural noise. I yanked my arm away, startled, and the girl ran off.

"She can't help you," a voice whispered in the shadows. "The poor girl's tongue was cut out a few weeks ago."

I whipped around in alarm and squinted in the darkness, barely able to make out the silhouette of a woman, the tip of her cigarette lighting the alley as she took a puff. She took a step toward me. The sunlight brought her into my view, and I took a step back, nearly screaming at what I saw.

She couldn't have been older than thirty, but she looked aged far beyond her years. Her eyes were lifeless, as though she'd been here so long she was dead on the inside. The woman who was probably beautiful once upon a time, was covered in brown, pus-filled lesions. Her skin was ghostly white, peeling in large patches as though she were a snake shedding its casing, and the whites of her eyes were the color of ripe lemons. She looked inhuman, like an alien or some ethereal creature sent to kill me.

"I know. I'm gorgeous," she said, playfully whipping her hair over her shoulder.

I took a step back, blushing at my reaction. "I- I'm sorry," I stuttered.

The woman gave a sad smile. "Don't be. I'm used to it. It comes with the job," she said. "Besides, being a monster has its perks. The Guardians feel so sorry for me, they let me outside every now and then and I get to bum smokes."

She dropped the cigarette onto the ground and snuffed it out with the tip of her boot. "The name's Quinn. I overheard your conversation with the girl. You're looking for Ruby?"

"You know her?" I asked, excitement coursing through my veins.

"It depends on what you want with her."

I contemplated the question, wondering how honest I should be with her. I stared at her for a moment, unsure what to say, before deciding to tell her the truth. What did I have to lose?

"I'm here to set her free."

The woman analyzed me for a moment before her lip turned up into a half smile. "Okay, then. Follow me."

Quinn led me down several alleys, always careful to keep us hidden in the shadows. We crept soundlessly through the complex, passing building after building until Quinn motioned for us to stop at the abandoned warehouse in the back of the square.

She stooped down and peered into the keyhole of the locked door, before reaching her hand out toward me.

"Bobby pin," she said.

I stared at her in confusion. "What?"

"If you want to save Ruby's life before they kill her, give me a damn bobby pin!" she said forcibly.

I fumbled in my hair with shaking fingers until I found one of the small metal barrettes. I pulled it out and handed it to Quinn, my dark hair falling in waves around my shoulders.

I watched in amazement as Quinn stuck the bobby pin in the keyhole. She bit her lip in concentration as she masterfully wiggled the barrette back and forth, trying to manipulate the lock. She fumbled around for a moment before a loud click resounded through the alley.

She gave me an arrogant smile as she opened the door a crack. "After you."

I took a deep breath and walked into the building, eager to be out of the sight. Quinn followed close behind, shutting the door behind us, and engulfing us in darkness. She fumbled along the wall for a moment until finding the light switch and flipping it on. I shielded my eyes and blinked a few times, thrown by the temporary brightness of the fluorescent bulbs flickering along the top of the building.

When I was finally able to see through my temporary distortion, an audible gasp left my lips. In all of the stories Ruby had told me, I'd never expected to see this degree of cruelty. Before me, arranged in multiple rows and stacked on top of one another from the floor to the ceiling, were small cages meant for large dogs or cats.

Only the inside of the cages didn't house animals, but humans; dozens and dozens of young women with the red "X"s on their faces, withering away slowly, shells of who they once were. No Name women, trapped in cages like prisoners, locked away, unable to escape. I finally understood why Ruby was always so afraid of returning to the Factories.