When the guy dressed in all black entered the room, holding a large folder, he was met with Amari giving him quite rude gestures. Amari didn't know how long it had been, not too long seeing as she wasn't sleepy yet. Meaning it was still a time when the birds were awake.

'What's going on?'

'The government wants to hire you.'

'For what?' The duded tried to hand Amari a packet, which Amari slapped away. His chest rose and fell and a very deep sigh. He started to sign, but gave up and left the room. Amari waited for another doctor to come in and get pinned down. Her arm still hurt, and she had finally finished drying her face of tears.

The suited guy came back in, holding a notebook and a pen. He started writing, who knows what. Amari, though she really wanted to try and fight him, knew that she wouldn't have a chance with lifting her shoulder made her close to tears. She scooted away from him; he had sat down in front of her. He looked up when she did, then went back to writing. When down he placed the notebook on the floor and pushed it towards Amari.

They want to hire you as a spy for this country. You're immune to 25.

'Fuck you.' Amari signed with her good arm. She slid the notebook back to him. After a minute he slid it back.

You would get compensation.

Now Amari was interested, writing down something to send back. What kind?

A retirement package

Screw that

Military benefits

Those suck

A wage

How much? This was more interesting, something that could come in handy. A wage, money to buy food and better clothes. Amari's shoes were too small on her, her toes were constantly curled in on themselves. The suited man wrote out a number, it wasn't grand but it was much better than nothing.

I don't want to be a spy. Just give me some cash and let me go.

It's either work for us with this offer or die He pulled out a gun and placed it beside him. Asshole.

You wouldn't

Are you sure? At this point Amari couldn't ignore how her heart kept getting faster every time the notebook was passed. She willed herself to calm down, lifting the notebook onto her lap. She made a serious face, pretending to be writing something important. When she slid it back the man shook his head. She had drawn a penis.

He tossed the book and pen at her, standing up and leaving. There was no doorknob, it was a keypad. Not the number kind, the scanning kind. He had something on his wrist, when held up to the keypad there would be a beep. The door would swing open on its own. He was holding the gun the entire time, scaring Amari into not trying anything. It worked.

Amari would've gone crazy without the notebook. In a white room of nothing it kept Amari sane. She used the pen to write or draw. She drew the orphanage, remembering the shame of a child watching her be taken away. She drew the needle that had injected her, colorful language surrounding it. She drew a vaguely similar outline of the bouncer, doctor, and man covered in black.

She wrote about how she hated all of them. At some point her circadian rhythm put her to sleep. It also woke her up. A dreamless night, on the cold floor. Amari, again, passed her time with the notebook. Filling pages with random doodles or words. She now knew that it had been about a day. The black suited guy came back in, holding another folder. Amari had refused to even pick up the last one.

He maintained some distance, opening the new folder and reading the two papers inside. He walked towards Amari, who shuffled backwards. She couldn't hide the fear she felt, but she pretended that it was rage. He picked up the notebook, writing out a quick message.

You tested negative for 25

As childish as it was, Amari blew him a raspberry. He signed the word for baby, picking up the large folder on the floor. The bouncer came in now, and Amari was fighting the tears. He again grabbed her, and Amari knew that struggling would get nothing. Did the government seriously think that treating her this way would make her say yes?

This time she was taken to an office. Another chair, not tied up this time put both arms forced to stay put by both men. There was no one else in the office, and Amari was left to wait. The door must've opened, both men turned to look behind her. The man who walked in was big, he was also pretty old if that's all the white beard was there for.

His lips were moving as he sat down. Something about 'welcome'. Amari spit at him. He pulled out a disinfectant wipe and calmly cleaned it. This happened twice. Then came the annoying talking. Amari closed her eyes so she could ignore him. They would eventually give up, right? They did not. They waited, letting Amari open her eyes on her own, only to see her close them again. This went on for a while until something changed.

The smell in the room changed. The temperature, a warm breeze was floating inside. The smell, something cooked. Food. Amari opened her eyes, sniffing the air to find the source. A woman dressed in red held a plate. Mashed potatoes. A large full plate of it. Amari couldn't stop looking at it.

It was placed right in front of her, a spoon standing in the middle like a flag. Take the spoon and you're raising the white flag. The man behind the desk, the big boss, ordered for the two people beside Amari to let her go. Amari instantly tried to reach for the spoon but was stopped.

'You can eat if you agree to join.' His lips read. Amari's stomach gave up, growling. It probably had a sound, and Amari didn't like the feeling of it shaking. Even if it happened often, she didn't like it happening around others.

Amari felt her mouth water, and she couldn't stop staring. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't stop looking or thinking about it. The smell, even as she was gradually getting used to it, and the temperature dropped, she couldn't say no. Then it got worse.