Chapter 2

Josephine's eyes flew open just as the military vehicle hit a pothole, throwing her head against the side of it.

She hissed in pain and attempted to move her hands to check for blood, but cold metal cuffs chained to the floor of her current prison prevented the movement. Josephine yanked hard, testing them and at the sign of no give whatsoever panic began to set in.

Pulling frantically at her bonds, her eyes began to well with tears of frustration and she found herself praying and wishing that this was just a nightmare she'd wake up from. That she'd wake up back in the forest and this would all be a distant memory; not real.

"You'll only wear yourself out—those were designed to make sure no one and nothing could break them."

The raspy male voice caught Josephine off guard, stopping her futile attempt to break the thick steel that held her in place. Her eyes scanned the rest of the vehicle, eyes finding the vague outline of a man cuffed similarly and sitting opposite of her.

Josephine scooted back, closer to her side of the vehicle, uncertain of just how far the man could reach.

He snorted, "I'm really not the one you should be afraid of. They took me for the same reasons they took you."

Her brain finally started to put two and two together. He had to have been the one to light the fire. The idiot that had started this whole mess.

The man chuckled, shook his head, and looked away. Josephine realized with horror she must have said at least part if not all of that out loud.

"Sorry," she winced.

"I didn't light that fire, but I stumbled onto the people who did if it makes you feel any better."

The starlight didn't do much to light his face, but as her eyes adjusted to the darkness around her she began to make out a swollen eye and dark spots, which she assumed was blood, marring his otherwise pristine skin.

Josephine swallowed, fear and anxiety tangling for dominance as the reality of where they would be taken became increasingly clear.

"How long was I out?"

He shrugged, "When I woke up you were just lying there knocked out. I wasn't sure when they'd grabbed you, but since you know about the fire, I'm assuming they found you not too long after they got me?"

Josephine nodded and then when she realized he wouldn't be able to see the movement, she spoke again, "I don't think it was very long, thirty minutes at the most. I—I heard the screams…" Her voice trailed off, letting the unspoken question linger in the air: What did they do to you?

"Getting punched in the face among other things will make a person do that."

Well, alright then.

Looking around, she tried to peer out the windows on the doors that would lead to freedom, but only saw darkness.

"I didn't catch your name…"

Her eyes narrowed back on him, "I didn't throw it."

His laugh took her by surprise, lowering her walls ever so slightly.

"Well, fair enough. I'll throw mine then—it's Simon."

Josephine rested her head against the metal wall of the vehicle, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at him throwing her own words back at her.

"Josephine," she conceded, "My name's Josephine."

What would the harm truly be? They were both heading to be auctioned off, and she would be no more than a passing memory to him after a few days.

Silence fell, broken only by the sound of the motor as they drove toward their fate.

"Why were you running?"

The question snapped her into awareness from having drifted in and out of some almost state of sleep.

"They had wanted to sell me off and I didn't want to go. Simple as that really. They used my parents to try to convince me that I would be better off going with them, you know, the usual tactics, and I refused. My parents bought me time."

She fought back tears, forcing herself not to lose it in front of a complete stranger.

"What about you?"

"As soon as the government started forcing people to be sold off, I went off grid. I wanted nothing to do with it and figured it would be better if I hid before they decided they wanted to offer me the 'rare opportunity to help save the future generations of earth from an intergalactic war and economic collapse.'"

Josephine snorted in agreement, "The propaganda people fall for… I still don't understand it."

"One word: money."

She shook her head, "I honestly wonder if those people who initially went willingly still think the money that supposedly went to their families was worth it."

"My sinking suspicion is that they're long gone."

AKA dead, but Simon avoided the word as though uttering it would bring it upon themselves.

As silence filled the air, Josephine closed her eyes trying desperately to get sleep before they reached wherever their destination was. Simon seemed to do the same because soon all she heard were soft snores along with the rumble of the engine before she finally drifted off herself.

The sound of metal doors banging open startled Josephine awake. She blinked in the morning light, trying to get some semblance of where she was, when hands unchained her from the vehicle and yanked her out of the back. If it hadn't been for two armed guards gripping her arms, Josephine was certain she would have fallen on her face.

