The Fantastic Five

The Beginning

The cell is dark, cold and stale. It reeked of leaky gas and trash. The chains that bound my wrist and ankles to the cells' cement floor is way too tight, cutting off all circulation. Any hope I had for escape dwindled down every time the vile man dragged another girl through those red double doors. The screams of girls all around me drowned out my thoughts as they were thrown in their cells.

I wanted to tell them not to scream. That their screams wouldn't help. I wanted to tell them it would only get rid of their energy faster. I screamed my first 3 days here. Today is the 4th day and I haven't made a peep.

I noticed a pattern with the girls he was dragging in. One, they were all female, two, they were all young. 18-25 at most. Third, they were all in excellent shape. We were all in excellent shape.

My moms voice echoes in my mind, telling me to stay strong. But how could I? Just as I was about to close my eyes, the man throws a girl in the cell right across from mine. She wasn't screaming, she wasn't even crying. Her face showed no trace of fear and I couldn't tear my eyes away from her. Her deep eyes caught mine and didn't let them go, even as the man pushed her down, against the wall and chained her ankles and wrists to the ground.

Her gaze remained unaltered. It's like she could see how scared I was, and was trying to give me some of her strength. I needed it.

Moments later, the double doors blew open and the vile man walks in.

"Hello ladies. My name is Dr. Briscoe."

"Please let me go, my parents are millionaires and could pay you whatever you want, just please let me go!" A girl cries.

"Oh what I am about to do with you ladies is priceless. Very soon, you will all understand. I will single handedly change human nature with all 20 of you. Those of you who cooperate with my experiments will get to live and work for me. Those of you who don't, will die. It's an easy decision. Now rest up ladies, the real work begins tomorrow."

A bloodcurdling scream comes from the cell next to mine as Dr. Briscoe walks out of the room.

I was so so afraid. I was gonna die in this cell. I will die in here. I'm only 19. I don't deserve to die this young.

I looked down the huge room and counted the cells. There was 20, but there was only 19 girls here. I can't believe this is happening to me. I felt something wet on my cheek. I was crying. Before I knew it, sobs were breaking through my lips.

"Stop!" The girl across from me yelled, breaking me from thoughts.

I stopped my intense sobbing and looked at her.

"Pull it together!" She yelled again. I don't know how I could even hear her with all of the screams and cries around us.

"What's your name? I ask her. This was the first time I've spoken in four days and my voice was barely audible, but she some how managed to hear me.

"Nazanin. But you can call me Naz. What's yours?"

"Naz." I quietly repeat to myself. If we escape this cell, I want to be her friend.

"Amina." I say loudly.

"Well Amina, we're gonna get out of here, but we need a plan."