Four steps apart.
Four tiles on either side.
About four seconds before moving forward another four steps.
Four guards between me and the entrance we all are being herded into.
Just four steps ahead of me she stands silently. She should be almost 2 meters high, not a local genetic makeup. At least not naturally. Here, in a place that is no longer my home, the average height is 1.6 meters. Add her pale skin and we have an educated guess at her being a foreigner. Probably from the northern side. People here tend to have darker, more tanned complections. Ignoring her distinct differences, she has a decently built body.
Looking down at my own, I grimace. She has at least fifty to sixty more pounds on her. Paired with her seemingly slim torso shape, you can bet most of that is in muscle. Another problem is her outfit. Dull greys mixed with faded browns loosely hanging on her frame. I can't tell exactly what I'm dealing with.
Moving forward, I glance around her, to the front of the line. Two more before she enters the room. Going by the sounds, It should be a canteen. All I could see is a drab grey wall maybe 2 meters past the doorway, but I could hear the sounds of quiet conversations. Whispering, murmuring, and occasionally the clattering of what should be food trays. Eyeing the guards until the woman in front of me entered the next room, I notice all of them only had one weapon, a stun baton.
Being pushed into the next room, I stumble into the opposing wall. One hand on the wall, I find myself in a long hallway with benches on both sides. To my left is a thick glass wall with some kind of metal wire in between the layers. Ignoring the people behind it, I fail to find any openings. Purely for observing us. Turning to the right, I step up to the guard glaring at me. Gruffly shoving a brick into my hands, he pushes me on past him. I guess this is why the line moved so quickly.
Ignoring the rest of the guards and inmates, I absent-mindedly make my way to an empty bench. Inspecting the brick, I sigh. It's a food brick. Hard, stale, and the bare minimum needed to not starve. It's not ideal, but it's not going to stop me either. Just when I was starting to unwrap the brick, I feel a shiver go down my spine. Finding no one behind me, I glance to my sides before finally looking across the hallway to the other side. There she was, on a bench alone, right in front of me. Smiling, with all of her disgusting pointed teeth showing. Judging by the size of the teeth, they should be modified, transplanted, or a natural mutation.
Meeting my gaze, she hops over to my bench. Scooting away, I feel the hairs on my neck practically start peeling off. Grabbing me by my shoulder, she drags me closer, "Hey buddy!" Trying to peel her hand off, I glare at her, "What do you want?" It's a bit cliche, but there's a slim chance she saw absolutely nothing. Unable to budge a finger, I give up and wait. It's not like she'll bite my head off right now. At most, she'll take what she'll want and rough me up. She's stronger, bigger, and currently in control of the situation. I need to wait.
Leaning down, she whispers in my ear, "Shelly wants that sharp little toy you made." Grabbing my bandaged arm, she suddenly grabs both my arm and hand together, "Not right now. No. We'll have plenty of time later." Releasing me, I let go of my arm. Looks like I won't be getting away anytime soon. Sniggering, she covers her mouth to stifle the noise. Something is wrong with her. Pulling me close once again, she gleefully says, "You will be Shelly's cute little pet monkey, okay?" For the same reason she won't bite my head off, I can't shank her right now. It's just a bit more discomfort than planned. It's okay. Go with it for now. Don't jeopardize the plan.
Letting her hold me close, I focus on the food brick. As much as I need to deal with her, she's just too much to deal with right now. I can't fight unless I want the guards and possibly an enforcer to pay attention to me. I can't overpower her and I don't have any friends here. Actually, I don't have any friends period. Unwrapping the brick, I marvel at how hard her torso is. Either she has some armor underneath the cloak or she is seriously shredded. Note to self: find out what she's hiding under the cloak.
Ignoring her hand petting my head, I ask, "Is everyone here part of the suicide troop against the monster waves?" Waiting a few moments, I sigh at the lack of response. Glancing up, I see her absent-mindedly staring at the ceiling. Useless. Glancing through the glass wall, I find enforcers watching. Scanning for anything out of the norm. No one with half a brain cell will be doing anything here.
Looking at the surrounding other benches, I find that most of the people this far down the hallway sat in pairs or alone. Scouring the loners, I finally find one watching us. Slowly raising my right eyebrow, I test his attitude. I'm not sure if he missed it or he refuses to communicate, but he continues to watch us.