Two more guards pulled Simon out, and Josephine allowed herself a spare moment to finally see what he looked like in the light. He was much taller than her, though the wear of living on his own was evident in the sharp angles of his face and it made him less imposing than what she imagined he would be if he were eating normally. Simon's dark, wavy hair was unkempt and overgrown; no different than her own probably. He looked every bit as tired as she felt, and for one moment Josephine was almost sorry that they wouldn't see each other ever again once they were sold.

His eyes met hers briefly as if he'd read her thoughts and then the next thing Josephine knew they were being shoved toward an imposing military compound.

Josephine tried to take everything in, frantically hoping that there would be some way out. Some way to escape. The sounds of orders being shouted, radios pinging, and vehicles entering and exiting were overwhelming after living away from cities and groups of people.

Both her and Simon were shoved through multiple sets of doors, they walked through a plethora of scanners that were double and triple checking for any hidden weapons on them, and then they were both led to a room that made Josephine feel twenty degrees colder.

Multiple stainless-steel tables lined the walls, and what Josephine assumed were medical tools sat along a pristine steel countertop next to a sink. She hesitated and was pushed through the doors, guards ordering them both to sit on a table, their cuffed hands chained to their respective tables.

The guards left the room once they were secured, though Josephine didn't believe they had actually left the vicinity. They were probably waiting right outside the doors, waiting for one of them to so much as try to make a break for it.

And she would have considered it, but a chain kept her from acting on the thought.

As though he could read her mind, Simon shook his head.

"What?" Her voice bit out.

"You'd be shot dead before even made it beyond the door."

Josephine chose not to respond, sighing out her nose.

"At least attempt it when you have the chance of surviving."

Which would be never.

The doors opened letting in a flurry of people in medical garb. Josephine stiffened as they started gathering around her asking for her name and birthdate, taking vitals, and doing a brief albeit uncomfortable exam. Once her vitals were confirmed normal a female nurse came forward, a small rolling table beside her with an assortment of vials and syringes.

Josephine tried to pull away, but the chain held her fast.

"Not to worry, dear, this will be quick."

"Please," Josephine whispered, "Help me."

It was a desperate attempt. But she wanted to think maybe someone would have some sort of sense of how wrong this was. Maybe, just maybe, she'd find some sort of solidarity with someone who looked no older than she herself was.

But the woman didn't even meet her eyes, taking Josephine's arm and placing an I.V. before Josephine could even think twice. Vials of her blood were filled, the I.V. taken out, a bandage placed over where blood began to well up on her elbow, then the nurse was gone, and Josephine was left with who she assumed was the lead doctor.

He was typing furiously at his computer, white eyebrows creased in thought. Then he looked up at her, and Josephine felt as though a thousand angry bees were swarming in her gut.

"We'll get both of your blood samples and run those labs to make sure there isn't some underlying medical condition, but you both have practically spotless medical records from the looks of it."

The happiness in his voice sent goosebumps up her spine.

"Do you always do medical evaluations with multiple people in one room?" Simon dared to speak.

"Only when dealing with products to be sold, of course." The doctor's jovial mood darkened instantaneously, as he met Simon's eyes and then her own.

Products. That's all they were now, not humans or people—a commodity to build the economy.

He moved away from his computer to Josephine, and she shrunk back, shoulders curving inward as though she could make herself invisible if she tried hard enough. It failed. He grabbed her chin and pulled her forward, forcing her mouth open, then proceeding to examine her eyes, nose, and ears.

Silently, he listened to her heartbeat through his stethoscope. Next, he ordered her to breathe in and out several times nearly making her feel lightheaded in the process. But then he stepped away seemingly satisfied and repeated the same exam on Simon.

A part of Josephine prayed there would be some medical anomaly in her bloodwork if that was what it took to not be sold, but then the thought of what they'd do to her if she couldn't be sold crossed her mind and it seemed just as bad as the alternative.

The computer pinged, startling both Simon and Josephine.

Finishing up his examination of Simon, the doctor looked at his computer, reading whatever had caused the alert.

"Ah, just as I thought, clean bills of health for you both."

Josephine's stomach sunk.

The doctor looked at both of them as though they were truly nothing more than just things to be bought and sold.

"Congratulations on being selected to serve your nation. We truly appreciate your sacrifice."

Simon's chain rattled as he slammed his fist down on the table, "We don't want anything to do with this!" He strained against the metal that held him fast, and silently Josephine prayed that he'd somehow be strong enough to snap it.

