Project Servile : Defect [Book #1] ✔ Complete!

➽ E i g h t : Memory Lane

"Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome."
- Isaac Asimov

The first thing I became aware of was the pounding coming from the back of my skull. The second was the very familiar feel of shackles locked to my wrists and ankles. When I opened my eyes, dread filled my chest. I was imprisoned in a room that flooded memories into my head. It wasn't the exact same as the one that Academy threw me into on the first night I turned seven and once a week after that, yet the similarities made my stomach heave.

The atmosphere was the same. The density, as if someone managed to suck all the warmth from the air and found a way to fragrance the room in madness. The bricks were a dull gray, lining the wall all the way to the ceiling, which wasn't very high. Becca would have had a problem standing at her full height here. There were no windows and the only opening was a small doorway, barred completely with shining metal.

I tried to move my limbs to see how much the chains would grant me, but whoever put them on me did a better job than most of the handlers did at the Academy. There was no slack other than to give me a small jangle of metal that threw my mind back into a memory. I couldn't stop it from playing, I couldn't push it out. I still felt the chains around my wrists, but when I looked at them they had the Academy crest on them.

When I looked up, the room was from my mind. It was still lined with gray bricks but there were so many other women lined up with me, bound the same way. My heart jumped erratically. I knew what was going to happen. I fought with everything I had but it was no use, the memory wouldn't release me. I gave up and I had to witness twenty handlers entering the room. Their looks of greed, lust, and cruelty crawled to every female. 

For an hour, they were allowed to do whatever they wanted to us. Whether it be to hurt or to claim our bodies, it didn't matter. Their wants were our duty to fill. Their only law was no life threatening disciplines. This was my first memory of this, I knew they were only going to touch me with their eyes this time. They didn't include me until I was twelve, but every time I was bound the same, forced to watch them spill blood down the walls from all the women who shared the halls with me. I was powerless as they made it known for those five years what would happen to me when I matured enough. Always etched into my mind.

Finally the memory receded and a sheen layer of sweat coated my entire body, soaked my clothes through. My muscles tensed with anger and enough adrenaline as if it were wanting me to fight back against the memories. It made my skin prickle with anticipation, though I had no idea where that surge of confidence came from. With those memories usually came subdued submission. Acceptance.

A clicking sound echoed in the room, the gate to the entryway crashed open against the bricks. Dust filtered in through the air, throwing me out of the heinous memory. A gorgeous woman stepped into the small amount of light. Her hair was a shimmering blonde that framed her face perfectly, the eyes the same black that my vision faded to. She flashed me a blinding smile. "Hello my dear! I know you must be scared and confused so let me clear that up for you."