“That means you’ve been here for 12 years…” I whispered.

                He nodded, “I’m one of the oldest here.”

                I blinked, surprised by that fact. “Are you serious?”

                “Obviously.”

                “Wow…” I whispered, staring off into the distance. He must’ve been one of the first ones in this slave business the aliens had.

                He was silent, letting me think about everything.

                I had only been here for three days working. My muscles ached so badly that I could barely get up the next day. Only the threat of death pushed me. It had never crossed my mind that I would be here for the rest of my life.

                Every day it’d be the same routine again and again.

                I was twenty-three.

                I still had all of my life to live.

                Nat tugged on my elbow gently, pulling me forward in line. He pushed a tray in between my fingers as we neared the food.

                “You ok?”

                I nodded slowly, “Yeah. It’s just… It hit me now that I’ll be doing the same thing for the rest of my life.”

                He smiled slightly, staring off in the distance, “That could change.”

                “What?” I frowned.

                Nat blinked, seeming to realize that he said that aloud. “Uh… Never mind. Let’s just not talk about this anymore.”

                I wanted to object, I wanted to learn more about this new life I was living, but the harsh look on his face stopped me in my tracks. My teeth gently bit down on my tongue to prevent any unwanted words from slipping out.

                Nat and I got our food in silence before separating to the different sections to where we sat. As I made my way to the normal corner that I ate in, I noticed that someone had already taken up the normal space.

                My face fell.

                A small boy who couldn’t be any older than twelve sat crouched in the corner talking to another girl around his age.

                I didn’t have enough confidence to sit near them or to ask them to leave.

                My eyes scanned the rest of the room as I searched for an alternative spot to eat at. The tables were packed with people, automatically eliminating them as an option. People were crowded against all of the walls bordering the Mess hall.

                It never occurred to me that I might lose my spot. It was so isolated from everyone else, so uncomfortably small, that I never thought anyone would take it. My legs shook slightly as my eyes failed to find another spot to sit.

                I looked for a familiar face.

                Nat.

                Cassandra.

                The elder man who always managed to get into an argument with Cassandra over the number-name ordeal.

                The man who had taken me to the secret meeting deep within the stalks of the plants only the night before.

                I realized then how few faces I would be able to recognize. Some had grown familiar from seeing every day, but they were people I had never spoken to. People I simply observed rather than interacted with.

                “Vous êtes perdu?”

                The forceful way the person said it caused me to turn around quickly in shock. A young burnt male smiled gently at me, only a foot away.

                I made a face, unsure of what he had said, “Pardon me?”

                He nodded, wagging a finger at me. “Sorry. I speak little English. Are you lost?”

                He had a French accent that tinted his voice wonderfully. His skin was bright red as if the sun outside had burned him severely today. Milky white hair topped off his head, loosely falling down to his shoulders.

                “I’m fine, t-thank you.” I stuttered.

                Shock coursed through my body at the politeness of him. I hadn’t met anyone not from my cabin that hadn’t been rude in some sort of way.

                He smelled gently, walking around, “Au revoir.”

                I knew enough French to mutter a goodbye back as well.

                My eyes moved around the hall again. With a sigh, I took a seat where I was, realizing I was enough out of the way to not get kicked every two seconds. Others were forced into the middle of the aisle, but those were all a part of a group.

                Loneliness tugged at me as I ate from the disgusting food on my tray. It seemed that everyone else had someone to interact with. While I wasn’t completely isolated from all the other humans, I didn’t have anyone to sit with at the eating times.

                I ate my meal slowly, keeping my eyes trained on the food. It looked like refried beans with a yellowish tint to them. It tasted more or less like very buttery corn, but the look itself was enough to make my stomach quench. There was a rancid smell to it that matched all the other meals we received here.

                 Dinner passed slowly.

                Once I realized I couldn’t push off emptying my tray anymore, I stood up, making my way to the exit. I fell into the flow of people leaving. A glance behind me told me that there were still others just arriving to dinner.

                It seemed to be one continuous circuit.

                I made my way back to the cabin to get ready for my shower. Every two days I was given a shower. It made me feel disgusting, but I knew in a few weeks this would become normal. Everything would become normal in a few weeks.

                Nothing would ever change for the rest of my life here.

                Cassandra had beaten me to the cabin for once. She sat in a small cluster around her bed with two other women, all of whom looked older than myself.

                “93-11!” Cassandra called.

                It took me a minute before I looked up at the sound of my number, “Yes?”

