Conflicted // SAMPLE

Chapter 5

VANESSA POV

I wish I had paid better attention in school so I knew more about the country we have been in for two days. What I do know, is the place is gorgeous. Gorgeous, but cold.

  The cabin like structure they have us crammed in, is old. The cold air seems to have no problem creeping in. And the other girls here are not really into sharing blankets.

Rosy and I have carved out a little corner as ours though. It is near the fireplace so hopefully we can keep all of our toes. The two girls that we were purchased with got the only open bed. But I don't really envy them. That puts them closer to the others.

  These girls are vicious. Their eyes have no spark and they never smile. They look broken. Which I don't blame them. They live hard. There is no running water in our cabin or electricity. And they work from dawn to dusk. Yesterday one girl came back with a bloody nose and a ripped dress, the others hadn't even batted an eyelash.

"Get up," the oldest looking and most scarred girl says as she kicks my shoe.

  I was already awake but I guess she couldn't see that.

"I'm up," I say loudly while shaking Rosy.

  She yawns and stretches looking relaxed until she remembers where we are.

   "Morning Rose," I whisper while shooting her a small smile.

   The other girls light candles as each of them begin to wake up. They all seem to have an internal alarm that goes off every morning.

  "Morning Ness, I guess that means we are working today," Rosy says gesturing towards two outfits folded at our feet that I hadn't seen.

  "Must be," I say picking up the garments.

I keep the longer of the dresses for myself and pass Rosy the other. They aren't revealing in any way and they are a nasty brown color. Just like all the other girls. But they do have long sleeves. We also received fleece like leggings.

  "Which color," I say showing Rosy the leggings.

  I try to make it seem like it's normal or even exciting to choose between the two pairs. But Rosy's face says it all, these leggings are ugly as sin. One pair is brown like our dresses and the other are a nasty mossy green.

  "Brown," she finally saying with an eye roll.

  "Perfect this green will go lovely with my eyes," I say in an overly dramatic voice and Rosy actually laughs.

  The girls around the room look at us with disgust and hatred but we ignore them. We get dressed quickly. We fold our old dirty clothes and put them in our corner.

   "Hey," a stern voice says from behind us and we turn.

  "Yes," I say eyeing the hateful looking blonde.

  "If I were you, I would keep the old clothes safe. Most girls turn old clothes into blankets. So don't lose those, you might need them," the girl says offering genuine advice.

"Umm. Thanks. Thanks for the tip," I say and Rosy nods from beside me.

  "We all have ten minutes to brush and shower outside. I would suggest making sure you do. The pack hates to smell dirty humans," the girls says before walking away.

  I look at Rosy and she shrugs. We are both wondering the same thing........Pack?

**********
 

   The showers are freezing. If the tap had hot water when the first couple girls used it, it definitely didn't when I got in. We shower in groups of three which is awkward but the others act like it is a walk in the park. The soap we have is scentless and it is the only thing for our whole body.