SALLY.


A few days had passed since I’d gotten the beat down Major Kowalski had termed my training. I still had the bruises to show for it and my body still ached when touched in certain places but I was better. Dr Reynolds had kept me in the white room till I recuperated. I wouldn’t say I preferred being locked in that room all day with nothing to keep me company but my thoughts, but it was better than getting beat up everyday.

True to his words, Dr Reynolds had gotten Major Kowalski to cease his torment and I was going to start training with the others today. I wasn’t looking forward to that either for I knew he wanted me to hurt people and I couldn’t do that. I was already awake before the wake up siren sounded and when the guards came into my room, I was waiting for them. Major Kowalski had done me the favour of not showing up with the guards today. I was relieved but I knew in my heart that relief wouldn’t last long. This time, when they led me out of my room, no one was waiting by their door.

They all moved in an orderly line down the hall, and got into the elevators in batches of five with two guards to accompany them. I waited at the back of the line till everyone was gone before following. My stomach grumbled as I entered the elevator, reminding me that I had eaten nothing last night. During my convalescence, I was given two meals per day. Breakfast and dinner. But the dinner that had been brought yesterday had been less than desirable. I couldn’t stomach it and I’d pushed it aside. Now I wish I had forced it down my throat. It was certainly better than training on an empty stomach.

One of the guards with the name tag, Michaelson, pressed the button to the mid-level. I wondered what was on the upper level. I had never seen anyone press that button. The doors slid open and they marched me to a room where the others were already lined up in front of a table. The room was wide enough to contain us all, both male and female. The room had a cabin at the top where Major Kowalski stood holding a microphone. Our eyes met as I looked up. His piercing gaze made my skin crawl and I looked away. In the center of the room, after the tables were dummies made of sacks, each one facing a person.

I moved towards the only unoccupied space in the room and stared at the contents of my table. It was googles and a gun. A dismantled gun. The only time I had ever seen a gun was in movies. Now it was lying in front of me like an apparition. An object of doom. I noticed everyone else was wearing the googles so I wore mine.
Everyone seemed to know what to do. A buzzer sounded and they all grabbed a piece of the gun and started assembling. I looked up at the cabin and noticed there was a timer there. Thirty seconds was now twenty seven. I picked up a piece of my gun and stared at the rest in confusion. I didn’t know what to do.

“That’s the slide,” a voice spoke beside me. I looked up and it was the girl from the cafeteria. Margot, I recalled.

“You have to assemble the gun and shoot your target before the timer runs out.” 

I glanced at the timer and it was already at twenty. “Do what I do,” she whispered. She was already halfway through with her gun but she dismantled it and started all over again.

She picked up two parts of it and explained what they were as she assembled them. “These are the barrel and the slide. You insert the barrel into the slide. Put in the spring and push the slide into the rails of the gun. There’s a notch at the back where it sits on and you hear a click.”

I copied her movements and got the gun assembled halfway. Some of the others in the room had already gotten their guns assembled and were shooting at the target in front of them. Petra was one of them. She was focused and shot with precision, getting five bullets into the head and chest of her target. The buzzer sounded and everyone dropped their guns. The ones who took their shots looked relieved while the others who didn’t had the look of despair about them. One boy even broke down in tears. I was puzzled, but the reason for their fear and despair came a second later.

The collar on my neck fired up and sent a wave of electricity that had me doubling over and screaming through my body. It was much more painful than the ones I’d gotten before. I held on to the table and dug my nails into the wood. It felt like my brain was being fried to a crisp. When it was over, I was disoriented and shaking.
The days I had spent in the white room had made me forget about the torture device I had permanently on my neck.

Beside me Margot was groaning in pain but she proceeded to dismantle her guns just like the others were doing. “You have to reassemble again,” she said to me. At that moment, I realized what she had done for me. She had dissembled her gun and had started all over again just so she could help me, risking getting punished for me.

I followed her movements again and this time got the gun assembled before the buzzer sounded but I hadn’t managed to take any shot at my target. The collar fired up again and shocked me. When it was over, I bent over and retched, spilling out liquid that left my mouth sour and my breath foul.

“You’ll be cleaning that up yourself,” Major Kowalski said to me.

After the training session was over and everyone marched out, I stayed behind and cleaned up my vomit. My guards didn’t leave me as I wiped the floor. The rancid smell of the vomit made me want to throw up again. I was tired and hungry. My mouth tasted of vomit and I reeked of sweat. I didn’t know what was worse between smelling the vomit, and having to scoop the liquid off the floor and into a bucket with my bare hands or tasting it in my mouth.

A pair of shiny boots appeared in front of me just as I finished wiping off the floor with a napkin. I looked up at Major Kowalski and he sneered down at me. “Get up,” he ordered and I did. He grabbed me by the arm and led me out of the room. My female escort, Bertha, picked up the bucket of vomit and took it away.

