Zaria Dove

Horrors of The Deep

Amidst my tireless training, one day as Nina and I sat next to each other, she suddenly pointed out the obvious. "Your hair is getting longer!" she exclaimed.

Without thinking, I absentmindedly touched my hair and replied, "I hadn't even noticed!"

Our bond grew incredibly strong, almost like siblings. Even though I've never had a sister, being around her feels just as special. I think this is how it would feel like having a sister, as long as she's nothing like my mother!

On the other hand, Nina is lucky to have a younger sister named Alice, whom she absolutely adores. Nina's warm-hearted nature makes me grateful to have her as a friend. It's truly amazing to have a girl with the same vibrant energy in my life.

As we chatted away, I took a few more bites and suddenly felt something strange in my mouth. I reached in with my finger and thumb to take it out, but it made me gag and vomit.

There was a small opening at the end of the canteen, and through it, I caught a glimpse of Enzo laughing with his fellow soldiers. Up there, under the open sky, was the canteen where he enjoyed his meals.

"Pssst!" I made a sound to get his attention, and to my surprise, it worked.

He looked at me, his smile disappearing. Knowing that I had never called him before, he understood that something important must be on my mind.

After a short while, he entered the room through the doors, quickly glancing at his watch before tapping on its screen. Suddenly, the camera froze in place.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice filled with concern.

"Do you really think I'm causing chaos for no reason? Isn't this reason enough to take a stand and fight back?" I handed him my plate, revealing a partially eaten burger with a severed ear on top, the other half hidden within the patty.

"Is this some kind of a sick joke?" He exclaimed, his face twisted in disgust.

"Check out our ears! If you can find someone with a missing ear, then I'll back down from my challenge." My confidence shone through my words.

Instead of inspecting anyone's ear, he simply turned and walked away, activating the camera as he left.

We knew he wouldn't be back anytime soon, leaving us to endure a grueling 24 hours of hunger.

"You were right, I should have taken your suspicions about the meat more seriously!" Nina's lips tightened in frustration.

"It's not your fault. How could you have known someone would stoop so low?" I shrugged.

"Now that you mention it, have you considered that maybe they did this on purpose?" Nina raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps they added this thing to the food to make you lose your appetite and easily defeat you in the tournament?"

She had a point, but I shared my own perspective.

"Maybe, but it was a real human ear! It wasn't fake! Would they really go as far as killing someone just to make me stop eating? Well, if that was their goal, they succeeded!" I pushed the plate away.

"Hmm, you're right," she agreed, sitting down next to me as we both stared at our burgers for a moment longer.

"Hey!" she suddenly exclaimed, jumping up in the middle of the room, trying to grab everyone's attention. "I've got an idea, it might not be the greatest, but it's all we've got. Listen up! Even though we can't have meat, we can still get our energy from the bread in the burger!"

"Only if they're not using urine to knead the bread!" Someone blurted out and everyone burst into laughter.

"It doesn't smell like that!" She giggled.

Everyone cheered, relieved to have a solution. However, someone interrupted with a question. "What about the patty?"

"I have no clue," she confessed.

"But we'll figure something out!" I chimed in, stepping forward. "If we found a solution for one problem, we can find one for this too!" I said with confidence.

In that prison, our existence was filled with countless challenges that seemed never-ending. Just when we thought we had solved one problem, another would come crashing down on us even harder.

However, amidst all the chaos, we found comfort in knowing that we were not alone, we almost became like a family.

But there was one thing that deeply troubled me - the periodic disappearance of patients from the prison, never to be seen again. It was a haunting thought that lingered in the depths of my mind, leaving me feeling uneasy.

One day, as we were desperately seeking some peace within the confines of our prison, two imposing figures entered the room. Dressed in peculiar suits made of inflatable material, they resembled astronauts exploring uncharted territories.

With helmets resembling those worn by astronauts, they would approach the cell of an infected individual, using a mysterious card to unlock the cage. With swift precision, they would extract the patient, leaving us with the knowledge that they would never return.

My curiosity couldn't let me just sit by, so I mustered up the courage to ask about what they were up to. But unfortunately, my attempt to seek answers only fell on deaf ears.

After a few hours, Enzo, accompanied by his two guards, entered the prison. They quickly inspected the area and then turned to leave, but not before Enzo made a surprising announcement.

"Her wound is infected. You guys go ahead without me, I'll catch up after disinfecting it!" Enzo's voice echoed through the room as his guards left.

Confused by his deception, I couldn't help but question him. "Why did you lie?" I asked, hoping for an honest answer.

Stepping out of the cage, Enzo kept his hand hidden behind his back, tapping his watch that mysteriously froze the surveillance camera.

"All my life, I've been raised like any other Type C individual," he began, his voice filled with a mix of bitterness and defiance.

"I was taught that women should be suppressed and used, seen as incapable of understanding our ways. They made it seem like women were troublemakers, here to disrupt our society.

It was a belief that I had no choice but to embrace. But as I grew older and gained more experience, I started to realize that they weren't just right, but also scared.

They were right because if women were no longer be suppressed, they would break free from their chains and expose the horrifying truth about our system. And you know what? It would bring the whole system crashing down."