"O-okay, I'll cooperate… for now. What do you want me to do?" Eliana's voice trembled as she spoke, every word scraping against the panic rising in her throat. She didn't want to cooperate, not with any of them—but at this point, resisting seemed like a fast track to more pain.
Theo's grin widened. It wasn't comforting—it made her skin crawl. Maybe it was the fact that he wasn't stopping this, or the way he seemed to enjoy being the "nice one" while standing shoulder to shoulder with monsters.
"Good girl," he said smoothly. "Take off your pants so we can begin the physical exam."
Her stomach dropped at the thought of having to stand in only her underwear in front of these five men. "No… no, I can't do that," she said, shaking her head. "I won't."
Damon shifted aggressively, looking like he'd leap at her at any second, but before he could move, another man stepped forward. He had light brown hair and an expression that screamed impatience rather than cruelty.
"I'm the medic here," he said flatly. "Will you let me handle it alone? Just me. No one else."
Eliana frowned, her entire body tense with suspicion. "So you can do whatever you want without the others watching?"
A low sigh moved through the room. The men were clearly losing patience—but she didn't care. Let them be annoyed. Let them boil.
The medic—Dane, she assumed—rubbed his temple. "We can do this here. Or in private. Or we use force. Your choice."
Her breathing hitched. None of these options were real choices. She felt trapped in a box with no exits. But having five pairs of eyes on her during whatever this "exam" was supposed to be?
She clenched her jaw and nodded once. "Fine. Alone," she whispered.
He led her into an adjoining room. It was small, cold and sterile.
"Pants off," he said, his voice clinical. "We don't have all day."
Eliana stared at the floor for a long moment. Her fingers trembled as she slowly pulled off her pants, keeping her gaze locked away from him. Her shame sat like acid in her stomach. She tried to dissociate—to think of anything else. But she still felt his hands on her skin and noticed how he wrote something down now and then.
At one point to distract herself, she whispered, "W-what are you writing down?"
"Notes," he said. "Excessive body hair. Below aesthetic standard. Will require full removal. Physique is soft, lacking muscle tone. No signs of athletic conditioning"
Her face burned with shame and a feeling of humiliation. She wished she hadn't asked. His tone was flat, unbothered. It was like he was cataloging an object.
"That's enough," she muttered. "I get it."
He didn't respond. The exam ended a few minutes later when a robe landed in her hands.
She dressed quickly, wiping her face with her sleeve. Her throat was raw, her limbs shaking, but she stayed silent.
Back in the office, the others looked up as she entered.
"And? How was she?" Damon grinned. "Gonna turn into a proper seductress someday, or is she hopeless?"
Dane ignored him completely, tossed his notes onto Isaak's desk, and walked out without a word.
Isaak flipped through the pages, then addressed Eliana without looking up. "You'll take the intelligence test tomorrow. You're too emotionally unstable today. Theodore will escort you to your room. You're dismissed."
The blond man whose smile still creped her out took her arm gently, to escort her out.
"Come on, love. Let me show you your new home," Theodore said with a bright smile.
His expression, so casual in the face of her suffering, made her stomach twist. She wanted to punch him, or better yet, knee him where it hurt, but she had a feeling he'd dodge easily and she'd just get hit again.
Before today, no one had ever hit her. She wasn't used to pain.
"I… I'm not supposed to be here," she whispered as he led her away. "Your friends didn't listen to me earlier. I was kidnapped and brought here. This is all a huge mistake." She hoped that maybe he would at least listen to her and not be as cruel as the other men. He seemed kind.
Theo laughed, a rich, amused sound that echoed through the hallways. "Oh, sweetheart. You're never leaving. Now that you know about this place, your only way out is in a body bag."
She recoiled at his words, trying to yank her arm free, but his grip held firm. Was he serious??
"Don't be so scared," he chuckled. "As long as you stay here, you'll live. Just be happy you have the chance to survive."
They stopped in front of a door. He opened it and pushed her inside.
"Y-you won't actually kill me, right?" she stammered, tears welling up again. "This is a joke, right?"
"No jokes. This is your reality now. Be a good girl and follow orders. Wake-up time is 5 AM. Goodnight, love."
The door slammed shut behind her. A click echoed as it locked.
Eliana stared at the door, frozen.
Then she ran to it, yanking at the handle, slamming her fists against the wood. "Let me out! You can't do this to me!" she screamed, but there was no response.
She turned and took in the tiny room where only a small bed and a wardrobe where. The walls were an ugly, faded yellow. Then her gaze landed on a window.
She rushed to it, trying to pry it open, but it wouldn't budge, just like the door. Her hands trembled as she searched for something—anything—to break it, but there was nothing.
She ripped open the wardrobe. Inside, she found a gray hoodie, sweatpants, leggings, and underwear. She threw on the hoodie and sweatpants, wanting to cover as much of herself as possible after today's humiliation.
Before she could do anything else, the lights cut out, plunging the room into darkness.
What the fuck?
Her breath came fast and uneven as her eyes struggled to adjust. Carefully, she made her way to the bed, only to slam her shin against it. Pain flared up her leg.
"Shit—fuck. Fuck this hellhole," she muttered under her breath, collapsing onto the mattress.
She curled into the corner of the bed, pressing her back against the wall, wide-eyed and trembling. Despite everything, she didn't cry.
Instead, she repeated over and over in her mind:
This is just a dream. I'll wake up soon. I'll wake up in my dorm and go to class.
But deep down, she already knew the truth.
She wasn't waking up from this nightmare.