Every time I felt the needle prick over a bone or a vein I squeezed my hand a bit tighter and then focused my eyes back on the puddle of blood on the concrete. I completely zoned my mind out because I knew if I focused on the pain, I would then succumb to weakness. After about 20 minutes I felt the grip of the leather restraint loosen from my arm. I looked down and saw that my serial code read "6MJK1AH" and then the pain engulfed my whole arm like a swarm of fire ants had bitten me all at once. As soon as I stood up a soldier with curly, brown locks grabbed me by my wrist where the pain seared through my pores and dragged me to another room with two piles of clothes in each corner and a woman standing behind another plywood like desk.
The man yelled directly in my ear. "UNDRESS! NOW!" I looked at him confused. I dragged my vision to the girl behind the desk. She had long, wavy, blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes with a pointy nose and very prominent cheek bones. She was gorgeous. She had laid out a pajama looking pair of pants and a button down shirt to match. They were a very dingy white with grayish blue vertical stripes down them. She nodded at me, almost as if she was assuring me I'd be okay if I did what he said. I removed my shawl and handed it to the officer. He grabbed it and threw it into the pile containing shirts and jackets. I slowly pulled my evergreen t-shirt over my head and handed it to him. I grabbed for the button down so I could cover myself; I felt so exposed. He slapped my hand immediately. "Pants first!" I recoiled my arm back into my chest and moved my fingers down to my jeans button. I fumbled around with it for a little bit until I finally pushed the brass circle through the proper hole. I pushed my pants to the floor as quickly as I could and stepped out of them. I felt so violated and gross. I threw my pants at the officer; he was sneering and I could by the look in his eyes that he was enjoying every minute of this, the foul bastard.
I immediately pulled my forearms up to my chest and covered my body. I didn't even like wearing revealing clothing let alone undressing for some creepy stranger. He nodded to the table. I quickly snatched the tattered clothing and threw them on as quickly as I could, fumbling through the buttons on the shirt yet again. I couldn't seem to get my fingers to work correctly; they were probably still shaky from the pain and the ink swimming through my skin. By the time I got my clothes on, the officer was laughing at me. He grabbed me by my wrist again and pulled me to a barn or shed looking structure and threw me inside. When I walked in there were wooden shelve looking structures that other people were laying on, dressed just like me. I walked down the rows to the end and I noticed they were all disgustingly skinny, they looked like someone just draped skin over a skeleton, they were pale and sickly looking. I began to get scared.
I walked to the end of the row and sat in the corner on the cold cement. I began to realize that these clothes didn't offer much protection, because even on that warm summer night I was cold against the concrete. I saw a girl roll over in her bunk and look at me for a moment. She looked warm and friendly; she had more meat on her bones and more color in her face than most of the people in the shed. She patted the space in the bunk next to her, inviting me to lie down. I stood up slowly and walked cautiously up next to the bunk; I didn't want to trust to easily, that was thrown out the window when soldiers, who were supposed to protect people, started slaughtering them for no reason.
"It's okay." She giggled. "I don't bite, promise." I crouched down next to her so I could see her face. She had a mousey structure in her nose, mouth, and cheeks, her hair was to her chin and almost white blonde, her eyes were a pale brown, they were light and sparkly, and from what I could tell, she was short. Her smile was warm and inviting, and her teeth were perfectly aligned and pearly. She scooted over again and patted the space next to her, nodding her head towards the spot she offered me to lay in. I smiled and laid down next to her, trying to get as comfortable as I could on the plywood bed. It felt like there were splinters sticking into my stomach, but I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of everyone in the shed. "I'm Tamah! Nice to meet you." She extended her hand out to me. I took it and shook it firmly. She stared at me for a few seconds wondering if I would reply.
"That's a pretty name. What does it mean?" I stuttered.
"It means innocent…and you are?"
"Ariella, I'm Ariella." She stared at me for a moment. "…It means lioness of God." I said wondering if that was what she was looking for from me.
"That's unique!" she said. "Unique and beautiful…just like you." She smiled bashfully.
"Thanks!" I giggled, blushing. All night Tamah told me about all the rules I had to follow and who I could get extra bread from and where I could eventually purchase some shoes when the weather got colder. She said she'd been there for a little over a year. It was nice to know what I needed to do to survive; I was already strong but having that upper hand couldn't possibly hurt.
"Oh and another thing!" Tamah began, "It gets brutal here. You need to have a light heart and a thick stomach. People you get close to WILL die here Ariella. I hear they're screams in the night, they haunt my dreams, and visions are forever stained on the inside of my eyelids. I watched my little sister as she was thrown into a fire and burned alive, I watched a bullet go through my mother's courageous heart as she hit a soldier who tried to have his way with her, and I saw my father get beaten until we couldn't recognize his face, then they tied a rope around his neck and hung him while he was still alive. I saw it all. But I'm still here, and you can't let the horror effect you. Okay?" I nodded my head quickly. "You seem strong Ariella…prove me right." I nodded again and we talked to each other a little longer before saying goodnight and drifting off into sleep.