𝐓𝐎𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐄 𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄⼁Vida

ONE

And so when a guard was pushing up against Ruby at her work station five years later, Sam and Clara couldn't just stay silent.

One of the shabby buildings in Thurmond was called the factory. The girls had watched them building it from the ground up for months, awful theories of its use spreading around like wildfire. The reality wasn't as gruesome as some had imagined but it certainly wasn't pleasant. The work they did in the Factory was dull and mind-numbing. It didn't require any particular skill which left most of its occupants to dwell in bored stupers until their shift finished.

PSF's would march around the stations, inspecting the work but everyone could tell they were just as bored as everyone else. Most of the PSF's couldn't care less about what you did as long as you met your quota at the end of the day and you were silent. These were usually the ones that had been drafted as the government had run out of voluntary PSF officers years ago. There were a few though that re-enlisted once their mandatory four years was up. These were the PSF's you had to watch out for. Among the PSI they were usually referred to by specific names that reflected their physical characteristics.

The PSF who was assigned to Clara's cabin was nicknamed the Grinch, as his nose scrunched up in a way that made it look like it was melding into his face. He was known for being intentionally antagonistic and a bit handsy when it came to some of the girls. He marched slowly around their stations, occasionally pushing up against some of the girls under the guise of 'checking their work'. Everyone knew what he was doing, even the other PSF's but they would never say anything. Some of them even found it amusing, seeing the girls squirm.

Eventually he made his way around to Clara, Ruby and Sam's bench. Some of the other girls from their cabin were there too but they all knew to keep their heads down. Clara watched out of the top of her eye as the man pressed his body against Ruby's. His hands snaked around her waist as he whispered in her ear about how she was lacing the boots wrong. Clara saw as Ruby's hands shook and she tucked her head down even further, as if trying to melt away into herself.

Soon he was speaking loud enough for his voice to echo through the building. "Look at me!" He was shouting in her ear. But everyone knew Ruby couldn't look at him, that would be breaking the rules. Some other PSF's laughed at the scene.

Out of the corner of her eye Clara saw Sam's hands clench against the boot in her hand, her knuckles going white. She knew what was going to happen before Sam even opened her mouth.

Without hesitation the Grinch then flipped the bin of boots, sending them scattering across the floor. "Are you as deaf as you are dumb, Green?" He hissed.

"That was my bin," Sam said clearly.

There was a shift in the air as soon as the words left Sam's mouth. The PSI weren't supposed to speak, or look a PSF in the eye, or talk back. But Sam did. It had been so long since someone stood up to a PSF that most of the girls forgot how. The backbreaking punishments were enough to deter almost everyone.

"What did you say to me, Freak?" he spat at her.

Clara knew she couldn't let Sam go down alone with her punishment. She knew leaving Sam alone with that man could lead to something that would break her in ways she couldn't fix. Self preservation above all, except when it came to protecting her friends.

"You heard her. Or did inhaling all that polish kill whatever helpless brain cells you had left?" Clara said, raising her eyes from the boot on her table. That's three rules broken in two sentences. At least she could protect Sam. If she had to be punished it wouldn't be for nothing. She had her abilities, she might as well use them for something good.

"Oh you're in for now, Frankenstein," the Grinch smirked. Frankenstein. A sweet little nickname for the PSI that had been previously held in the testing facility. They weren't personally known to the PSF's or anything but even years later the scars were still as visible as ever, snaking across their heads and faces.

Clara could see Sam staring at Ruby. Waiting for her to say something. To speak up. But Clara knew she wouldn't. There was something different about Ruby. She was more timid, more afraid than everyone else. She couldn't say something even if she wanted to.

So when the Grinch gripped Clara's arm with a smirk on his face she looked into Ruby's eyes, trying to tell her it was okay. That she understood. Another PSF pulled Sam away from her bench and the two girls were hauled out of the now silent Factory.

Their punishments weren't the same as usual. Because it was a repeat offence on top of insulting a PSF there was a corporal punishment before the official one. They roughed up the two girls before leading them to the wooden posts in the garden. Usually it was only one day chained up but this time it was four, no food and only minimal amounts of water.

By the time the girls were released they could barely stand, only managing to drag themselves to Cabin 27 because they knew what would happen if they didn't. The punishment wouldn't be recorded on Clara's record. She had discretely entered the PSF's mind after he chained her up, changing the memory of protocol after a punishment. She couldn't erase memories so she had to improvise. Clara knew it was risky, one question from another PSF and she was done for but she didn't exactly have any other options.

After trudging through the mud the door to Cabin 27 swung open and the two girls were bathed in golden light. It was past dinner by the time they were released meaning it was already dark. The PSF who released them ushered them both inside before swinging the door shut, the electronic lock beeping as it closed.

All of the girls stood silently as they watched them limp to their beds. It had rained on the second night, leaving them caked in mud and they hadn't been given an opportunity to shower before being led to their cabin. So Sam and Clara were not only utterly exhausted but also completely filthy.

All Clara wanted to do was collapse in bed and try to forget the entire experience but when she saw Ruby waiting by their beds, anxiously wringing her hands, she knew that wouldn't happen. There was a tense silence while Sam avoided Ruby's desperate eyes.

"Please say something," Ruby begged, staring at Sam and Clara.

"You just stood there," Sam said dully. "They could do anything to you and you wouldn't even fight back, you leave it to Clara and I to do it for you," she continued.

"Sam–" Clara tried before being interrupted.

"I'm not brave like you guys, you know I'm not. I wish I could, I truly do," Ruby tried to convince her. Sam moved to walk away muttering a quick, "I can't do this right now" under her breath. Just as she turned Ruby grabbed her hand and a second later she released it with a slight gasp.

Clara stared between them, trying to understand what just happened.

Sam turned back to face Ruby quickly, a new type of hostility on her face Clara hadn't seen before. . "Are you new here?" She asked with narrowed eyes. Clara couldn't understand what was happening. Slowly Ruby raised her eyes to meet Sam's as though she was afraid of what she would find there.

"Sam, what are you talking about?" Clara demanded. She understood Sam was disappointed in Ruby but this was cruel. Sam wasn't cruel.

"What do you mean, I've never seen her here and you're asking me what I'm talking about?" She asked defensively. Clara stared at her in anger, unable to comprehend why she was acting like this.

"Sam, stop it. You know how Ruby is, it's not her fault," Clara defended. Ruby was staring at Sam with an indescribable sadness, as though she was looking at a passed loved one.

"What, so she's called Ruby. Is that your name?" Sam asked, looking at Ruby. Ruby bliked herself back into reality, "Yeah, my name's Ruby," she said hoarsely, a tear falling down her cheek. Clara looked at Ruby incredulously, confused as to why she was playing along with Sam's act.

"Come on Ruby," Clara said, walking over to her bunk with Ruby in tow.

"What so you're just going to choose a stranger over me huh, real classy Clara," Sam said with a scoff. Clara turned and glared at her, "Come talk to us when you stop this little act," she said before continuing on.

From then on Sam never sat with them, she pretended that she and Ruby had never met. Clara tried to talk to her, to understand why she was doing this but she never gave up the act. Clara didn't hear Ruby speak another word for a year despite her prompting. But she adjusted. It was just Clara and Ruby from then on.