Drip drop.
Ugh, what is this? It feels like I got hit by a truck and then thrown off a precipice only to be trampled by elephants.
Drip drop.
My eyes are closed, but by the way I'm feeling, I'm debating if it's even worth opening them. All I can tell right now is that I'm laying down somewhere hard.
I wiggle my fingers and twitch my toes, but moving larger muscle groups is requiring an unprecedented amount of energy.
Drip drop.
Those drops are starting to become annoying.
Drip drop.
Okay, fine! I'll shut off the damn faucet!
Letting out a loud groan, I opened my eyes, yet I had to quickly shut them as the strong light stung my eyes. Keeping my eyes clenched, I decided to shift to my side. Moving my arm was like moving a fifty pound dumbbell and it landed like one too.
Oh no! My stomach churned as a wave of nausea rushed through me. I must have moved my head too fast. My body lagged seconds behind what my thoughts commanded.
Resting my head against the cool surface I was lying on, I waited for the nausea to subside.
Drip drop.
I swear the drops are making fun of me now.
Deciding to move slower, I used my forearms to prop myself up. One by one, my leaden legs were barely able to meet my elbows. With my forehead still pressed to the ground, I took a few moments to make sense of my situation.
From the limited movements I've taken, I figured why the surface my face was in contact with was unusually cool. My hair was damp. Welp, there goes another bath without me being conscious. Honestly, I appreciate the state of cleanliness. I, however, would like to not have the opportunity to perform my ablutions absconded in such a way.
When I gathered my knees up to my torso, I also noticed the frail covering I had on. That was it, just another thin paper gown. I bet it was exactly like the one they gave me the day they concussed me, short and flimsy, capable of breaking at the slightest bit of force. Well, at least they didn't leave me in my birthday suit.
Drip drop.
The dripping is getting on my nerves.
A long and drawn out sigh rushed past my lips as I slowly opened my eyes to let them adjust. Blinking away the fog in my brain, I finally figured out that I didn't have my glasses on me. I don't know why waking up here without glasses still surprises me. It's not like I go to sleep with them, but it's not the same knowing I took them off before turning in for the night rather than being knocked out and waking up blind, on top of being completely disoriented. Gotta give it to them, at least they have the decency to make sure I don't roll over and crack them.
Blindly feeling around me, I could not locate my glasses. That's odd, they usually place my spectacles next to me or on a table at most. Careful to not exacerbate my nausea, I looked around while squinting, trying to focus on my surroundings.
It was white. Everything was white. There was no contrast I could discern to say there was any useful landmark. The room was so lit up that there were no shadows of any shape I could make out either. From where I was, I couldn't even tell where the door was or where the floor ended and the wall started. I couldn't even make out where the corners of the room were!
Drip drop.
Oh, that vexing sound! Clean water is a finite resource, people, don't waste it!
My head whipped to the corner behind me. I shouldn't have done that. I clearly shouldn't have done that! The contents of my stomach were one more bad move away from making themselves known.
I let a couple of minutes pass, breathing slow and deep to keep my gastric juices at bay until I was confident that they had settled. Warily shifting my position towards the sound of the water dripping, I crawled my way over to it, not trusting myself to be able to balance on my feet.
Slowly yet steadily, I reached the base of a white toilet. Reaching past the commode, I touched the wall and used it as support to lift myself onto my feet and steady my swaying body. The faucet from which the water was falling was a sink located on top of the toilet's back. Just like a prison toilet. Great. I sighed in relief, finally setting my mind at ease after turning off the water.
Now that I had one landmark to go off from, I used the wall to guide me around the room and feel my way. As I suspected, the room was bare bones. Apart from the toilet, sink, and door, there was absolutely nothing else in here. I had been lying on the concrete floor so there wasn't even a cot to sleep on. Oh, my back.
Here I was, relegated to solitary confinement with nothing but a toilet, sink, paper gown, and my thoughts. Two days. That's all I needed to focus on. I just need to make sure to make it through these next two days mentally intact and I'd be out of here.
