Bloodlines

Alessia

I slowly blink toward consciousness, and it takes me a few moments to register that the bed I'm in isn't mine. Well, not the one I am used to. I crane my neck over the edge of my bed--carefully, since there are no railings--and look down at Milana below me, sound asleep. I know good and well she won't awaken easily.

A crackling sound comes from the wall behind me, and I jump. Then, I hear a voice over what seems to be an intercom system--"The current time is 0715. Will all of the recruits please join us for breakfast in ten minutes?" Gosh, these bigots sound so polite. At least, to people who don't know any better.

"MIL! GET UP!" I scream, climbing down the ladder and wincing as I nearly fall off during the process. My hair most likely looks like a tumbleweed, so I just shove it into a messy bun and pull out my knapsack full of clothes (which we were told to pack before the recruiting with whatever we thought necessary). Throwing on a T-shirt and cargos (I had no time to care about fashion when I was packing, so sorry), I nudge my friend a few more times until she finally stirs. "Dude, you want breakfast or not?"

Mil blinks. "Heck yeah. I should've eaten last night."

"Haha, same. Although part of me wonders if last night was the bait and the food is going to be really crappy from here on out," I say, lacing up my sneakers.

Mil sits up, still in her bed. "I wouldn't be surprised if it was."

After a few more minutes of trying to get Mil out of bed, she finally does and puts on denim shorts, a purple t-shirt, and her favorite navy blue converse.

"Of course you brought those." I say.

She gives me a 'what'd you expect' look.

"They're my babies." She deadpans.

I roll my eyes at her and we made our way down the hall. As we are walking, a door opens in front of us. Donovan and Jared walk out, looking more tired than us.

"Hi" Donovan says as Jared just nods his head. We both wave to them and continue down the hall. In the next room was a long table covered with plates, utensils, and food down the middle. I sit down at the far end and Mil sits next to me. Nothing on the table was 'breakfast' quality. Just fast foods like mini hamburgers and fries that they call 'hash browns'.

Mil nudges me and whispers, "I think they're trying to get us fat."

I nod in agreement. Julia walks into the room wearing the same clothes as yesterday.

"Good morning." She says. "It seems that half of us are still getting ready but I'll just tell you what I need to and when they come, you can tell them what they need to know. Sound good?"

We all stay silent. We honestly couldn't care less.

"Okay." She says. "The next two days will be spent on this train. We will have you watch videos of the readings in the other counties. This will help you get to now who else will be in the experiment."

Or so we can decide who to kill first.

"Then, we will show you what we look for in this experiment, why we perform it, and how it affects our community. Now, eat up. We have a big day ahead of us."

And with that, she left. As soon as the door closes, Mil blurts out,

"I'm 95% sure that she's a robot."