"Let us go, please," her voice cracked on the last word, "We didn't choose to be here; we were taken by force, please, we—"

"Enough." The command was as harsh as a clap of thunder.

The doctor pulled a small radio from his white coat and then the armed guards were back, guns at the ready.

"They're both cleared for transport to the capital along with the others. If you're quick about it they can probably make the first transit this afternoon." He looked back over at them in disgust, "They'll be cleaned up upon arrival, so nothing more needs to be done. Their records have already been sent over for confirmation."

The guard who seemed to be the most in charge nodded, ordering his men to release her and Simon.

Josephine was pulled roughly to her feet, and she tried to reason with anyone who would listen that this was wrong and that she shouldn't be here.

The doctor snorted, "Perhaps, I should sedate them now. It would make for easier transport."

"As long as they're awake by the time they touch the ground in D.C., doc. That's all that matters," the head guard replied.

There was no hesitation then. Josephine watched them stick a syringe in Simon before he could even react.

Josephine resisted, trying desperately to wriggle out of the guards' ever tightening grip. But her futile efforts were only rewarded with a needle to the neck and then darkness.

She truly was getting sick of being knocked out. The sedative left a sour taste in her mouth that made her nauseous.

Josephine rubbed at her eyes just as a garbled announcement rang out to prepare for landing.

Shaking her head only made her vision double and she had to close her eyes to breathe and allow her stomach to settle. When she felt able to sit up, the sight she was met with was enough to make her feel sick all over again.

Rows and rows of people in cages lined the side of the plane. They all looked to be about her age or even younger. Some people had their own individual cell and they seemed to be the luckiest ones as the cages couldn't have been bigger than a large mattress, barely allowing any room to move around and certainly not enough room to stand if you were tall.

Her heart began to beat frantically in her chest, her eyes sweeping the countless faces trying to see if there was anyone she knew from home. She'd lost touch with some of her closest friends, and she always wondered whether they'd avoided this fate or if they'd already been taken.

A tiny sense of relief at not recognizing anyone filled her with hope that maybe, just maybe they were still free.

"I really would like to never be sedated again," Simon's voice mumbled from beside her and Josephine nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Good grief," she muttered and rubbed at her eyes again, fighting back embarrassment.

"Sorry, I thought you knew I was here."

Josephine just groaned into her hands, "I feel like I've been hit by a truck."

She was met with an understanding smile and the feeling of her stomach dropping as the plane began to make its descent.

Simon's mouth opened and shut, as if trying to choose his words carefully, "How familiar are you with how all this works?"

Josephine blinked, "Enough to know that we're pretty much dead."

He shook his head, "No, I mean yeah, but…" he trailed off, gesturing with his hands, "have you watched any of it back when they were airing it on T.V.?"

She stared at him, weighing his question, and answering with her own, "Have you?"

"Once. When it was early on and people were still choosing to sell themselves."

"Why did you ask then?"

"I just didn't know if you needed a warning or—"

Josephine cut him off, "I already know I'm walking into a death trap if that's what you mean, so, yes, I'm quite aware of what we're about to face. I've heard the horror stories from my parents."

"Sorry, I—"

"I know you're trying to be kind, helpful even, but I truly am well aware of what happens next." She ran a hand through her hair, fingers snagging on multiple tangles and sighed, "I don't mean to be mean, I just—I'm hungry, tired, and feel like I'm about to throw up just from the worry of what will actually happen to me."

Simon nodded in understanding, "No, you're justified. I just wanted to help if fear of the unknown was making everything worse."

His voice was softened by uncertainty and Josephine slowly released a breath, letting the tension dissipate. It wasn't his fault and anger would get her nowhere at this point, especially if directed at the person who was just as trapped as she was.

Silence fell as the plane landed and a flurry of guards came by, taking different groups and leading them onto the tarmac, sun still in the sky though it would begin to set soon from the look of it.

Two guards stepped in front of their shared cell and motioned them forward once they'd opened the door. And then they were back to being manhandled.

They were led onto the tarmac and met with the sight of a huge stadium that was built hundreds of feet high with the intention of housing any alien that might show up for the auction.

Josephine swallowed as they were led into a lower entrance, where a guard pricked the finger of each person who went inside. She glanced at Simon who mouthed, blood.