Wait! That means that I have two days free from anyone here. What a welcomed relief! I'll have two days all to myself without having to worry about pleasing anybody or following some stupid rules. Two days of rest and relaxation with no one to threaten, hurt, or humiliate me. My body will have a chance to recuperate. I won't have to answer to anyone or be called by some ridiculous pet names. I won't have to think about defending myself or getting bullied, touched, or assaulted by any of these psychopathic lunatics. Oh, what joy! How ironic that I am more of a person in here than out there. What irony indeed.
The more I thought about my current situation inside solitary confinement, the more I couldn't hold back the unhinged laughter that filled the room. I was free in this cell!
Soon afterwards, I was joyously shouting at the top of my lungs. I screamed profanities into the sky. I cursed my captors and everyone else who had a hand in keeping me captive. I hurled insults left and right. No one was in here but me, so I could unload everything that was weighing me down. I didn't realize how cathartic, yet utterly exhausting, freeing myself from all of my suppressed feelings would be until my voice cracked and I fell back panting.
My ears were ringing at the sudden silence, but that was just a small price to pay for the elation I was currently experiencing.
In this bare room, I finally had peace of mind.
Peace. It's been so long since I had become acquainted with it.
I laid on the floor with my arms outstretched. My eyes had long gotten used to the excessive amount of light so I was able to notice four black spots in each corner of the ceiling.
Without glasses, it was impossible to focus on them, however, they seemed to reflect light because when I moved, a small dot of white light also moved. While I was angling my head, I also noticed that they protruded from the ceiling. Oh, nevermind, I've seen these before. They are security cameras. That's the only logical conclusion. The people here would obviously have a need to keep watch because why not enjoy every aspect of my suffering? If that's the case, then guess what? I don't plan on giving them any more entertainment. This is going to be my little staycation.
Although, why four cameras? Isn't that a bit overkill? Hmm, I guess they don't want to miss a single angle from all this action. Eh, whatever. Nothing I can do about it.
A couple of seconds passed and I was suddenly closing my legs from the spread-eagle position I was in on the floor. My actions were fueled by my previous thoughts of them being able to see every angle in this cell. As I said before, I want to still keep some of my dignity and this small paper gown didn't leave much to be desired.
Thinking about how best to shield my body from the cameras, a cold breeze was now flowing into the cell. Just my luck. It's not terribly cold but if this keeps up and the temperature drops too much, I'll have quite the bitter time trying to keep myself warm in my current predicament. I'll just think of summer thoughts in the meantime.
As if on cue, my stomach suddenly growled. Ah jeez, things just keep getting better and better. That's right, I only had breakfast today. I'm sure that I shouldn't expect lunch anytime soon, if at all, because, you know, screw me. I don't even know what time it is or how long I was out for. Although, I shouldn't have been out too long, I think. After all, my hair is still somewhat damp. It only makes sense that they would have put me in here shortly after the injection. I really do hope that was the case. No, no, I won't do that to myself. I'm not going to think about possible scenarios that might or might not have happened. This is my staycation. Gotta think happy thoughts! Peaceful thoughts.
Rolling over to the side and bringing my bottom leg up to my chest, I could quell my rumbling stomach for a couple more hours if need be. I folded my arm under my head and just closed my eyes.
-
It was a warm and breezy afternoon. From my vantage point on top of the mountains, I could see the zigzagging shades of green dotted with patches of reds, oranges, and yellows. Each mountain peak was playfully teasing the sky above, calling on clouds to share in their colorful game. A few responded, blanketing the peaks and erasing them from view. Looking off towards the horizon, the mountains disappeared into a foaming sea of ethereal blue.
Dad had stopped the car on the side of the winding mountain road at my behest because I just had to take in such a fantastical sight. I didn't waste a second in jumping out of the car and holding on to the guardrail trying to get even closer to the amazing view. Mom was making sure that I wasn't leaning too far over the railing so that 'I didn't fall into the leafy precipice.'
