[Kitsumi]

The woman offered me a smile, but still didn't seem reassured. "But what could they want us for, if not to kill us? Do the plan to make us slaves? If they want to torture us or keep us imprisoned, it might be better for them to just kill us."

I shook my head. "No! You can't think like that. As long as we're alive, there is still a chance to get out of here."

[Kitsumi]

"You are so full of hope," the woman said. "Don't lose that, child. In this godforsaken place, hope is all we've got." It was obvious in the way she said it that she didn't have much hope left.

The silence was long, and awkward. When I couldn't stand it anymore, I asked the first thing I could think of. "What is your name? I don't believe you told me earlier."

[Kitsumi]

The woman didn't seem to mind my change of subject. "My name is Eleanor. What is yours?"

"My name is Gem." I looked around the dimly lit cell, sighing. "How long have you been here? Where you brought in yesterday like I was?"

Eleanor shook her head. "I had been in the holding cell for three days before your group was brought in."

[Kitsumi]

I frowned. "You were held there for three days? These people must have been planning on having more prisoners." I sighed, leaning back against the wall. "What would they need so many of us for? They can't just be using as as slaves."

"I don't know any more than you do," the older woman replied.

[Kitsumi]

"I guess I knew that," I replied. "I just keep hoping that someone will know what's going on. At least we haven't been hurt or mistreated."

Eleanor scoffed. "You mean other than being dragged away in the middle of the night?" She spat on the ground, a sign of distaste for our captors. "I'm pretty sure that the way we were taken is considered being mistreated."

[Kitsumi]

There was really no argument I could make. Eleanor was right, as much as I hated to admit it. I didn't say anything, but Eleanor seemed to have plenty more to say.

"We didn't do anything," she stated. "Our village was peaceful. We obeyed all the laws given to us. Yet still we were taken."

[Kitsumi]

Although I didn't respond, Eleanor continued speaking. "We never harmed anyone! We had no weapons within our village. Why were we taken? Why were we taken?!"

She was no longer speaking to me. Her voice rose in volume as she became hysterical. Lunging forward, she grabbed the bars of her cell and shook them.

[Kitsumi]

Eleanor's actions did not go unnoticed. The guard that was standing by the door looked in our direction. He had been laughing at something the other guard said, but his expression hardened as he saw the crazed woman. "Stop that! Do you hear me? Stop that right now!"

The woman didn't stop. She continued frantically banging against the cage.

[Kitsumi]

By the time the guard reached her cage, Eleanor had completely lost it. She was running from the very back of her cage to the front. Each time, she threw her body against the bars. It didn't seem to matter to her that she was gaining bruises and possibly worse injuries. All she could think of was escape. At least, that's what I assumed she was trying to do. If escape was her plan, she definitely wasn't succeeding.

[Kitsumi]

It was obvious that the guards had reached their limit of tolerance. The one who told her to stop started searching for the key to unlock her cell. "I'm giving you one more chance," he said gruffly. When she didn't respond, he stuck the correct key in the lock.

As soon as her door was open, Eleanor rushed towards the opening. The guard stopped her easily with a swift blow to the head.

[Kitsumi]

That one hit was enough to knock the older woman out. Eleanor dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

"No!" Without thinking, I threw myself at the bars between our cells. "Don't hurt her, please! She's just scared. She just needs time to calm down!"

[Kitsumi]

The guard turned towards me. He raised his hand, and I flinched back. But instead of coming towards me, he simply held his hand up in a calming gesture. "She needed to calm down," he said. "I'll take her to be treated by our doctor. Right now, you need to be calm as well. Unless you would like to join her?"

[Kitsumi]

I shrank back towards the back corner of my cell. "I'm calm," I murmured. "I'm not going to cause any trouble."

The guard nodded his approval. "Good. See that it stays that way. As long as you cause no trouble, we will have no reason to harm you. You are worth far more to us in good health."

[Kitsumi]

I watched as the guard picked up Eleanor's limp form. As he carried her out of the cell, I pondered what he had said. What about us gave us more worth if we were healthy? I didn't think we were being kept as slaves. We hadn't been put to work. And we weren't sorted by age or strength or anything similar.

But we were worth more to them healthy. Why was that?

[Kitsumi]

As everyone watched, the guard carried Eleanor out of the room. The solid wooden door closed tightly behind him. All the prisoners had watched what would happen if they acted in the same manner as the woman. They all knew that we had to obey. The fear in the room was easy to sense.

I stared at the door, willing the guard to return with Eleanor. But three hours have passed, and Eleanor still isn't back.