I feel a sharp sting in my neck, and my scream is cut off midway. I collapse to my knees, and my mind begins to spin as warmth floods my veins. I feel the guard unsnap my cuffs before shackling me to the wall. My head lolls forward, and I feel my own saliva dripping down my face as my world begins to spin.

Then, before I know it, I’m enveloped in darkness.

CHAPTER SIX

WILLIAM

Life is rarely fair.

We all make mistakes as humans, and we should be punished for the mistakes that are intentional. If we do well, we should be rewarded. It’s a basic circle, and if we all followed it, we would continue to go round and round. Unfortunately, that circle has been broken far too many times for it to flow smoothly. People have become selfish, wrapped up in their own needs. They’ve become cruel and unrelenting. There is very little good left in the world.

Humanity is gone.

“She’s locked up, Master. So are the rest of the girls in her group.”

“Very good,” I say, watching the guards securing the fence lines with barbed wire.

“She did it so smoothly, we didn’t see her. I’m sorry, Master. We should have been paying more attention—especially on their first day.”

I turn slowly, glancing at George whose body is rigid, his face filled with shame. People screw up, and when those screw-ups aren’t intentional, they should be forgiven for them.

“It wasn’t your fault, George. She was very clever.”

“I’ll say,” he mutters. “Are we to punish them?”

I meet his gaze. “They were told if they made mistakes they would be punished.”

“And the rest of the girls in the group?”

“The only way to teach a lesson is for that lesson to go deeper than pain. She needs to see that her actions have caused the other girls to suffer, too.”

“Yes, sir.”

I glance at the tiny girl sitting in my basement with her hands shackled above her head, a head that’s lolling forward, and is causing her blond hair to tumble down over her face. I have an urge to reach out and touch the screen. This one has a determination I don’t see in the other girls. She’s got courage.

She’ll be far more of a challenge to break.

But I will break her.