We were on a Sunday stroll or as it's better called, chinchorreando, through the middle of the Island right in the mountain range. As is Puerto Rican tradition, our mission was to hit as many chinchorros as we wanted to try any food that peaked our interest. After exploring a couple of beachside food kiosks and already having eaten alcapurrias, rellenos de papa, bacalaitos, empanadillas, and cheese dogs, we decided to head into the mountains to hit up the lechoneras, or in non-puertorrican, the famous restaurants that sell roasted pork. As with any good Chinchorreo, we would stop at any scenic point to take pictures, stroll around, eat some more, and drink.
After a couple of more minutes driving around curves bordered by imposing verdant rock faces, we approached the lechoneras situated high in the misty mountains. I reveled in the cool atmosphere of festivities and merriment that marked these types of establishments. I was grinning from ear to ear seeing all the families walking around talking, laughing, drinking, and dancing. The air carried the percussive sounds of live bands playing Salsa and Merengue. This was always one place that exuded joy everywhere I looked.
Once we had parked, we strolled around window shopping at the different kiosks selling all kinds of trinkets, memorabilia, souvenirs, artisanal handicrafts, and all other sorts of things that were fun and beautiful to look at. We walked up and down the boardwalk that overlooked the river before going behind the establishment so that we could dip our toes in the cold and clear river water.
About an hour passed of us enjoying everything this place had to offer before going to order food. The slow-roasted whole pork on a stick always drew in crowds. People who had never seen one were jumping over each other taking pictures. I don't blame them, it is indeed an impressive sight to behold.
The rich and savory smells that permeated the air had my mouth watering and my stomach angrily demanding an offering to calm the beast inside. Dad had laughed at my hangry demeanor and told me a couple of times to wait a few more minutes until it was our turn to order our meal. When we were finally blessed to have our order taken, we racked up quite the pile of food. It was going to be another great time once we sat down for this wonderful feast.
At the table, all the food was laid out for the taking. Apart from the obvious order of pork and crispy, delicious pork skin, we had arroz con gandules, morcillas, batata mameya, guineitos en escabeche, yuca, yautía, malanga, ensalada de papa, ensalada de coditos. Beer for them, coke for me. Of course, I am still underaged, but that doesn't stop them from letting me have a few tasting sips of their drinks. Ugh! I don't know what adults find so tasty in alcohol. One thing's for sure, I am not going to be drinking that disgusting swill when I grow up.
I opened my eyes to the angry sounds of hunger pains. What a blissful dream. If only I could stay in it forever. I had both my parents, food, happiness, and freedom. All in my homeland.
Another pang of hunger hit me, making me curl up further into myself. By this time, my stomach was imploding. The dream had inadvertently made me even hungrier. I had woken up salivating so profusely to the point that I had to swallow it all down and wipe away the spilling drool.
Yet another stomach grumble resounded throughout this empty cell. I groaned loudly in frustration, digging my fingers deep into the skin of my abdomen.
Suddenly, three increasing chimes rang out. Dun dun doo. I gasped. Jumping onto my knees and elbows, I turned my head towards the source of the sound. My heart skipped a beat then raced in anticipation. My muscles tensed and poised to take action. I don't know what is going on. I've never heard this before. The chimes seemed similar to those preceding a PA announcement, but nothing followed them. That is, no words followed the chimes until I whipped my head to the unlocking sounds coming from the door. Before I could even understand what was happening, a small opening revealed itself, something was thrown into the cell, and just as quickly, the opening had disappeared.
I walked over to the cream colored box that was now in my cell. Before reaching down to grab it, my stomach protested once more. Oh, I do hope it's food! I was still swallowing more saliva every time I thought back to the bountiful feast in my dreams. Enough time had passed that it made sense that this was going to be my next meal.
