752

Chap 2; Jennifer

A loud thud woke me from my sleep. I didn't move. "Shit! Way to da go, moron." A man said.

"I didn't mean to drop her." Another grumbled. I heard shuffling, another thud, then the footsteps leave the room. Hesitantly, I popped open one eye, then the other. On the hospital bed to my left, a girl laid uncomfortably. She was soaking wet and dirty. She had long blonde hair and she was probably unconscious, like the rest of us were when we first came.

I heard the door open and closed my eyes. "Alright, guys, get her stripped and cleaned, tagged and strapped. We don't want her to wake up before we're done, so we've got to hurry." Fredrick said. I remember when I first got here, I woke up twice, once when they were washing me and then when they tagged me, and I bit him both times as hard as I could; he has the scars.

I heard foot steps go from my left to my right, then the door open and close. Carefully, I opened one eye. I watched, unmoving, as one of the two men filled a metal tub full of water, while the other undressed the girl, grumbling.

"Why so grumpy?" The skinnier one filling the tub said.

"This bitch was a runner, we were chasing her for hours." The other snapped, obviously pissed. He ripped her shirt off her shoulders, causing her arms and head to fall, landing heavy on the white tiled floor.

"The fuck, man?! You know the boss doesn't want them bruised, it slows the drugs. And if she's dead, they won't work. Be more careful."

"Yeah, yeah. The water almost done?"

"Yeah, we gotta get her set. We got a boy comin' in a half hour." The Skinny said, kneeling to pull off her sneakers and socks.

"When'd they find him?" He snapped, reaching for the scissors on the metal table in the corner. The skinny guy sighed and stopped what he was doing to sit back on his knees.

"He was bought Monday. S-Control's been trackin' him since then. Guess they tacked where he'd be tonight; they went to get him about an hour ago." Skinny informed, as Grumpy cut off the rest of theclothes off the unconscious girl.

He grunted, "If he's a runner and has a spirit like this one's, they'll be gone hours." Skinny smirked, as the grump threw the scissors on the table. "Let's get her clean and set. We'll have to get things set for the boy too." The skinny guy nodded and grabbed the blonde girl's knees.

Together they heaved her unconscious body into the metal container they used as a bathtub. They quickly washed all the dirt off of her skin. "Hold her head up for me, Doug." Grump said to the skinny, lifting her head.

Doug nodded, gently grasping her neck. Grumpy squirted shampoo in her hair and massaged it in, he nodded to Doug to let go, then he pushed her head under the water.

"Jeff!" Doug shouted, pulling her out of the water. "She has to breath! God, maybe they should have kept you in the morgue. I'll rinse her, you get the machine ready." Jeff nodded and walked to the table, while Doug gently set her head back in the water and rinsed her hair, as if she were his child.

That scares me the most; when they're gentle.