Shay sat on the edge of the bed in the room she had been confined to. She had no idea where she was. She knew that she had been moved from the compound she had originally woken up at, but they had put a bag over her head when they moved her. She was thrown into this room and left here, the only interaction with the outside being someone bringing her food every once and awhile. A few minutes ago, the guy that brought her meals also brought something else. Beside her on the bed was a red dress and a pair of high heels that she was told to change into. "Tough chance." She thought. She never did like dresses. She was more of a pants and T-shirt kinda girl. When she wasn't wearing her lab stuff that is. She never really had the need to dress up. Never went on dates, never really had a job interview as she was hired on the spot for her job at the EDF, never went to a wedding or funeral. In fact, her lab uniform was probably the most formal she had ever dressed. She didn't care how she looked. She was who she was and that was good enough for her, no need for approval or justification.
A loud and violent knock on the door tore Shay from her thoughts. "Bastards." She thought. Her mind had been her only escape for the past week and a half. An angered voice sounded behind the door, "are you changed yet? Hurry this shit up." The voice said. Shay knew she wasn't leaving the room without being in that dress. Luckily over the time she had been here, whoever was running the show had made her off limits. They weren't allowed to touch her, let alone talk to her. She didn't know why, it's just how it was. She couldn't say she was thankful, she was still a prisoner. The dress on the bed next to her told her she needed to stay wary. They were dressing her up for something. Shay let out a long and exasperated sigh, grabbed the dress and made her way to the dirty mirror in the room. She started stripping the dirty and ragged clothing she was still wearing. The clothing clung to her skin, forcing her to literally peel the fabric off. She'd kill for a shower right about now. The thought made her grin. "Maybe you'll get your chance Shay." She thought to herself. Another knock at the door made her jump. She glanced at the door. "I know who I'm starting with." She looked back at the dress, drew a deep breath, and got started. It took her a bit to figure out how to put it on. She had never done it before. The damn thing was so tight, she could barely breathe. She took a look at herself in the dirty mirror. The thing was so short too, it left nothing to the imagination. It was frayed at the bottom, and slightly torn. The dress had seen better days. Admittedly, the ragged dress, dirt smudged on her exposed flesh, and the eyepatch on her face, she did look like a badass hot apocalypse survivor. Shay posed in front of the mirror, holding her hands together in the shape of a pistol. "Hell yeah." She thought. Another damn knock sounded from the door. Shay swung her hands, aiming her "pistol" towards the door. "Bang." She thought with a grin. She started walking to the door but immediately fell on her face. Damn heels really were hard to walk in. She stood, gaining balance and very slowly walking to the door. She gave the wooden surface a light knock.
The door immediately swung open. The man on the other side was the same one that had thrown water in her face. Miguel if she remembered right. The disgusting man showed no shame in looking her up and down with an evil grin. "Ooooo look at you mama. Boss is gonna love this." Shay glared at him. "She's got an attitude too. Mmmmm" he continued. He turned and started down the long hallway, beckoning for Shay to follow. She followed slowly, keeping a hand on the wall to keep her balance. She studied her surroundings, this being the first time she's seen anything outside of that room in a week and a half. It actually kind of looked like an EDF barracks. Continuing on, she realized that it was an EDF barracks. Miguel reached the door at the end of the hall and swung it open. Blinding light poured in, forcing Shay to shield her eyes. She walked out of the door, letting her eyes adjust to the light outside. Her eyes were met with a very busy scene. Ragged men and women with weapons in hand ran back and forth, shouting came from every direction, makeshift weaponized vehicles sped past flinging dirt and rock in their wake. She was on an EDF base. To her left was a massive reinforced gate leading into the desert. Across from the barracks she stepped out of was a garage of sorts. Inside she spotted EDF vehicles. Tanks, exosuits, armored vehicles, even an EMC, the massive death laser attached to tank tracks designed to combat Erginus. Seeing the weapon made Shay smile a tad. She did have input on the designs for the beast. Realizing where she was and who had control of it though wiped the smile from her face. Looking to her right she saw what had to be a command bunker. The building was surrounded by an even larger gate and fence than the one surrounding the compound. At the open gate on either side were two exosuits. Nix assault series Shay deduced. The vehicle boasted twin machine guns in its hands and shoulder cannons. The suits scanned left to right, watching for intrusion. The EDF symbol on the suits had been scratched out and replaced with a spray painted dragon with three heads. "Lame." Shay thought. Along the massive gate were auto cannons and machine guns. They aimed back and forth, searching.