If history was any indication, I wonder what delicious entrée Tristan and his team had cooked this time?
Grabbing the box's lid, my eyes bulged in anticipation. I gulped down a bit more saliva before uncovering the tray.
It...
It was...
I dropped to my knees with my head hanging low. A defeated sigh was the only sound I could produce as the reality of my current situation finally hit me.
I was in solitary confinement.
It was stupid to have even thought that any supposed "privilege" I had before being in this cell I would get to keep. That included meals.
A sandwich.
A lonesome sandwich was all I had.
Two slices of bread and a single slice of thin ham wedge in between was my meal. That, and a small water bottle.
Why did I even psych myself up?
I was starving! As quickly as the box containing my "meal" was thrown into the cell, I had inhaled its meager contents. It took me what? Five? Six bites?
It was gone in less than thirty seconds. How much longer until my next meal?
My stomach didn't even register that food had gone into my system. It was back to growling incessantly. A new headache was beginning to take hold now.
This is going to be a long two days.
-
Being alone in this cell was proving harder than anticipated. The notion of having my own little staycation and coming up with happy and peaceful thoughts were soon dwindling. The constant hunger kept pulling me back to my awful reality.
Sleeping no longer provided me with an escape. I could not manage to reach it. My body was tired of actually going to sleep! Never did I think that such a feat would be possible.
According to my body, I've slept all that I needed to and it was blatantly refusing to engage in my only means of freedom.
All that I had left now were my thoughts. My pervasive thoughts. They were no longer happy or peaceful as I had originally intended. After thinking back to all the locations that I had visited and envisioning myself in all the places that I had yet to travel to, the constant hunger kept jerking me to these four bare walls. Soon thereafter, I was revisiting all the moments that led to my being here. All the 'what ifs' and decisions I had taken prior to being kidnapped.
Maybe, just maybe if I had just left the library a couple of minutes sooner, I'd be safe in my apartment.
Maybe if I'd run when I first saw that black van, I wouldn't be here.
Maybe if I'd fought back when Kristia came out of the vehicle, I would probably have had a chance to escape. If she'd shot me, what are the chances I'd have survived?
I went down the rabbit hole.
Every single action and decision I've taken to put me in my current predicament came under scrutiny. At one point I told myself that torturing myself with the past was not going to serve me in any way, but I just couldn't stop. There was absolutely nothing to distract me. I couldn't fall asleep, I was still starving, and by this point I was shivering.
To conserve my rapidly losing body heat, I figured that it would probably be best to situate myself in a corner. The cold air would be coming from two sides now instead of all four. I huddled as best I could, taking the tray and its lid with me, I placed them in front of my feet and to the side that is opposite to the wall. Involuting even further, I pulled my knees to my chest with both arms squished in between my torso and knees to warm them up. Even my feet were in odd angles trying to find any stray body heat to keep warm. My loose hair draping over the uncovered side of my body was serving as the only barrier against the chilled air.
I laid my head against the wall concentrating on rubbing my hands against any part of my body that grew too cold. Dun do. Two chimes rang out. I looked up. A computerized voice spoke, "Subject 0-1-5-3, please place the food trays at the foot of the door then step away to the opposite wall. You have ten seconds to comply."
I scoffed. Ten seconds. Honestly, what more could they do to me? I'm not stupid, I'm going to comply, but the way they set things up just makes me want to disobey. I don't really have anything else left for them to take, but my so-called staycation is certainly not going to be ruined by their presence.
As instructed, I reluctantly gave away my only solid means of shielding my skin from the cold air, then walked to the wall across the door. Dun do. The same two chimes played. "Subject 0-1-5-3, turn around and face the wall. You have three seconds to comply." I rolled my eyes and sighed heavily. Turning on my heels, the white slate stared me down. A lock unbolted. The metal hinges screeched. Someone removed the trays and locked the door again. At the same time that the door was slammed shut and the lock engaged, the high and low pitched notes of the PA system played. "Subject 0-1-5-3, successful compliance earns a reward. Enjoy." The AC's compressor audibly shut off, but the fan's whir kept going. A shift in temperature was my reward. Not bad. If I keep following their instructions, what basic necessities would I get back?
