The Coach stops. I get out. I see a stone building, with trees and hedges. It looks closed-up and secretive. The doctor gets out. "Welcome to Briarwood." He tells me, grabbing my arm and taking me inside.
The floors are carpeted. There are other men inside. They look at me, too. I don't like them. The doctor opens a door. He pushes me inside, then goes out and shuts the door. I hear him lock it. I look around the room. There are other little girls here. They act funny. They hide behind each other. They look scared. I go up to them. They're not scared of me. They watch the door with frightened eyes. I talk to them. I ask them, "Are the other men here also doctors?" They look at each other.
"There are no doctors here." One says, "Only uncles." I ask another question.
"Are you all sick, too?"
The girls shake their heads. "No, we're not sick. You're not sick, either." They say.
I am confused. "Then why are we here?" I ask, "Why are we at Briarwood?"
The girls look at each other again. Some look frightened. Some look terrified. But no one answers.
A long time later, I hear the door unlock. The girls get scared. They hide behind each other. Some run to the corners of the room. Some curl up one the ground. I don't understand. I sit in the same spot. An uncle comes in. He looks at the girls, at us. I don't like the way he looks at us. He points at a girl. The girl whimpers.
"Her." He says. Two other men come in. They grab her and take her away. The uncle leaves.
Another uncle comes in. He points at another girl. She tries to run when the men come to get her. They catch her, and take her from the room. She is crying. Another uncle comes in. He looks at all of us. He focuses on me.
"Is she new?" he asks a man next to him.
"Yes, she's new." The man answers.
"Good." The uncle says. He smiles. "I want her."
The men come to take me. I don't scream or run. I walk with them. I don't understand. They grab my arms, and take me out of the room. Down the corridor, they take me. They stop in front of a tiny room. One gives me a white, lacy nightie. "Change." He tells me. I go in the room and change. I come out, and they grab me again. They take me down more corridors. I don't understand. What's happening?
The men stop again, outside another door. An uncle comes. Doctor Carvay. He has a glass of red liquid. He has a bottle. He tips the bottle, and a dark powder falls into the glass. He swirls it around and gives it to me. "Drink." He tells me.
"Why?" I ask. "What's in it?"
"It's a special medicine. It will make you feel better." He answers, putting the glass at my mouth. I drink it. It tastes strange. Sort of sweet. Now I feel funny. Like I need something, like I have too much energy. The men open the door and push me inside, closing it behind me. I see a man in the room. He is standing and watching. There are girls in this room, too. I see the two girls who were taken from the other room with me. One is still crying. There are five other girls. Most of them are rubbing against the walls. Some are crying also. I get up and walk to them. Soon, I am rubbing on the walls too, and still feeling that funny feeling from the medicine.