Page 21 of Chosen (The Registry #2)

Chapter

Sixteen

JAMIE

“ I hear this party tonight is going to be full of important people from the region,” Rose whispers as we’re lined up to be selected for the event that’s about to take place.

I steal a glance in her direction and immediately feel pity.

Just 18 years old, this is her first assignment from the Registry.

I’ve already warned her that this companion assignment won’t be a cushy one as I know some of them to be, but she refuses to believe me.

Since she’s arrived at the Master’s house, she’s regaled us in the stories of her sisters who were all assigned as companions and had lived comfortable lives.

Rose is petite with a small round face that makes her look even younger than her 18 years.

She has beautiful curly auburn hair and the biggest brown eyes and a freckles spread liberally along the bridge of her nose.

I know just from looking at her, she’d appeal to a certain type of party guest and I felt scared on her behalf.

She’s only been here for a few days and this will be her first party. I can only hope she’s chosen by someone who will at least go easy on her this first time around.

We’ve been given instructions by our caretaker Lynsey, an elderly homo sapien who is in charge of all of the companions, to wear our see-through dresses with no underwear, per the Master’s orders.

I fucking hate that old bitch and I wish daily for her to fall and break a hip. She’s just as bad if not worse than Master Fredresk, hurling abuse at us and calling us whores. If we ever talk back we are instantly punished with a sharp slap from her wrinkly hands.

For some reason she’s one of the few homo sapiens Master Fallen listens to. This old bitch constantly lies to him about misconduct one of the companions had committed just to get them in trouble.

She especially hates me because I’m constantly shooting her dirty looks. I can’t help it. How could another homo sapien do that to another one of their own? Even if she was technically over us, she was still a puppet for the superious to use.

The Master didn’t throw ordinary parties. They started out normal enough with powerful couples in the community mingling amongst each other, making connection and discussing business. After dinner, the companions were led into the room and paraded in front of the guests.

That particular humiliation was only the beginning. The guests would inspect us like animals, making us turn around and parade our bodies. Some would even grope us beneath our clothing. If we resisted, there would be brutal consequences. We were just mindless toys.

My only saving grace at that point was the fact that the last beating I’d received had been so bad, it had disfigured my back. It wasn’t quite healed yet and looked horrible. I hadn’t been picked by any of the Master’s friends since then.

“Just keep your head down, Rose. Don’t make yourself noticed and maybe they won’t pick you,” I whisper back to her.

A smile curves her lips. “Why wouldn’t I want to be picked? Maybe I’ll get a gift, like a pretty piece of jewelry. My older sister gets lots of that kind of stuff.”

I can only sigh and hope for the best on her behalf.

Lynsey walks over to us and pinches my arm with her boney fingers so hard I know there will be a bruise later. But I dare not make a sound or even whimper in pain or else I’ll face far worse later on. “No talking you two,” she hisses at both of us but directs her ire only toward me.

I fucking hate her.

“Come along, companions, the guests are waiting.” She leads the nine of us down the spiral staircase into the mini ballroom where we’re met with dozens of superious guests. Some of them already have their own companions in tow.

Master Fredresk grins widely at his guests, dressed in an all-white suit giving him the appearance of on overstuff pillowcase.

“As you all can see, my companions are all beauties and they’re willing and eager to serve.”

My skin crawls at his statement and I want to be sick. I have to remind myself if make myself go numb, I can pretend what’s happening around me is all just in my head.

Once they see my back, no one will pick me and I can be sent back to my room, even if that means I don’t get a meal the next day as punishment. Since being in this household, I’ve learned the hard way that there are far worse things than missing meals.

Lynsey leads up to center of the room.

“Remove your dresses,” Master Fredresk orders.

In the beginning I would have hesitated but now I obey robotically, allowing my mind to drift to another place. Now I’m even desensitized of standing in this seminude state in front of a bunch of leering strangers.

Even after I’m made to turn around, I feel the stare of one particular superious . His pointed stare makes me uneasy but maybe he’s only staring because he’s disgusted. He smiles at me with yellowed teeth.

And then the selection begins. He walks in my direction and his scent arrives before he does.

He reeks of alcohol and old food stuffs. I could smell him before he was even close to me. It’s clear he had been drinking heavily tonight from the appearance of his blood shot eyes and the smell of alcohol was so strong it was almost as if it was permeating from his skin.

“You,” he points at me with a wicked smirk and a gleam of anticipation in his close set eyes.

My stomach drops but I don’t have the power to protest.

I’m led to one of the private rooms. Once we’re alone, I expect him to order me to take off my underwear since I’d already removed my dress in the ballroom but instead he gives me a sinister grin.

“I think it’s time for you and me to have a little fun. We’ll play one of my favorite games. How much pain can you endure before you scream. I love that game. I can tell by the scars on your back that you can withstand quite a bit. I wonder what would happen if make those wounds every deeper.”

This disgusting pig of a man has truly lost his mind. Or maybe it’s just the way of things. He only sees me as a tool that he can do anything with.

I notice for the first time, the leather bag he’s carrying. He tosses the bag on the bed and opens it up to reveal serval sharp metal devices, including knives.

I gasp.

Did he mean to kill me?

For the first time, in a long time, terror struck at my core. The next thing I remember, he’s coming toward me with a metal device. I’m frozen in place, fear gripping me.

