Incarcerate

Judith could only remember her first name.

She stood in a hall that had a red door at the end of it. She turned and discovered a gray door had been behind her. She tried opening it, but it wouldn’t open. It must be locked.

Judith faced the red door. She ran toward it, letting her shoes slap against the hall’s gray floor. Its walls were that color too. When Judith was close enough, she reached for the red door’s handle. The door opened before Judith could do it herself.

A girl stood in front of Judith. The girl was Black, and she had long black hair, dark brown eyes, and brown skin. She seemed to be sixteen years old.

“Hey, new girl,” the Black girl said. “My name is Leah, but you’ll refer to me as ma’am. I’m your leader now. Now, come on. You have to see the others.”

Leah grabbed Judith’s wrist, then guided her out of the hall, a place she couldn’t even remember going into. Her earliest memory had occurred in that hall.

Now Judith stood in a huge, gray room that contained dozens of other girls. The room also had ten prison cells on its left side, and ten more of them on its right side.

The girls in the room all wore white shirts with short sleeves, mid-thigh brown shorts, white socks, white shoes, and black digital watches. Judith looked at her own clothes. She wore the outfit every other girl in the room wore too.

“Look at the new girl,” said one of the girls.

“I wonder what job she’s going to get,” a different girl said.

“If you plan on getting out of here soon, you’re going to be disappointed,” said another girl.

Leah placed her hand on Judith’s shoulder. “What’s your name, new girl?”

“Judith,” Judith said. “And where am I? Why am I here? How did I even get here? And why can I only remember my first name?”

“The new girl is already being annoying,” said one of the girls in the room.

Some of the others laughed.

The girl who had spoken had long black hair, brown eyes, and olive skin. Like Leah, the black-haired girl seemed to be sixteen years old. She wore a tactical belt, and it had a holster attached to it. Inside the holster was a black pistol. Judith couldn’t remember her last name, but she knew a gun could kill a person. Why did the black-haired girl have one?

“I’m not going to lie to you, Judith,” Leah said. “There’s a lot you have to learn. Anyway, you’re in the Dwelling. And your memories were taken away from you, except your first name. Everyone in this place was in your position before. Every single one of us ended up in that hall, and we weren’t sure how we got there. Also, you’re luckier than I was when I was still the new girl. I was the only person in this place when I got here. The day after that, Sarah showed up.”

The girl with the gun raised her hand. “I’m Sarah.”

Leah and Sarah. Those two girls were the only people Judith knew. Dozens of others stood in the room, but Judith hadn’t learned their names.

“You’re the ninety-eighth person to arrive in this place, Judith,” Leah said. “There aren’t ninety-eight people here, though. Three of the girls got killed a year ago.”

“What?!” Judith said. “How?!”

“Don’t worry about that right now. I need to give you a tour of the place. As for the rest of you girls, get out of here right now! Leave me alone with the new girl!”

Sarah and the other girls who weren’t Judith or Leah left the room.

“You’re new, but you’re going to learn a lot,” Leah told Judith. “I know you’re probably scared right now, but the fear will go away. You’ll always want to get out of here, though. Listen. I have to give you a tour now.”

“Wait,” Judith said. She ran her fingers through her hair. “I need to sit down.”

“Those cells have beds in them,” Leah said. “You can sit on one of them.”

Judith nodded, then walked into one of the prison cells that was attached to the room. The cell contained a bed, a sink, a toilet, a chair, and a desk. Judith took a seat on the bed. Leah entered the cell, and crossed her arms. What was Leah’s last name? What was Judith’s?

Judith unleashed a sigh from her mouth. “I really don’t want to be here.”

“I know,” Leah said. “But you are here. Don’t worry, though. There are two girls who look for a way out of this place almost every day. They’re called Seekers.”

“Who are they?”

“You already met one of them,” Leah said. “Sarah. Sarah and Dakota. Dakota is nice. She’s a good person.”

“Obviously, Sarah isn’t,” Judith said.

Leah laughed. “No. No, she isn’t. You should stay away from Sarah and any of her friends. They’re not good girls, Judith. You should be grateful that your leader isn’t like them. I’m a much better person than they are.”

“I believe you,” Judith said.

“Good. Anyway, you’re going to be given a job the day after tomorrow. Every girl in this place has one. Today is Monday, which means you’re going to be given a job on Wednesday. I always give the new girl her job the day after the day she arrives. Today is April first. I don’t know what year it is, though. There’s something else you need to know too. There are no boys in this place. Just girls.”

Judith nodded. “Okay.”

“You don’t seem angry,” Leah said. “Most of the girls in this place got angry when they found out that this place has no boys in it. Anyway, you probably want to know what you look like. You have long brown hair and brown eyes. And you look like you’re sixteen. You’re beautiful too.”

Judith smiled. “Thanks, ma’am.”

“You’re welcome. And I really have to give you a tour of the place now. Let’s get it over with, Judith. You can relax later.”

“Okay. Fine.”

Judith stood. Leah left the cell, then Judith did the same. Leah would give Judith a tour of the place, which Judith hoped she would leave soon.