Author's Note: It has taken me forever to update this story, and I can't apologize enough! My computer died a few months ago, and I thought I lost this story. But I found a USB key with this story on it today, and I'm so excited! Anyways, hope you enjoy
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The squeaking of the warehouse door raising up into the air woke Ren up from her sleep. The faint glow of the sun beginning to rise filled the warehouse with a dull light. Ren sat up and looked around her to see that the rest of the Rats shared the same look of confusion. It was common for the Officers to wake them up early, but they still were always confused and worried when they did.
Then the three words came that everyone in camp were terrified off.
"It's evaluation day!"
The Officers were screaming and pulling Rats out of their beds. Ren felt her heart slam into her ribs and she turned her head to look at Todd. His eyebrows were furrowed together as he scrambled out of his bed. Ren fought with her legs as she couldn't control how they were shaking. Todd began to look more concerned and she guessed that he could see the horror that must be on her face.
Ren wanted to explain to him about what was going to happen. She not only couldn't because of her stutter, but the shouts and screams of both the Officers and the Rats were too loud for her voice to be heard.
They filed out of the warehouse in the chaos that the Officers were trying to control. On evaluation day, the Officers especially didn't care if they put a bullet in someone's back.
Evaluation day happened a couple times every year. Before the farm was about to be shipped a bunch of new Rats, or if there was already too many in the farm, they got rid of the most useless Rats. The Brenner's didn't want to continue to feed mouths if they weren't going to do work for them.
As they came outside, the metal staircase and stage came into Ren's view. She felt her stomach clench into a knot and the bile rise up the back of her throat. She wasn't ready to see bodies being to hang off of the bar that ran over top of the platform. She grabbed Todd's shoulder and pushed down on it so that he leaned down towards her.
"T...t...try...y," she managed to tell him. He looked down at her even more confused.
An Officer blew a whistle and the sharp noise rang in her ear. The Officers pushed all of the Rats so that they stood in a straight line, opposite to the platform. Ren looked to the left to see Todd standing beside her and then over to her right to see Bristol. The line of Rats was so long that she couldn't see where it began or where it ended. Her vision was already starting to fail her for far distances, but the Rats turned into a blur of brown uniforms.
Mitch stood in front of the line, a couple Rats down from Ren. The sleeves were rolled down of his uniform; he most likely had seen Mr Brenner earlier this morning. The black brim of his hat covered must of his eyes from the sun. The rest of the Officers were stationed around the line and a couple were already waiting on the stage.
"Welcome to evaluation day, everyone," Mitch said loudly so that every one in the line could hear. A wicked smirk grew across his lips. "This is the day we get rid of any dead weight. The Brenner's aren't here to provide charity for you."
Sobs from terrified Rats already began to become audible. One came really close to Ren and she turned her head to see the tears running down the face of the girl next to Bristol. Her skin was freckled from the long days in the sun and her fingers were curled tightly into the hem of her shirt. An Officer came up behind her and shoved the barrel of his gun in between her shoulder blades. The girl took a sharp intake of breath and bit down on her lip.
"Stop it or you go up now," he told her sternly.
Ren had seen the girls face before and assumed that this wasn't her first evaluation day. She knew what to be scared of and that made it worse.
The tears still trickled down the girl's face, but her sobs had stopped. Ren kept her gaze straight. She knew it was just her imagination, but she could feel the cold metal of the gun against her back. She wanted to turn around and check to see if an Officer was there. Anything can be used as an excuse to hang you on Evaluation Day and she didn't want to die because she turned her neck.
"Normally, we go down the line and test you out one by one. I thought since that all of you have files now, we could make this a little more fun," Mitch told them. That evil grin stayed on his face the entire time. He had a scanner in his hands. "Let's have Joseph Richmond start us off."
A man about ten years older than Todd stepped forward. An Officer came up behind him and pushed him down to the ground. He was kneeling down on the ground and the Officer stood behind him with his arms crossed.
"Push-ups," the Officer said forcefully. "Now!"
Joseph stretched out his body across the ground and pushing his weight up off the ground over and over.
"Lacy Finter." Mitch shouted out the next name.
Ren couldn't see the timid little girl at the end of the line step forward. Another Officer had pushed her down to the ground and gave her the same command. Being so young made her body even more fragile than most of the Rats. She managed to push her weight up a few times before hitting the ground with an umph.
"We've got one here," the Officer told Mitch.
"Bring her up there," Mitch said pointing back to the platform.
A scream was let out from down the line. Ren assumed that it would be the little girl's mother or sister. She was even young enough that it could just be some random Rat who had grown closer to her because of her innocence.
The Officer grabbed the little girl's arm and picked her up off the ground. Ren could hear the girl start to scream as the man dragged her towards the platform. She didn't know if the little girl knew what was about to happen to her.
The Officer behind Joseph kicked his leg and told him to get up off the ground. He stumbled to get back up onto his feet and ran back into the line brushing the dirt off of his uniform. The relief washed over him.
