The Number Slaves

Basically it's the slave trade thingy Ella and I are doing. Sooooo...yeah.

Jenassa was recently branded with an '8' on her upper right arm. She has met all the characters except for the Master, Mr.Jacobsen, but hasn't talked to anyone except for Ty and Zero. She just experienced her first training session. We never really got to finishing that scene, but she would have ended up k.o'd.

Here's a list of the characters for future reference, and so you remember the numbers that go with them and such:

Zero: Nineteen years old. Has brown hair that is cut short, and dark, forest green eyes. Skin is quite pale. Is attractive, but never shows any interest in using his looks to get girls. Always has a stern expression and a firm voice. Big tough guy, basically. Usually smells like sweat and dust.

Ty-One: Dark, tousled blonde hair and brown eyes. Also nineteen. He's pretty much the opposite of Zero, but still a very skilled fighter. Always tries to be encouraging, to show everyone that things aren't as bad as they seem.

Tabitha-Two: African American girl, about seventeen. Black hair is braided and in beads.

Sam-Three: The super tall, skinny guy. Seems to be always argue with Zack. Has black hair and really dark eyes, looking about half Asian. Is a little serious, but never turns down a dare cause of his ego.

Holly-Four (deceased) .....yeah, dead.

Bridget-Five: Eighteen. Has blonde hair, cut to her chin, and hazel colored eyes. Is the sporty girl who doesn't disobey orders, and has a sweet spot for Ty.

Zack-Six: Messy reddish brown hair and green eyes. Not as muscular as the other guys, and smaller in stature. Is the one always getting in trouble, and the jokester. Likes to mess with Sam. Has a six branded on the right side of his face.

Miranda-Seven: Seventeen. Brown, curly hair. Is obviously new, stumbling often and a terrible fighter, usually covered in bruises. She's persistent though, and HATES Zero with a passion.

I'll get first post up soon.

(Gonna go with third person. Much more simple than first, considering all of my characters. And actually, I gotta go for a while. You can do first post if you get on. Basically, she was knocked out, then Zero picked her up and put her back in her room. Oh, and remember that she has the collar on. Almost forgot that.)

Jenessa woke with a groan, her head as slow as syrup as she tried to gain her bearings. Man, it was awfully quiet. Was Stacy still in school or just getting into something? Crap! She's overslept!
She jolted up and hissed in pain, the fast movement rewarding her wih a throbbing head. "M-mom? You awak-" everything came flooding back to her.
"oh he'll no." she forced herself on the bed and tried to fling her door open.

Jenessa's door was unlocked, so when it flung open, Zero was not surprised. He was standing in front of the door, just a few feet away, his arms crossed. He took a quick glance at the watch on his wrist. Hm. She woke a little sooner than he had expected. If there's one positive thing to say about this girl, it's that she's got persistence. That is both a good thing...and a bad thing. Depending on how she directs it.

His dark eyes flickered over her, checking her state. His eyes pinched very slightly at the large, colourful bruise on her forehead. He did that.

Zero didn't particularly like having to hurt the others. They were all just kids. Kids with real lives; real problems. They shouldn't have to be kidnapped. It's not right.

Not like he can do anything about it, though. Too risky. Especially with his father around.

He looked back into her eyes, his expression blank, yet somewhat stern.
"About time you got up. You have things to do." he grumbled.

Jenessa stop short, glaring at him with nothing short of pure hatred. "right, it's hard to beat me around me out if I'm already unconscious."
Maybe she should have played uP in the whole 'unconscious' in bed thing... Dread filled her at whatever he had planned.
Bt she couldn't help thinking that every second she spent unconscious was one less she could of used to escape. Every second here was one more till she was discovered missing. She had to get back.

Zero raised a brow, amused by her...spirit. He knew she was afraid. They all were. But every person he picked out was stubborn, and almost never let it show. He liked that.
"Follow," he said bluntly, turning and walking away. There wasn't a need to make sure she followed. The collar on her neck would do the trick. Send some pain through her if she decided to pull anything, or make her feel calm and good fir obeying.

For a moment, she didn't follow. By then the collar did its job and fell in behind him. She wasn't 'broken', she reassured herself, eyes boring into the back of his head. She just didn't like getting shocked.
She bit her lip, swallowing to dismiss the lingering pain. "where are you taking me?"

He didn't give her the satisfaction of an answer. "You'll see."
Zero continued down the hallways with long strides, going through a few brick walled, fancy rooms and then pushing open a door. This castle was easy to get lost in. But he knew every route...even the secret passageways and many tunnels.
Behind the door he pushed open was a cafeteria like room, but not too big. The floors were tiled, the room having wooden table and benches. The smell of food wafted through the air. Nothing too delicious smelling, but still...food.

Two tables were filled with random guards. One had servants, people older than the young, numbered slaves meant for military. The last table had the teenagers, the ones who were in Jenessa's training.
"Sit," Zero ordered, lightly pushing her towards the table with the others.
Five sat next to One as usual, while Six flicked some food at Three, causing Three to slam his hand down on the table in annoyance.
"Knock it off." Zero snapped at them, then watched as they both quickly quieted down, wincing at the shock their collar caused. They continued to glare at each other though, Six smirking. Two laughed, while Seven quietly nudged her food around with her fork.