It took a beat for her to understand. Only when her own finger was pricked and held up to a scanner did she realize they were verifying her identity.

"Take her down to hallway 213 and have her cleaned there."

And with one last glance back at Simon she was ushered inside where she was met with dim lighting and dank concrete floors and walls. Josephine could smell the faintest trace of mildew and scrunched her nose at it.

After following the guards down what she guessed was hallway 213, Josephine was herded into a room that was drenched from floor to ceiling and filled with several other women. The shock of cold water from above made Josephine along with several others cry out.

They were each offered a small towel and what looked like a medical gown and were then ordered to change.

Her cheeks were hot with embarrassment by the time she'd redressed, leaving her face the only warm part of her body. Josephine shivered and wrapped her arms around herself, goosebumps trailing over her body as she was led off to the next room.

And so the process of making her somewhat presentable began. Her hair was roughly detangled and trimmed, body hair removed swiftly and painfully, and her face washed so many times she felt as though a layer of skin had been peeled off.

Josephine had attempted to fight back at first, but she was forced into submission by hands holding her into place and then binding her to the chair she was seated in. But it was the threat of being sedated again that kept her from moving so much as an inch. If she wanted to at least try to find an escape route, then being knocked out would not help her cause.

Once she was cleaned to their liking, her chaperone hauled her down another set of long hallways, passing by numerous doors until reaching one that said, 'Prep Zone.'

The blinding fluorescent lighting made Josephine stumble as the guard led her to a huge line, a faint buzzing sound filling the air. Her stomach flipped as she tried but failed to see around the line of people as to what awaited her next. One of the few times where being short put her at a disadvantage.

A hand brushed her own and Josephine flinched away, turning to find Simon behind her, hair now falling into neat waves, his black eye looking much less bruised already.

Her guard tugged her forward as the line moved, turning Josephine back around.

Josephine's shoulders relaxed ever so slightly. Having at least one person she was familiar with, no matter how little, was comforting. She was certain her panic would have gotten the better of her if she'd not had at least another person with her. A pang of anxiety hit her again with the realization that they'd be separated soon and she would never know what his fate was. Josephine could only pray he would make it out alive.

Her thoughts consumed her until she was the next person in the line and forced into a seat. Her right arm was strapped down and the man in front of her picked up a needle. The buzzing sound filled her head, and she tried once to pull her arm away, but it was firmly held in place as the needle touched her skin, marking her permanently.

Tears welled in her eyes. The sharp pricking of the needle meeting her inner wrist combined with seeing the numbers and letters now affixed to her arm, branding her as just an item waiting to be bought or sold hurt in very distinct ways.

J100R696M.

Once she was released, she was moved to another guard who typed her number into a computer.

"Please confirm your name and date of birth."

There was no room left for arguing, her blood would have already identified her.

"Josephine R. Morris. October 6th, 1996."

"Ah, wonderful. You're in the system now and should be available for viewing soon." The female smiled and then spoke to her guard again, but Josephine didn't hear her even as a new metal pair of cuffs were snapped onto her wrists. Her mind was filled with dread at what the next days would be like and how she would weather the time sitting and waiting.

Her thoughts were abruptly cut off as she was shoved out of the room and into a stairwell. Josephine's empty stomach and parched mouth protested at the thought of climbing sets of stairs, but she was given no time to complain and marched upwards.

Only once did she try to resist, try to wriggle out of her captor's grasp, but it was met with threats and a firmer grip that made Josephine feel as though her bones were being ground to dust.

Just when Josephine truly felt she couldn't climb another set of stairs they went through a door that led onto a walkway where one could see straight down to the bottom of the enclosure. She froze in place, stomach plummeting at the height.

"Let's not do this again now," the gruff voice of her guard barely registered.

Josephine tentatively put one foot in front of the other, testing the surface. The guard sniffed derisively and pushed her hard, almost costing Josephine her footing.

Shaking herself off and forcing herself to look forward and not down, she began to walk again. They passed cell after cell. There wasn't a discernable door to her own eye and while each small cube had concrete walls, floors, and a ceiling within; anyone passing by the rooms would be able to observe the people inside due to what she assumed was a large plexiglass window that somehow operated as a door. She supposed it was considered optimal viewing for anyone who wanted to see what they were purchasing.