-
Having the issue of the cold temperature resolved, my hands, feet, and back of my arms were now adequately warmed. Since sleep still eluded me, I was growing increasingly bored staring at the plain walls trying to keep myself from going back to a destructive mindset and questioning my decisions. At this point, I've resolved to let the past stay precisely where it should, in the past. I can't change anything about it and thinking too much into it is only doing myself a disservice. I have to focus on the here and now.
Resolute to shifting away from feeling sorry or mentally punishing myself, I figured that the only way to keep my brain fully occupied was to exercise. It is one of the few things I still have control over in this cell.
Hopefully, physically tiring myself out would work three-fold. For once, it would make me focus on reaching a goal and stay in the present. Secondly, it would make me so tired that my body wouldn't have another option but to fall asleep with exhaustion. Last but certainly not least, it would distract me from the hunger pains I was still experiencing.
Even though exercising while starving was not the best combination in my opinion, it was the only thing I knew by experience that made me stave off that feeling. If my workout was too vigorous like when I was in a basketball or soccer game, hunger would definitely take a back seat. On top of all this, if I wasn't going to be trained anymore because my 'training privileges had been officially rescinded' then I might as well put myself in the best position possible to fight.
I don't know what to expect during the brawl, all I know is that I still needed to escape. I need to be able to tell my mom 'I love you' at least one last time. I can only imagine how she must have reacted when she learned of my disappearance. I have acted nothing but selfish to her grieving. I understand that now.
As for the only other important person in my life, my best friend, she must be worried sick about me. We didn't live together, on my insistence. However, she had followed me to Virginia from Puerto Rico, vowing that no matter how much I tried to keep her at an arm's length - because, according to her, 'I was too stubborn to accept help' - she would keep chipping away at my walls until I was ready to let others see what a 'wonderful person I was.' I always scoffed and rolled my eyes at her whenever she said this because she was always so cheery and I believed she thought too highly of me.
Honestly, if it weren't for her pushing me to better myself and being there during the toughest times of being at odds with my mother, I would most probably not have achieved half the things I did to start my journey towards medicine. As independent as I believed myself to be, she was the one constant I could rely on. She is the purest soul I had ever met, and many of the good thoughts that shape me now were most probably rubbed off from her.
Even after all the help she has given me throughout my life, I didn't want to sully such a cheerful personality with my family drama, so I purposely kept her at a distance because I didn't want to rely on anyone. I believe that what I was most afraid of was that at some point in my life she was going to let me down or use me like everyone else and then move on. If that were to ever happen, I would have been utterly devastated, so I decided that if I kept her as distant as I could from my personal life, then I would never have the opportunity to be disappointed by her.
The only problem is that it didn't fully work. She always had a way of sneaking in and making me spill the beans. She never blamed me for anything and didn't hold it against me that I tried to push her away every time.
Thinking about her always brought an irrepressible smile to my face. I've never told her how much I appreciate her friendship and dedication even when she didn't have a reason to stick around. I know that somewhere in the back of my mind she must've been the first one to report my absence and has probably not stopped looking for me.
I bet against all odds that she is keeping my mother sane at this time by reassuring her that I'll turn up soon or at least telling her stories about me so that mom doesn't worry too much.
I miss Mikaela.
One radiant smile from her would make me forget the misery I've endured in this hell hole. One comforting hug, and my world would be at peace if only for a moment. She knows I'm not one for physical affection, but whenever I gave in, it was one of the greatest feelings I had ever experienced.
-
For my in-cell training, I began pacing the room. It was so tiny that I must have circled the entire cell at least fifty times. At some point, I had lost count of the number of laps I had run, if it could even be called that. Two strides was all it took to reach opposite walls, it seemed more as if I were jumping from end to end.
