Remy
No matter how well things seemed to go with that Vahni alien lady, I refused to let my guard down. Normally I was an overly trusting person. Gullible even. But I couldn’t be like that anymore. So when the Bael soldier led me by the elbow out of the building, my hands still bound, I kept my eyes open, taking in all the details.
Most of the Baelese walked funny. Clunky. Hard on their heels. Fast, abrupt movements. There were a few here and there who had more smoothness to their gaits. More grace. Those ones must have trained long and hard to be able to blend in as humans during the takeover, masquerading as the so-called Disaster Relief Initiative. I was still ashamed at how hard I’d fallen for it. Even when all my friends were skeptical, I believed the best.
He led me to an open Jeep-style military vehicle, and told me to get in and wait. I looked around at all of the squat, plain government buildings. It was odd to have the massive, beautiful Bael structure among them. My bet was that they would demolish all of this and turn the area into their haven as soon as time and resources allowed.
A scuffle of feet had me turning my head to see Baelese soldiers leading out Tater and Linette, their hands also bound. My heart leapt to see that they were okay. If they were being taken to the encampment—Primo Town—then they must have passed the test too! Linette still appeared meek, but I could see the unhappy set of Tater’s jaw. He was not liking this. I hoped the worst part was over. Now we could work and blend in, and then . . . I don’t know what. Spy? Just the thought sent a shiver through me. I wasn’t cut out for this.
They put Linette in the back seat with me, and Tater on the back end with another guard, fully armed. No matter what pretty words Vahni had used, we were clearly not equals. We, humans, were not free. We were captives. Workers. Our usefulness would determine our value.
They took us to an area fenced with barbed wire and two locked gates with guards. My stomach turned as they opened a gate for the vehicle to pass through. How were we supposed to do any spying if we were trapped in this area? I glanced at Linette, but she stared straight forward, so I looked away. We’d talk later.
Inside Primo Town were squat buildings and a barn. A barracks for women, and one for men. A long dining hall with a kitchen. The largest building was for indoor work. They called it The Factory. In front of the buildings was a cleared area of dirt, and then acres of farm land that looked freshly tilled with dirt mounds in straight rows. Human men and women were crouched in the rows, planting seeds of some sort. It would probably be enough to feed all of the humans and Baelese on this base. Along with the pinned pasture area with cows, pigs, and chickens that left an unpleasant smell lingering around “town.” I saw two women collecting eggs from a large coop, and three men squatting under cows, milking them into buckets.
With spring under way, southern Nevada was much warmer than the Utah plains we’d just left behind. And dustier. It was home . . . but not.
One of the soldiers tugged my arm, and I stumbled out of the vehicle, wincing when I landed too hard on my ankle. I walked gingerly next to Linette as they led us to the women’s barracks and unbound our hands. I let out a contented sigh and rolled my wrists, feeling the air sting where the rope had rubbed raw spots into my skin.
The huge room was dim and full of rows of twin bunk beds. Each had a fitted sheet over the mattress, and a thin, off-white blanket. No pillows. Still, I could have curled up in one and passed out that very minute. The room was empty at the moment except for a middle-aged woman in the back, sweeping. She never stopped, but she looked up at us and stared while the soldier pointed to the upper and lower bunk Linette and I would take. Then he showed us to the bathroom with four door-less shower stalls, three toilet stalls, and three sinks. I felt like I was back in high school gym class, only dingier.
Next we were shown the dining hall, where several women cleaned up after breakfast. It smelled like oats. The women all paused to look us over, but quickly got back to work wiping counters and taking out trash. I couldn’t wait to hear their stories and find out what all these humans thought about this situation. Were they rebels, like us? Would they be willing to fight when it was time? If it was ever time? I had to believe and hope that the others had made it away safely, and that they would save us. Somehow. Someday.
Tater and his guard met back up with us as we came to the Factory. I noticed Tater glance at the guard’s high-powered rifle. I knew he was taking stock of what he was up against, and it made me nervous. The Baelese were fully armed and they had mind control capabilities. On our own, it was hopeless. I had no idea how long Tater would be able to last under these conditions, as a servant to the enemy. My neck felt tight with nerves.
When we walked through the huge factory doors, I sucked in a surprised breath. It was like a gymnasium. There had to be a hundred people here, ranging from ten years old to fifty. There seemed to be work stations. Tons of sewing machines. It looked like they were working on red curtains or something. Probably special made dimensions for the Baelese palace. There were also two long tables with people working on some sort of metalwork. Weapons, maybe? I couldn’t tell. Linette and Tater were staring hard, so I knew they’d figure it out.
The children, about ten of them, seemed to be in charge of carrying items between stations. So these would be my students? It warmed my heart to think of working with them. I wondered how many hours they’d be expected to work in this factory once lessons began?
The guards ushered us outside the doors again into the sunshine.
“You.” One of them pointed at Tater. “You will be a field worker.”
Tater pursed his lips, but nodded. I was sure he wanted to be inside getting his hands on whatever the people were building.
They looked to Linette next. “You will help with the livestock.”
For a second her eyes widened and that fake smile stuck there, like a creepy mask. I nearly snorted with inappropriate laughter at the thought of Linette with farm animals before she nodded and thanked them.
They turned to me. “You will help in the kitchens until it is time for schooling to begin.”
“Yes, sir,” I said, my throat feeling dry.
“Go,” he told us. “Introduce yourselves to the others in your areas and get to work.”
There would be no time to talk right now, so we didn’t linger. We went.