Her boyfriend? Lover? Stalker? Fan of mine? Watching him watch me, I start getting irritated. Staring back, I patiently wait. Minutes pass by until one of the inmates from the other end of the hallway takes a seat next to him. Leaning in close, he starts whispering in his ear.
Seeing something large moving through my peripherals, I shift my attention. Every step he took echoes in the hallway as the inmates quiet down. Slowly making his way down the hallway, a bear of a man stares at each inmate he passes. Ignoring the dark circles surrounding his beady eyes, his face was relatively normal. Aging skin stretched in certain places covered by a roughly shaven beard. Skin tanned and hair grey, his appearance was that of an elderly man. An elderly man with a body made for violence. Stopping to stare at me, he eyes Shelly's hand patting my head. She simply ignores him.
Clearing his throat, he moves to the end of the hallway, just before the exit doors. "Listen up, I'll punch a hole through your head if I see anything but what I say happening as we exit the doors" he announces. Pausing, he looks around before nodding, "Single file into the transport vehicles. Ten to a vehicle and two inmates per row in the vehicle. You will sit where the conductors prompt you to. Don't bother anyone with any of your useless existence. Understand this, all of you are slated for death. Either die by my hands or die fighting for an impossible chance. In my eyes, your deaths only serve as a desensitizing lesson to our new soldiers."
Pacing near the exit doors, he mutters something under his breath before smirking, "If its any closure, we will use you to your fullest potential after you die. Some as monster bait, others as inmate food. We even process your carcasses properly. Down the basest components, but it's not like it matters since they too will die."
Pushing one of the doors open, he states, "Do me a favor and stay seated if you want to die. I'd rather just end you in this hallway than chase you down. We don't waste bullets on people like you." Walking out without looking back, the hallway stays silent as he leaves. What an inspiring speech! Not wanting to wait, I get off the bench and out of Shelly's arms. She silently gets up and follows behind me like a ghost. Being the first to exit the hallway, I find eight large cargo planes waiting with their doors open.
Suddenly grabbing my shoulders, Shelly pushes me towards the third plane. Finding the old man standing not too far away, I go with it. Plans must be fluid. Plans can change. I just need to wait and see how this changes things. How she changes things.
Walking up the ramp, a short man wearing a mottled grey uniform motions for us to sit in the front row of seats. Sitting in the seat closest to the wall, I glance at Shelly. Her, cloak is the same mottled grey color as the conductor. Coincidence? Maybe.
Feeling a tug on my arm, I find Shelly undoing the bandages on my arm. Glancing back, the conductor is waiting for more inmates while smoking. Sighing, I take the bandage from her hands and quickly unwind it. Pulling the rod out, I hand it to her before wrapping the bandages around my arm again. The less I change, the less I stick out. Plus, bandages are always useful.
Seeing her tuck the rod away, I start to relax. Back to staying out of trouble and looking for opportunities. I still have a knife in my pants. If I could just get my hands on a uniform, I could probably fumble myself out of being on the frontlines. Thinking about the monster wave, I start going over what I know.
The most important thing right now is the enhancement drug that we are supposed to take. Although it would double my strength, it supposedly decreases my neural activity. Not that more strength is a bad thing, but intelligence cannot be gained without significant modifications. Everyone is given a vial of the drug and made to drink it on the spot. That's the problem. I can't drink that drug.
That's where the other pieces of information become important. Once we reach the frontier base, I'll be able to find new freshly recruited soldiers. They hold the only way to avoid the enhancement drug. Each recruit has an enhancement drug of their own. It's supposed to look the same but has close to no side effects. Although the strengthening effect is much lower, it's supposed to be safe.
The only other option is a rumored prototype. Apparently, there was an experiment to recreate a monster's digestive system giving it the ability to consume almost anything safely. It's said to be the size of an apple, but this is all just rumor. How and where I'd find an abandoned prototype is unknown.
After that, all I know is that I need to survive and escape. It's not much, but it's enough. Feeling Shelly stroking my head, I frown. Her possible relation to the military could be a problem. First things first, I need to get away from her. Feeling the cargo plane shudder, and the engine starts roaring, I glance back to see the hatch closing. So much to do and yet nothing that can be done right now. Leaning back, I close my eyes. It's best to get some sleep while I can.