I did crunches, push-ups, squats, and anything else I could imagine. As I kept doing the exercises, I noticed that I was not able to last as long as I used to. Right from the get-go, I was unable to do a regular push-up, so I had switched to using my knees as support. I used to easily do more than 200 crunches, yet I did not even reach 100 before having to stop and grab at my abdomen. I wonder if there is some residual trauma from the beat-down that Dahlia and Mia had given me when I fruitlessly tried to escape? Same goes for the squats. I could not go as low or as long as I had done previously.
Sweating and panting after jumping from side to side, my knees buckled. I was now bent over with my hands flat on the ground. The room was spinning. I was nauseous. I worked on taking measured breaths to slow down my heart rate and prevent the feeling of nausea from taking over.
I must have over done it. I should just take it easy, and wait for my body to normalize.
The cell had warmed up nicely a while ago, but for some reason I was getting the chills. A few shivers rocked my body from time to time. The sense of nausea was now stronger.
I lay back on the floor in the fetal position, clutching my stomach again. Let me just wait for this sensation to pass.
My throat was parched, so after about ten minutes, I went to the sink and drank as much water as I could without having anything come back up, then lay back down. My stomach was still acting kind of fussy. My eyelids were growing heavy. Looks like my primary goal was accomplished.
I tired myself out.
-
A raucous alarm startled me awake. The lights were flashing orange.
What's happening?
"Subject 0-1-5-3, please stand in the middle of the room and undress. Shower time will commence. You have ten seconds to comply."
Naked. Again? Why stop the tradition now? I probably won't ever stop questioning it out of principle. I don't want the people behind the cameras to see me, but thinking about it, I have to seize this opportunity for a solo shower.
With a heavy sigh I stood in the middle of the room, took off my gown and threw it at a corner. After sweating, being clean is now a privilege.
A chime rang out. "Subject 0-1-5-3 has successfully followed instructions. Water temperature has been set to warm."
Not much else took place in that cell after that sole shower. Afterwards, I found even the act of standing up to be pointless. All my previous convictions washed down the drain.
I curled up in the corner furthest from the door and remained there for the rest of my stay.
-
An electric lock was followed by a deadbolt turning.
I thought that I'd be fine in here all by myself, but it's absolutely ridiculous how one loses the sense of time and reality.
My stay in solitary was supposed to be only two days, but I think they forgot about me. It must have been four days or so that I have been stuck here, starved and bored.
The line between what's real and what's not seemed to have blurred some time ago. At one moment, Mikaela was sitting next to me saying how I was getting out of here soon and how everyone was still waiting for me back home. At another, my hands were dripping thick, bright blood.
If those were vivid dreams or I was hallucinating I can't tell. All I know is that more followed.
I didn't move from my spot facing the wall. Being in contact with it rooted me, for the most part, to reality.
"Keira?" The sound of my name was tender. I didn't respond. Not this time. It wasn't real.
"Keira." She sounded soothing with an underlying hint of insistence. I'll ignore it too.
I brought my arm over my face, making myself smaller.
Hushed, heavy boots closed in. Fabric rustled behind me. A warm hand came to caress the back of my head. Another caring hand brushed my sides at the same time.
"Keira," the patient voice stated. I was being touched, I wasn't imagining it.
I was guarded, but decided to look in the direction of the voice.
"Hey. There they are. Like the color of freshly turned earth, I missed those beautiful eyes." Dahlia was beaming back at me.
"Are you... really here?" My voice was gravelly. It's been days since I've spoken.
"Yes, Keira. I'm here. I promise. It's me." Dahlia was still smiling, but worry was making itself evident in her face.
"What happened?" Like scratching the rust off metal, I strained to get the words out.
"What do you mean?" Dahlia urged me to sit up and face her completely.
"Why did you abandon me here?"
