No Escape

Chapter 12

Over the course of 6 months, these free and independent women were being trained and slowly carved to fit the mold Keres and his men had designed. The days were very mundane, and it thoroughly depressed Ellie Maisie, Mo, Nanette, and Ariana. The daily structure was not

much different from the first day of lectures.
For Ellie Maisie, these days were bittersweet. They would all wake up to the deafening sound of Dominic clashing against the metal bars that encaged them, to wake everyone. This never seemed to bother Ellie Maise. She was charmed by his shy demeanor. He was unlike the other guards, and she truly felt from the bottom of her heart that he wasn't evil. She still wasn't exactly sure what he was doing there, but she didn't bring up the conversation. She didn't want to trigger any sort of unwanted reaction. She leaves her bed in the white pajamas that they were given and she would be led by Adrian or some other one of Keres' men. By this time, Dominic's shift would have ended. They'd always walk

down the same halls and change into one of the three plain dressing options. She missed driving to work in the morning with her vintage Tesla. She missed shirts and jeans. She never felt comfortable. During the day she had a stiff hairstyle with even stiffer clothes, and during the night she slept on a wooden board, which painfully kept her up at night. She could barely stay awake after a bad night's sleep, but she muscled through the exhaustion as best as she could. After choosing whatever felt most comfortable, she'd follow the rest of the women out onto the dining and lecture hall. They'd all sit down in the same spots every day. Ellie Maisie was in front of Mo and Nanette and sitting right beside Ariana. They were all growing

distant, besides the fact they were living in the same cramped space. Ariana had fallen into a sort of silent depression. She barely spoke and her expression never went from anything other than bored and exhausted. She ignored her son, the rest of the women, and answered the bible questions to the best of her ability. Mo was angry and contained her urge to protest. She was obviously tuning Sister Davide and the priest's words out angrily. Mo had always been a very tough and no- nonsense woman, and she didn't like this at all. Though, eventually, she started to fall into hopelessness like the rest of them. And that was that. Nothing else was said. No one asked Mo anything, and Mo never said anything. She was no longer the same person. She was quiet and anxious.

She simply stared at her hard-boiled eggs all morning. Nanette on the other hand was going through everything professionally. She wasn't enjoying the lectures and lessons, but she went through them wholeheartedly and never once complained. She was a dedicated pupil. Ellie Maisie was simply the observer. She watched the women's sadness, the priest's intensity, Sister Davide's strictness, and Sister Nunez's empathy. Rosanna was a very peculiar person, just like Dominic. They were kind, empathetic, and understanding. This only created more questions in Ellie Maisie's brain. Why were these people working here? Why were these people so nice? She would never know. She couldn't exactly approach Rosanna without being stared down by Sister Davide,

Adrian, or some other guard. After she ate and savored her hard-boiled egg and two slices of bread, she'd turn her attention to the steel door until Sister Davide and Sister Nunez would appear. They'd learn a variety of different things in these lessons. Every day they learned something different, it was normally related to the code of conduct for women. Once they had an important lesson on how to find themselves a good husband. Apparently, unmarried women could leave the house with the sole purpose of meeting a bachelor. Some weird instructions and tasks normally contradicted themselves and completely sickened Ellie Maisie.
"To find a good husband," Sister Davide began, "You will have to be romantic, but not silly and undignified. You will have to

demonstrate your skills and assets in a kind and candid way, but don't be too direct. Men do not like direct women. You must never seem smarter than him. You will intimidate him. You must act like you want his companionship but don't beg and attach yourself to him. Your objective is to marry him, not to love him. Your objective is to serve him with whatever he will wish for. You shall demonstrate to him that you want to marry him and serve him but never once propose marriage. That is for him to decide. You simply must convince him. Alright? You must give him subtle but sincere hints that indicate he should propose marriage to you. If you succeed, marriage will be a simple ceremony. You will wear a long white dress that covers your entire body