The water was too cold for showering in her opinion.
She trembled under the steady stream, wishing for the routine procedure to be over soon. But like many things out of her control, the Nest maintained that a "refreshing temperature" was "pertinent to the health of their skin.'
Laying atop a white plank which had emerged out from a slot the wall, she closed her eyes as robotic hands lathered her hair and body with delicate smelling soap. Made of extendable metal and soft rubber, the humanoid machinery next began massaging her skin with a variety of lotions and oils, before falling limp at her feet and retracting back into the ceiling at the sound of a soft bell.
Brushing away the water in her eyes, the girl blinked hard in the soft, yellow light, taking in the lingering floral perfumes. Music was trickling in from some unseen speakers, and nothing else but her heavy breathing and pounding heart was heard in the tight space.
The facility she was in was referred to as a spa stall, one of many the girls in the Nest visited for their beauty ailments. The Nest insisted the girls be kept in "scientifically controlled conditions for optimal physical attractiveness," and were treated on a daily basis for everything from manicures to facials.
As she got up, the board clicking back into the wall behind her, she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror. Taking up an entire side of the wall, the mirror unabashedly presented her body on full display. She brushed her recently blow-dried, black hair from her face as she surveyed herself, leaving no patch of skin unscanned. Her black identification number 3034021124 contrasted sharply with her cream-colored skin.
"What the...." She touched a spot on her chest which had produced a raised red bump. She found another, and then another. A bruise, a scar, a stretch mark, a resilient roll of plush. She winced at each discovery, telling herself she will do better. Tomorrow she will drink more water. Tomorrow she will work out harder. She must perform for the Committee, to gain their acceptance and favor. It was imperative that she was to be selected, to leave the Nest with glory, and a future. Only then could she save her family....
But from what, she could no longer remember.
YOU ARE READING
Pliable Creatures | ✓
Science Fiction124 woke up in the Nest with no memory, no name, and no idea why she was there. All she knows is that she must win the hearts of the Committee and leave the Nest with glory and honor for the sake of her family.... A family she couldn't even remember.