"Abandon? Mis-"
"It's been a week!" I screamed.
"Wha-? A week? Keira, no-" Dahlia quickly leaned back on her heels, hands up.
"You said two days! I was supposed to be here for two days. Only!" I spat.
"And you were!" Dahlia fired back. She quickly lowered her voice, "actually, it's been less. It's been 45 hours." She searched my eyes.
"I- uh. No. That- That can't be. How-?" I broke eye contact and looked down as I wracked my brain trying to make sense of the time difference.
Less than two days? Impossible! She can't be right! It's another trick! Mistress must have forced her to say that just to mess with me! Another form of punishment, I'm sure.
"Your eyes are darting from side to side. You must be trying to process the information." A protracted exhale worsened her disquietude. "I was afraid that this might happen." Her hands folded over mine. "Please forgive me, Keira."
If it's really been two days, then that means that I still have time to prove my innocence and get back in Mistress's good graces!
With a renewed sense of vigor, I turned my head up until I locked eyes with Dahlia. "Please tell me you have good news about the video." Dahlia's expression immediately turned somber. It's clear that she wasn't expecting that response.
"Uh- I- uh." She cleared her throat and straightened her back. "No, Keira, I don't." Her brows furrowed and her lips pursed. A pang of anxiety rocked from my stomach. "I still have a couple of days left until Mistress's deadline, but so far, there has been nothing in the video to show that it has been altered in any way. I'm sorry."
A cold sweat washed over me. "I'm not lying. I swear this happened!" There was no possible way that I made up that entire sequence of events. Right?
"I believe you, Keira, I do. But without evidence, I doubt that we can sway Mistress." My head dropped. "Hey, no. Look at me." She placed a comforting hand on both shoulders. I hesitated before locking eyes with her. I should've known things would turn out this way. Regardless of my actions, I truly don't see any hope for my future. "Oh, don't cry, Keira." She pulled me into a tight hug. "Don't think about that now. Let me handle it. I have my guys looking into it." She brushed the hair away from my face. "Like I said before, I still have a couple of days left and we are going through it with a fine-toothed comb. These things take time and you have more pressing matters right now, like the fight."
"The fight," I spit venom. "Ugh, that damn fight!" I stepped back looking at her disgusted. "Abducting, raping, torturing, experimenting on people, and then making them fight is all that you all ever seem to care about. And for what? All for some data?"
"Subject 0153, step out of the cell. We have to prep you." Nivia had walked into the room, redirecting Dahlia's attention.
"Nivia, call Keira by her name!" Nivia flinched at the command. "You know that she's been through plenty already." Dahlia turned to face Nivia. "I'm not going to berate you for not following protocol at this moment, and it's the least you could do." Dahlia had blunted the edge to her voice.
"Sorry, Cap- Dahlia. Keira, come on. We're pressed for time and there's lots to do." Nivia waved me over. "Everyone's waiting."
I glared at Dahlia.
"Don't look at me like that. If it were up to me, you'd never set foot inside the Arena again. However, you are still being monitored. It's out of my hands." Dahlia shook her head. "Look, all I'm going to advise you is that if you want a chance at a better life here, you'll win."
"And how's that?" Curiosity took over me now.
"There'd be less oversight on you. You'd be granted some freedoms and possibly even be left alone for the most part. In other words, you wouldn't have someone tagging along 24/7 and you'd be able to walk freely to and from certain areas, that is, if you manage to follow commands and do what is expected of you."
What is expected of me. It cannot possibly be any worse than what I've had to go through. That is an extremely tempting offer. Having the freedom to walk around certain areas of the base is indeed a big plus.
"Ok. I'll do that," I nodded.
"All right then. Just remember, once you knock out your opponent the match ends," Dahlia signaled with her index finger.
"Will there be any weapons?"
"No. They want to see hand-to-hand combat."
"Come on ladies, if we don't get a move on, Mistress will have our heads. You know she likes punctuality," Nivia said.
