Benjy and I lie under a beautiful green tree. Lush hills surround us, and the sweet air of the open space fill my lungs.
"What a lovely day," I say, running my fingers through the fresh grass. We lie side by side, staring up at the endless blue.
"Agreed," he replies back.
Far away, a dark cloud floats across the sky until it entirely blocks out the sun. A sense of panic fuels my heart as I jerk up confused at the sudden change in weather.
"That's odd. Ben, what's going on?" I look down to my right but he's not there.
Suddenly, four yellow walls slam against me, forcing me to contort my body to fit into the small space. My mouth gapes open in a silent scream as I remain unable to move. A man dressed in black reaches from above and lifts me up by my neck. A shock goes through me as a clink of metal fills the air. Then the walls disappear, and I'm being dragged down the hallway by the collar around my neck.
The people on the other side of the glass are laughing and smiling snapping pictures of my misery. "I ...can't ...breathe ..." I stammer through ragged breaths, but no one hears me. Then I find them, those blue eyes. He stands amidst the blackness and chaos like a beacon of light.
A cold drop of water falls from above as rain starts to pour from the dark cloud blocking the sun. It rushes over me, drowning me.
Taking a deep breath of air, I gasp, my eyes bulging open. My heart rapidly thrums, and my lungs burn from the lack of air I felt from the dream. It's pouring rain and I'm lying face up on my back. Tiny droplets splash against my arms, legs, and cheeks as I wiggle my fingers and toes to make sure I'm no longer dreaming. Rolling over, I push myself up into a seated position, trying to compel the blue eyes that have haunted my dreams for years out of my mind. Why do I still think of you?
Something about my body feels off like I'm carrying a heavy object around. An annoying sensation like a bug crawling on me spreads across my neck. I reach my hand up to my neck to itch it and touch cold metal. Lightly, my fingers tread against the object, tracing its outer lines all the way around my neck. Panic fills me as my fingers grasp it, attempting to rip it off with no avail. I thrash around on the wet earth, trying to rid myself of the foreign object, tugging and pulling relentlessly.
"It won't come off," a deep voice says, making its way from the shadows to me. The voice belongs to a man with jet-black hair and long thin eyes. He wears tattered shorts and no shirt. His mouth sits in a grim line, and although muscular, his ribs poking out of his skin.
"Wh—what is it?" I sputter with a hoarse voice.
"It's a collar," he says reaching his hands down. "Name's Li."
"Priya," my voice is smoother now as I reach out to grab onto his extended hands.
He lifts me up.
"Here, let's get out of the rain," he says. I notice his darks eyes speak into me a sense of trust that ease me into following him further upon our journey.
He leads me toward a decomposing wooden shelter, which has only three walls and a rusty metal roof. It's still a way away but even from here I can make out some finer details. It's tall enough to hold a little less than twenty people, I can see bodies huddling there together in the unrelenting rain. The structure, lacking a definitive form, could not protect them from soggy clothes and wet hair.
"I didn't know if you were going to wake up," Li says to me as we get closer. "You've been passed out for a while lying on the ground. I tried to shake you awake earlier but you didn't budge. The Guardian who tossed you there must have given you too large of a dose."
"Figures. I don't understand why we need it anyways. Where am I going to go?" Now that my voice is back and the dream is gone, I find myself regaining equilibrium.
"We're SUPER dangerous, didn't you know?"
"No," I exaggerate, "of course not. I'm just a dumb animal."
Li chuckles.
Reaching the shelter, I step in and find an empty spot on the ground near the back. I'm thoroughly soaked, and the cold wind creates goosebumps on my skin. It's springtime, but winter's fading remnants remain.
"What is this place?" I ask.
"The correct question is, why are we here?" A woman among the shadows responds, her face hidden in the darkness.
"Right. Excuse me and my naivetes. Why are we here?"
