The Twenty Five Percent Rayanna

Is it time to die?

         There's the long white hallway, I was drug down, but I was too busy focusing on my brother to see what lay in front of me. The hall is filled with a lot of other clear walls, there seem to be at least five more rooms, across from me. The hall is long so there is a good possibility there are more rooms that I can't see. Pressed to each window I see a face; I'm assuming that's the other female lottery "winners". Some faces seem sad, some angry, and others just look defeated. I can see fists beating on the clear wall and mouths opening and closing but I can't hear anything. I guess that means the rooms are soundproof. That's great, I'm completely cut off from any human contact for the remainder of my days, however long that may be. I see a couple of Ghemin soldiers coming down the hall, each of them carrying a deadly looking laser gun.

      I can see the soldiers stopping outside of the room across from mine. One soldier pushes some numbers on a keypad outside of the room, there is a few seconds delay and then the door slides open. A different soldier marches into the room and a few seconds later, marches out, with a tight grasp on the poor occupant's arm. I watch as they march her down the hall and then out of sight.

      I turn away, and slide down the wall, to a seated position. The walls start to feel like they are closing in, again, so I lean my head back and stare at the ceiling. Nope. That doesn't help, either. I turn around and look back out the clear wall. Movement, from a room not far from me, catches my eye. I turn and see a young woman who appears to be my age, waving and mouthing something. Her hair is dark and stringy like she hasn't had a bath in weeks. Her eyes are round, brown, and full of fear. I watch her lips moving for a while before I figure out what she is trying to say.

      "Help me. I don't want to die." she mouths over and over.

       I close my eyes and sigh, there's nothing I can do for her. I can't even save myself. When I open my eyes, again, I purposely avoid looking in her direction. Within an hour, the Ghemin soldiers are back, and I watch as they stop outside the room of the stringy-haired girl. She backs away in fear, but soon they are dragging her down the hall as well. As they pass my room, she reaches out a hand and runs it across the clear wall, leaving a streak behind. What did she think I could do? I don't see either girl returning to their room which leaves me with more questions. What's happening to them? Are they tortured for the pleasure of the Ghemin? Or are they killed quickly? The Ghemin continue to drag the girls off, throughout the day until finally, they stop outside of my room. I quickly back away from the wall, and back into the furthest corner of the room, wishing I could just melt into the floor and disappear. But of course, I can't. Instead, a soldier seizes my arm and starts pulling me out. I reluctantly follow, to keep my arm from being pulled out of its socket.

       I wonder if this is it. Is it time to die, now? As I am pulled down hall after hall, I search for available exits. I can't just lay down and take whatever they throw to me, I have to at least try to escape. We pass by the front entrance, and I try to pull myself free only to have the soldier tighten his grip and pull me past the large desk. On the wall, behind the desk, the large screen still shows a Ghemin talking in a strange language. I stare at the screen as I pass by, the picture changes, and I can hear the Ghemin laughing. Can he see me? Is that a two-way screen? I've heard that some of the screens are able to not only project images but to receive images, to allow those on the other side to see a projection as well.

      "Time to die, Rayanna." a voice whispers.

       I momentarily stop struggling and look around, the voice seemed to come from the large screen. What the heck? Is he talking to me?

       "Yes, that was me. I'm going to enjoy watching you die!" the voice shouts. It points at me before breaking into maniacal laughter.

       "Who are you?! How do you know my name?!" I shout at the screen.

        "Be quiet, crazy girl." The Ghemin soldier holding my arm scolds.

        I look at him and then back to the screen to see that the on-screen Ghemin no longer appears to be able to see me. It just appears to be reading off a piece of paper, in a language, I don't understand. That was weird. Must have been my imagination. I am going to spend my last days, insane. I sigh, feeling defeated.

        I am drug down a few more halls and am deposited in a large white room with a small bed. The room is such a bright white, it almost hurts my eyes to look at it. Once I get used to the color, my eyes widen in horror as I look around. The bed is simple in design, with no pillow or blankets, but it does have arm, leg, and a head restraint. What is that used for? Are they going to strap me in so they can torture me? I see a nearby table with several sharp menacing tools laid out on it.

        "I need you to take off your germ-infested clothes and put on this clean gown." says a Ghemin from the far side of the room. He is sitting on a black swivel chair and turns around. This Ghemin isn't wearing the typical grey metal suit, his is white in color. "We can do this the easy way or we can do it the hard way. The choice is yours."

        "I choose neither. I choose to live," I say as I turn around and try to bolt out of the room. Unfortunately, there are two Ghemin Guards standing behind me, they each grab an arm and march me towards the bed.

        "I guess we will do it the hard way. I really don't understand your people. We've been doing this for one hundred years now, for once it would be nice if one of you would make it easy on us." He turns his back momentarily on us. "Strip her, put the gown on, and then restrain her."

      "Let me go! I don't want to die!" I shout, struggling to escape.

        The guards unceremoniously strip me of my clothes and then force me into the gown. Of course, I don't make it easy on them, I pull, jerk, push, duck, anything to try and get away. Just because I have to die, humiliated, doesn't mean I will make their job easy for them.

       "Oh, my dear, I sincerely hope you don't die. Death is not my intention. Science is." the Ghemin in the far corner says.

       Then one of the soldiers dumps me onto the bed and holds me down, while the other one fastens the restraints. Once I am properly restrained, the guard lets go and both of them disappear out of my line of vision. I can't see anything but the white ceiling tiles, and I am left wondering how much torture I will have to endure. Wait, is that blood? How did blood get on the ceiling? Never mind, I don't think I want to know.

       The Ghemin in white's face suddenly appears above me. "You will feel a small sting and then nothing else. Hopefully, you will live to see the morning light. Only twenty-five percent of you survive the procedure. If you are so lucky, then you will be moving on to the next stage. Good luck to you." The Ghemin says.

      I feel a sharp sting in my neck, then a burning sensation and try to move my head away from the pain. The last thought I have before darkness floods my mind is, I hope Wolfe finds a way to escape.