"Yeah, yeah, Nivia. We'll be fine. Come on, Keira, let's get you showered and changed into your combat clothes." Dahlia nudged me forward to make my way out of this box. "After that, you can have a decent meal. Heads up, the food service crew tends to send up an unusually large and tasty meal for the fighters, that is, if the contenders can keep it down," Dahlia smiled. "If all goes well, then we should still have around thirty minutes to spare."
"Sorry, Keira." Nivia stopped me at the door. "I have to do this before we go. It's just protocol." Nivia had the leash in her hands.
"Okay." I accepted it without issue. I'm focused on Dahlia's words. If I keep this up, I guess it would make sense that this humiliating leash not be a requirement.
After Nivia clipped on the leash, we got on the elevator and went to the Arena floor, B-2. There, I was carted off to the showers, then had to put on a bright, crisp white top and bottom. Currently, we were in what Nivia said was a waiting room. I was scarfing down the delicious meal after the scrumptious smell hit me and I realized how truly starved I had been.
Neither Dahlia nor Nivia spoke to me as I was eating, except for advising me to slow down or to remark on my voracious appetite.
Once I had finished everything, I wanted seconds, but Nivia said that that was the maximum allowable before a fight and that there wasn't enough time to get more. She said that because I had eaten so quickly, the signal for satiety had not yet reached my brain.
Dahlia went to get me more water. While Dahlia was out, Nivia reached for a pocket on her uniform top and winked at me as she slipped me a small packet of chocolate covered almonds.
"I hope you like them. Hurry and eat those. I don't think the Captain is going to mind, but she was wary that you might throw up all of this food because you hadn't eaten for awhile. Besides, I don't think a couple of sweets will hurt. There's a separate stomach for that," Nivia smiled.
I laughed as I thanked her and popped the first almond in my mouth.
"You know, Keira, I'll give you a bit of advice." I nodded. "I can't say much, but you'll be facing one of Cleary's test subjects. I don't know which one, though. Anyway, try to knock them down. Once you do, get behind them and choke them out like I taught you." She demonstrated the motion as she spoke. "Don't break your hold once they go limp. Make sure to count to thirty seconds after they're limp." She saw my surprised expression. "Don't worry, that's not enough to kill anyone. Brain damage will occur around the four minute mark." I nodded again and bit down on another almond. "So, count to thirty, let go, and then step away with your hands up to the furthest corner of the Arena. That will indicate that you are not a threat to the personnel."
"Understood," I nodded.
"I'm rooting for you, kid," Nivia patted my head.
"Thanks," I replied half-heartedly.
"Hey. What'd I miss?" Dahlia came back and handed me a water bottle.
"Not much. Just Nivia giving me tips on how to choke people," I shrugged.
"Totally normal phenomenon," Dahlia laughed. "Come on, finish up that water, we've gotta go."
"Yeah, sure. Let's get this over with," I replied unenthusiastically as I rolled my eyes and sipped on the last bit of water.
They escorted me to the same room with a platform in which I had been last time I was at the Arena. This time however, there were some thick, heavy-looking chains on the platform.
"Let me guess, those are for me?" I asked no one in particular.
"Yeah. It's-"
"Protocol," I cut off Nivia, annoyed. "When is it not?"
"Sorry, Keira," she looked away.
"It's only until the fight begins. There have been incidents in which the fighters attack their opponent as the platform is rising, giving the attacker an unfair advantage," Dahlia related. "Since we don't know who gets lifted first into the Arena, all the fighters get shackled."
"Fine," I said crossly. "Do what you must."
As I stood where they had indicated, I watched as they struggled a bit with lifting the chains and tying them to each of my limbs and my neck.
They were a lot heavier than I had expected. My muscles were quickly growing tired, but I didn't want anyone else to know, especially not Mistress when she saw me.
Both Nivia and Dahlia gave me a pitying look before telling me to win and taking their leave.