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"You both will be going through a re-training program where you learn how you should act as a member of the Defaecatio," the man continued. The council had been continually piping up the consequences that Rosen and Cole would face for deserting. thankfully, none of them included death.
"Outside missions will be withheld until you can be trusted," another member spoke, reading from a paper. Apparently, they had planned everything out before they even stepped foot into the room. The paper was passed to the 24th member of the Def.
"Your rehabilitation program will be held here, and you will not return to home base until it has ended." Twenty four rules, one for each member of the council.
I tried to catch Rosen's eye, but he hadn't even acknowledged me since the punishments began being listed. I watched as his shoulders slumped, his body hunched in on himself.
They were being trapped, and forced to be brainwashed back to the ways of the Def. Although so far the Defaecatio had been unsuccessful with Rosen and Cole, it would only be so long before they broke.
The middle man who had first began talking stood again, turning his squinting gaze to me. I tried not to flinch.
"Now, this...girl," I wanted to supply my name, but figured it was better to stay silent. "Since she knows of the Defaecatio she cannot be let go. But, because I know you have formed a fondness for her Rosen, we will spare her life." Rosen didn't seem to look elated at his words. Finally, he looked at me. And my heart broke.
I could see the helplessness, the guilt, the fear in his face. He was feeling all of this because of me. I wanted to tell him I didn't hold it against him, that whatever happened I would forgive him.
I never would have wanted to leave Shorely with him in the first place, but a small part of me was glad it happened. I had never experienced what I had with Rosen before, and I wasn't sure how to explain the feeling. I wouldn't call it love quite yet, but it was definitely something special.
"The girl will stay here until you both have completed the re-training. But she will become a breeder, and will be shipped back along with you to live her life with the other breeders on home base."
"No," Rosen suddenly growled, startling everyone in the room. "You will not expect her to become one of them." His back was ramrod straight now, and he grabbed my hand to pull me closer to his side. I stumbled, but stood with my arm pressed to his and our hands still interlocked.
"You do not speak unless spoken to," the man simply replied, his eyes narrowed into a sneer. "She will become a breeder, or she will die. Ultimately, it will be your actions Rosen that decide her fate. Act up, and we put a bullet in her skull. Take on your appointed role as council member and fulfill your missions, and she will be your breeder and yours alone."
I wanted to throw up or pass out, I wasn't quite sure which. I was praying my assumption of a 'breeder' was incorrect.
"You know that men of the Defaecatio do not participate in love or relationships. We are a brotherhood and that is the only relationship you need. Do not mistake this as an opportunity to love this girl, because any confrontations beyond this room will be anything but love." I shivered at the darkness in his voice, and I gripped tightly onto Rosen's hand.
Cole remained silent, but even he had an expression of disgust on his face.
I spoke up.
"What does being a breeder mean?" I asked tentatively, no longer able to keep my curiosity at bay. Rosen shot me a sharp look for speaking out of turn.
The man actually smiled, seemingly unaffected by my small defiance.
"About twenty years ago the Defaecatio began collecting women to help raise our children. This then expanded to other jobs such as cooking, nursing, and taking care of the base. But most importantly, breeders provide our future soldiers. They are trained to reproduce with our current members to create the strongest and most competent children. Instead of exclusively taking kids from their cradles, we are switching to simply creating them."
My stomach churned, and I bit my tongue to refrain from lashing out. I felt sick. I was going to be used as a servant, and as something to carry their little prodigies. I wasn't even sure I had ever wanted kids.
I supposed I would no longer have a choice.
Rosen was practically shaking, and I tried squeezing his hand for comfort but he seemed not to notice. So instead, I stood straighter and lifted my chin, accepting my fate.
I wondered why Rosen had never mentioned this to me. Was that the role Amanda had originally played with the Def? Was she a breeder and forced to serve any man who asked?
I felt my legs knock together.
If I hadn't had such a tight grip on Rosen's hand I most likely would have stumbled to my knees. But I needed to be strong. For Rosen. But also for me.
"This is your last chance to speak freely before it begins. Our meeting is dismissed," the council member said. All twenty four of them stood and exited the way they came.
As soon as they were gone, Rosen spun to me and grabbed my cheeks in his hands. He kissed me, hard and soft, sweet yet bitter. I gripped onto his shirt, feeling a tear drip down my cheek. I stifled down my cry, but Rosen must have felt my trembling as he pulled back.
