Gracie

An hour later, breakfast was served. It was hard for me to enjoy a meal in our dismal surroundings but it seemed my roommates were used to it. They ate up quickly. Even Patricia had to, she needed the strength for her body to physically recover from pregnancy and child birth.

“Why do you think you weren't able to conceive?” I asked the girls.

Having seen what Patricia went through, I never wanted to ever give birth. From the look of things, I was going to be a slave for a very long time. Giving birth to a child after all that pain and having them ripped away had to be the worst thing to ever happen to a woman. I could not even imagine the extent of the pain in Patricia's heart.  She seemed to be holding up on the outside but I was sure her soul was shattering into pieces.

“I was on birth control pills for a very long time,” Maryanne said. “I got sexually active very early. The healer in our pack occasionally travelled to the human cities to get some modern medicine. Our alpha has a condition that many healers have failed to heal using traditional methods. 

Our healer used to sneak in birth control pills and sell them to women who wanted them. It's illegal, of course. If any man hears of it, she'll be hanged. Since a lot of women are desperate for them, they can't let the secret out. They'd end up having to birth like dogs.

By the time I left, the elders had started to wonder why women had stopped giving birth like before. They were worried that the population would reduce greatly. They thought we were eating castor seeds and they banned the tree. It reduces fertility but has less effectiveness compared to artificial pills. I wonder if she got caught.”

“But you stopped taking the pills, right? How come you did not get pregnant?”

“Because when you take the pills, it reduces fertility. After stopping, it takes a while for hormones to stabilize. That's why some women take long to give birth.”

“So human women can access them all the time?”

“Yes.”

“They're lucky. I wish I could live in their cities.”

“What about you?” I asked Angela.

“I don't know. Maybe I'm just infertile. I don't think many would like that but it makes me happy. I don't have to go through certain things.”

“Patricia has been gone for long,” Maryanne suddenly said. 

We looked around. Maryanne got up and knocked on the bathroom door.

“Patricia, are you okay?”

No reply. 

Then, a thud.

“Patricia, what's happening? Did you fall?”

Angela and I ran to the door.

“Patricia!” Angela yelled, pounding on the door.

Maryanne screamed out loud and we heard someone trying to open the door. It seemed screaming was the only way to alert our captors.

One of the young women from before came in.

“Caroline locked herself in there, Gracie.” Angela told the girl.

Gracie went to the door and inserted a key. It went in and she twisted it. The door opened. 

Patricia was lying on the floor in a pool of blood. A lone key was on the sink and the wire holding the bulb had got cut. A bed sheet was attached to the wire and the other side of it was a knot around Patricia's neck. The two girls were crying as they tried touched Patricia's body. It was clear that her soul had already departed. 

Gracie, who had walked out, returned with two men who placed Patricia's body in a stretcher and carried her out.

“Monsters, all of you.” Maryanne yelled. “You all killed her. What did you gain? Rot in hell, all of you.”

Angela was on the floor, crying. I heard keys turning and knew the main door was being locked. We were on our own.

The girls soon managed to comfort each other. When Angela accepted to leave the bathroom, Maryanne took her to the bed. She also climbed on the bed and placed her hand around Angela, spooning her. I found it a bit weird but remembered that all they had was each other.

Later, Gracie returned with two burly men. They all had huge, strong bodies. 

“Slave traders,” Maryanne said, sending shivers down my spine. 

The young women held each other, terrified of what was about to happen. 

“Get off the beds, girls.” Gracie told them. They remained glued to each other.

I got off my bed.

“Girls,” Gracie's voice had a warning tone in it. 

My new acquaintances were now crying, making all kinds of promises to each other. I could only hope they would not get separated because that would be brutal.

The men glared at them. They stepped down reluctantly. Two of the men went and grabbed them, each carrying one girl. As they struggled, they were drugged the same way I had been.

The remaining man stepped forward, and my heart skipped a beat. I knew what was coming so I held out my hand. He placed a black handkerchief on it. Taking it, I placed it in front of my nose and inhaled deeply. I fell into the man's hands as I blacked out.

I woke up in a room with better living conditions. It was small but clean. The bed sheets and covers smelled good. There was a bedside table with a plastic jug filled with water, a plastic cup standing by it.

I tried my legs and relaxed when I realized they were not tied. Was I free?

I sat up and looked around. Sauntering to the window, I pushed the curtains aside and looked out. All I could see were long rows of trees. It was a man-made forest. I tried to look past the trees but couldn't see anything beyond.

Turning back, I walked to the table and poured water into the cup. I was about to hold the cup when a light bulb lit over my head. What if it was poisoned?