Protected Slaves

1. Lonely

The old lady scooped the so-called mashed potatoes out of its dish and plonked it down onto my tray, then followed it with some off-coloured mashed pumpkin. I looked down at my tray and did my best to not screw my face up at the food on the plate. I knew all too well what would happen if I told the lady in front of me what I thought of the food she had given me.

"That will be five coins," the old lady said in her rough voice.

I gritted my teeth together as I pulled the money out of my pocket and handed it to her. The food she has presented me was not worth that much. The meat wasn't even cooked properly, the vegetables looked like they were created in a lab and the water they had given me looked as if someone had went to the bathroom in it. I looked up from the food and forced a smile at the old lady before walking off in the direction of the table I had been assigned. I sat down beside the girl I shared a room with but I didn't greet her. I looked at the food in hopes that it would turn into something edible but that didn't happen in Tutis Mancipium. Everything went the way the Officials wanted it to go.

"It tastes better than it looks," my roommate said in a hushed tone.

I watched as she scooped some of the potato up from the tray and shoved it into her mouth without wincing.

"Thanks, uh . . ." I trailed off as I tried to remember her name.

"Emily," she reminded me.

I smiled sheepishly at her as I scooped some of the potato up for myself. "Uh yeah, thanks Emily."

Emily smiled back at me before turning back to her dinner. I shoved the food into my mouth and realized that Emily was right. The taste was alright but I could tell that it had definitely been created in a lab.

"What did I tell you?" Emily asked with a proud grin.

"Yeah, it's alright," I admitted. "But you can tell that it was generated in a lab."

"I can't," Emily replied.

I looked at Emily, who looked no more than thirteen. She must have grown up on food like this considering the fact that her brother is a scientist that works in those labs and he was caring for her before she came here. Emily's jade coloured eyes shone with excitement as she shoved another bit of food into her mouth.

"Nope, still can't taste a difference," she said.

I shrugged. "Maybe it's just me."

"Maybe," she agreed.

I ate the rest of my dinner in silence. The moment I completed my dinner I got up from my spot and dumped the tray in its place before exiting the mess hall and walking out into the cool night air. I shoved my hands into the pocket of my hoodie and walked the opposite direction to the dormitory I stayed in.

I didn't feel like going back even though it was one of the only places I felt safe, I just couldn't go back yet. In this new world there was only a handful of things that made me feel safe and that was the dormitory and my mother but the latter had never turned up here. I had been promised that she would be here but she wasn't. She was gone. Tears welled in my eyes but I swallowed them back. Weakness was frowned upon here but it was so hard to contain it when it wanted to be set free.

Nearby I could hear the sound of men laughing and the faint smell of alcohol. I crinkled my nose in disgust as I grew closer to the building. I could hear the sound of men whistling and I looked up to see that a couple were hanging out of the window looking at me and making gestures that suggested that they wanted me to join them. I wouldn't do it. They were probably forty and I was seventeen. I narrowed my eyes at them and picked up the pace.