“Where are we?” I croaked, gently touching my chin and wincing.
Kat snorted.
“No fucking clue, dude.”
Melanie’s mouth thinned into a grim line and Theresa shook her head.
“Yeah, none of us know. I was the first one to wake up in this here room. Then some army guys brought in Melanie, then Kat. And then you.”
“Army guys?”
What was she talking about? None of this made any sense.
“Yeah. They were wearin’ army uniforms of some kind. And they spoke English when they talked to each other. But they didn’t say anythin’ to us.”
“Are we... Are we in the US?”
“Fuck if I know,” Kat replied. “I mean, I kind of hope we are. That means we haven’t left the country yet.”
“Well, I’m from Canada, so I don’t know what that tells us,” I said with a harsh sigh.
Kat’s pale brows shot up.
“Seriously? Shit. Well, I have no clue then. The three of us are American.”
“Do you know how we got here?”
There was a series of memories flickering at the edge of my brain. I was doing everything I could to latch onto them, but they kept fluttering away.
“I woke up the soonest, and so far I remember the most,” Theresa said. “But even that ain’t a whole lot. I remember I was walkin’ home from my boyfriend’s. Well, ex-boyfriend’s. I’d just dumped his cheatin’ ass. It was late and dark, and then someone grabbed me and tossed me into a truck or a van or somethin’. Then I woke up here. And that’s all I got.”
A van.
That was just enough to click things into place. I stared down at my outfit. Running clothes.
“Yeah, I think I was out for a run. Someone grabbed me...”
Melanie nodded from across the small space.
“Yup. It’s the same story for all of us. From what we can remember. We think we were drugged.”
“Well, that would explain the memory loss and headache,” I muttered, rubbing my fingertips against my temples in small circles. I knew I should be thinking, trying to come up with a plan, trying to do something. But I just couldn’t. It was like my brain and body had just totally given up.
“Anyway, that basically brings you up to speed. You know what we know,” Kat said, scooting her hips forward then flopping back on the mattress, arms akimbo.
It didn’t feel like I had been brought up to any kind of speed. At all. It felt like I was at a total standstill.
A sudden sound at the door at the far end of the small room made us all jump. Kat immediately shimmied upright, and Theresa and Melanie both stood. I followed suit, the four of us turning to face the door as it swung inward.
“Oh good. You’re all awake.”
A woman with ginger hair pulled into a tight bun strolled into the room. Like Theresa had said, she was wearing a camo military uniform, with words embroidered on either side of her chest. On the left, in black thread, it said, “Chapman.” On the right, “US Army.”
“Everyone’s waiting in the mess hall. You’re the last group. Let’s go.”
“Go where?” I said shakily, already inching away from her. Theresa grabbed my hand and squeezed.
The red-haired soldier looked at me flatly, like I was half brain dead.
“We’re going to the mess hall,” she said slowly, as if I were too dumb to understand.
Kat exploded from beside me, saying all the words that were flying through my own head.
“Fuck you. You what what she meant. What mess hall? Where the fuck are we?”
She didn’t reply, but instead turned on her heel, her tan boots squeaking against the smooth floor, and stepped out into the hallway.
The four of us looked at each other.
“I don’t think we have a choice,” said Melanie. Kat looked like she was about to fight a bitch, but Theresa nodded solemnly.
“At the very least maybe we’ll get some information,” I said. It was decided. I was going to go out there and see what the hell was up, even if Kat or the others didn’t want to.
I stepped forward, towards the door, and the other three girls followed.
Out in the hallway Chapman stood with two other soldiers, both men.
“Let’s go,” she said, walking ahead of us.
The two men positioned themselves behind us, caging us into our formation, and we started to walk down a long hallway. The floor and walls were of the same brushed metal as our room, with subtle glowing lights built into the arched ceiling. The hallway seemed to be curving, like we were following it around the outside of a massive oval.
“Feels like we’re in goddamn Star Trek,” Kat muttered.
Chapman glanced back, her expression a warning, but Kat met her gaze head on.
“Honestly, yeah,” I said, subtly glancing around. This place was like nothing I’d ever seen. All smooth edges, blinking lights, and shining chrome.
Eventually we were led through a large, open door and into something that seemed a little more familiar. The mess hall, as Chapman had called it, looked a lot like the cafeterias I was used to at school. Only instead of large windows and wood and plastic and bright lights, everything was made from the same silvery surface, and the light was low, with no windows. At one end of the room, a long row of counters, the kind you’d see at a buffet or in a cafeteria, stood empty.
Guess it’s not chow time. My stomach rolled nauseously at the thought of any kind of food.
“Here,” Chapman said, leading the four of us to sit at the closest table. We did so, looking around. The large room’s other tables were also occupied. My heart sank as I saw all the people, all the young women, in the exact same situation as us. Looking confused, angry, scared, some of them with torn clothing, bruises, and cuts.
This is not good. The fact that we were all young women was leading me more and more to the conclusion that we were in some bizarro sex trafficking ring. My hands curled tightly on the edge of the table, and I saw Kat, Theresa, and Melanie’s faces darken with thoughts just like mine.
But when a tall, broad shouldered man with silver hair, also wearing a US military uniform, strolled to the front of the room, my confusion only deepened.
“Why the fuck is the army here?” Kat hissed quietly from beside me.
Melanie’s dark eyes tracked the man’s movements. “Maybe they’re in costume or pretending. Maybe it’s some kind of setup.”
“OK, but look at this place,” I whispered, and we all cast furtive glances around the room. “This doesn’t seem like your average criminal enterprise. It’s not like we woke up in a warehouse somewhere.” The more I thought about the insanity of the situation, the less and less everything made sense. If this was a legitimate military operation of some kind, with the budget needed to create a building like this, why the hell were we kidnapped off the streets and drugged?
There were similar whispered conversations happening at the tables all around us, and the man at the front called out.
“Hello, everyone. I’m Colonel Anthony Jackson.”
“Colonel, that’s high up, right?” I asked, and Theresa nodded from across the table.
“I’m sure you’re all wondering why you’ve been brought here.”
Kat snorted, and a girl from somewhere in the room yelled out, “You mean abducted?”
Colonel Jackson didn’t even flinch. He ignored the girl who yelled and continued smoothly, his eyes grey and flat. A shiver ran through me.
“You have all been specially selected to serve your planet on a confidential mission. This mission is one of the first of its kind, and its secrecy is of the utmost importance. Thus, you were selected and taken before any information could be leaked.”