I hear the door creak, and my body quickly stiffens. Who is coming in?

I lie still in my bed, and listen as the door opens wider. I see Bill in the light from the hall. He walks over to Number Three’s bed and takes hold of her, lifting her out. He has her in his arms, like a baby, and she stirs, making groggy sounds. He leaves the room with her, and a sick feeling washes over me. Where is he taking her? Oh God, are we being raped in our sleep? Worse? I cringe, and lay with a pounding heart, just waiting for him to bring her back.

About an hour later he does.

Then he takes Number Seven.

I want to get out of my bed and rush over, seeing if the seeian remgirls are okay, but I know if I move I’ll give myself away, and something is tugging at my heart strings, telling me that right now I need to witness whatever is happening here. I have to play along.

I wait, lying still as the guards go through the girls. When it’s my turn, I close my eyes and let my body flop as Bill lifts me from the bed and carries me out.

It takes all my strength not to pant and show my fear, but I can feel it coursing through my veins.

We get to a small room, and I hear the door creak open. It seems to get a touch darker when we step in, but not so dark that there’s no light at all. It must be a dull lamp. I keep my eyes closed, even though I want to open them. I feel myself being laid on what feels like a couch, and I work my entire body to make myself seem floppy. My heart is hammering. If they know I’m really awake, I might get taken away. Something bad might happen.

“This one is the strongest of the group. She has great determination. You’ll probably need to dig deeper with her.”

Master William? Oh God, he’s here.

“What we’re doing in here, William, isn’t a proven method. With the fragile minded, it tends to work better, but with those that are fighters, sometimes we are unsuccessful.”

“You’ve been successful so far.”

“Because they’re not fully aware of what’s happening they have no reason to fight it. But I cannot guarantee their memories will be kept at bay.”

“It’s working well with the other three girls.”

Other three? What about the other girls here in the house? Why only us?

“These four girls are the most broken; you’ve got reason to believe they don’t need their memories right now. The others in the group are stronger. They’re fully aware of their lives before this, so for them, this is somewhat of a luxury. With this group of four, it’s very different.”

This woman, she’s talking about our group. He didn’t pick us randomly on that first day, there was a reason our group was put together, and it appears it’s because he wants us to forget our lives. Why would anyone think they had the right to take someone’s memories? Why do the other girls get to remember? Why does he even have them? I don’t understand.

“Begin, so we can call it a night,” William orders.

“Okay, honey, wake up a little,” the woman says, stroking my cheeks.

I nearly just fling my eyes open, until I hear William say, “The sleeping drug in the milk we give them is quite powerful. Sometimes it takes a bit to rouse them, and even then they’re drowsy.”

Drugs in our milk. Oh God. That’s why I haven’t slept tonight, because I didn’t drink it.

If I did, I’d be drowsy.

I wouldn’t have remembered this.

They have to believe I’ve had my milk. I don’t know how the other girls acted, so how am I to know if I’m doing it right? I try to think about how I feel when the milk first begins to take an affect on me. My body feels fuzzy and weak, and my eyes get heavy. It’s hard to lift my head. So, with that in mind, I slowly open my hazy eyes but I keep my body floppy and weak.

“Good, now look at me.”

I see the woman in front of me, but only just. She comes across as hazy. She’s got long, blond hair and big blue eyes. She has a warm face, very gentle. She begins speaking softly to me, and, funnily enough, as if my body is aware of what she’s going to do, I start feeling a little hazy. I move my eyes as I begin to ss I firdrift, and I catch a glimpse of William sitting in the corner. My heart stops beating.

He’s got his hand over half his face, like he’s leaning into it, and he’s staring down at a phone in his palm.

Seeing him like this makes my body feel tingly. He’s tall, just as I’d thought he was. He’s wearing a black suit, with a blue tie. It stretches across his hard, muscled form. His hair is thick, long, and hangs around his shoulders. I can’t see much of his face, but he lifts his gaze and the eye that’s not covered by his hand is beautiful; it’s as blue as the ocean. My breath hitches, and I make a strange little sound. His gaze meets mine, and for a split second we hold it, just staring at each other. He scrunches his brow, as if something isn’t quite right, before the lady begins capturing my attention again.

He has eyes I’ve seen before, but I don’t get a chance to think about where.

“Put your arms over your chest, Number Thirteen.”

I do as she asks, almost automatically. The moment I do, I seem to drift off into a trance-like state, and my entire body feels warm and content. I hear her instructing me to do things, and my body complies, even though I’m not asking it to. Then, I feel myself sink off into a deep, sleepy place when she orders me to calm down and relax.

I don’t wake again until the morning.

I don’t remember much.