Ren couldn't hear the next name that was called out. She was too focused on the little girl that was now on stage. Ren could see a woman to her left step forward and drop to the ground. The only sound that became audible to her was the scream from the woman down the line. She was screaming the little girl's name over and over.
The Officer handed the little girl off to a bigger Officer standing on stage. He quickly threw a black cloth bag over her head and then wrapped a noose around her neck. She was so small that the Officer needed to tighten the knot in the rope.
The woman's scream was quickly cut off and Ren couldn't help herself from looking over to the side. A woman far down the line was lying crumpled on the ground with a crimson pool beginning to surround her head. More Rats were now on the ground proving their strength to the Officers.
A loud crack filled the air and Ren didn't want to turn her head to see the little girl. The floor of the stage would have given away with that noise, leaving the girl to hang to her death. Ren still couldn't hear. She saw Officers screaming at Rats, some lifting them off the ground and dragging them towards the stage. The lucky ones got kicked and ran back to the line.
"Ren Myer."
Hearing her own name snapped her back into reality. Before she could even take a step forward, an Officer pushed her down onto the ground. The screams and shouts surrounding her became audible again.
A sharp pain ran up her wrist when she put her arms out in front of her to catch herself from falling. Her heart started to pound in her chest as she began pushing her weight up off the ground. The pain continued to shoot up her wrist as she continued. An Officer bent over and was screaming at her to do it faster.
A couple more names were called, but Ren tried not to pay any attention. She ignored the sounds of the floor of the stage dropping. She ignored the screams for the Rats and the cries when they couldn't make it and fell to the ground in pain.
The muscles in her arms were screaming out in pain and she could feel them shake underneath her. She panicked that her body would topple over and she would be the next one dragged up onto that stage.
"Todd Cameron."
It was the only name Ren heard clearly and then she saw Todd drop down onto the ground beside her. He always appeared to be fit, so Ren assumed that this would be no problem for him. He had seen what happens to those who fail, and he wouldn't want to share the same fate as them. She knew that right now she should only be worrying about herself.
Minutes ticked away, but it had felt like hours. Her body was trembling and she kept wishing that no Officer had noticed. It was enough to send her to the platform. When an Officer finally kicked her foot, she wanted to crumple up on the ground, but she refused to let herself do so. She rested her weight on her knees and kept her hands on the ground. She knew she had to quickly run back into line, but her arms felt so heavy that she didn't know if she could lift them.
With one quick push, she got up onto her feet. Her body swayed as she started walking back towards the line. She was breathing hard and her chest burned with every breath she took. An Officer quickly pushed her shoulders and Ren stumbled back over her feet. She couldn't stop herself from letting back a cry as she hit the ground hard. The Officer that pushed her reached down and grabbed her wrist. It was the wrist she had fallen on before having to do the push-ups and she shrieked as he yanked her back up onto her feet.
"Let's go," he said as he began to drag her away from the line and towards the stage.
Ren's heart began to race even faster. She pulled her wrist away from the Officer, but she was way too weak to fight against him. His grip tightened around her wrist and he began to drag her over quicker. There were already a couple people in line, waiting from the rope to be tied around their necks.
"N...n...n...n...no!" she screamed out. She was so scared that the words were even more difficult to force out of her mouth. She continued to try and scream out the word over and over.
They got closer and closer to the stage and then Ren saw a hand on the Officer's shoulder. Tattoos were peaking out from the sleeve and Ren's stomach managed to churn even more. She recognized Mitch's drawings that covered his skin.
"What's going on here?" he asked.
"I'm bringing her up to get hanged," the other Officer said wryly.
Mitch shook his head and looked down at the tablet quickly. "No you're not."
"What?" the Officer asked in disbelief.
"Let her go," Mitch barked.
The Officer let go of her wrist and Ren quickly pulled it against her chest. It was throbbing in pain and she rubbed it with her other hand. The Officer rolled his eyes and marched back to the line, looking for someone new to terrorize. Ren kept her head down and started to walk back towards the line of Rats. She felt someone grab her arm and yank her back. It caught her off guard and she let out a soft gasp.
Mitch tightened his fingers into her arm and she felt his hot breath trail its way down her neck. She could feel herself tremble and she cursed herself out for not being able to stop it. She cradled her wrist closer into her chest.
"You can thank me later, Ren," he told her quietly before shoving her forward.
She stumbled and hurried back into the line. Many Rats were still on the ground with an Officer towering over them. She weaved her way quickly through them and saw an Officer kick Todd's ankle. He got up off the ground and she could see the sweat dripping off his pink skin. She hurried her way back into the line next to him. She was glad to see that he passed too.
Standing back in line, the stage was in view again. A line of Rats was held in place as they were killed off one by one. The rope was already wrapped around a Rat's neck as they dangled down past the floor of the platform. Two Officers heaved the body up off the rope and dropped it down on the floor. The hole in the floor closed up again, waiting for the next victim. The bag was ripped off the Rats head and thrown over the head of the next Rat standing in line. It hid the tears that were streaming down her face and Ren could barely hear her sobs as the noose was tightened around her neck. As the floor came out from underneath her, an Officer rolled the previous Rat hung off the stage into a pile of bodies.