"You're okay. You'll be okay," he assured, wiping away the tears with his thumbs. I nodded and gave a pathetic smile. The tightness in my throat made me too afraid to speak, for fear of crumpling into a mess if I did.
Rosen pressed his warm lips to my forehead and guided my face to his chest, where I soaked in his protectiveness and care. We both were struggling to breathe properly, but I knew that Rosen would be able to pull himself together. He always did.
"Break it up," Knox groaned, speaking for the first time since he brought us here. I thought Rosen was going to turn around and sock him right in the eye, but he kept his arms around me instead.
"Fuck off," Rosen said through gritted teeth. He turned his attention back to me. "We'll get out of this," he whispered in my ear so only I would be able to hear him. I had to admit that I did not have high hopes with his words. In fact, I only seemed to accept that any escape was hopeless. There was no way we were getting out of this.
"Thank you, for everything. Don't feel guilty okay?" I said, needing to reassure him.
"It is my fault, though," Rosen replied, looking into my eyes. He absently picked up a strand of my dyed hair and studied the colors. So much for needing it to blend in now.
"Time's up." Knox grabbed me and pulled me out of Rosen's grasp. I panicked at the realization that this was it.
I ripped myself from his arms, not wanting to be dragged anywhere.
"I'll go willingly," I declared, shooting Knox a glare. I straightened my still bloody sweatshirt, and kept my head up.
"Bye Ellie May, see ya around," Cole said from a few feet away. He smiled sadly, and I mustered up a smile of my own in return. I wanted to go hug him, but was afraid Knox wouldn't let me.
If I kept pretending that everything was okay, maybe it would turn out to be that way.
Rosen and I didn't say goodbye, in fact we didn't utter another word as Knox began guiding me out of the meeting room. Instead, our meaningful glances were enough to tell each other what was going through our heads.
I didn't know what love was, but I had a suspicion it was something similar to what Rosen and I had. Although it was possible the only reason I felt that way was because of desperation. Because of the fear of never seeing each other again. Of the fear of being on our own.
☾
I let Knox guide me back to the elevator, the whole time keeping quiet. Only two other men had accompanied us as we descended down. I was expecting to be put back in the basement cell, so I was surprised when the doors opened to a crisp hallway that was lit up with bright lights.
Every floor here seemed to have its own vibe to it.
My blood stained shoes echoed on the squeaky clean floor as we walked in silence. The hall soon opened up to a heavy, windowless door. The type you would typically see at a prison. Knox slid his key card hanging around his neck into a slot, and the lock unclicked.
When the door swung open, I noticed a second door was after it for double security. I wanted to hug myself into a ball and hide.
After waiting a few moments for security clearance through a speaker by a guard, the door finally revealed what was behind it.
What I saw was a big room, with women mingling all over.
There were sets of tables and chairs, and even a TV was on playing some kind of movie in the corner.
I felt a small sense of companionship to finally be with my own sex again, especially after being holed up with Rosen and Cole for so long.
I missed being around girls.
A few of them looked at me, their gazes lingering, but most barely spared me a glance.
There were Def members everywhere, guarding and keeping watch over the girls. The whole room felt a bit like a hospital with its chemical smells and shining tiled floor. It didn't help that all the women were wearing what appeared to be white scrubs.
It wasn't until we began walking up to a counter with a guard positioned behind it did I notice I could still hear the sound of my shoes. Nobody was talking. It was completely and utterly silent.
Taking a closer look, I saw that most of the girls wore blank faces. Their eyes were glazed over and unattentive. To me, they almost looked like they were brainwashed.
"We have a new one for ya," Knox said to the man behind the counter. He was chewing on his gum obnoxiously, smacking it a few times before his sleepy gaze turned onto me.
"I'll get her registered." He grabbed out a slip of paper from a drawer and placed it up on the counter between us. The paper was slid to me, a blue ball point pen resting on top of it. "Fill this out," the man ordered. I obeyed, picking up the pen and looking at what he had given me.
The questions were all basics. Your birthday, full name, allergies, etc. I quickly scribbled it out as fast as I could, signing my name on the bottom when I was done.
Knox was talking to the guard about how he got transferred from home base to this base in North Carolina. I still didn't know where home base even was.
The guard barely glanced over the paper I had filled out before grabbing a packet from another drawer. He stapled my paper to the top of the packet.
" Don't forget that this goes to the council to fill out." The guard's chewing seemed to echo in the room. I cringed internally.