"This way mama." Miguel said, grabbing Shay's wrist. She yanked her hand away, giving the man another glare. He just chuckled and started towards the command bunker. Shay eyed the ground leading up to the building. If it was difficult to walk on the tile floor of the barracks, it was gonna be a hell of a lot worse trying to walk on dirt and rock. And she'd be damned before she walked through this filthy place with no shoes on. She took a deep breath and started forward, wobbling as she walked. She heard snickers around her as people stopped and watched her struggle. Bastards. It took a hot minute but she made it to the gates behind Miguel. The asshole stood there shamelessly undressing her with his eyes. Shay crossed her arms over her chest, not that it did much to cover anything. The two exosuits turned towards the pair, watching as they entered the gates. Security here was intense. This must be where the actual leader of the cartel resided. The thought terrified her. She had heard of the atrocities cartels have committed through the years, but she had never been this close to one. She had no idea what this place had in store for her, but she knew it was nowhere near good.
Shay was led inside through the front doors of the bunker. It was immediately apparent that the cartel had converted this place to look more like a mansion. At least on the inside. It was immaculately clean with statues and busts lining the walls, a massive chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and a red carpet splitting in two directions leading up twin staircases to the second floor. Their banisters were golden with ornate carvings of the dragon with three heads lining its length. "I better not have to climb those stairs with these heels." Shay thought. "Up here." Miguel said, gesturing to the stairs on the right. "God dammit." Shay shook her head. She couldn't wait to get where they were going just so she could stop walking. These heels were so damn uncomfortable. She started to the stairs behind Miguel, but he stopped before going up. "After you." He said with a crooked smile. He probably just wanted to watch her from behind as she climbed the stairs. Pig. Shay didn't protest, she just grabbed the banister with one hand and started up. It was absolute hell. She almost fell a few times. She heard Miguel snickering behind her. She thought about letting herself fall, just so she could tackle the fucker in the process. Alas she decided against hurting herself. As much as she wanted to hear the man behind her scream. She finally made it up to the landing, still holding the railing, catching her breath. "Damn mama you look good climbing those stairs." Miguel said, standing one tread beneath and behind her. "Fuck it." Shay thought. Without turning around she asked, "Ever seen the movie 300?" Miguel tilted his head, "huh?" She whirled around bringing her heeled foot up, planting it in the center of Miguel's chest and kicking as hard as she could. "Oh shi-!" Was all he could get out. The man went flying backwards, tumbling down the stairs, unable to stop himself. He hit the bottom shoulder first resulting in a sickening crack. He howled in pain, rolling around on the ground. Shay smirked, but lost her balance, falling backwards on her butt. "Worth it." She thought.
"What do we have here?" A smooth and sophisticated voice sounded behind her. Shay scrambled, attempting to stand. It took a moment but she was able to steady herself. She turned around to face the voice. In front of her was a tall man with a lean frame, tan skin, and short black hair with a pencil thin mustache. He wore an immaculate white suit and slacks with a pink tie. His fingers were covered in jewels and golden rings, and more hung from his neck on gold necklaces. The man was clean, the cleanest person Shay had seen since she fell to the earth. This had to be the leader. "What? No answer?" Shay just glanced at Miguel, who was still groaning on the floor. The man followed her gaze. "Ah yes. Miguel was always sort of a bastard." In the blink of an eye the man drew a golden pistol with jewels on the handle, aimed it down the stairs and pulled the trigger. Miguel's head practically exploded, sending gore and bone splattering onto the floor and wall. Shay fell back onto her butt again with a yelp, terror coursing through her. She tried scrambling away, clawing at the ground. "Hey hey don't worry. I've been looking to thin the ranks anyways." The smooth voice came again. Shay backed away until her back hit a wall. She stayed there staring up at the man. He approached, his hands in the air. "I'm not going to hurt you." He knelt down beside her, bringing a hand up and wiping at the tears that Shay had no idea were there. She recoiled at the touch, swatting his hand with hers. "A fighter I see." He said with a soft chuckle. He stood, offering his hand to Shay. She struggled to her feet once more, ignoring the help and keeping her eyes on him. "Come, follow me." He said. He started walking, but Shay stayed where she was. He turned around with a smile, then held his arm out offering it to her. Shay just shook her head. The smile disappeared from the man's face, then he drew his pistol again with his other hand, pointing it at Shay's face. She complied, wrapping her arm around his. The smile returned to his face, and the pair walked down the hallway, leaving Miguel's corpse where it was at the bottom of the stairs.