Once upon a time ago, when people came willingly, they dressed people to the nines and paraded them around on stage as though it were a pageant. It truly was a spectacle to see. Nowadays, it was kept much more transactional. Any information found online about you was supposedly culled and made into a resume of sorts, and of course if there were pictures of you, even better.

Josephine had never regretted having an online presence more than she did now. She'd taken it down a few years back when it became clear the government was using it to track and sell its own people, but by then it had been too late. More than likely that was what they were using at this very moment to advertise her. She wanted to scream.

Instead, she was shoved in the first open room they came upon.

There were two beds, one to each side, that looked as though a slight breeze could knock them over at any time. A curtained space that she assumed was a bathroom was along the back wall, tiny but she wasn't complaining. The space at least looked clean, and really at this point that was all she could ask for.

Josephine turned around assuming that the door had already been shut when Simon collided with her and then the door actually was being shut. She pushed Simon away as though he'd burned her and ran to the closing door, fist slamming into the plexiglass as it slid closed.

"This is my room," she hit the door to emphasize her point, and watched as the guards merely looked at her with amusement.

"You must not have heard earlier—to save on space and to promote buying more than one product, we've been pairing them together. Plus, you were in the same shipment, so it was much simpler to sell you with each other rather than choosing someone at random to be sold with you."

The casual way it was explained irked Josephine more than the reasoning. It was as though they were simply talking about the weather.

"We are humans too," she wanted to scream, but her voice came out like a whimper betraying the fear rising like a tidal wave in her heart.

They only laughed before walking away.

Josephine banged her fists again in fury, her breathing coming in short, panicked gasps.

Only when Simon's hands gripped her wrists gently yet with firm determination and pulled her away from the door did she finally break down. The tidal wave crashed down around her, as exhaustion and fear that had been held at bay partially by adrenaline and the presence of another person finally gave way.

Simon let go of her, letting her sink to the floor, too tired to make it to the bed. Josephine thought for a moment maybe he'd gone to his own bed after the minutes ticked by. Her hyperventilating gasps were the only sound either of them made. Then arms were sliding around her and she stirred to life, her brain immediately going to the worst-case scenario of what he might do to her now that they were no longer under the surveillance of guards.

"Hey, hey, hey, I'm just setting you on your bed, that's it, I swear."

Innocent or not, she didn't want the help. Josephine pulled out of his arms, "I can do it myself," she gasped and wiped at her eyes.

To his credit, Simon immediately released her and took several steps back, arms up in the air as though he were trying to calm a spooked animal.

Josephine moved backwards until her knees hit the bed and she collapsed onto it.

"Do not touch me," she ran a shaky hand through her hair, her eyes refusing to look at Simon.

"I would never…" his voice trailed off, hurt and confusion lacing his tone.

"But I do not know that" her voice broke, "Hell, I don't even really know you. I'm just assuming you're a good person because you've been nice to me thus far, but that doesn't automatically mean I trust you enough to be in a room alone together."

"I swear, I was just trying to help you get to your bed."

His tone was sincere enough, and while mere seconds ago his presence had been welcomed, she just wanted to be left alone to sleep. Perhaps if Josephine truly knew him then she would not care, but…

Josephine pulled herself further onto the bed, leaning against the wall, arms wrapped around her knees.

Simon sighed and sat on his own bed, glancing away from her, and observing the walkway before them.

Her own eyes followed suit, taking in the spacious area beyond the railing. She couldn't even imagine what kinds of things you could fill a stadium like this with beyond what they were currently using it for. The saddest part about it all was that this had been built by the United States specifically for this very purpose, not for anything good or noble, just a place for the government to sell their citizens into slavery.

She sighed and closed her eyes, "I don't want to die." The whispered admission tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop it.

"Then let's try to avoid that, shall we?" He paused, letting the words settle between them as though he were offering an olive branch.

Josephine cracked open her eyes watching as Simon's flicked back to her own, sympathy warming them.

"Do you have any idea of what happens now?" She tentatively asked.

He had the decency not to rub it in her face that she had scolded him earlier for trying to tell her this very thing.

"We wait. And we pray whoever decides to purchase you and me is a decent individual."

Perhaps they'd get lucky. Their luck had nowhere to go but up from here at this point and that was the hope that buoyed her for the next several days…until they showed up.

AN:

Thank you again for reading and checking the story out! I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, let me know! Until next time...