Major Kowalski took me to the bathroom where they had taken a picture of me naked on my first day here. Remembering that made me feel dirty and squirmy. I couldn’t look Major Kowalski in the face knowing he had a picture of my naked body somewhere and was probably staring at it at his leisure. He opened the door to the bathroom and pushed me in. This time, the room was filled with girls who were bathing. Each of them had a guard watching over them. They had their backs turned to them and paid no mind to their onlookers.
I looked at Major Kowalski and he was staring at me impatiently. “Do you need me to tell you to take off your clothes?”

Hesitantly, my fingers moved to the zipper of my jumpsuit and I drew it down and slipped out of the cloth. He moved closer to me and I jumped back. He smiled and grabbed my arm. I winced as his grip tightened. He brought his head down to my face. I could smell his breath as he spoke and I trembled.

“I’m not interested in touching you,” he said but his eyes lingered too long on my naked breasts. He let go of me and removed the collar on my neck. Then, he grabbed me again and whispered in my ear. “And if I feel like touching you, I’ll do so anytime I please. Understand?” He grabbed my left breast and pinched the nipple then pushed me into the shower stall. I wrapped my arms around my chest and whimpered. Tears welled up in my eyes but I looked away and turned on the water, letting it wash the tears away. On the wall beside me was a stand with a toothbrush and toothpaste. I picked it up and finally washed out the taste of vomit from my mouth.

I turned off the water and Major Kowalski handed me a clean jumpsuit and thankfully, underwear. I got dressed all while avoiding his gaze. I couldn’t bare to see the satisfaction in his face. He had called this place hell and he was right. It was hell and he was the devil himself. He put my collar in place and escorted me out of the bathroom. Michaelson and Bertha were already waiting at the entrance and Major Kowalski fell away and they took his place. I breathed easy knowing he wasn’t around to try to touch me again. 

In the cafeteria, we were served rice pudding and milk. I glanced around the room in search of a table to sit and spotted Margot and Hakeem sitting at a table in the corner of the room. I carried my tray and joined them.
“Can I sit here?” I asked.

“Sure.” Margot smiled.

“Thank you for what you did earlier,” I said.

“It was nothing.” Her smile was still in place. I couldn’t find anything to smile about. She had a cheerful personality and nothing seemed to be able to dim her shine. Not even this place. I took a spoon of my pudding and swallowed. I couldn’t even taste it, I just gulped it all down. I was too hungry to care how it tasted.

“You must be really hungry,” said Hakeem. I looked up from the plate I had all but buried my face in and comported myself.

“Its been a while since I’ve eaten anything and today’s training didn’t help.” I drank half the glass of my milk.

“I understand. You should get ready for another session. We train twice daily.”

I dropped the glass of milk and forced myself to swallow the content in my mouth. Suddenly everything tasted sour and unpleasant. I couldn’t face another of that session again. I was sure my brain would melt.

“Don’t worry. It gets easier,” Margot said.

“How?” I asked. I felt like crying again. There was no way things would get better in this place. It was a nightmare.

“Well for one, you have us now. I’ve learned it’s easier when you have someone to talk to and we’re about the most cheerful people in this place,” said Margot. I glanced at Hakeem who had a neutral expression on his face. “Minus Hakeem, he’s sort of a downer. Anyone would be unhappy with that face, Hakeem,” she said to him and he smiled. I couldn’t help smiling too. 

“How do you manage to be cheerful in this dismal place?” I asked her.

She shrugged. “I guess knowing what to expect from everyone helps. They certainly can’t do more than they already do everyday. There’s a schedule here, you see. On Mondays, we’re taught how to control our abilities. Tuesdays are for body fitness and check-ups. Wednesdays are for training in martial arts. Thursdays we practice our gun training and Fridays we train with our powers. Saturdays and Sundays are for laundry and cleaning. Everyday we wash the uniforms of the guards and clean their boots. You get punished if it’s not shiny. What else did I miss, Hakeem?”
“You forget we wash the dishes as well,” he said.

“Yes, we wash the dishes too but in batches. There’s a different batch each week,” said Margot.

“So basically we’re slaves who the guards do whatever they please to?” I scoffed.

She chewed her lips. “Well, not everyone.” She looked around and brought her head closer to whisper. “I hear some girls do stuff to them willingly or they do it by force.”  Her eyes were wide and she spoke hurriedly like the words themselves were hot on her tongue. Judging by her behaviour, I could tell what kind of stuff the men did forcibly. Sexual stuff.  I thought about how Major Kowalski had touched me earlier and licked my lips.

“Has anyone of them ever touched you?” I asked her.

“No. They’re not interested in me. I guess if you stay clear of them and they don’t notice you, you’ll be safe.”

“Or if you’re a boy.” Hakeem shrugged.

Well I wasn’t a boy and there was no way I could stay clear of someone who already had his eyes on me. I had to get out of here. I wasn’t going to let him touch me again or worse, end up like the girls who do it willingly.