The room falls silent as every single woman turns and looks at me and my raised drink. Jabira is the first to tap her can against mine in the universal symbol of ‘cheers,’ before Akari and Jasmin join.
A chorus of “cheers,” giggles, clinking glasses, and tapping cans fills the room as others follow suit. Soon, the atmosphere has changed from all doomy and gloomy to bright and hopeful. I smile, glancing around theroom. I can’t say I was solely responsible for the uplifted spirits, but I was absolutely going to claim it. Fuck it. Might as well. Didn’t have much else going for me at the moment.
They’ve extended the dinner period tonight. We have 2 hours and we don’t waste them. We eat, we joke, we play old school games, joining and clapping our hands together and singing, laughing when we get the words wrong, and arguing lightly over what the correct lyrics are. We play ‘would you rather’ and gossip about this celebrity and that. Celebrities whom we will likely forget even existed after we make the Crossing tomorrow.
When the ten-minute warning sounds, the feel of the room turns from warm to icy in seconds. Many of the girls and women cry. Jasmin bawls onto Jabira’s shoulder while the older woman holds her tight. I look at Akari and find her looking at me already. Tears swim in her eyes. I reach for her hand and hold it tight.
“Whatever happens tomorrow, we will get through it, ok?” I look at the others. They wear varying looks of skepticism and anguish. “Wewill. I promise. I am going to do everything in my power to get us through this.Together. I will find you,allof you, on the other side. We do this together.”
“Together,” Jabira agrees.
“We will be ok,” Akari says.
Jasmin nods.
We stand and wrap our arms around one another.
Gods, I hoped I could keep my promise.
Chapter Five
Breakfast is pushed through the slot beneath the door the following morning, followed by a large, lumpy package.
I ignore the package and force myself to eat. I start with the fruit salad cup, savoring each slice of sweet and sometimes sour fruits. I move on to my eggs and bacon on toast. They are soft-fried to perfection, and I lick every last yellow glob of it off the plate. I down the orange juice that had just a few too many lumps of pulp than I liked. But I savor it anyway. It may just be my last glass of fresh OJ.
I let my breakfast settle for five minutes as I stare at the package. I take a deep breath and decide to hell with it, and yank the damn thing towards me. Inside is a gauzy, cream-colored dress. I unfold it and hold it out in front of me. It has inch-thin straps over the shoulders and looks to end a couple of inches above my knees. It’s also practically translucent.
A pair of ballet flats, also in cream, fall out of the package as I lift the dress.
I guess they expect Faerie to be clean and dirt-free because they seem to have a thing for dressing us in light colors that would easily stain.
I toss the dress onto my bed and head for the shower. I wash my hair three times. Who knows when I will have the chance to shampoo again? As I’m drying off, robot Karen announces our floor will disembark in half an hour. My stomach drops, and I instantly need to pee. I feel lightheaded and sick to my stomach, and the muscles in my legs no longer feel likethey can hold my weight. I drop to the cool tiles beneath me and curl into a ball. I stayed that way for who knows how long, clutching my knees to my chest and rocking myself backwards and forwards, as if I were a baby and I was rocking myself to sleep. And yet, I didn’t even know if I would ever sleep again. I could die today.
Eventually, I give myself a stern talking to and pull myself together. I don’t know how much time has passed, so I dress quickly and tie my hair into a messy bun that was so not going to hold my hair in place for long. I slip on the slippers and head back to the bathroom to look at myself for what could be the last time.
I was right about the dress. The thin material clings to my skin and is gauzy enough to see through. The bra and underwear at least matched the dress in color. My hair is coming loose already, and I decide to hell with it and pull the lackey free from my unruly nest and wrap it around my wrist instead. My dark brown curls frame my pale, but determined, face.
I hear the lock at my door turn, and it opens.
I take a deep breath. It’s time.
“Let’s go,” a stern voice grumbles from the door, and I turn away from my reflection and head towards him. This guard is unfamiliar. He’s old and gray and has a bored look on his sunken face.
I follow him out into the hall and immediately turn toward Akari’s room. There are soldiers everywhere; at least two for every one of us, and I can’t see Akari anywhere.
“Let’s get a move on, Chosen!” my guard yells so close to me my eardrum practically bursts. “We have a schedule to adhere to! Move it!”
The other girls around me are being treated as brutally as I am. The girl from the room across from me has her arm pinched in a painfully tight grip as her guard practically spits in her face.
“Oi!” I yell. The man turns his furious gaze on me. “Get your hands off her! Don’t you think we’ve been punished enough?”
His lips twist, but he relents his hold and pushes his girl forward as he turns away from me. He’s left an angry, red mark on her arm, and I had no doubt it would bruise.
I turn back to my guard before he can follow in his colleague’s cruel footsteps.
“I’m coming,” I tell him, bitterly.
He harrumphs but turns and leads the way, walking me straight past the elevator shaft. I groan as we reach the next door. Looks like we are taking the stairs. My guard leaves me as I walk through the doorway, as have all the others. The stairwell is lined with its own company of military men. I fall in line behind the girl from across the hall. She is rubbing her arm and whimpering as she takes step after endless step down, down, down. We are nearing the bottom when her foot misses a step, and she careens forward. I grab her quickly as her hands plant on the shoulders of the girl in front of her. Shit. That could have gotten ugly real quick. We all know how dominos works.
