I Sing Of Chaos And Eternal Night

2100

"Julia," a voice spoke from the darkness. "Julia, wake up."

My eyes flicked open and I was greeted to a brightly lit room painted in white. I stared up at the fluorescent blubs above me, waiting for the voice to speak again.

"I know you can hear me, Julia." The voice sounded familiar. I had heard it before, and not that long go ago. "Sit up."

I did as I was told and raised myself into a proper sitting position. As I straightened my back, my eyes got a complete view of the room and saw a man and woman standing in front of me. I knew this woman despite her hair now tied back into a ponytail. It was Dominique.

"There used to be a girl that played with you." She started to approach me; her hands clasped behind her back. "She used to dress you up and style your hair. You used to chase her around and spin her in the air. She told you everything because she knew you'd listen. At the time, you were nothing but a metal skeleton with a pretty face. But she didn't care. She loved you. You were her best friend."

I did not understand what she was talking about. I could not recall anything about a little girl.

"Do you remember, Julia?" She bent down, lowering her head until it was at eye-level with mine. "How we used to spend all that time together? Do you remember how it was me who named you 'Julia?'" She pronounced my name different. She pronounced it like 'hoo-lia.'

I shook my head. "No."

"I figured you wouldn't." She brought her head back up. "You weren't meant to." Dominique paused, shifting her eyes to the side. "Just as you weren't meant to seduce my husband."

That was wrong. I knew I had not seduced him. That was something prostitutes and saloon girls did, not me. Not the Lady in Black.

"I knew once he saw you he had fallen for you," she muttered. "Men are predictable like that. Hell, they could see a lamp. And as long as it had breasts, they'd still try find a way to screw it. You all are proof of that." She chewed on her bottom lip.

"But I still didn't want it to happen. I warned him. It was the one thing I told him not to do." Her eyes were still looking to the side towards something on the floor. What it was, I couldn't tell. "And yet, I knew it would." Her eyes had closed, but I could see a clear drop of liquid roll out of one and onto her cheek. "That's what this place is for, isn't it?"

Her words meant nothing to me. I knew nothing of this place or what she warned Peter about. And yet, I wanted to understand them despite the confusion they put me in.

Dominique's eyelids snapped back open, and she glared at me again. "You were originally meant to be a saloon girl, Julia. Did you know that?"

I did not know that. "No," I answered.

She nodded her head. "Yeah. My dad wanted you to be, and I could see why. You really are so beautiful. You would have been our cash cow. Our golden goose egg." Her gaze suddenly flickered to in-between my legs. "And now, you will be."

I followed her gaze until I was looking at something between my thighs, something that hadn't been there before. It was a thin pink slit.

"You will no longer be the Lady in Black. There is no use for you anymore. At least, not in that role." A red drop trickled down her lip, but she quickly licked it away. "You will be assigned as Saloon Girl 021."

It took me a second to speak again. But when I did, my voice didn't sound like mine. It sounded unsteady and raspy, almost like a whisper. "Why?"

"Don't look at me like that!" She hissed, turning her head away. "You don't realize how lucky you are. If it were up to me, I would've turned you into scrap metal!" Dominique exclaimed through gritted teeth. "You weren't created to make choices, Julia. You were meant to follow instructions." For a brief moment, her hazel eyes softened. "I expected so much more from you. You were supposed to be our flagship. But I see you made your choice." And just like that, her eyes hardened again. "If you want to be a filthy whore, you can now."

I shook my head, wanting to tell her that I didn't want to. I wanted to yell at her that I was given no instructions— that no command ever came through. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. I could only remain silent and listen as she continued.

"Of course, you will still keep your name for the purposes of our guests. It will keep things from getting confusing for them, Julia," She said it with the hard 'j' this time. "You will be completely reprogrammed and rebooted shortly."

She turned to leave, whispering something to the man in the white coat before she did. It wasn't until she exited through the clear glass door did I understand what she meant. I glanced down again, seeing that slit cut into me. It was then, as I stared at it, did I understand what she intended for me to be used for.

I rose to my feet, running after her. I didn't even make it out the door before the man grabbed ahold of me.

"No! You can't do this!" I pounded on the glass as he yanked me back. "Come back! Please! You can't do this to me!"

"Julia, stop this!" He tried pulling me from the glass, but I struggled against him, kicking and screaming.

"You can't do this to me! Please! It wasn't my fault!" I lunged again for the door, banging my fist so hard against the glass a crack appeared.

"I order you to stop!" he growled into my earhole.

Stop.

My pounding instantly ceased as my body sunk beneath me. With the last of my efforts, I gave a weak cry before the man pressed something on my back, shutting me off.