They approached a huge set of double doors, once again adorned by the three headed dragon. The man let go of Shay and opened the doors, gesturing for Shay to enter. She entered cautiously. Well as cautiously as she could. She practically stumbled her way in. It was a massive office space. A huge wooden table sat in the back with a big red chair behind it, and a computer monitor in the center of it. Behind that was a giant rectangular window. The walls were covered in ornate paintings and other art, two statues were placed on either side of the double door, and there were multiple pedestals holding various items ranging from guns to smaller statues to skulls. The statues were both yet another three headed dragon. "Getting a little tired of seeing that." Shay thought. The man closed the doors behind her, and made his way behind the desk, hands clasped behind his back. He stared out the window without saying a word. He stood there for a long moment, silent. "Oookay. This is a little weird." Shay thought to herself. As if in response, the man spoke, "Do you know what they call me?" He asked without turning around. "Gee if I could take a wild guess-" Shay started to think. "The Dragon." He said, interrupting the thought. It took every fiber of Shays' being to suppress the laugh that was climbing in her throat. She collected herself and acted like she was listening. "Come over here." Shay stumbled her way over to the window with the grace of a drunken dog with three legs. As she passed the giant wooden desk, something near the monitor caught her attention. Her eyes went wide. It was a smooth metal orb with a dent in the side and a cable connected to it, running down to where she assumed a computer was. "Ada?" Shay thought. She kept walking forward. "Do you know what dragons are known for?" Shay barely heard 'The Dragon.' Her attention was on the orb. The monitor suddenly flashed a dull blue. "They are known for their hoards." The man continued, talking to no one. Text suddenly appeared on the screen. "Hey Shay, long time no see. Look, this asshole is gonna turn around in a moment so I don't have a lot of time. The idiot connected me to his main computer so now I basically have access to everything-" Shay heard the man continue, "do you know what I hoard?" Her attention was drawn back to the monitor. "God what a dumbass. Anyways, I have access to everything. You're not alone, Shay. Stay strong, I'll be in touch." The words suddenly disappeared and the screen went blank once more. Shay smiled a wide smile, dumbfounded and relieved. Dragon turned around. "Women. I hoard women. You should be honored. And judging from that smile of yours, you are." Shay wiped the smile from her face, crashing back to the reality she was facing. "Don't worry. I will take care of you. And you…" he approached looking her up and down. "…you will take care of me." He finished, smiling. Shay took a step back, disgusted. "But for now, I will leave you with the other women. They will help you get settled."
Dragon clapped his hands and the large double doors she came through swung open, revealing two other women dressed as she was. They both had long dark hair and very similar facial features. They looked like mother and daughter. They looked exhausted. "Jesus." Shay thought. They approached briskly and offered their arms to Shay. She wrapped her arms around theirs and she was led out the doors. "Maria, you can stay." The older woman on Shays left stopped in her tracks. Her eyes closed and Shay spotted a tear. The woman then wiped it away, put on a forced smile, and turned back, walking back into the room, and closing the doors. Shay heard a small whimper from the woman on her right. "Monster." She heard her say. Shay stared forwards blankly, her mind racing. With the invasion of aliens and creatures, she thought she had faced the worst. After what she just witnessed, she realized that she had seen nowhere near the worst. Her fight with monsters would continue, and they took the form of humans.