Chapter 1: Another Dreary Day

Ebony Winters POV:

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" Shouted the speaker located on the wall beside my head.

My eyes burst open as I quickly rolled over and pressed the button beside the speaker to respond, saying, "I'm a-awake, I'm u-up."

"Affirmative," I heard as I let go of the button. "Your presence is required at your predetermined station at the appropriate destination in approximately 60 minutes' time. If you are not at your predetermined destination by the appropriate time, you will receive punishment accordingly. Reasoning, for lack of consideration for your designated schedule. Do you concur?"

I pushed the button when I responded, trying to take the sleepiness out of the sound of my stuttering voice, when I said, "Yes, I a-agree to b-being at my d-designated p-place so I can st-start my w-work."

Click. I heard the intercom speaker hang up. In frustration, I lay my head back down on my flattened pillow and let out a sigh that I had been holding in while they were listening to me. I blinked several times as I was aggravated with all of this, but no matter what I wanted to do, there was no escape from this life. I have thought about leaving numerous times, but where would I go? In my time, there was no more money, so you couldn't buy food from a grocery store as humans once did in the older times.

Nowadays, in order to eat anything, you have to punch your designated code into one of the designated locations within a certain set of time constraints to receive your meal, or "slop," as I have come to call it. If you were even a minute late, you would have to miss out on that mealtime. I grunted as I rolled over. If only there were a simpler way of doing things, because nowadays it's so much harder.

I just knew this was going to be just another dreary day as I sat up in my bed, and when I swung my legs over the side, I hit my head on the bunk that was once again hanging over my bed. Oh! I hate this dinky little apartment box I am forced to live in, I thought to myself. I will never see the end of it! I stood up and turned around, folding the top bunk back into place and securing the latch to hold it in place. However, once I turned around, I heard the broken latch snap and fall back down. Will my torture never end?

Once I was dressed and ready to go, I opened up the door to my apartment. I walked outside under the long canopy and turned around to close the door. That's when I heard several voices coming in this direction. Oh great, what is going to be the excuse for them to pick on me today? I wondered as I turned to walk in the opposite direction.

"Hey, look over there, guys," I heard one voice yell after me. "It's the one girl who c-c-can't even get a word out e-e-edgewise."

I knew they were making fun of me, but there was nothing I could do about it. There was no escaping from this world, and I never got a day off to just sleep in and be rid of everything I had ever known. I only wish that I fit in somewhere. To travel to a place where I was not the constant topic of ridicule. To mean something to somebody, but that was never going to happen while I was stuck here.

'Ignore them, Ebony,' I heard the voice in the back of my mind say as I continued walking.

I sighed heavily as I turned the corner and thought that was the end of them. However, my encounter was not over as I reached the parting of the next buildings. I nearly walked right into them and suddenly stopped walking as I accidentally knocked one of them down. If I had to say, I would say he knew I was coming and overreacted, doing it on purpose.

"What the...?" The shorter man said as he turned over to see me standing there. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

He yelled at me as he jumped up to his feet, and at the same time, his two other buddies started to circle me. "What have we here?" Asked the tall one.

"I want to know what we are going to do with the fact that she knocked Denton down and didn't even have the decency to apologize for it," said the other one.

"Yeah," Denton said as they all backed me up till my back came in contact with the wall of one of the buildings. "I think we should give her a good pounding and then get her again when she comes back home. That way, we can all take turns."

"You mean?" Asked the tall one, as he hadn't finished his statement entirely.

"That's right, I have had my eye on this one for a long time," Denton said as he was practically leaning in my face. "I want to see if after I screw her, if I will be as messed up too."

With that last statement of his, they all broke out in laughter. It took everything I had to hold back the tears. Suddenly, the wind was knocked out of me as I felt it when Denton's unseen fist made fast and sudden contact with my side, knocking the air out of me as I fell down on my knees to the ground.

"You know what, I think I am going to take her right now," he said as he jumped on top of me as his buddies kneeled to help him out.

I tried to push back on Denton's shoulders as he grabbed each of my wrists and held them over my head, as the tall one took over and pinned them to the ground over my head. The other one grabbed each of my ankles and held them down while I struggled under Denton, sitting right on top of me. I continued to move, trying to get out of his grasp. He lightly slid his hands down the sides of my arms till they reached my shoulders, then he moved one hand to place it around my neck.

He tightened his grip on my neck when he said, "If you scream, I will make this ten times worse for you."

With his other hand, he slid down my body till he reached my waistline and started to slide it up under my shirt. I knew what he wanted. He made it halfway up my shirt, and as his finger reached the bottom side of my bra, we all froze with the next sound we heard. There was a loud siren. He lifted his head, jerking it upward when he saw two Robic Guards coming in our direction. He looked down at me and glared hatefully.

"There is no communication allowed outside one's domicile," one of the Robic Guards commanded as he jumped off me. "Such a violation will result in punishment accordingly. Do you concur?"

"We were just helping her up," said the man who had yet to say anything until now. Then he asked nervously, "Right, guys?"

"Oh yeah, that's exactly right," Denton and the tall one said together, each taking a step back as the two Robic Guards reached our position now. I hurried to my feet as I pulled down on my shirt and adjusted my clothing, as I was scanned by both of the Robic Guards.

"You are in violation of lawful conduct and will be punished accordingly," one of the Robic Guards said, looking at Denton. "Do you concur?"