Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
She shook her head. “There’re others who have been here longer, so don’t feel too bad for me.”
I felt bad for everyone, whether they’d been here for a day, a year, or a decade. “There’s got to be something—”
“Shut your goddamn mouth.” The man’s voice projected across the clearing, making the women hesitate for just an instant before they worked faster. He stepped forward and walked down the line, heading right toward us.
Since they were all dressed the same, their identities were always a mystery, and that caused confusion, because it was unclear where they were looking at any given time. They could be turned the other way but still have their eyes trained on you—and you had no idea.
My heart started to pound harder as he came near. Tall like the man who’d escorted me here, he seemed equally strong, like he could crush my throat with the grip of his fingers. I went from a peaceful life to being afraid at a second’s notice, my brain unable to dissociate from reality because terror was constantly present.
He moved past me and headed to Bethany. A black hand reached out and grabbed her by the throat, choking her right away. “What’s so important that you needed to share?” He towered over her, squeezed her hard, pulling the life right out of her.
All she could do was choke and gasp.
I couldn’t watch. I couldn’t listen either. I couldn’t handle any of it. “It’s not her fault. I was the one talking.” In survival mode, it was stupid to stick out your neck, to take a hit meant for somebody else, but my humanity was too great—at least, right now, it was. Bethany gave me information when she didn’t have to, and now she was being punished for it.
His hood turned my way before his fingers released her throat.
She fell to her knees, coughing and gasping.
He slowly walked to me, his steps making the earth shake. He came closer to me, making me step back because there was nowhere for him to go unless he hit his chest against mine. He didn’t grab me by the throat. He towered over me, vapor appearing from his hood in long trails, like he was huffing and puffing like an angry bull.
I held his gaze, held my ground, but I was terrified…terrified in a way I’d never been before. The energy around this man was much different from the first man who had escorted me to and from the cabin.
He pulled his arm back then punched me so hard in the face that I collapsed backward, landing hard on the ground, my vision turning black for a moment like I’d just received a concussion. My back struck the cold earth, and I stared at the sky through the branches, bewildered but aware at the same time. Then his face appeared in my vision, and because of the angle, I could see the black beard at his chin, the only visible characteristic. “That’s just a warning.”
I sat at the table, my eyes down, the pain throbbing in my temple.
A tray of food was placed in front of me. It was an apple, a couple slices of bread, and a few strips of ham. It was meager compared to the dinner I’d had in my cabin last night, which was a full meal of greens, meat, and grains.
But I was in so much pain that it really didn’t matter anyway, because I had no appetite.
Bethany took a seat across from me, sitting at the very end of the line like I was. The tray presented to her was the same.
But the girls next to me had a full meal, meat lasagna with salad and bread.
Bethany kept her head down and ate quietly.
I ripped a few pieces of bread from the loaf and placed them in my mouth.
One of the men passed, keeping an eye on us, and then continued on his walk.
Bethany whispered to me. “You get less food and water if you disobey them.”
“I’m not very hungry right now, so…that worked out.” The thudding in my skull was so bad that I wasn’t sure how I’d get through this without painkillers.
“You need to keep your strength up as much as possible. You have to do your job well.” She spoke right before the food hit her mouth, carefully disguising her lips so her whispers would go unnoticed.
“You shouldn’t talk to me. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
“I can tell you don’t know how things work around here, and you need to know.”
I picked up the apple and took a bite, and just digging my teeth into the apple was painful for my head. Maybe a hot shower would increase circulation and get rid of this headache naturally. “I don’t give a shit about doing my job well.” I didn’t care about their drugs, the millions they were making off our hard labor. Fucking disgusting.