Under His Rule (His 1)

I lean up and listen to the sounds that sound wretched, just as I did when I first came in here.

“Ugh …” she groans. “My head …”

“Hey,” I mutter.

Silence.

“Who’s there?” she asks swiftly.

“Me. I’m in here with you.”

“Where am I?” She’s farther away now, judging by the sound of her voice. I guess she got scared of me. “What is this? Why is it so dark?”

“We’re locked in a cell.”

“What?” The panic in her voice is all too familiar to me. “Why? I didn’t do anything.”

“Neither did I.”

“I was just at a meeting, and then—oh God.” She sounds as though she’s sick again, so I wait before I say any more.

“Why did they do this?” she asks when she’s gathered herself.

“I don’t know …” I mutter. “They wouldn’t tell me. Just that this is The Holy Land. The Family.”

“Fuck,” she murmurs, her teeth clattering. “I can’t believe it.”

“I know this is going to sound weird, but … are you naked too?” I ask.

It’s quiet for a while. “Shit. Yes. What the fuck? They took off my clothes!”

“They did it to me too,” I say.

“Why? Why the fuck would anyone do that?” she asks. “I’m so fucking cold, I’m shivering.”

“Get used to it,” I answer.

I don’t want to be so blunt, but these conditions make me harsher than usual.

“Sorry,” I add. “If you’re cold, there are clothes on the floor.”

“Where?” she asks.

“Middle of the room,” I say.

But I don’t hear her move.

“Is that a trick?” she asks after a while.

“Maybe. I think so,” I say. “I think they want to use it as a bargaining tool … to get us to submit.”

“Why would I ever do that?”

I snort. “Wait … just wait …”

“That doesn’t sound good,” she mutters. “What did they do to you?”

“I had no food and no water for hours.”

“Fuck.”

This girl sure swears a lot.

“No clothes and no sunlight.”

“How long have you been here?” she asks.

“I don’t know,” I reply. “All I know is that I’ve slept three times already, so that might be three days. I’ve only gotten water two out of three days, and it was just a bottle.”

“No,” she says, her voice shaking. “This can’t be happening.”

“You’re not dreaming. I thought I was too, at first.”

“But who would do this to another person? Why would they lock us up for no reason whatsoever? And naked, too.”

“To subdue us,” I say. “That’s my hunch anyway.”

And to be honest, it’s starting to work.

The longer I’m in here, the more I’m starting to think about what will happen if I do put on those clothes.

“And then what?”

“I don’t know,” I reply.

“That doesn’t make any sense. All of this, it’s insane.”

“I know,” I say, swallowing. “But at least I’m not alone anymore.”

“Hmm …”

“It was hard not to have anyone to talk to. I was losing my mind,” I say, sighing.

“That doesn’t make this any less fucked up,” she says.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

She’s quiet for a while, and so am I.

I don’t know what to say, what to think, what to do. Maybe we could huddle close together for warmth, but I don’t know her, and it would feel awkward. Never mind the fact that I’m pretty sure they’d punish us if they knew.

What if they’re watching us right now?

What if there are cameras in every corner, recording our every move?

What if this is all a test, and we have to pass in order to get out?

Without thinking, I get up and start touching the upper edges of the walls on my toe.

“What are you doing?” the girl asks. Apparently, she could hear me.

I can barely reach the ceiling, but I can in the corners if I try hard enough. That’s where I feel the edge of something hard, something metallic and plastic-like.

“I knew it,” I hiss.

I jerk at it a little, but it won’t come loose. Instead, I point the thing at my face and shout, “You’re watching us, aren’t you? Is this what you want? A bunch of naked girls crying in a cell? You cowards!” I jerk it so hard a piece of it breaks off and cuts me in the hand.

“Ah,” I hiss, pulling back. I don’t know how big the wound is as I can’t see a thing, but I know it can’t be that deep.

“What the hell was that?” the girl asks. “They’re watching us? Who are?”

“Them. They hung a camera in here so they can see all the dirty little things we’re up to.”

“What? But I’m … naked,” she says, shuddering.

“Exactly.”

I inspect the piece that broke off and feel a sharp edge. That may come in use later. I feel my way to the door and try to find a lock. There must be something here, right?

When I finally find a hole, I immediately shove it in and start working on picking the lock. I’ve never done this before, but I have all the time in the world to spend on learning, so I’m going for it.