Wishing Stars Ch. 02

Thalia drifted up toward consciousness slowly. It had been a deep-dreamless sleep. The same as it always was when they drugged her. The first thing she felt was a dull anger, both at herself for losing control of her emotions and at the gearmen for being...well, like they always were.

The bright white of the room hurt her eyes, her head felt like it was full of cotton. It must be late in the morning if the lights were already so bright. Clearly it was past the time she should be up, on the way to breakfast. She could even hear the footsteps of the other girls passing by her door. Somewhere in the distance, someone laughed. She knew she was risking another encounter with the crew by staying in bed so long, but she couldn't bring herself to care too much. He must have given her something to quell her frazzled nerves, along with the drug to make her sleep.

She pressed her eyes closed and tried to focus on what she knew, instead of worrying about all the things she didn't. Although the gearmen were largely unhelpful, at least they were always honest. Well, as far as she knew.

She had been brought to Human Quarantine Ship X33465 by a shuttle when she was nine years old. There were fifty human girls housed here at all times. If a new girl appeared, an older girl disappeared. Every new girl was disoriented and afraid. None of them knew where they had come from. Their memories had been wiped clean. The gearmen answered most of their early questions by producing instructional discs. While factual, these discs were not overly helpful in quelling the girls' emotions.

The discs instructed the girls on what they were—human. Basic human needs were outlined and explained. They were assured that all of their needs would be met and all that was asked of them was patience and obedience until they were relocated.

That was all they knew.

The door to Thalia's room opened with its characteristic snap and she glared up at the ceiling.

"It is important that you eat." The familiar voice chirped. After a moment of silence, and no movement from Thalia, the gearman added: "Do you require assistance?"

That was as close to a threat as the gearmen came. Thalia nearly flung herself from the bed, and became instantly dizzy. When a clear, whirring hand reached out to steady her, she stumbled back into the wall to avoid contact with it.

"No," She answered, glaring at him angrily as she righted herself. "I don't need you to force feed me, or drag me to the dining room. I just need you to get out of my way!"

"You must eat." He responded, but backed out of the room to give her some space. "I will wait while you change. Unless you require assistance?"

She slammed the door in his face, but quickly went about dressing. The gearmen were not known for their patience and the thought of his cold hands dressing her made her shudder. Her nightgown was abandoned on the floor and she pulled a clean dress over her head. It was white, like everything else, with a lacey hem poofing out around her knees. A human dressing disc had explained it was called an A-line, and had been picked as it was sure to flatter all human body types.

Thalia hated it.

The gearman was waiting when she exited the room but thankfully remained silent as he followed her to the center room of the ship. The cafeteria was still very busy, but most girls had already finished eating. Feeling the gearman at her back, Thalia sat without comment. He quickly retreated and was replaced by an identical crew member who sat a dish on the table before her and bid her eat.

She picked up her spoon and the gearman left.

Thalia ate the mush without really noticing it. It hadn't gotten any better tasting, she had just gotten better at ignoring it. The mush was perfectly nutritional, a balance of every little thing her body needed to be healthy. To expect something that tasted good, or had any personality to it, was ridiculous.

Most of the girls were crowded around the new girl, attempting to comfort her. From what Thalia overheard, she had been convinced to stay in bed without being drugged. This morning, however, she had been unable to stomach the foul taste of the mush. The gearmen had assisted by force feeding her.

"It's important that you eat," One of the other girls, Brittany, said while petting the new arrival's hair in a comforting way, "You have to keep up your strength."

Thalia laughed suddenly, and choked on her mush. A gearman appeared with a glass of water but she waved him away and swallowed again. Every eye had turned to her.

"You have to be kidding me," She said, when she could speak, "You sound like one of the clock-work boys." She nodded her head toward the gearmen. "The only reason you should eat is because if you don't, they'll make you. Just like everything else."

The new girl began to cry again, and the grouped tightened around her. While everyone else shushed, and cooed, Brittany stood and faced Thalia.

"There's no point in scaring her!" She said. Her hands were clenched into fists. "She needs to learn to take care of herself, so that they will leave her alone."

"And," a small voice came from the middle of the girls, "If I stay strong...maybe I can escape?"