"This is the new expansion of the zoo, the petting zoo. Also known as hell," she says. "My name is Isa. Thanks for asking, ya filthy animal." Although her tone hasn't changed, she smiles at me this time and I realize she's joking. Internally, I laugh at my quick judgment but remain on guard.
"I'm Priya."
She comes closer to Li and me. Her light brown hair shields her face. Cuts and bruises line her wrists, a familiar pain. Her skin is a light caramel color, which smudges the vibrancy of her injuries. Only a real victim would be able to spot the subtle suffering. Scars and all, she is beautiful and gives off a vibe of resilience.
The minute's pass by as the rain turns to drizzle. There are nine of us here total, and we cluster together, trying to keep warm. Li and Isa sit closest to me. The rest of the group—three men and three women—sit on the other side of the wooden shelter, their heads hanging low in submission. I don't recognize any of them but then again why would I? Misery doesn't discriminate.
"If you can't tell," Isa begins, "they don't say much. They prefer to sit quietly in that corner. We've tried."
"I see," I reply.
Li, Isa, and I talk in hushed whispers as time passes by slowly. The conversation is casual and direct until they start to trust me and teach me about parts of the zoo unknown to me.
"There are three main sectors designated by race," Li says. "There's the Negroid's, the Mongoloids—where I live—and the Caucasians, where I'm guessing you two live."
"Each central sector is broken down into six subsections," Isa continues for Li. "There is Africa, North America, South America, I don't know why there are two, Asia, Europe, and . . . dammit, I can't remember the last one."
"It's Oceania. And those are broken down even further into four more regions: North, South, East, and West." Li added in, then continued, "Once you know all that useless information, you can pinpoint where you are. For example, I'm Chinese. So that means the Mongoloid sector, the continent of Asia which is the eastern quadrant."
"Well, I'm Peruvian," says Isa as if we're all competing. "So, Caucasian sector, South America continent, western quadrant to be exact. We look similar but you're a tad darker, so, if I had to guess, you live in the same area as me. But I don't know what continent or quadrant."
"I'm Eastern Indian then, I believe. At least that's what Aerion, my old nurse said once." I tell them. "How did you learn all this?"
"Let's say it's as simple as taking my clothes off," Isa laughs. "It's as easy to sleep with men outside of these walls as it is inside."
My eyes widen at her brazenness. Although it's natural for people to be naked, I'm not comfortable with it. It's too intimate, too exposed. You can't cover up and pretend to be something you aren't in this world. And to be willing to allow another to use your body for sex; I can't bring myself even to consider it. The use of my body is the one thing I have control over. Li and Isa look at me and laugh; I imagine my surprise is written clearly on my face.
"Sorry, this all doesn't seem real."
"Oh, it's real. The viewers don't want us to know that there are so many of us. We outnumber them here. When enough of us realize we have the numbers on our side, we'll be ready to fight back."
"We're fighting back?" I question.
Li opens his mouth to answer but stops when a group of finely dressed people walk toward us, escorted by ten Guardians. No one says anything as they approach us. Each viewer holds a small transparent square that lights up in the center.
"There they are," the man leading the group says. He's tall, with brown hair speckled with gray and bright blue eyes. He carries himself with authority, but his face is gentle. A petite, blonde woman with the same bright blue eyes stands next to him. The small wrinkles at the corners of her eyes are the only indication of her age. There is also a young girl poised to the left of the man; her hair is pulled back into a perfect blonde ponytail. Her ice-blue eyes burn into us, and something about her sets me on edge, raising the hairs on my neck.
I glower at her, refusing to cower when a sharp pain lance through me. My entire body goes rigid as my muscles cement. I seize and fall back onto the concrete ground, my back arching from the electricity surging through me. Finally, it stops, and I'm able to choke in the air. One by one the people next to me seize too. Then the invisible force makes its way back to me, causing my body to clench again. Each time the duration gets longer and longer, and I struggle through them. After the fifth time, my body collapses from exhaustion.
I drag myself back up, just in time to see the young blonde girl smirking with joy as she presses the illuminated screen, again.