Ren felt the bile start to rise in the back of her throat as she imagined herself in that line. She would have been if it weren't for Mitch.
Mitch just saved my life, she thought.
She couldn't stop herself from laughing. She tried to stop herself, but she couldn't stop a couple of giggles from escaping. She had no idea why she would start laughing right now. May Rats have witnessed their families being executed in front of them and then laughed for a long time. She overheard one of the Officers saying it was hysteria. They normal fixed it by knocking the Rat unconscious. Ren knew that if she went hysterical, she would be the next one on the noose. Mitch wouldn't be able to keep her safe for long.
Keeping me safe.
The thought made Ren laugh even more. Todd looked down at her quizzically and she looked up at him. Her lips were curled in a smile and she tried biting down on her lip to conceal it. He furrowed his eyebrows together and she knew that it wasn't working. She kept her hand cradling her sore wrist up to her mouth so that no Officer could see.
They watched as every Rat in that long line was hung in front of them. The pile of bodies by the end was so large that it was almost the same size height as the stage. They became a mixture of arms, legs and brown uniforms and not one single body was distinguishable. Once the Officers were done, the Rats that remained went back to work and Ren was thankful that she wasn't working at the Butcher today.
--
When the Rats work at the farm, it's always quiet, but today the silence was deafening. It was almost as anyone was too afraid to breathe. After watching all of those executions, no Rat wanted to do anything that risked them the same fate.
Ren and Todd were both glad that their work at the Butcher was done and that they weren't recruited to go back and work there. Bring the bodies up the stairs and the barn would take a long time and she didn't want to deal with bodies that she witnessed die. She felt guilty for not being able to do anything, but she knew every single Rat did whatever they needed to stay alive. If it was her that was dragged up onto that stage, she knew that no one would try to help her.
But then there was Mitch.
He had stopped that Officer from hanging her, but she knew why. He told her she owed him and she knew what that meant. If her mind wasn't thinking about what had happened today, it was thinking about what was going to happen tonight. Mitch normal drags her out behind the warehouse, but she knew that tonight it was going worse. If that was even possible.
Once they were done their work they went back to the warehouse. More beds were empty than Ren had seen in a long time. She lied down on her bed and heard the metal of Todd's squeak as he lied down in his too.
Her arms and back ached just as much as her stomach normally does. She sat up when she heard the carts full of food roll into the warehouse. She noticed that Todd hadn't said much since the evaluations ended. He talked more than most Rats and his silence seemed odd to her.
After shovelling the food into her mouth, Ren lied back down onto her bed. She curled up on her side and she waited. Mitch was going to come into the warehouse at any minute and pull her out of bed.
Todd was staring at her, but she avoided his gaze. She had her fingers twisted in the hem of her uniform and closed her eyes. She couldn't stand the almost warm stare from his crystal blue eyes. She preferred to stay in the darkness and ignore everything around her.
She couldn't tell how much time went by before she felt Mitch's rough grip on her arm yank her out of bed. She didn't put up a fight and followed him as he dragged her out behind the warehouse and avoided eye set of eyes that she passed. Especially Todd's.
--
Ren stumbled back into bed right before the door to the warehouse slammed shut. She lied on her bed, curled up on her side again. This time she tried to ignore the pain that spread throughout her entire body. She closed her eyes tightly again and was thankful that she couldn't see Todd in the darkness of the warehouse.
The air of the warehouse was hot and stuffy as usual. A blanket of silence fell over all of the Rats. During the night Ren normally heard sobs, cries, or just Rats whispering among each other, but tonight it was silent. After evaluations there is usually more crying over the lost of loved ones, but tonight there was nothing.
A couple minutes passed by, and she heard a low hum coming from the other side of the warehouse. The hum got louder and turned into words that Ren didn't understand. Most languages were forgotten after the Cure, but Ren heard the odd person muttering to themselves in words that she didn't understand.
The man's voice got louder and louder as he began to sing. Even though Ren couldn't understand the words, they provided some comfort to her. The song was so beautiful and a pressure began to build in her chest. A female voice joined in from the other side of the warehouse, beginning to sing the song in the same foreign tongue.
It reminded her of the few religious Rats that were thrown into the farm. They spent most of their time singing hymns that she couldn't understand. They also spent a lot of time muttering to some God for hope, like an invisible man in the sky could fix all their problems.
A cold trickle of water ran down Ren's cheek and she realized that she was crying. She couldn't remember the last time she had started crying was. She curled her body even more into a ball and blocked her face with her arms. No one could see her crying and she bit on her lip to fight back the sobs.
Todd hasn't told her what his plan to escape is yet, but she knew that he had one. He spent a lot of his time with his eyebrows scrunched together and she could tell he was formulating a plan. It wouldn't be long before they were both out of the camp.
The singing continued until Ren had cried herself asleep.