After Humanity

Chapter Six

Rachel

Dawn crept through the cracks in the wall with its dingy yellow light. Rachel's head pounded. In had been difficult to sleep on the hard concrete floor of their cage, but at least she'd managed to get some rest. There hadn't been much else to do once the slavers had left them, shutting off the lights and leaving them in almost total darkness. Maybe it was for the best. The more strength she could gain, the more likely she could plot her escape.

It was not long before the slavers made their rounds, delivering the bowls of gray goo. Rachel ate obediently. She tried to better survey her grim surroundings with the aid of daylight and rested eyes. The room was lined with cage after cage of frightened women, boys, and girls cowering, stuffed on top of one another in their cramped cells. Like her, every other captive seemed to have been stripped of clothes, their hands bound in front of their bodies. There were no sibla guards in sight, but she knew, having watched them deliver their food, they weren't far away. She could even hear their voices intermittently through the door. No wonder the others were afraid to talk. It was clear their sibla captors were close enough to hear and could come back at any time.

"Got an order for one mature female. Around 140 pounds live weight," A loud voice cried out. A moment later Ren appeared at the door. Rachel held her breath as he walked down the aisle of cages, his eyes scanning until they rested on a cage not far from her own, stuffed with girls who appeared a bit older than herself. All seemed to be in their teens. Reaching to his belt, the sibla took up his keys and unlocked the door. The girls quickly attempted to escape his grasp, but Ren managed to grab a firm hold of one unfortunate's arm and drag her from her fellows. Slamming the door shut again, Rachel watched as the sibla forced the chosen girl onto a scale.

"I've got 146 on this one!" Ren called back.

"Customer will take her," came the response. "Bring her round back."

Rachel could see the poor girl shivering in fear.

"Please don't," she whimpered softly.

Ren frowned at her. "Come on," he said, pulling her roughly from the scale. "No good resisting. You know better than that."

The girl seemed not to hear his warning, struggling against the sibla's attempts to drag her from the room. Ren's hand rose struck her soundly across the face. Rachel cringed as the woman's body went limp and crumpled to the floor.

"Need help with this one," he called out. Another slaver quickly joined him and the two carried the woman away.

"What are they doing with her?" Rachel asked the boy by her side, noticing her cage mates watching the proceedings.

"Taking her to the back," he whispered. "That's where they slaughter us."

Rachel felt her stomach go cold. She'd heard what Gifre had said. She'd heard him proclaim her to be no more than meat, but Rachel hadn't wanted to believe it could be true. That these men could really be engaged in such a gruesome trade. But with reality so clearly forcing her to face the truth, Rachel found herself all the more determined to fight back against her fate.

"We have to do something," she said to the boy. She watched as he cast an uncertain look at his fellow who shook his head.

"You saw what happened," the second boy answered. "There isn't anything we can do."

"You have just given up?" Rachel asked, incredulous. "They are going to kill us!"

"Quite!" the first boy said in a whispered hiss. "If they hear us it will be worse."

Rachel's brow furrowed in disbelief. "What could be worse?"

The two boys looked at each other again. Rachel could see the fear and hesitation in their faces.