Chapter 2
Chapter Two
I woke up with a pounding headache and noticed two things simultaneously: it was dark and I was lying on a bed.
I quickly stood up, despite my muscles groaning in protest, and looked around my surroundings in fear.
Where am I? Why am I on a bed? The last thing I remembered was sleeping under a bridge.
I didn’t like sleeping in an exposed area, but the place I normally slept was already taken by ugly, mongrel-looking men who leered when they saw me approaching. I fled after that.
I looked around me, my heart stuck in my throat as I contemplated escape.
I was in a room. It looked luxurious; heavy crimson curtains stopped the sunlight from infiltrating through the windows.
The bed was incredibly soft, as if it was stuffed by feathers—or cotton.
Heck, what did I know? My old mattress—before the apocalypse—was made out of foam. This felt much more delicate.
I looked down and heaved a sigh of relief.
Whoever put me here at least hadn’t removed my clothes.
Which means I wasn’t…violated. Good to know.
I pushed myself off the bed and twisted the doorknob.
It didn’t budge and I bit my lip in frustration.
Someone didn’t want me to leave. I moved to the windows next but the locks looked like they’d been melted.
I scowled at the melted iron in dismay. I was a trapped animal.
I didn’t recognize the surroundings outside.
There were large cargo containers in neat rows on the compound outside, but that was it.
There were no humans or anything remotely friendly.
There was a click behind me and I twirled around as a woman entered into the room.
“Good, you’re up. Saves me from waking you. Eat. We have a long day ahead of us.” The woman was probably around my mom’s age. Her skin was slightly withered, her brown hair tied into a tight bun. She placed a foil container on a table and looked at me expectantly.
“Why are you doing this?” I whispered, my voice came out raspy. “Where am I? Why did you take me?”
“You are where I want you to be,” she said with indifference. Her eyes held no remorse as if she was a walking corpse. “Why you’re here is because you have a job to do and I’m here to see it done.”
“Job? What job?” I asked in confusion. After everything went to hell, jobs no longer existed.
The system perished. Schools, education, movies—those were the dreams of the past. Now, it was dog-eat-dog world.
Survival. The angels took everything. They destroyed everything.
And suddenly, there was no food. No clean clothes.
Nothing. I was never a picky eater after that.
I grabbed anything I could lay my hands on—rats, spiders, squirrels, even moldy food.
There was no tasting, only easing the hunger.
“We call it…consorts. You will do whatever they want, whatever they wish, and you will obey every single of their commands. Your salary will be a shelter over your head and good food. You will no longer be starving. I’d say that’s a fair trade.
Now come, eat this before it’s cold. I know you must be starving. ”
She was right. My stomach was cramped with pain from the hunger.
How long has it been since I’d last eaten?
I moved to the table, eyeing the woman with distrust, but my eyes flicked back to the foil container.
I ripped open the lid and a mouth-watering smell filled the air, making me want to scream with triumph.
It was lamb curry on a bed of yellow rice.
I ignored the fork on the table and lunged after the food, using my hands to fill my belly as much as I can.
I heard her snort in disgust, but I was too hungry to care.
I’ve never tasted something so good, so delicious.
I scraped the last remnants of rice up with my fingers before I finally looked up to her.
“So you’re giving me a job as a servant? To whom? I used to work in the kitchens, in a restaurant by the bridge, before it got blown up. I’m also good with housework,” I said.
The woman gave me a ghost smile. Her eyes held something that looked like sympathy.
“That won’t be necessary. Your job is to look pretty. You will be a commodity. A decoration in the background.”
I frowned. “What kind of job is that? Who wants to hire someone to look pretty?”
“Angels,” she replied, and I nearly threw up.
I pushed the chair and scrambled backwards, my eyes dilated with fear. “N-no, no, anything but them! I’m sorry, but I have to go. I can’t be here.”
I ran toward the door but only to hit a barricade of bodies.
I didn’t even realize that we had company.
There were two men by the door dressed in military uniforms. They were large, with merciless eyes.
I inched backwards slowly, my body flinching under their hard stares. I wanted to crawl and hide.
“There was never a choice. You will look pretty. You will be the perfect commodity for your angel. Once you’re with the angel, you’ll be on your own.
Your actions will be yours alone. Try to disobey or piss off your angel, or you’ll find yourself in the worst way unimaginable,” the woman said in clipped tones.
“Please, just let me go. I don’t want to be here.
Please, please,” I sobbed frantically. Living as a street rat was a lot better than being under the wings of an angel, not knowing if they’ll rip my heart out just for their entertainment.
There was no way I’d run to the arms of predators. I’d rather die.
“Like I said, you are never given a choice. Stop crying. You’ll end up killed by the end of the day. Now be a good girl and follow me.” The woman approached me and I shrieked as I ran backwards toward the back wall like a trapped animal.
The woman sighed before looking back at the men and nodding.
The men marched forward, toward me, and I screamed as they pulled me by my arms. I tried to claw them, to kick them, but they simply grabbed my feet and arms. I was dragged to another room where a hurricane of clothes and accessories was displayed on racks, floor, tables—everywhere.
There was an army of people bustling in the room, tending to girls.
They didn’t look like they wanted to be here, but they kept their mouths shut as they let the attendees smear makeup on their faces.
I screamed as they dumped me in a cold shower and scrubbed me clean.
I was exfoliated, my hair washed and conditioned.
In other times, I would’ve enjoyed having clean water at last, but I wasn’t in an appreciative mood right now.
I was serving myself on a platter. I wouldn’t be surprised if they stuffed an apple in my mouth.
They dressed me up in a shimmering blue gown made of silk which draped nicely over my body.
My vision blurred and I wanted to throw up and faint.
I could no longer scream for my throat was scraped raw and all that came out was whimpering.
They ignored my tears as they curled my black hair until it tumbled gently over my shoulders, curling at the right places.
I didn’t even recognize the girl in the mirror.
She was too clean, too beautiful, and she was completely petrified.
Once upon a time, the angels joined their hands and spilled blood on the earth.