Feminine Rook

Chapter One: Chloe

Chloe. Five letters that make up a name. My name.
My background isn't like your average person. I was kidnapped as a child and brought to a secret underground facility to be trained for an uprising army of women. Women who con people. Women who kill. See, the leaders view women as the ultimate con artist. That we are able to hide so many different emotions behind a simple smile or even just our silence. We were trained first with animals. They felt if we could kill innocent creatures, that we'd have no problem killing innocent humans. I was never like the other girls. They would do as they were told and kill sweet animals without shedding a single tear. I, however, would shed tears for those killed and for the one I was told to kill. I couldn't do it. I could never pull the trigger, or even move the knife. I was beat several times before they gave up on making me kill. They moved on to something else with me. Conning. First I was told to manipulate a guard into giving me five dollars for a toy I wanted. The first time failed, but the second time I succeeded. After that, it got easier. By the time I was sixteen, I was conning men into giving me money, cars, jewelry, and even putting me in their will. I hated it every time. I hated lying and manipulating people. It felt so wrong. One day, there was a mission gone terribly wrong. Someone leaked where we were located because she was scared of the leaders. She wanted the man she was conning to save her. Instead, he called the police. The leaders found out that night, and ordered all of the women in the group to go to the punishment room. I hated the punishment room. Luckily, I was on an overnight con. Since I was eighteen, I could do overnight missions. The leaders killed all of the women in the con group that night. All because someone leaked information. I got word from one of my friends in the group that kills. I ran away from it. I left all of my possessions and ran as far as I could go. We were in Wisconsin, and I made it all the way to Ohio by foot in four days. I would eat eggs from farmers chicken coops and sometimes even road kill. I had to do what I could to get by. Once I reached Ohio, I set up a booth to teach kids self defense. After a day, I made $600. That was enough to get me a bus ticket to Maine, a change of clothes, and a decent meal. I am now twenty years old, and I live peacefully in Maine. Well, not entirely peacefully, I still am worried I will be found by the leaders. For now, I am safe.
I am currently standing in line for a bus ride to my work. I'm a zoo keeper for monkeys now. Animals have always been my soft spot.
"Chloe?" I heard from a girl behind me. I drawer up and turned around.
"Maya?" I said shocked. Maya was my friend from that awful organization. She made a secret peace symbol before throwing her arms around my neck in a hug.
"I never thought I'd see you again!" She exclaimed. I felt my insides drop from shock and fear. I hugged her back.
"What are you doing in Maine? How did you escape, Wisconsin?" I asked. She sighed.
"It wasn't easy. I got assigned to a mission in Ohio and then after completing it, I ran. I ran as fast as I could and kind of hopped a train. Now, here I am. I got here last night." She explained. I started looking around nervously.
"You are sure no one followed you? I have worked too long to be normal to get caught now." I said. She smiled.
"No body knows where I am. I cut out my chip." She reached out her wrist and uncovered it revealing an open wound that's still very bloody and super swollen.
"Maya! That's infected. When did you leave?" I asked. She recovered it.
"I left three days ago. I thought it would have scabbed by now." She said and shrugged. I grabbed my phone and called work.
"Oh is that a touch screen!? I've never seen those up close." She said. I held up a finger.
"Hi, this is Chloe Zigger. I'm afraid something came up last minute and it's important I stay out of work today to deal with it. I apologize." I told my manager.
"Hey, Chloe. That's okay babygirl take today off. You are one of my favorites so you're good." She said. I sighed in relief.
"Thank you." I said and ended the call.
"Who was that? Is that your new leader?" She asked. I smiled and looked around seeing people stare a little at how she is talking and what she's wearing.
"Maya, let's go back to my apartment. Shall we?" I said directing her to the big building across the street. She pointed with her mouth wide.
"You live there?!" She exclaimed. I sighed and walked in silence. We walked into the building and went up to my room.
We walked in and she gasped.
"This. This is all yours?" She asked in disbelief. I nodded and smiled.
"Yes, Maya. I got it two months after living here." I said. I laid my stuff on the counter and watched her. She kept walking around taking everything in.
"Where were you going?" She asked.
"I was going to work." I explained.
"Oh. Is that like missions?" She asked. I laughed.
"Well, similar. It's more fun and safer. I get to work with animals and keep them fed, clean, and healthy." I said. She smiled.
"That's so sweet. I was never able to do that in missions. Do you have a leader?" She asked. I walked over and sat on the couch.
"Well, I do, but she isn't a savage. She just trains me to do the best I can. She keeps me from making a mistake, and helps me learn." I explained. Maya came to the couch and sat down.
"That is great. Are you happy?" She asked. I smiled.
"I am. Now you need to get cleaned, and then you can tell me everything that's happened since we last spoke." I said. She nodded.
"I do smell like animals and some sort of other odor." She said. I laughed.
"That would be body odor. Here let me show you to the shower." I said. I took her to the bathroom and gave her a towel and a change of clothes.
"This is my shampoo and conditioner. This is my soup. We only used soap back then. Now we use this. You put this shampoo in your hands and rub it around then put it all in your hair, like the soap we used. Then you rinse. Then you use conditioner the same way just on this part and down. Then the soap like normal on the body." I said gesturing how along the way. She nodded.
"Got it. Thank you, Chloe." She said. I smiled and walked out of the bathroom. I shut the door and watched it. There's no big windows. She can't escape, and I'm watching the door to make sure. I have to be sure I can trust her. Why did she leave?