Page 5 of Captured By the Monsters
Wishful thinking.
Shoulders sagging, I followed the soldier as he escorted me to a room inside the giant capital building for the “inspection” that all of us were to receive. Inside were the other Selected, along with leader representatives and licensed healers.
Outwardly I slapped on a brave face, but inwardly I cringed. What were all these doctors doing here? The soldier waved me in, shutting the door behind me. I heard the soft snick of a lock being latched and tried not to panic at being trapped.
“Welcome, Ms. Adler,” a leader representative barked in a voice that did not sound welcoming at all. “We’re on a tight schedule. Please step forward for your public inspection.”
“P-p-public inspection?” I stammered, cursing my quivering voice.
“Yes. Before we begin, have you ever engaged in intercourse?”
“Engaged in intercourse?” I repeated out loud like a robot repeating his words. I was up to date on my inspections and they should know this. Having to talk about it publicly like this felt degrading in a whole new manner.
“Yes. Answer the question,” the man demanded, clearly not appreciating me taking up so much of their precious time.
My mouth dropped open, no reply coming forth.
“She hesitated,” another leader representative said, frowning.
“Hesitation noted,” a healer spoke, jotting something down on a chart in her hand.
“Of course I hesitated!” I snapped, recovering myself. “I wasn’t expecting the question!”
My outburst didn’t seem to faze anyone in the room, all of whom just regarded me with detached apathy.
“Please step behind the screen and strip,” the healer who spoke earlier requested. My head shook of its own accord, negating the order. “We must confirm you are still intact before we send you to The Below.”
“I’m a virgin!” I bellowed in embarrassment, not sure why they were doing this when I’d just had an inspection days before.
Women between the ages of thirteen and seventeen were required to have yearly examinations to ensure they were untouched. However, once you were between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five, you were required to undergo monthly examinations. Our leaders assumed you were more likely to lose your virginity between those ages, so we were placed under a tighter observation. This was because the monsters didn’t want anyone else sampling their playthings, and heaven forbid anyone not be a virgin upon examination. The price women paid for breaking their hymen—even by accident—was exile.
These women were shipped to the other side of the world and left with no food, water, or shelter, and eventually died. Exiled was a polite way to say death penalty, but everyone in this room with me should have my records. They were updated only four days ago! Did they seriously think I’d been with anyone in that time? Maybe with my twenty-fifth birthday looming so close, they thought I’d thrown caution to the wind.
It was all horseshit, but having to be publicly examined by a bunch of strangers was especially unnerving. Gritting my teeth, I stepped behind the screen and took off my clothes. Once naked, I called out, shivering at both the chill in the room and the vulnerability forced upon me. Another healer rounded the corner—a man—with three leader representatives, also all male. I glared, irritated that none of them was a woman. Did they really think I wanted some dude to go rooting around up there while a bunch of others watched?
Not that they really rooted around in my vagina during normal exams. It just felt different having a man here to do this.
No one wanted to accidentally pierce a girl’s hymen, so a laser scanner was used to check. It was a painless procedure, but I didn’t enjoy hiking a leg up and spreading myself before a bunch of strangers. Hell, I didn’t even spread my legs for me in fear of breaking my hymen with my fingers.
When the scan came back negative, as I knew it would, I was told to put my clothes back on so all the Selected could board the shuttle before nightfall. Smoothing my hair, I joined the other four Selected. Their faces said it all—it was time to walk the plank, so to speak. I’m sure my face wasn’t far from giving off the same demeanor.
I stared at the girls, all of them so much younger than me. None looked older than twenty, and my heart went out to them. I was getting shafted, only two days away from freedom, but these women were equally screwed. They would never be allowed to blossom into the people they were meant to be. Hell, they hadn’t even had a chance to figure out who they were or what they wanted. Instead, they would die senselessly at the hands of monsters.
I would rather fight and die in a war against the beasts of The Below than be faced with this reality that was forced upon us.
Like cattle, we were herded into a one-way shuttle that would transport us to our deaths. Inside the white tube, only five bucket seats were available—one for each of the Selected. The shuttle was auto-piloted to The Below because no one wanted to risk getting trapped there. The thought made me snort.
Although I feared the creatures of The Below, I sometimes wondered if our leaders weren’t the real monsters. I guess I’d find out soon who I was more fearful of.
Small plastic windows lined both sides of the cylindric vehicle, affording everyone inside a really shitty view of what was to come. Muffled weeping, building in crescendo, filled the transport as it lifted off the ground and silently took flight to The Below.
I kept my own emotions at bay, but I didn’t fault the others for their tears. If I wanted to escape, I had to keep my wits about me, and a part of me felt like as the oldest in this group, I needed to be a pillar of strength for these girls.
It took several hours to reach the cave to The Below. Total and absolute darkness swallowed us, the only light the constant blinking from the auto-pilot.
Was this what The Below was like? Would I even see the monsters before they got me? Is this why no one ever escaped—because they couldn’t see to find their way back? My breathing huffed out of me in shallow pants, my anxiety spiking at the prospect of what lay ahead of me. Could I handle it? I had to.
Suddenly, I felt the transport descend rapidly. I gripped my seat nervously as we shot downward faster than a rocket. I pondered if this is what Alice felt when she fell into Wonderland. Eventually, the shuttle began to slow, and the barest hint of light grew outside.
