I draw my breath in as the intimidating commander stands before us. His penetrating stare burns like fire. His deep blue eyes convey all his might and self-confidence, his comb-over black hair is perfectly in it’s place, just like his uniform is impeccable. It is evident that he likes to present a clean and neat appearance, like any respectable commander would. He is so tall and impressive he makes me feel tiny and insignificant.
The dog won’t stop barking behind him, eager to scare the visitors away. I can tell by his face, that the commander wishes for us to leave too. Neither the dog, nor the owner are glad to have me here.
“Good evening, Commander Mortensen,” Matron Mary Ann greats him and then she places her hand on my back. “This is Aubrey, your new Bearer.”
I get up and run downstairs to get the door. I can’t have Matron Mary Ann waiting for me, she might get upset.“What is the meaning of this?! You are not ready! Look at you hair, it’s a mess!” Matron Mary Ann exclaims as I open the door. “I told you I would come to pick you up everyday at 8:3o on the dot. You are going to be late for your first day at the Bearer Center! You irresponsible girl!”“I overslept, Matron Mary Ann, but I’ll be ready in a minute. I’m sorry,” I apologize as I let her in.“Well, I guess I’ll let it slide just this one time, I assume the commander didn’t give you much chance to sleep last night,” she says with a wicked grin.I avoid her gaze so she can
I look around me, getting use to the idea that this place is going to be part of my daily routine from now on. All Bearers around us are smiling and acting extremely polite to one another under the attentive stares of the Matrons walking among them. I was right, this place is creepy.All of a sudden, the sound of a slap echoes in the lobby. Everyone hushes and stays still as we stare at a Bearer looking down as she presses her hand against her cheek. In front of the Bearer, a tall Matron glares at her.“No foul words, Renata. I have warned you a thousand times, bad Bearer! Vulgar language damages your future babies,” the Matron warns her.The slapped Bearer nods timidly. “Sorry, Matron Lina,” she mutters.“You see what happens
(Leopold Mortensen P.O.V.)A blow to the nose. A left hook and then a cross punch. Anthony reels backward before falling to the ground. I growl, defeating him was too easy. I still have a lot of anger left and he wasn’t a good enough opponent.“Who's next?!” I shout looking at the rest of my Unit as they watch me standing outside the ring. “Come on! Who wants to fight me now?!”"Hey, Commander, you seem angry. Maybe instead of boxing, you should go for a walk,” Valentine suggests, looking at me with a hint of fear.His cowardice irritates me beyond words. But deep down I am aware that my anger has nothing to do with Valentine or anyone else in my Unit. I’m upset about what happened last night or, better said, what almost happened. I feel disgusted with myself. What was I thinking? I know the who
(Aubrey’s POV) Shortly after, Eliza comes back with Fiona, whose eyes are reddened because she has been crying. Fiona takes a seat next to me. I feel sorry for what that strange girl said to her, Fiona seems nice, I thought so since I saw her during our fertility test. “Are you okay?” I ask in a whisper. Fiona straightens her back at the sound of my voice. She looks askance at me, she clearly distrusts me for being an Eel. After a few seconds, she nods. “Yes, I’m better now, thank you,” she replies with caution. I press my lips together. I shouldn’t have asked her anything, I am not her classmate, nor a regular Bearer, I can’t pretend to act normally and for my group to accept me.
I walk around the house like a caged lion. Waiting for the moment Commander Mortensen gets home. Suddenly, I hear Baxter's paws behind me. I look over my shoulder, the dog is shyly walking behind me with his tail between his legs.“You don’t have to be afraid of me, boy, I won’t hurt you,” I say in a soothing tone.Baxter starts to wiggle his tail as I pet him. Suddenly, the door opens and Commander Mortensen comes in, he is carrying a box with my prisoner number written on it. “Good evening,” I mumble with my eyes fixed on the box. What it’s inside it?The commander doesn’t even reply. My attention gets diverted from the box when I realize a middle aged woman comes in behind the commander. She has short blac
I get in the black car. The motor is very silent, it barely makes a sound as we drive away, it must be an expensive car. It is the first time I’m in it, I look around as I enjoy the smell: leather mixed with his cologne. I like it.“Are you okay?” The commander asks me while he drives. “You look pale.”“Yes, commander, I’m just hungry. I forgot to eat breakfast," I say as I look out the window."I have a granola bar stored here," he says, opening the glove compartment without taking his eyes from the road. “I often forget to eat breakfast so I always have something to eat in the car.”"Thanks," I say quietly and reach into the glove compartment to find the granola bar, but instead my fingers find a metal object. I instantly pull out my hand. “That's a gun,” I declare surprised."Oh yeah, sorry about that."
I stand in line in the cafeteria waiting to fill my tray with some of that insipid food they serve, suddenly, someone pushes me making me to bump against the woman in front of me in line.“Watch it,” the woman says to me rudely.When I turn around to find out who pushed me, I see Alice and Melody walking away while laughing.“Don’t mind them, they are bullies,” Eliza, standing a few places behind me says. “At least the Matrons put Alice in her place today, right? Oh, I wish I had a camera to record that precious moment.”“Matron Constance mentioned Commander Wilson, is that Alice’s partner?” I ask her.The girls standing between us
Today is Free Day, the one day a week we don’t have to go to the Ministry we belong to. I used to spend Free Days with my family or hanging out with friends, but I don’t have either now and I wake up not knowing what the day is going to be like at the commander’s house. I am aware that security is not something that can take a day off, so the Shark Units take turns to stay on guard certain Free Days but I ignore if today is going to be the 9th Unit’s turn or not.I lay on the bed waiting for the commander to say or do something but he’s just staring at his phone. So I assume he is in no hurry to get to the Ministry of Bravery, that means this is his Free Day too.“Could you go make breakfast, I’m getting hungry,” the commander mutters without taking his eyes from his phone.