                “Come over here and have a chat with us. No need to be completely antisocial here.” She along with the other women laughed gently.

                My heart fluttered at the thought of being invited into a group. I hurried over, filling in the empty spot next to Cassandra.

                “Hey,” I said softly, “I’m Eva—I mean 93-11.”

                The woman across from me smiled gently at my mistake while the other two seemed to scoff at me.

                “You really must remember that you’re no longer Eva. You’ve been given a new name, a new life, and if you don’t become adjusted to this, it’s not going to get easier for you here.” Cassandra warned.

                I had a feeling I would never get used to being addressed as a number.

                “I’m sorry.” I said humbly.

                “It’s quite alright.” She smiled, and then moved to introduce the other two ladies. I forgot their numbers within seconds after she said them. Nonetheless, I faked it, and shook the hands of each of them.

                “We were just discussing our labor jobs.”

                “Oh really?” I raised an eyebrow, interested in finding out what other options I had to work here.

                She nodded, “The three of us are Strippers.”

                My eyes widened with surprise, “I—I’m sorry, you’re what?!”

                They chuckled at my ignorance.

                “We’re not human strippers. Our clothes stay on in this job!” The woman who had smiled earlier said softly. She had thin, dark, red hair that was cropped just beneath her chin. It moved in sync with the rest of it as she bobbed her head with her words. She was a petite. I could tell that before she even stood up by the way her legs were on the bed.

                “Then…?”

                “We take the stalks and strip them of the green exterior.” Cassandra explained for me in a slow voice.

                “What’s the point in doing this?” I asked gently.

                The three women exchanged glances.

                “We’re not quite sure. We’re simply instructed to do this job and that’s what we’re going to do. We don’t ask questions.” The other woman said. She had matching hair length as the other, but her hair was brown instead of red. They appeared almost to have been twins at a distance in their similar height as well.               

                “You really shouldn’t ask so many questions either.” The redhead advised sternly. “It makes the days go by longer.”

                Cassandra and the two women shared a chuckle at something funny that I seemed to have missed.

                “I haven’t seen you around the stripping factory, 93-11. What is it that you’re doing in your labor?”

                “I’m ah…” I pondered for a moment, trying to recall what it was that I was doing again, “I’m a Cutter.”

                The unfamiliar women raised their eyebrows in surprise while Cassandra gave me a disapproving look. I bit my lip gently, staring at my clasped hands on my lap softly.

                “Why would you want to do that?”

                I shrugged, “I didn’t know what to do on my first day here. I found Nat—I mean 94-2—and he and I went to the fields to cut.”

                “But why have you stayed with the job? You could have easily switched within the first few days here.” The brunette asked.

                “I didn’t know there were other jobs.”

                The redhead tsked, “You’ve really gotten the short straw there.  That is probably the worst job out there.”

                “Trust me, I know. My arms are aching so badly every minute of the day. But I’m learning to ignore it.” I said softly.

                “You poor thing.”

                “You could probably still change. You’re new here. They wouldn’t notice if you did…” The redhead suggested.

                Cassandra gave her an incredulous look, “Are you kidding? Of course they’ll notice! And you know what happens to someone who they find not cooperating!”

                A pregnant silence grew between the women once Cassandra finished her sentence. I stared at them curiously, enticed by what she was talking about. What did happen to them? It had never occurred to me that there would be a problem.

                A few minutes passed before I spoke up.

                “What happens to people who don’t cooperate?”

                Cassandra looked at me strangely. I couldn’t read what emotions she was feeling, but I knew it wasn’t something good.

                “They’re taken away in the middle of the night and never seen again.”

                I blinked.

                “What do you mean?” I pushed.

                “They go to sleep one evening, and then the next morning when everyone wakes up, that person has disappeared.”

                “No one hears anyone leave?”

                The three women shook their heads together.

                “That’s kind of eerie.”

                “Absolutely. But it’s how they keep us in line. We don’t know what’s happened to the trouble makers, all we know is that three days later their empty bunk is filled.”

                “Wait!” I said as a disconcerting thought entered my head, “The bed that I’m sleeping in now… that wasn’t… was it…?”

                “A fellow by the number of 100-22.” Cassandra nodded solemnly. “A very nice guy, but not bright at all.”

                “What… What did he do?”

                Cassandra looked to the redhead.

                She opened her mouth, answering my question for me, “He had been here for two weeks when he overhead us talking about our Stripper jobs. I assume he must’ve thought what you had thought originally. He decided to follow us that day.”

