Hidden Reign

2. Sam

The rooms shifted. I felt the low vibrations against my skin and then it stopped. Someone new was placed besides me. I had just spent a week with a young child. She could barely read, let all alone do the many tasks we were given. All I could do was hope that her new "friend" would be kind to her too.

I looked over at the wall opposite my bed. It glowed faintly, a reminder that Casi was ever watching. I closed my eyes, breathing in slowly. Images of last month's auction flashed through my head. After 3 months in the program inhabitants are forced to attend every so often. They dress you prettily and have you tend to the guests, making you watch the others get sold off. I had around 50 days left in the program, and the time couldn't have gone any faster. I would say that I regretted it, but the only other option was starving out there. I could still feel that ache of hunger deep in my belly. Things were not all bad. I found some solace in having an idea of who my buyer would be. He showed up to every auction, never placing a bid. But he would always request me as his server. He had an eye patch covering his left eye and a beauty spot on his neck, just above his collar. His presence was always unsettling, let alone the way his one good working eye followed me around. I grimaced at the thought. Usually we are sold as helpers, but there are many occasions where we are sold off as bedroom companions. If I had known about that maybe I would've thought twice about signing in. I sighed, this would've still been better than out there. I joined the program and that is that. I looked over at my cupboard, the white dress and corset that I had worn at the last auction peeked out.

Old trends always come back into fashion. But in this instance if you walked outside you would've really thought that you had time traveled. Crop tops became long puffy gowns, and daily wear became Met Gala worthy. To me this change seemed so strange. But that was just the start. We all started to regress, new electronic cars were switched out for carriages. Houses were decked out in tacky gold and wallpaper. Tea parties and hunting became a norm again. The only odd thing out was seeing tablets and touch screen phones amongst all that old extravagance. But then again, when three-quarters of the population has diminished and the world could soon be ending at any moment, what's a little neglegence? I tossed about, trying to get some rest.

...

"Rise and shine Inhabitant 001101- Sam." I groaned, trying to keep my blanket over my head as the room's lights automatically got brighter. I didn't want to wake up, the back of my eyes burning from lack of sleep. "Time to go out and meet our new friend." I unwillingly pulled myself out of bed, wrapping a grey shawl over my shoulders. There wasn't much colour to choose from. In contrast to the outside world all we had was white, black and grey. How fitting for such a dreary place.

"Yo." A husky voice broke me out of my stupor. At first I was expecting to see a boy standing opposite me, even though it was highly improbable. My hands clutched at my shawl tighter, but I relaxed as a women with braided hair came into view. She was far beyond what a beautiful women should have looked like. But I couldn't deny that she was. She had muscular arms and a tall build. She dressed lazily, forgoing the dress and apron that we were given for daily wear. The program was definitely not happy with her. She was probably going to sell for a lower price. That's what happens when your demerits add up and as we all knew, Casi was ever watching. Tattoos lined the side of her neck, I couldn't tell what they were. It all looked like a bunch of scribbles from where I stood. But the one thing that stood out was a little star tattoo just below her right eyebrow. "I'm Max." her voice was now much smoother than before as the sleep left her system. She smiled at me, bringing back the youth to her face.

"Sam." I whispered back with a curt nod. "I've got 50." I said making her grin.

"I've got 45." I smiled back. The older kids usually introduced themselves to each other in that manner. We used it to gage how many days we had left in the program and to see if we had joined around the same time. "I wonder what girly shit they've got planned for us today." she said, yawning as she scratched the back of her neck. I chuckled following after her to grab breakfast.

Breakfast was silent and moved rather fast. Thereafter the many tasks came rolling in. We had to sew two whole dresses, which I assumed would be used in the next auction. I made sure to stitch mine to perfection, honoring the girls who would be soon sold off. Along the hem I added a secret embroidery, a small prayer wishing them well in their future. There was no escape from this place. At first many kids signed up on their own, then their own parents started to send them in and now, there are specific troops that go looking about for strays. I got most of this information in drips and drabs from other inhabitants. Max, on the table besides me was periodically cussing under her breath, making the seam ripper her new best friend. I smiled, it was nice being in the company of someone around my age.

After completing our tasks for the day we were sent back to our rooms. I was beat. As I drifted into sleep I heard soft whispers from Max's room. At first I assumed that she was sleep talking, but then it sounded like someone else was whispering back. I quickly crawled out of my bed, sitting against my door as I pressed my ear onto it. Both voices were a scrambled mess as the door muffled most of the sound out. "She- I agree- but it's too soon- yes I know- but I think- potential- Max no- argh-fine fine- I have- go- bye- Adler." I sat frozen for a few moments. There was no way in hell that she could've managed to sneak a phone into the program without them getting a hold of it, let alone leaving it unencrypted. All communication from the outside world was kept hidden, even the many old, bored rich folk at the auction are forced to keep a tight lid on things, though some things do manage to slip by in the heat of a conversation. But this was something else. Who was she speaking to? Who was Adler?

I heard Max slam a cupboard door close and then silence, leaving me to stew in my many unanswered questions.