Get Out Alive...

Prologue

I sit at my table with my two friends, Marie and Lavender, unable to eat my food. It's almost the day, the day I turn eighteen and they send me away to the Generals, who own our Guidance Keepers who watch us. Our guidance keepers watch, care, maintain our health, and make us women as beautiful as can be, just to have us go into a room and mate with an attractive man. What happens next? No one knows because once your sent off, you never come back.

"Katherine?" Marie says, breaking my thoughts.

"Yeah?" I say quietly.

"Did you hear a word I said?" She asks, sounding annoyed.

"No, sorry, I was just thinking.." I say, trailing off and looking back down at my food.

"Katherine, your going to be fine, you have a week before you have to leave, quit worrying!" Marie says.

"Well your not the one be carted off to some god forsaking place where I will mate with an attractive guy so the generals can have another beautiful baby! Did you ever wonder why were all attractive and beautiful?" I say getting angry.

"Shut up!" Marie says. "Are you deliberately trying to get us in trouble, you can't go blurting out stuff like that!" Lavender, stunned as to what we are conversating about speaks softly, "You guys, why don't we talk about this in the powder room?"

We all look at each other and nod our heads in agreement. I start to stand up when a firm, leather gloved hand meets my shoulder.

"Why Katherine of Corridor 17 and your friends, why don't you finish your lunch, don't want you to go hungry would we?" George says, one of the staff for the outdoor cafeteria says.

"Right, sorry." I say giving him a quick smile. I stuff my sandwich in my face and catch up with Marie and Lavender.

We put our 'OUT OF ORDER' sign on the door and go into the bathroom, locking it behind us. We go to the very last stall and begin to talk.

"Look," I say in low whispered voice, " all I'm saying is that when we go to mate, we obviously are doing it to get pregnant, well the generals make us do it...but anyways all I'm saying is we are all so beautiful and attractive because we are just babies, from babies, from babies who were purposely mated to be beautiful. Then they sell us to other generals, who give them to Guidance Keepers to watch us and make sure we are what they want." I finish saying, reading their faces for some kind of reaction.

"Katherine look I don't-" Marie starts to say.

"You don't believe me do you?" I ask, my voice turning high pitched.

"No Katherine, this absurd, I think your nerves are getting to you, really take a chill pill." She says.

A chill pill? Why? Because she knows I'm right, and she just doesn't want to say because she's to afraid.

"Whatever, don't believe me, but when you have your baby and they get ready to kill you, I'll be in your head saying I told you so." I say angrily and walk out of the restroom stomping my feet.

I walk down the path that leads back to corridor seventeen, I can feel my cheeks burning as I clench and unclench my fists. I arrive at my corridor and look it up and down, I hate this place, why do I have to be here? Why can't I go off find a man who loves me for me and not my looks and fall in love truly like they do in my novels?

"Katherine! Just the girl I wanted to see!" Penelope says as she runs up to me. Penelope is my maid, more like my mother, she cares for me and nurtures me, and loves me, but the Guidance Keeper just provides the things we need, it's the maids who do the work.

"Penelope! Hi!" I say embracing her.

"Look, honey we need to get you cleaned up, you have a meeting with Madam Cordellia about you deportation and who you will be going with." She says, in a small voice, the voice that I will miss the most. I look into her big brown eyes, they are slightly red and her cheeks are slightly puffy, she must have been crying recently. Who hasn't? This place is awful, and Penelope's daughter, or more like pretend daughter, is being taken away from her.

"Come on dear don't just stand there, we have to make you look presentable for Madam Cordellia." She says, grabbing my hand.

I take a long hot shower, trying wash away my problems, wash them all down the drain with all the other unwanted things. I scrub my arms, legs, and torso. Scrub my scalp and lather my hair with soap, rinse, then moisturize with conditioner. I rinse completely and shut off the water, taking the towel Penelope has left for me, and wrap it around body.

"Alright my dearest Kathy, let's get to work." She says patting the chair she has set up for me to sit in. I sit in and let her do the work. She starts with my blond hair, blow drying and brushing it simultaneously, making is soft and smooth and straight. She then starts to pin piece back here and there, and make a beautiful long braid going down my back, just barely touching my buttocks. She smooths my bangs on my face and starts with the make-up, eye shadow, mascara, eye liner, to make my blue eyes sparkle, and lip gloss to make my lips soft, and perfect.

Penelope then dresses in me in a blue button down blouse, with a white undershirt. She then puts me in a white skirt that just barely touches my knees. A pair of light pink socks tennis sneakers. Its all I really have that's nice. We women here may be beautiful, but don't have the greatest wardrobe. Especially if you from one of the poorer Corridors like 17.

"Finished." Penelope says, tears start to form in the corners of her eyes and roll down her cheeks.

"Hey don't cry! You'll make me cry and mess up my make-up!" I say hugging her.

"Alright alright, lets get you to Madam Cordellia's office, we need to be there in fifteen minutes, we can't be late." She says sternly. I follow her out the door and into the awaiting car.

It takes us only a matter of 3 minutes to get there. Madam Cordellia's living corders is big and gorgeous. I have been here a few times, but each time I come here its still as beautiful as ever. I walk up the many step with Penelope and we knock on the door.

A man dressed in a black suit and black shoes answers the door.

"Good afternoon Miss Penelope, Katherine." He says looking at me with a smile. "Madam Cordellia is waiting for you."

I slowly walk behind the man as he leads me to the room where I will confront Madam Cordellia alone. I have never actually seen her in person, but I have a few times on the television, but her face is normally covered with sunglasses or a hate of some sort. The man opens the door, my hands are sweating like crazy as I enter the room and sit in the seat that faces the front of Madam Cordellia's desk.