"Got it. I'll bring it back in the morning once it's filled out," Knox said, picking up the packet. "Thanks Liam." He tipped his head in a short nod. The guard, or should I saw Liam, mumbled an incoherent reply.
"Ellie." Knox turned to me and I resisted the urge to plant the palm of my hand directly onto his nose. "Have fun, but not too much fun. I'll probably see you around." He had the nerve to wink at me.
Finally, Knox and his entourage left out the way we came.
"Greg," Liam called. One of the Def members who had been silently watching the girls came to stand near me at the counter.
"Yes sir?" Greg was young. He seemed to be the same age as me, but it was possible he was older. I inspected him closely, noting his slicked back hair and perfectly put together uniform.
All the members of the Def wore a black uniform, but some of the suits were lined with different colors. For example, Liam's uniform had red stitching, while Greg's was a dark green. Both uniforms had colored arm patches and an emblem in that same color right over their hearts. It was also the same emblem that had been on the men's uniforms at the hotel.
Now that I had a closer look, I could see that the symbol was actually a star inside a moon with a sword going through it.
"Get her a uniform and an empty room. She'll be on lockdown the rest of the day until tomorrow when the council gives us specific instructions. She'll be your new assignment for now." Liam grinned a sly grin that made my toes curl. "Don't enjoy it too much."
Greg didn't respond, but gave his boss a quick nod.
"This way," Greg said quietly, beginning to guide me to a door I hadn't noticed earlier. It was the exact same type of door that we had to go through earlier when entering the facility.
He swiped his card, holding open the door as I went first. Overall, he appeared to be pretty laid back and comfortable with the whole situation.
Although I suppose anyone who was carrying an assault rifle and a handful of other weapons would feel comfortable.
I was first led into a type of storage room, filled with scrubs and blankets and pillows. Greg grabbed a pair of scrubs, a set of underwear, and a sports bra. All of them were plain white cloth.
"Change," he ordered, pointing to a corner with a small wall up for privacy. I didn't argue, and hid behind the wall as I shed my bloody clothes, and stepped into the ones provided for me. It felt weird to put on the underwear and bra that had simply been provided for me. I wasn't even aloud to keep my undergarments.
When I stepped back out, I had to put my old clothes into a garbage bag which Greg then proceeded to toss into a corner. He handed me some slippers that I slid my bare feet into. A blanket and pillow were set into my arms, and I gripped them tightly.
"The blanket can't be knotted," Greg informed me.
"Why?" I spoke for the first time since I had left Rosen. But then I remembered that prisons had these exact blankets for their criminals. "Oh." I knew why.
Greg gave me a grim smile, the first type of smile I had seen that almost looked sympathetic. This slight show of feeling instantly gave me a better sense of trust for him.
We left the storage room and my belongings behind as I was led further down a blank hallway that was lined with doors on every side.
It felt like ages when we finally came to a stop in front of door 312. Greg passed his card over a reader on the door, and it hissed as it unlocked.
Upon entering the room, I was taken aback with the similarity between it and a jail cell. They practically were the same.
The door was windowless, and there were two sets of single beds on opposite sides of the cramped interior. In the corner, there was a privacy wall and I assumed a toilet hid on the other side.
"Cozy," I muttered to myself, stepping into the room and placing the blanket and the pillow on the bed that was situated on the left side. My throat was tight and I blinked away my tears.
I was completely alone here. Even before I always had Rosen and Cole, but now I was on my own to face this. To face whatever came next.
The door clicked close, making me spin around to see Greg was still standing there. I backed up a bit in fear, and Greg caught on to my movement. He seemed uncomfortable.
"Since you're on lockdown, I'll have to come check on you repeatedly throughout the night so don't get alarmed when the door opens," he explained quickly. "Dinner is being served in an hour and i'll bring you a tray since you can't go to the common room with the others." He almost seemed embarrassed at this last part.
"Thank you," I said quietly. My stomach rumbled as soon as he mentioned food and i realized I couldn't remember the last time I had ate. I was going to starve to death if I kept that up.
"I'll let you be on your own for a while and come back with your food," he added, nodding once and opening up the door.
I sat down on the bed and watched as the door slowly hissed until it finally shut and locked with a click. The sound was subtle, but sounded deafening to my ringing ears.
This chapter for some reason was REALLY hard to write. And it doesn't feel like it's my best. But I hope you guys still enjoyed it and vote!
I can't believe we are getting so close to an end now :O