Survival Of The Fittest

Chapter II

Those days in the container on that cargo ship in the middle of the ocean are foggy at best. It's like my mind is trying to protect me from the all the horrors held in such a small space. Some gave up and the children's cries grew fainter as not only the hunger, thirst, and heat got to them but, the hopelessness of our situation, no one could guarantee surviving this would bring us to a better place. Alice didn't make it. Forever engraved in my mind is her exhausted little voice.
"Lia?"
"Yes, baby."
"I am so tired"
"here let me hold you," I murmured softly holding her tiny form tight. My fingers found her pulse and I began to croon "Twinkle Star" to her. It was her favorite song. When on my third time singing it, I didn't feel a heartbeat at my fingertips, I began to cry. My heart felt like it was cracking, turning into stone. How could this happen? My mind shut down, and I sobbed hysterically. My whole being longed for the comforting arms of my mother and every second I couldn't be with her turned my heart more into stone. All I wanted was to wake up and have this all be a nightmare, but I didn't and after several hours my arms and legs fell asleep and the pain moved me to put the still form down. I felt like I was on auto pilot, like a zombie, like I would never see the light again, and in that moment I realized. I was never going home!

"Lia!" Adrian's unfeeling voice brought me back. I looked at him wildly, disoriented from the intense flashback I had just had. "What is wrong with you?" He continued, "You are crying, when I am talking to you crying, daydreaming or nightmaring is not even a possible thought! Are we clear?"
"Yes sir" I gasped trying to bring my sobs under control. "Go clean up!" He ordered.
I went to the bathroom and washed my face allowing the cool water to soothe my face. Then I went to the kitchen and took out a container of fruits from the fridge. As I ate I thought through what I had to do, it was after all only 7 am. My day started at 4:15 am every morning. I was being trained I don't know why or for what but whatever drove Adrian to be perfect was also making him turn me into a very (I don't know what would be the right word accomplished sounds to polished) person. 

I was learning everything from how to eat at Royal dinner to how to sow buttons on to a shirt. I can't even remember all the subjects, but I know that by the time I "graduate" I will remember. I have only been here for a week and so far Adrian hasn't punished me, but he keeps telling me in his psychopathic voice, "Lia it is for your own good please do not make mistakes." How I am to accomplish that I don't know. He told me I had one week to learn the schedule. 

This is my last day and here is how it goes. I get up at 4:15am a lecture in mandarin turns on (which by the way he said I have a month to understand) this lecture takes 45 minutes while it is playing I brush my teeth, comb my hair, and do the 30 minutes if stretch outs. At 5:00 I run to the kitchen and drink a cup of coffee with an apple, I do this while listening to 15 minutes of Portuguese. I am a Spanish speaker so Portuguese is not very hard for me and I understand most of it and am just polishing my accent, it makes him truly angry when I mispronounce words. After that I have, Hand to hand combat, how to break high level security, lock picking, shooting and guns, memory, quick recall, but if you're thinking gangster, think again because I also have, acting, fashion, makeup, manners, accents, psychology, social status and the behaviors for each, and then I have the class I most hate, men, in this class I learn everything there is to know about men, how to seduce, entice, and fool them. What they like and don't like... how their brains work. I call it Slut 101. The final class I have is what I have dubbed The Guys. Every night after I get ready for bed, I study a set of folders, in these folders are the darkest secrets, likes, dislike, financial records, and everything else about a set of young men. Each one is different and there are over a hundreds of folders, but Adrian told me that I have to memorize each one.....one by one. There are five in particular though, that intrigue me to no end. He was pleased when I focused on those, "It'll be useful" he said. They have been together since...well, forever.

I was exhausted, I looked at the clock it was 10:00 pm. My head felt like it was going to explode from all the information I had acquired today, but weighing my spirit down were Adrian's ominous goodnight words, "This is the end of my Leniency, tomorrow you will understand that I require nothing less than perfection." Tiredly, I thought not for the first or second time, How the hell did I get here?

*Flashback

When the cargo ship had docked, the container was moved there wasn't a spectacular rescue from the FBI like in the movies, instead two men opened the doors and stepped in, no one attempted to run, our bodies were wasted, even breathing was painful. They walked through us checking for breathing corpses, I was first and the man said "1" soon the other man said, "2" so on and so forth they continued till they reached "13" If I could have cried I would've but in that moment I was enjoying the air that came in from outside. Out of the 45 women and children crammed into that container a week ago only thirteen of us had made it.