                The brunette interrupted to finish the story, “Well, he joined us at work that day. I think he seemed rather disappointed in our actual job. I would be too, if I had gotten my hopes up to see this naked—”

                “Anyways,” the redhead concluded, “He was here when we had down time before showers and then… the next day he just disappeared.”

                “Three days later you arrived.”

                I made a face, thoroughly disgusted. I didn’t know if I could sleep in that bed anymore. I knew I would have to, but the thought that I was sleeping in a dead man’s bed…

                “That’s disgusting.”

                The door opened, and a few more people walked in. My eyes moved over the semi-familiar faces that strolled in.

                They paid no attention to us.

                “Where do I go for showers?” I asked gently.

                “Oh you have showers today?” The redhead asked.

                I nodded.

                “I’ll take you with me. I have them as well.” She smiled enthusiastically at the fact that we had showers together. I wasn’t sure if I was comfortable with this thought, but at least there was someone to show me the way.

                I feigned a smile, muttering thanks.

                ~*~

                The showers were exactly what I had been expecting. It was a small building a quarter mile away from the Mess hall which looked more like a gas chamber than a shower. A line of women stretched from it with a parallel line of men next to it.

                I was grateful we weren’t sharing the same showers.

                Inside it was disgusting and packed. Water fell from the ceiling like pounding rain. I was given a bar of soap and a small bottle of hair product. I tried to wash as quickly as I could. I couldn’t help touching people in the shower. I tried to keep my eyes to myself, but I knew there were women in here watching me shower.

                I had never felt more violated in my life.

                I hurried out before the redhead had finished. She and I had been separated in the crowd, not that I minded much. She had told me that she forgot her real name. Most people who couldn’t remember her number simply called her Red.

                I thought that was a suitable name for her.

                I arrived back at the cabin within forty five minutes of leaving. Most of the time had been taken up by waiting to simply get into the shower.

                I kept my head down as I returned, hurrying to bed long before anyone else.

                Due to the grueling work I did each day, I managed to fall asleep within seconds of hitting the uncomfortable pillow.

                It was now late in the evening and for the second time in a row I had been awoken from my slumber.

                It was the same as last night.

                Voices sounded, dragging me from the sleep I wished to fall back into. Slowly, I pried my eyes open, rolling on my bed to observe what was going on.

                It was dark in the room, but through a faint light coming from a crack on a door, I could make out a few people standing.

                It wasn’t a large group, roughly the same number as before.

                I strained my ears to pick up the noise.

                “—why in the hell are we doing this two nights in a row?” I didn’t recognize the voice, but the owner sounded very annoyed.

                “We have a little change in plans. I’ll announce it once we get there, but this is important that everyone knows.”

                “This is insane!”

                There were a few murmurs in agreement.

                After a long pause, a new voice spoke.

                “If you don’t want to go, that’s fine. Just stay back and become mindless numbers like the rest of them. I’m going to fit for my right to be a human again. It’s not going to be easy. If you’re not brave enough, stay back.”

                That hearty speech left the group in a silence. I moved more on the bed to try to find out what was going on. After what felt like an hour, I heard the door open and light flooded in. They slowly started to exit.

                “Aren’t you coming?” Someone unknown asked their voice clearer as they were turned toward me.

                I froze in my place.

                Had I been caught?

                “Nah, I’ll catch up with you guys.” I recognize the voice as Nat’s. Whoever had spoken first nodded and closed the door behind him.

                The room was silent.

                Hadn’t Nat been the leader?

                Why was he staying back?

                Suddenly, I felt a warm breath on my face. I froze, holding my breath. My eyes closed tightly trying to feign unconsciousness.

                “I know you’re awake.” He whispered.

                I peeked through one eye. His eyes shined slightly, dangerously close to my face. His fingers curled around the edge of my mattress tightly as he supported the rest of his body on his own bed underneath.

                “Stop eavesdropping.” His words were harsh.

                “I—I was just curious.”

                “Curiosity killed the cat.” He hissed, “Stay asleep next time.”

                He pulled back, hopping off of our bunk beds.

                “Wait!” I said as loud as I dared while not letting any of the others wake up from their sleep as well.

                “What?”

                “I’m coming with.”

                “Oh, no you’re not.”

                But he was too late. I was already climbing down the side of my bed and on the floor in a matter of seconds. I skittered over to where he stood, waiting for him to lead the way to the mystery location within the stalks.

                Nat mumbled something unintelligible under his breath, but silently left the small cabin behind with me at his heels. 

*********

I have no excuse.

I'm sorry guys :(