The Daughters of Men

Chapter 8

Holly woke up to the sound of the usual alarm; she hopped to her feet and took a brisk five minute shower. Dressing in a Taylor Swift t-shirt and baggy jeans, she made her way down the hall, running into Tanya on the way.

"What training are we doing today?" Tanya asked, wrapping one of her hands around Holly's arm. "Please tell me it involves Oreos. I can't get enough. I've been sneaking some from Deb at night."

"Firstly, I think you've had plenty of Oreos," Holly mentioned, smiling softly at Tanya. "I know you haven't looked in a mirror lately, but let me tell you, Thunder Thighs, you keep at it with those Oreos and you're going get a new, meaner nickname."

"Saying I'm getting fat, Miss Hand? Because that's rude. Never comment on a woman's weight."

"I'm not saying that at all, darling," Holly replied playfully. "Let's just go get some breakfast. I'm sure Nosey and the boss man have got a lot of nonsense to prattle on about."

The two of them made their way into the mess hall, where they waited in the long line for their breakfast. Finally, they were given their food by Deb and moved along. Finding their usual table, they both sat down across from Samuel and Elizabeth, who were mostly finished with their food.

"What do vegetarians even eat for breakfast?" Holly asked Elizabeth condescendingly. "Eggs and lettuce?"

"Oatmeal, mostly," Elizabeth snapped. "You're the worst person to not be friends with. No, that sounded--"

"Ha! You totally want to be my friend," Holly shouted. She was about to stand up and make an announcement, but Tanya's hand wrapped around her wrist. Holly opened her mouth to protest, but Tanya pulled her down into her seat further, shutting her up.

"What kind of training are we going to be doing today?" Tanya asked.

"Not eating Oreos, I'm afraid," Samuel replied, eating a spoonful of cereal.

"I thought we agreed we're not going to be reading any more minds?" Tanya asked.

"Ms. Ramirez, I had not needed to read your mind to know you wanted to eat Oreos," Samuel answered. "For one, I'm friends with Deb, you know?"

Tanya began to whistle innocently, taking a large bite out of her bagel.

"Well, Mister Veidt, what are we doing today?" Holly asked.

"We're not training today," Samuel confessed. "Today we're going to be doing something a little different. It's been almost two weeks since Holly arrived here, and frankly, we were hoping to have a whole team by now."

"You've got like, your own versions of Batman and Superman already," Holly responded. "Why do you need anyone else?"

"He's got a Daredevil too, ya know," Tanya grunted.

"Sorry, dearest, I just assume that our Daredevil would like, work out," Holly apologized. "I mean, he had abs."

"I have abs!" Tanya hissed. "They're just on vacation. Besides, it's not my fault I can't run around the block like you two."

"There are treadmills," Elizabeth noted. "That wouldn't be too difficult, I'm sure. Just take someone with you to turn the machine off until you have the buttons work out on your own."

"Blah, blah," Tanya grumbled, taking another bite from her bagel.

"But today, we're going to be meeting with the other heads of this operation to discuss the recruitment options," Samuel continued. "We have a potential candidate we've been considering but she's been very uncooperative at this point. Past her, we're really scratching our heads on a fifth member."