The Stories Between Us

Again (E)

     Eliana was playing around with Delilah, a noble's kid. Chasing each other and playing with their dolls was the norm. Suddenly, the girl's mother, Alayna, ran outside and picked her up. She grabbed Eliana by the hand and dragged her inside. But it was too late. Armed men were rampaging through the streets of her kingdom and destroying everything in her path. Alayna was grabbed by the arm and Delilah was thrown over a man's shoulder. They were thrown into a large van with other people from the neigborhood. The room was filled with an odd smell and everything got dizzy. Her vision went blurry and she fainted.

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     Eliana wakes up in a dark room. There were other people around her and there was dirt everywhere. A light suddenly filled the room, blinding people in it. Eliana closed one eye. A man in robotic-like armor walked in and grabbed a young girl by her arm. He pressed something to her neck as she screamed in pain. A faint red scar appeared on her neck in the form of a barcode. He threw her on the ground and went to grab the second person: a little boy with brown hair. He went around the room burning people's necks until he reached Eliana. A nasty smirk spread across his face as he put the branding iron on her neck. Her body began to heat up so she fekt almost nothing. He seemed disappointed at the fact that he got no scream from the six-year old. He raised his hand and slapped her across the face, leaving the room. It was all dark again.

     Not long after, a hologram appeared on the wall. It read itself in an oddly calm tone. Eliana recognized this tone. It was the voice of President Levine, the leader of Robotica.

     "Good evening, Solarians. If you didn't take the hint, you're now all our slaves of war. That barcode that was just burned onto your neck is unique to you. Anything you touch will have your barcode in its history. If you do any of the following jobs wrong, we will scan the items, and we will punish you. Now, the jobs you will do are: clearing rubble, mining, digging, and carrying heavy boulders. Do any of the jobs wrong or too slow, and you will be punished. Good luck." the voice was so soothing. So sweet. It made what was about to face Eliana seem sweet and simple. Oh were they wrong.

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   Eliana was dragged outside by two men and thrown on the ground. She was given a pickaxe and they left her. As she looked around she noticed that only about twenty out of the hundreds of people were given a pickaxe, including her. Others had to work with their bare hands. She stood up and began to mine away.

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     It had been five days since Eliana last had a full meal. She was on her only serving of porridge and a small piece off stale bread. As she was finishing her bread, a middle-aged woman tapped her on the shoulder and offered her her bread.

     "I cannot accept it. You have to eat as well." Eliana politely denies. The woman just grabs her hand and gives her the bread.

     "I'm not hungry. Take it. You need it more." she replies. She goes to her hard bunk and just lays there. Eliana smiles sadly, taking a small bite of the bread. As she finished, she walked over to the bunk next to the woman and went to bed.

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     Eliana was awakened by a loud horn. As she jumped out of bed along with everything else, she noticed that the woman was not there. Walking out, she pinched her nose due to the foul smell coming from the factories.
     "Get to work!" yelled a soldier. An old woman moved too slowly towards her pickaxe. Two other men grabbed each of her by the shoulders and carried her away to the nearby factory. She screamed so loud Eliana covered her ears and began crying. She didn't know what happened in the factory, but it must be bad. Everytime somebody went in there, they didn't come back, and there was always a bad smell. She quickly ran to mine the rocks.

     After trying to finish up, she heard a rattle in the fences.