The group slowly leaned back from her, their expressions grave. Some glanced at one another, at a loss, others looked like they might cry themselves.

"Oh, Sweetheart..." Brittany began, turning toward the nine year-old, and then stopped when her eyes fell on the small, tear-stained face. Even she was at a loss.

The small girl seemed to understand, and lowered her eyes. Everyone was silent again. Thalia swore she could hear the whirring of the gearmen, watching them. She started talking, if only to drown out that sound.

"So, who was it this time?" She glanced around the room. A couple of girls were missing, but they could have just returned to their rooms after breakfast. They had all been clustered together last night, after all, so maybe no one had even been taken.

"Abigail," Brittany said quietly, and lowered her gaze when Thalia's eyes locked onto her.

Grief welled up inside her. Her closest friend. The one who had comforted her when she first woke in this terrible place—gone. Just gone, with no explanation. No one even thought to ask the gearmen, as they knew the answer would be that she had been "relocated". Whatever that meant.

For once, Thalia dared to hope that relocation was a good thing. She couldn't seem to convince herself, though.

Everyone turned back to the new girl, who revealed that her name was Emily. There was much fawning over her soft brown eyes and the slight curl to her hair. When she asked about Abigail, the group quickly guided her back into safer territory. Abigail was a wonderful person, they said, but Emily was not going to meet here. She was gone.

Brittany took the seat beside Thalia and the two sat together in silence for a moment. It was the first time Thalia had ever been grateful for the other girl's company.

"You seem...calm?" Brittany asked, breaking the peace. Thalia sighed.

"I panicked last night, they gave me something," She said. "So, it's one of us next, right?"

"What?" Brittany actually seemed surprised by the question.

"Abigail was a year older than us." It was still hard to say her name, knowing she would never see her again, "We're both eighteen. They could take us any day now."

"They don't always take the oldest!" Brittany was clearly alarmed. "And I won't be eighteen for another week. And—"Her eyes flashed around to make sure no one was paying attention, "There's always Sasha."

Thalia snorted.

Sasha had been present for as long as anyone could remember. That meant she had to be at least twenty-two. She had also been bedridden for as long as Thalia had been on the ship. She had suffered a severe break-down upon being brought aboard, or so the story went. The gearmen kept her alive by feeding her with tubes, and kept her clean by washing her with a rag. They went so far as to play the educational discs in her room. But Sasha never took her blank eyes from the ceiling. Something deep inside of her had broken. Now she felt nothing, did nothing, like a gearman someone had turned off.

Some days, Thalia was almost jealous of her. Almost.

"If they wanted her, they would have taken her by now, I suppose." Brittany mused, unsettled by Thalia's silence.

"I suppose," She replied, but more in mockery than in assent.

Two gearmen were stationed on either side of the door to the cafeteria, the same as every morning. Each held a small black pen. As each girl passed them, she would extend her arm and they would press a pen to her skin. With a small beep, it would take a tiny blood sample. To assure their health, was the only answer the gearmen would give. It didn't hurt after the hundredth time.

Thalia and Brittany were soon the only two remaining. Suddenly feeling uneasy in each other's company, they exchanged farewells. As they left, both extended their arm. The gearmen both drew their sample and the girls passed by.

Something began to beep.

Curious, Thalia turned to see the gearman that had just pricked her arm look down at his pen. There was a green light blinking near the top, and it was emitting a soft beep every half second. The gearman looked as if he would have been surprised, if he was capable of emotions.

The gearman opened a small compartment in the wall that Thalia had never noticed before. He slid the pen into the opening, and it shot directly up, as if in a suction tube. The other gearman handed him a new pen, and they resumed their positions as of nothing had happened.

"Well, that's new," Thalia said, unsure whether to be curious or alarmed. Nothing new ever happened here, ever.

"Maybe you broke it," Brittany said uneasily, and forced herself to swallow, "Your blood got too toxic with sarcasm, or something,"

"I bet that's it," Thalia agreed, although she was anything but decided on the topic. "I'm glad that it... it broke. Nothing around here ever does,"

With that, they quickly hurried away, unease growing between them. Neither brought up the incident with the pen again. When they parted near Brittany's room, their eyes met and they silently agreed not to mention it to the others. There was no reason to alarm everyone. Especially not after the night before.