“This is one of the little toys, I’ve invited and thought this was the best place to test it out. Do you want to see how it work?”

My mouth opens but no words come out.

He chuckles. “No, matter. You don’t have to speak, my beauty. We’ll both find out soon enough. He pushes a button on the bottom of the rod and out pops a three-pronged knife.

The evil bastard stalks toward me with menacing steps, his eyes never leaving my face.

In that moment I’m positive I was going to die.

There were moments since I started this assignment that I wanted to.

When I was caned I’d prayed for death but the last bit of survival instinct within me that I didn’t realize I still had popped up.

I twirled out of his reach and raced for the door only to find there’s no way out.

My palm against the heat sensory pad doesn’t recognize my vitals and I realize it was probably designed this way so that none of the companions could escape from the private rooms until their temporary masters had been satisfied.

He chuckles. “This will be more entertaining than I thought. You have some fight in your after all. I love it when they fight. It makes the end result much more satisfying.

He moves towards me in slow unhurried movements.

There are no other exits in the room so I’m sure he figures that it’s only a matter of tiring me out until he catches me.

My determination to get away, however, strengthens.

I duck and dodge out of reach. Each time he gets near me, he slashes that weapon at me.

This dangerous dance seems to go on for so long, I’m starting to run out of breath. No matter how much alcohol this man has consumed, he’s still steady on his feet and doesn’t seem to be running out of stamina.

Fucking superious and their stinking genes .

I’m quickly losing hope and I think about never seeing my parents or Noah again. In that moment I would give anything just to see them one last time,

In one last desperate measure, I sidestep the downward arc of his weapon and rush to the bed where the rest of his weapons lie. I grab the closest item I can get my hand on, something that appeared to be a mini scythe.

This only seems to amuse him. He chuckles. “What are you going to do with that my beauty? Do you think you can harm me with that?”

“Don’t come any closer!” I yell waving it in his direction.

This seems to amuse him. His eyes gleam with malice. “Red will look really good on you.”

He rushes forward faster than before and I automatically react. Instead of backing away, I shove the knife forward. To my shock and his, the knife sinks into his stomach.

His arm is still raised as if he’s ready to attack me but his eyes wide and his mouth falls open. A line of blood dribbles down the corner of his mouth.

Filled with adrenaline, I yank the knife out of his body and shove it back in, and then I do it again, and again. The rage I’d held back these past months has been released. The beatings, the degradation, the starvation, and every indignity I’d suffered.

There was blood everywhere.

So much blood but I keep digging my knife into his flesh. Even when he collapses to the floor. My tears blind me but I continue to swing until my arms give out on me.”

“I blacked out after that. They told me that I had killed him and that he was the relative of one of the governors in that region.”

“They said I would face a trial and then be executed when I was found guilty. So I was locked up in a dirty cell with without clean water to drink and I was only given stale bread to eat that even the rats wouldn’t touch.

I was in there for days, and then one day I was collected by someone calling himself General Rohman.

That was when I was taken to the Sector Leader’s manor. ”

I never thought I would tell that story to anyone, especially not to Draken. I left out the part where I was tortured for several hours afterwards by Master Fredresks’ Enforcers. I was kicked, choked, hit and spat on before I was imprisoned.

It didn’t matter at that point because I’d been completely broken. I had a fleeting thought about Rose, wondering if she’d also been crushed when she realized that not all companion assignments were good.

“I’m sorry that happened to you, Jamie. The Registry is not a perfect system, but it was designed to make sure every homo sapien had some kind of employment.”

I snort at the oversimplification of something that was really invented to keep track of us and to keep us oppressed. But who was I to argue with him the Registry was created to benefit the superious .

“I see the doubt on your face and I understand why you feel contempt toward the superious .”

Somehow, I doubt that but I keep my thoughts to myself.

“You don’t believe me.” He states.

I turn my head away from him unable to meet his gaze.

“We have gotten off to a bad start, you and I.”

I’m not sure what he means by that so I don’t respond.

Draken rolls off the bed. “I’m going to make use of your bathing room and use the shower before I take my leave.”

There’s something in his tone that gives me pause. Is it sadness? No that couldn’t be. What does he have to be sad about? But I couldn’t have imagined it. I muster up the courage to take a look at him but all I see is his retreating back.

“Draken!” I call out to him unsure of why I did it.

He looks over his shoulder and nods. “You should get some rest. I won’t be long and then I’ll leave you to your privacy.”

Again I hear that sadness and something strikes me deeply. Maybe I do have a prejudice against the superious . After all, since my family had been captured on the compound, I’d face nothing but one miserable experience after another.

I can’t say my experience upon arriving here was that great but Draken was nothing like I’d expected.

He was supposed to be the unreasonable beast who killed at willed.

I had more than expected to be treated about the same as I had in my last assignment but under his care, I can’t really say things have been that bad.

And the most unexpected part is the way my body responds to his. I find myself missing his touch.

And now, even though I don’t feel I’ve done anything wrong, my words have somehow hurt him. I want to make it right.

Maybe I’m going crazy but I slide out of bed and head to the bathing room.

I see the Sector Leader in the far corner behind the glass wall of the shower. He has one hand braced against the wall, as the water rains over his head and cascades down his perfect body.

Taking a deep breath, I walk toward the shower and pull back the glass just enough to ease my way inside.

I wrap my arms around his waist and rest my head on his back.