Just A Number

Careless

After my encounter with the beast known as my handler, I lay in the green bed. There honestly wasn’t much else to do. My room had only a bed, a table with a lamp on it, and drawers full of medical equipment. The room reminded me of a hospital, which I hated.

I want to go home.

I want my mom.

What is Dad doing?

Does he miss me?

Is he crying?

Did they hurt him?

“Miss?” A voice blew away my thoughts like a puffy white dandelion. Looking up, I realized it was the young doctor from before, though this time he was dressed in regular clothes. Isn’t it weird to see doctors or teachers in casual clothes?

“I just came in to check on you before I leave for the night. Did you meet Josh?” He asked.

Who’s Josh?

I shook my head. I don’t know any Josh’s.

“So, you haven’t met your keeper yet? He’ll be the one watching over you.”

Oh. Him. I preferred not to put a name to his face.

“I’ve met him.” I said bitterly.

His face contorted with concern. “Is there a problem with him?”

“He’s mean.” I said short and sweet. It was true. I knew him for maybe an hour, and I could tell we wouldn’t be getting along any time soon.

“I wish I could help Miss Jenkins, but I don’t pick them.” This guy didn’t care. Why would he? He was here to do his job and that was it.

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Get a good night’s sleep, okay?” Doctor Nathan Collins stated.

I nodded my head, but I obviously wasn’t telling the truth. There was no way I would be getting any kind of sleep. The room was suffocating. I was on lock down.  I knew I was being watched by stalker doctors. Any day now my life would be nothing but bottles and diaper bags.

I could have been a doctor. Now I’ll never know.

Doctor Collins closed the door. The silence in the room was killing me. It made my ears ring until I couldn’t stand it.

There was a clock above the table. 10:44 pm.

If this was a year ago, I would be getting ready for bed. Tomorrow would be a school day. I would be nervous about my crush or a math exam. I would have lay down and thought about what things my friends gossiped about earlier.

I miss my friends.

After the discovery that women were losing their lives at a high rate, every female was ordered to stay home.

I called once in a while, but they usually didn’t answer.

Last month my best friend Abby picked up.

“Hi Hayley.”

“Abby! Where have you been? I’ve been trying to call forever.”

“I’ve been sick, Hayley. I mean really sick.”

“Well what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know.”

“You’ll be okay. I promise.”

“I don’t think so. I can’t move. I can barely talk.”

“No, you’ll get better. Don’t worry about it.”

There was no response.

“Abby?”

The next thing I heard was a woman screaming and crying.

I hung up the phone.

The newspaper the next day confirmed that Abby was dead.

It broke my heart.

I tried calling my other friends, but they still never answered. I never found out what happened to them.

Glancing back at the clock I realized hours had passed.

My brain gets caught up in the moment, I guess.

I need a walk.

I pushed myself up off the bed and unlatched the door. Peeking out, the hallway was dark and quiet.

Maybe all the doctors went home.

I walked down the hallway slowly. I flipped a light switch. The hallway instantly brightened.

There was a door at the end of it, leading to outside.

Perfect.

I inched my way closer, taking quick but soft steps. The outside was so thrilling, that I unfastened the door too rapidly.

A loud alarm started to fill the hallway.

Almost every girl opened their doors to see what the unexpected noise meant.

Men were pouring out of rooms; some were in the same rooms as the women, others from offices. They all ran towards me.

Several harshly gripped my arms. My face showed only surprise.

They pulled me back into my room and onto my bed.

“I didn’t know I couldn’t go outside. I wasn’t trying to escape, I promise.” I pleaded. These men could really hurt a small girl like me.

They threw me a disgusted look and left.

Except Josh/Hatred.

“I’m sleeping in here since you can’t control yourself. You are the stupidest girl I’ve ever met, and trust me that’s saying a lot.” His voice burned me like fire.

“I get the bed.” I replied with a smirk.

“Whatever.” was the only response I received.

I lay awake all night. How could I sleep when I knew he was watching me all night long? I couldn’t move. I felt constricted. Just another reason to hate him.

Finally, an alarm clock sound came from the speakers. Following the noise, it said, “Breakfast is now being served in the cafeteria. Thanks to yesterday’s mishaps, each female is required to be followed and watched over by her keeper.”

This was a living hell.

I didn’t want this guy around me a second longer.

“Stay in here.  I have to go fill out a few papers. The doctor will come into check on you, and then you will go eat.” He got up and left.

Not a second later, the door flew open, revealing Doctor Collins.

He nodded at me, “Hello Miss Jenkins.”

“Hi.” I said quietly.

“How are you?”

“Bad. Is there any way I can change my handler? I’m really having trouble with him.” I blurted out. I told the doctor about how I just wanted fresh air and how Josh/Hatred creeped me out all night.

“Since it’s interfering with your health, I think I can get you a new one.” Doctor Collins smiled warmly.

He’s just saying this to shut me up.

I can tell.

That’s the way all these men are.

Am I doing a good job with this story? How are you feeling about any of the characters?

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