The Gifted

1

"The Gifted"

White cement walls

White tiled floor

I swear they want me to go insane, I've been in this cell for 7 days, 7 days wearing the thin paper gown they shoved me into, 7 days eating gruel with my hands because I can't have a spoon. They take me out for showers and for 10 minutes of "outside" time daily – it's not outside it's a cemented courtyard with high wire fences and some guard sits there and watches you with his stun gun the whole time, it's ridiculous.

They told me when I was 14 that I had the gene mutation, they said it's from all the radiation our ancestors were exposed to during the fourth world war, that it was recessive and its only now showing up in children. The guards didn't let me go home that night they said I had to stay, I had to show them what I could do, turns out I can't do much with this magical gene thingy all I ended up doing was zapping them. Static they called it, I zap people when I touch them that's it. So, they told me I could go home. They gave me a letter and a cheque for my mother and father. I thought that would be that, I could go home cause my "gift" was garbage – apparently not.

Chapter 2

4 corners

One ceiling

One window with bars

One week ago, the guards came back to our little house in the shopping district, 3 years since I last saw them 3 years since they decided my gift was worthless. I guess they decided they didn't want to tell a 14-year-old girl they would be back so they could force her to have children with the "useful" ones in the hopes of making more useful ones. The public knows us as "the gifted" but in here were labelled as "Useful" and "worthless" the useful ones they train up, feed well, and then send them to the wars, the ones in New Russia and Iraq. The worthless ones - the ones like me with stupid gifts get bred like cattle. We get housed with everyone else fed with everyone else but when its time for the usefuls to train and develop their skills us worthless ones get to visit the doctors. At least this is what the guard at my door told me. Great.

The bell in my cell is going off, I learnt the hard way this means turn around and stand in a corner, the first time it rang I was still standing in the middle of the room and when the guard stormed he kicked me in the back of the knee and told me next time I had to be facing the wall in the corner.

I hear people enter, I hear the door open and guards walk in with their heavy shoes and loud footfalls.

"Quarantine is over girly, time to meet your roomies."

The grisly soldier that is usually standing outside my door says, he's got a horrible jagged scar over his left eye and dark brown hair that matches his eyes, "Fox" his name badge reads. He doesn't look like a fox.
He grabs my arm and the other guard does the same thing, apparently, they don't care if they hurt you if your worthless.

They're grip is tight as I stumble down the brightly lit corridor. I'm dragged past other doors no doubt leading to cells identical to my own, I wonder if they have people in them too, I wonder how many other girls have been brought here to be broodmares, I wonder how quickly ill get pregnant, will I know who the father is? will I meet the baby or will they just take it away? I doubt they'd want me to raise it, ill be too busy having more babies because that's what I'm here for, to have as many as possible before I'm old and then they'll probably kill me.

"Have a good day!"

They have a bloody receptionist here? Does she think I'm having a good day, I'm quite literally being dragged by two soldiers, yes, I'm having a fantastic day lady.

The guards loosened their grips once they realised, I wasn't struggling, I'm not stupid, I'm not going to try to overpower 2 fully grown soldiers. And where would I go if I even got past them and out this heavily guarded compound? Home?

It feels like we've been walking for ages, this place is huge, I've stumbled past a library, a mess hall and several classrooms. The guards shove two large wooden doors open and I'm dragged into the room.

Silence.
Cutlery clatters to the tables.

It's a huge cafeteria filled with children and teenagers all eating food, it must be lunch, the doors slamming open must have gotten their attention because all eyes are on me, in my paper gown with no shoes being held up by two huge guards.

"47 Woodman, 13 Crest" fox grumbles,

Two girls,
woodman I think, has blonde hair and blue eyes and the other, Crest, has short curly black hair and black eyes to match.
They both slowly walk over I can see the caution in their eyes. The second girl has to clasp her hands together to stop them from shaking.

"This is June"

The guards shove me toward the girls.

"Finish lunch, make sure she eats and then show her to your room."

With that they storm out the door.

Thank you so much for reading this!! I've got plenty more where this come from so just let me know if you like it and I'll probably publish more xoxox Gemma :)