NUMBER THIRTEEN  I wake slowly, my head pounds as I slowly flutter my eyelids open. The first things I see are my legs splayed out in front of me. I lift my head, and my neck aches. I cry out and try to tug my arms down, only to realize they’re shackled above me. Reality dawns, and panic swells in my chest. I squirm, but it’s to no avail. I can’t get out of the heavy metal clasps around my wrists. I let my eyes scan the room, and I see I’m in a massive basement. I also see I’m not alone. Number Seven, Three and Twelve are shackled beside me, their heads drooping. The guard’s words come back to haunt me. “If one of you does wrong, you’ll all be punished.” It’s my fault these girls are here. I put them in this position by attempting to jump that fence. I didn’t think, nor did I consider them wh F2wn wn en I did it. All I could think about was escape, and now that escape will be nothing more than a fantasy. They’ll be watching me now. My eyes burn with unshed tears, and my body fills with shame. If I had thought it through, I could have worked out a plan, figured it out so I could have escaped when the guards weren’t so close. I’m disgusted in myself, and because of my behavior, we’re all here, and I don’t know how long for. I don’t know what they’ll do to us, or what will happen in the next few days. Will they starve us? Whip us? Worse...will they let us die down here? I hear a quiet groan from beside me, and I see the other girls beginning to wake. Number Three wakes up first, and when she realizes what’s happening, she begins to scream and shake. This brings the other girls around quickly. Soon their eyes are darting around the room, and horror fills their expressions. They’re frightened, just like me. Number Three’s screaming becomes louder, and I know if she doesn’t stop, our punishment will be far worse. “Number Three,” I say, as quietly as I can, but loudly enough so she can hear, “stop screaming.” “That’s not even my name,” she wails. “I am not Number Three. I have a name, a name I can’t remember. Why can’t I remember? It’s not even my fault we’re down here. It’s your fault. Why can’t they see it’s all your fault. Do they know that? Do they?” I give Number Twelve a frantic expression. She turns to Number Three. “You need to stop screaming. If they hear you...” “I don’t care,” Number Three screams loudly. “I don’t care if they hear me. Let them kill me; let them take me away. I don’t want to be here...with that...that...monster!” Is she speaking about Master William? “Did he hurt you?” I say gently. “No, he didn’t,” she screams. “He didn’t do anything. I know he’s a monster, I know it because he’s got us here. No one takes girls unless they’re monsters.” She could be right. I hope to God she’s wrong, but she could be right. “You don’t really want to die, Number Three,” I say in a quiet voice. “If you die, then he’s won. Is that what you really want? How will you ever know where you came from?” Her red, puffy eyes turn to mine, and she sniffles. “We’re never getting out of here. Don’t delude yourself.” “You don’t know that; you can’t possibly.” She shakes her head. “How do you suppose we’ll get out? Gather a bunch of knives and kill all the guards?” She laughs bitterly. “I mean, it’s not like there’s heaps of them or anything.” She’s replacing her fear with sarcasm. I get it, I do. Everyone puts a barrier up to protect themselves against reality. “We found a way today, and even though I went about it wrong, it was there. That means there’s weaknesses. In our first day, we found one, and I swear it to you, I’ll find another one.” There’s a flicker of hope in her gaze before she covers it with a terrified expression. “We might never even get out of this basement.” “We’ll get out,” Number Seven says, finally speaking. “I don’t believe they’re going to kill us.” “How would you know?” Number Twelve whispers. “They killed Number Six.” “You don S#8220;’t know that,” I say softly, even though I really don’t believe Number Six is okay. Number Twelve stares at me, and then drops her eyes to the floor. “The only way we have a chance here,” she whispers so softly I can barely hear it, “is if we do as we’re told. If we behave badly, we’ll spend our time down here, and we’ll never, ever get the chance to escape.” She’s right, and I realize she’s spoken that softly so the cameras can’t pick it up. I nod at her, letting her know I understand and agree. If we spend all our time down here, we’ll never find a way out. The only way to escape is to behave, and be allowed the chance to really take in our surroundings. Shame rises up, heating my cheeks. I was careless earlier, and I shouldn’t have done what I did, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I hear the door creak, and my eyes snap up. The lights are suddenly flicked off, and I shudder as the room seems to grow cold. I hear footsteps, and then the door slams closed and we’re sitting in silence. I tilt my head, trying to listen, but I don’t hear anything for the longest moment. Then I feel a presence before me, like someone has crouched down. I even find myself pushing my head forward, to see if I can feel anyone. “Your punishment will be carried out now, with the Master present,” a guard says. My skin prickles. He is here. Once again he sits, quietly, not giving us anything. Anger bubbles in my chest, even though I know I should squash it down. “Why don’t you carry it out?” I bark. “Why won’t you speak?” I rattle my chains, angry at myself for lashing out, and angry at him for acting so...so...crazy. A finger suddenly grazes my cheek, and I jerk, almost hissing at the contact. Another hand comes up, and steadies my face while that finger makes little stroking motions on my cheek. My skin prickles, and I clench my jaw tightly, wanting to lash out and beat the hand touching me, but I can’t. “Au răbdare, Beauty. Răbdarea este puterea sufletului,” he murmurs. “Speak English,” I cry. “Your trickery won’t work on me.” When he speaks to me in English, my entire body seems to melt. His voice is raspy and heavily accented. It’s...mesmerizing and sickeningly beautiful. “I said, have patience, Beauty. Patience is the strength of the soul. I am not here to trick you.” “What do you want from me then?” I almost whimper. “Your trust,” he says, before his hand drops from my face, and I hear him walk away. “You’ll never have it,” I scream, before the guards come over and jerk the shackles off me. “Girls,” he says, ignoring me. His voice is smooth as he speaks, calm, even. “I’m disappointed in you. Do you think I enjoy taking this out on you? Do you think I truly want to hurt you? I’m trying to take care of you. I’m trying to teach you to be better people. It bothers me that it has to come to this, and on your first day, nonetheless.” Then I hear him shuffle about, and I realize when he speaks again, he’s talking to the guards. “Ten lashes for her, five for the girls in her group.” My entire body stiffens. “No!” I scream. “No, it wasn’t their fault.” “There were rules put in place, rules that were made very clear to you, Number Thirteen,” Master William says in a warm, silky tone. Like it doesn’t e Sesnat were maven bother him that I’m about to get belted. “I’m a man of my word. I follow through with my promises, and my threats. You were told if you make a mistake, everyone in your group suffers.” “You’re a monster,” I wail, thrashing. “We’re just girls!” He comes closer; I can feel him. I twist in the guard’s grasp, but I can’t move. “You may be girls, but you’re also human. There are consequences for every action. If you don’t want those consequences, then you don’t make mistakes. What I am doing here is giving you a lesson.” “By hurting us?” I bellow. “No,” he says simply. “By teaching you to be a good person.” I hear him shuffle away. My heart is pounding; I don’t want the other girls to be whipped. I can hear Number Three sobbing. This will break her. It will damage her to no end. I have to stop this; I can’t let them suffer for my bad behavior. “I’ll take all of them,” I blurt before I can stop myself. “I beg your pardon?” Master William says. “You heard me. I made the mistake. It was on me. They didn’t do anything wrong, so I’m telling you to let me take their punishment.” It’s quiet for a long, long moment before he speaks again. If I’m not mistaken, I can hear a hint of pride in his tone. “Very well. She will receive twenty lashes, but they will all remain down here for a full twenty-four hours with no food.” I hear the door squeak open, and once again I catch a flash of a tall, powerful man before it’s dark again. He’s not staying? He’s not going to watch? I feel a strange burn of what seems like disappointment. Why would I be disappointed that he’s not going to be in here to witness me being punished? Maybe because a tiny part of me wanted him to see how far I’m willing to go to protect what I believe in. And again, why do I need to prove that to him? I hang my head as the guard leads me over to a chair, and pushes me over it.