Hidden Reign

8. Hafsa

I was reaching my last day with Ava. Despite everything, it all went smoothly. I avoided her as much as I could at first. But the thought of finally having the power to do what I have always wanted to, started to way in on me. I knew that the only way forward was to charge right ahead. I remembered how ecstatic Ava was to finally hear my answer. She was practically bouncing off the walls. I also remembered hearing Adler's voice for the first time. It was a call I would never forget. I was quiet for most of that midnight call, expect for managing a couple, "Yes" and "No". It was a very short call. The only thing I really knew about their organization was that I would be meeting them soon. The ambiguities just made me feel even more anxious. I was going to put my life on the line. But I had already made the decision to risk it, there was no going back.

In those last few days, I often found myself thinking about my life outside Casi, especially the days after my parents death. I was barely surviving. I did many horrible things to survive. If my parents died for me, the least I could have done was live for them. No matter what I had to do.

But there was a moment where I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't have anyone to rely on. I was as much of a threat to others, just as they were to me. So I thought of the only thing that I could. Casi. Even if it was in the hands of the enemy, I thought that I was safer right under their nose, rather than in the wild.

I had no idea of how drastic the changes to Casi were. It was a huge shock. I did know that some things were different, but I would have never expected the auctions. It was so far from the original Casi, that I wasn't even sure if it was the same coding that run the program. Casi was programed against the very immoral acts that the new leaders had her do. The buildings that housed the kids turned into mazes, it rotated and trapped everyone in. There was no human contact, aside from the "friend" they threw us together with for a week. It wasn't the Casi that my parents loved so dearly.

...

Ava sat next to me on my bed, we watched the time slowly tick away. It was almost midnight, she had just a few more minutes left with me. "I know this decision was tough. But you have us behind you now. Adler will meet you at the Auction tomorrow." I squeezed her hand. Ava and I had become a lot closer. For the first time in years it felt like I finally made a true friend. I found out a little about her. Not much, but enough to settle my discomfort around her... well almost all of it. She was young, but not as young as I had thought. She was just exceptionally short, so it helped to fake her age. She even went to the lengths of having a tooth pulled to mimic a young child. That image haunted me for a whole day. But what also haunted me, was the fact that she was so young and had done so much compared to me. I decided to borrow some courage from them, lord knew that I needed it. I gave her a hug, she hopped off the bed and rushed to her room. We both stood silently by our doors. Casi automatically locked our room gates. For a split second before, the her door locked and the shifting began I caught Ava's eyes. It seemed like there were tears running down her face. The floors vibrated, I found myself grabbing onto the wall to steady myself. Until we meet again.

I felt uneasy. I didn't know what would happen, and didn't know what my role entailed. And with Ava gone, I couldn't ask those questions. But if I did, I knew that she would have said to just wait for Adler's instructions. I crawled over to my bed and just stared up at the ceiling. Was Ava's tears a good or bad sign? I hope the former.

...

The next morning I found out who my new roommate was. She was a quiet and slender looking girl. We silently smiled at each other and went about our day. I tried to keep quiet as much as possible, I didn't want to let anything slip. And for some reason, she was just as quiet. I knew that she too would be attending the auction. They usually room the attending inhabitants together.

Just before dinner we had to rush and get dressed. We adorned plain white dresses with a lace trim and a corset underneath. We had to wear a bracelet with our inhabitant code and a mask. They couldn't look at our faces for too long, that was saved for our auction dates. We were directed by a yellow light into the depths of our living space and to a wall. Sadly, no red shoes for me, there is no way home. The floor flashed yellow as we stood there in anticipation. It was about a minute of silence and then, the wall drew back, revealing a set of doors. It was a carriage door. They usually parked the carriages right against the buildings, that was so we couldn't see the outside, or make a run for it. I closed my eyes as a cool breeze flew passed me. It helped sober my nerves for what was ahead. I quickly followed the girl into the carriage. A woman dressed in black sat silently on one of the seats. She too had a mask. But instead, her entire face was covered all except her eyes. She didn't look at us, her eyes were planted at the carriage floor. As soon as we were seated the doors locked and the carriage began moving. The woman handed up each a glass. The contents sparkled and fizzled. It was an unnatural purple drink. I knew this drink well, I was often given it during my solitary confinement. It was used to dull your senses and make you more susceptible. I quickly downed it, I couldn't get out of drinking it, the lady was closely watching me. She was probably informed of my past demerits, I was definitely red listed. The drink burned the inside of my throat and then the whole world went silent.

Whips of cool air snuck in and brushed against my legs. I could barely feel it because of the drink. The first few minutes on it was always the worst. The girl next to me leaned against my shoulder, I too could barely hold myself upright. Slowly our senses began to resurface, but just as quickly it would bob back down. My legs began to shiver, even though I couldn't mentally process why. I unconsciously huddled closer to the girl next to me, she did the same, no argument from her. I closed my eyes, hoping that the ride would be over soon.