24690 by Alaska Angelini, A. A. Dark Read Free Book Online Page A

letting it shoot forward. Wood cracked from the frame and he threw his weight into the barrier, sending the door flying open. The guards rushed through and I let them take over as I followed.
    “Doctor Cortez,” I said, loudly, walking straight to her room. Lights were already flooding the small space and dark hair was wild around her as she sat in the middle of the bed. Back and forth she went, staring at the guns trained on her. When she met me with panicked eyes, I lifted my hands for the guards to lower their weapons.
    “What’s happening?”
    “Something you’re probably not going to like. You were witnessed giving something to a slave who was under your care. A weapon. Do you deny it?”
    The fear increased as she took in the men. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    “No? Perhaps I should remind you. Men,” I turned, showing them my rage. “I’m sure you’re all aware of what happened last night. Remind Dr. Cortez what slave twenty-four-six-ninety was brought into Medical for.”
    There was no hesitation, no pause, as the bigger guard brought back his fist and slammed it into the doctor’s face, repeatedly. Screaming filled the space as she tried to fight him off, but there was no use. Even slightly taller for a female, she was no match for the large guard. Fabric tore and I placed my hands behind my back as I let all three men rip off the white slip she wore. The cries grew louder as one flipped her onto her stomach and jerked at his pants.
    “To help slaves is strictly forbidden. I do believe you were given this talk when you were brought here. Yet, you provided one with a weapon to harm the same people who allow you to live. Do you think yourself irreplaceable, Dr. Cortez?”
    Sobbing wracked her body as she clawed and yelled into the blankets. She wasn’t fighting her attackers or the rape she was beginning to undergo.
    “I asked you a question.”
    “No!”
    “No is correct. You are very replaceable. I thought you’d be a good fit, but I see I was wrong. You have a softness that I don’t have time to squash. You’ll join the people you pity. Welcome to your new life, slave.” I looked back at the guards. “When you’re finished, throw her in Slave Row. If she gives you any trouble, kill her.”
    I didn’t wait for their response. I turned my back, leaving the small room. My whistling filled the silent halls and I let a smile come. Today was going to be a great day. Once I returned, I would visit my slave. Let someone try to stop me.

Chapter 7
    24690
     
    “I want to go home. I want to go home.”
    The mantra filled the cells for hours and there was no stopping it. The words could have come from my own mouth, but they weren’t. They were coming from the girl who shared a room with me. Over and over, she cried and begged.
    “I’ve told you, this is your home now.”
    “No,” she sobbed. “I want to go home .”
    “The sooner you accept that you have no home anymore, the easier this will become. Trust me, you’re only making this harder on yourself.”
    Bloodshot green eyes stared at me as I paced. The redhead’s lip quivered and her balled fist rose to her mouth. The desperate sound that came out had me slowing. “They put something inside of me. T-they did something to my insides. I hurt.”
    I frowned. I knew what she was referring to. My Master talked about the changes plenty when they’d discovered the new ways. “It’s a type of hysterectomy. They do it to all of us. No periods, and no pregnancy. You’re lucky, and you’ll be thanking the heavens for what they’ve done when you get your master. Besides, your procedure is new. I have the scar on my stomach to show what I went through. You got it the easy way.”
    “Hysterectomy? But … I’m only eighteen! If I get out of here, I won’t be able to—”
    “You’re not leaving,” I stressed. “It’s impossible. I’ve been here for fourteen years. If there was a way, do you not think I would have