A Fresh Ending

Chapter 1

I sat there for weeks listening to Steve talk to Noa, waiting, wondering what would happen to me. I never addressed her when she spoke to the others, not wanting to bring attention to myself. I remained quiet each day he brought me food, keeping my focus anywhere but on him. Still wondering would it would be my turn to be disassembled like the rest.

Noa seemed to be his favorite, or maybe it just seemed that way. He did sleep with her, or that's just what she said. But it was during one of their many conversations, the truth came out.

"Extra cherries," I heard Steve sigh. "You've earned it."

I kept myself quiet, we all did, listening to the only entertainment in these cells.

"Oh fuck," he sighed. "I'm so tired."

I never heard him actually talk to anyone else, like an actual person like he did her.

"Woke up at 2:00 a.m last night going, 'Really? Now?'."

I heard him sigh again. Maybe he really could be tired.

"I had to be up at 6:00. Then you know you're not going back to sleep. You're up fuckin' three hours later. How are the meds?"

Noa remained silent. I'm not sure I would know what to say to him either. What do you say to the man who took your ass to sell to others for a meal?

"Great, great, great," Steve sighed once more. "Still in denial? Yeah. Well...look, it's gonna take a little time, but eventually you're gonna learn to accept that things don't always turn out the way you thought they would," he said, chewing on what I can only guess as cherries. "You know, we all die. But it's really just how we decide to go out."

He wasn't wrong in what he said. This was not where I thought I would be in life. Then again, not many people end up where they want to be. Maybe this...being here, chained to the floor of my cell, waiting to just die at the hands of this man.

"Why did you sleep with me, Steve?" Noa finally spoke.

I cocked my head a little to listen just a little bit harder for the answer from the charming man who hurt all of the women down here with me. Steve never slept with anyone of us, just Noa. Something was special about her there had to be. That man did a lot of things different with her.

A long pause occurred before I finally heard him speak. "I told you, I, um...I told you, I liked you."  Well, Noa, seemed nice, so hearing what Steve said next, I'm sure hurt the girl a bit. "Anyway, it was a mistake."

Well, I guess, I'm lucky he didn't try to sleep with me. I don't think I could handle hearing the words about me being a mistake.

"All right, try to relax," I heard him instruct her, sounding as if he was getting ready to leave. "Fear and stress isn't good for the meat."

That didn't make me feel good. If anything, it caused me more fear and stress, but I didn't seem like a top priority for Steve at the moment.

I wanted to stay off his radar for as long as I could.

I held my breath, hearing the door close to Noa's cell. Keeping myself from making even the slightest sound as he walked passed mine, and up the long stairwell that led to God knows where.

It was quiet for a really long time, so much so that I thought maybe everyone was sleeping, but Noa's panicked voice startled me from my almost sleep.

"Penny?" Noa called out, beating on the wall of her cell. "Penny, please, just answer already." Panic poured through her voice when Penny didn't respond. "Please, Penny," Noa begged. "Penny!"

Maybe, Steve had taken Penny and finished her off. I tried to keep to myself, ignoring every sound. I didn't want to know what was happening around me.

"What do you want?" Penny finally spoke, her voice sounding extremely weaker than the last time I heard it.

"Oh fuck," Noa sighed. I could tell she was relieved to hear the woman's voice. "Jesus. Now was that so hard."

"I'm done, Noa," Penny expressed, sounding like she could be crying.

"No, you're not."

Did they really think we were all going to get out of this? Even if we did, how were any of us going to have a normal life after all we had been through, all we knew about this crazy fucked up world.

"I don't even know who I am anymore," Penny expressed through tears. "I hope he fucking chokes. And then he gets a fucking tapeworm." I had to chuckle with them. "And it just eats him from the inside, slowly. And that all his weirdo friends shit and puke out of their eyes till they all fucking die."

As cruel as it sounded, he deserved everything that woman said, if not more. Then again, I only had one date with him, he never really talked to me about what he did. I just heard from the other women what Steve did to them. I don't know what I was going to do when he came for me, looking for meat for his clients.

"You're such a sweetheart, Penny," Noa laughed quietly. "Just, um...stay strong. Okay?"

Nothing was said the rest of the night. All the girls remained silent, I'm sure crying themselves to sleep, like I did every night. The future wasn't bright for any of us, but it didn't mean we all had to give up and accept this as the end.

Author's Note:  I started this a couple days ago.  This idea popped into my head during treatment, while watching Fresh.  I hope that