Ty looked up, seeing Jenessa and Zero walk through the doors. He smiled and waved Nessa over, but did not yell out a hello, knowing it would only get him shocked. He noticed the bump on her head, the corner of his smile turning slightly toward a frown.

Jehessa's stomach snarled and she sat obediently down, eyes scanning the place a bit in awe. "You've taken /all/ these people." despite her horror, amazed disbelief colored her voice. How could something so large exist and no one know about it? Since when had slaves been in? How come nothing was being Done go to stop it?
Her eyes flickered to Ty and she moved closer to him without thought, his presences as safe as it could get around here.

A servant hurried over to Jenessa, setting down a plate in front of her. It held a hard biscuit, a few slices of apple, and something that looked like mashed potatoes, but was grey. It tasted like a mix of many things, like someone just threw meat and other random foods then blended it. The servant also placed down a glass of water, then ran off.




Zero did not reply to that. He walked past the others, sitting down on a lone wooden bench away from them, having his own corner to himself. He nodded to a servant girl as she set some food before them, sipping at his water as she walked away. He would glance around the room occasionally, watching the others. His father didn't take all these people. Most of the guards came here willingly for the nice pay, but the petty servants had collars around their necks, just like the numbers.




Ty smiled at Jenessa, fishing an ice cube off the bottom of his empty cup. She didn't get any ice cubes, but he did, for doing what he's told. He handed it to her. "Here, Nessa," he said, giving a subtle flinch when the collar activated just for saying her name. "For the head."



Bridget pursed her lips, blushing a little when Ty's back was turned. "..."



Tabitha piped up. "Yeah, heard Zero gave ya a pretty good punch."



Zack gave a crooked grin, the brand on his face twisting grotesquely. "You must have one HELL of a headache.

Jenessa was already halfway through gulpin her cup of water when he handed her the ice and the other spoke, causing her to blink and place down the Meager remains. It was best she pace herself anyway. "I've... Had worse," she aquitted, great fully placing the cube to the lump. Her eyes pinched a little at the pounding cold, but she brushed it off, relaxing a little. "Thanks..."

Ty chuckled, watching her drink down the water. "No problem. First day is really hard, I don't mind helping." He nudged his glass toward her, which just had a few drops of water and three melting ice cubes. "Have the rest. S'not much, but they don't let us have seconds unless it's dinner." Sure, he was also thirsty. But he did this for everyone new, since he didn't get any free handouts when it was just him and Zero. ...Though...Zero did bend a few rules before. He was actually a decent guy. Ty glanced over at Zero's corner, frowning at how he changed.



Zack was sitting across from Jenessa. He leaned closer to her a bit, still grinning. "So, also heard you met the electric fence. They should really put signs on those."



Sam's lip twitched, but he remained stiff. "Says the guy who ran into it four times." He quickly ducked out of the way when Zack tossed a piece of biscuit at him.

Jenessa managed another greatful look at Ty and finished her water, waiting for the ice in his to melt before drinking it as well. She cringed a little at the mention I the electric dense and held up her raw, red hands as evidence. "it actually works. Who would of thunk it?" her tone was dry and unamused, as she dropped her hand and poked the gray mush. "is this even edible?"

Miranda snorted, still pushing the slop around with her fork. "Apparently. It tastes terrible." She scowled down at it, refusing to eat any.


Zack winked at Jenessa, shoving the last of his own mush into his mouth. "Food is food, eh?" he said, taking with his mouth full, random bits falling out.


Bridget sighed, staring at her plate. "I think it's some mish mash of random food..." she said quietly. She put some in her mouth, watching Jenessa carefully. She does get a little...jealous when Ty pays attention to the other girls...but he's just being nice. Right? ...Right. She swallowed, wishing to be back home.


Ty had already eaten everything off his plate, used to the bland, odd taste and having quite an appetite, though he wasn't a slob about it like Zack. He wiped his mouth off with a hand, glancing at a clock.

Jenessa took a bit of the biscuit and crinkled her nose at the hardness. Forcing herself to swallow, she set it back on her tray and pushed it back. "Im... Alset." she picked up a Melton icecube, nearly dropping it before slipping it into her mouth and sucking. She noticed Ty glancin at the clock."what? What now?"

Ty blinked, looking back at Jenessa. "Well, you were out for a while. We get twenty minutes for lunch, and you came late. Three minutes left." He looked down at her full plate. "Last chance to eat before dinner. I know it doesn't all taste very good, but it's better than running on an empty stomach." he said, giving her back a light, friendly pat.

He leaned in closely to her, tilting his head. "Bit of advice? Break the biscuit up and mix it with the mush. It's actually not that bad." he whispered, his lips brushing her ear as his mouth moved to form the words.

Jenessa pursed her lips, shoulders hunching in naturally at the closeness. "Just the very fact you called it 'mush' makes me doubt that..." She sighed and picked at the bread with two fingers, her stubbornness curbing her hunger despite the many hours it's been since she had last eaten. "What's after lunch?" she mumbled, not even sure she wanted to know.

Ty shrugged, pulling away. "Not too sure. The activities of the day are usually just random, except for the regular three meals a day." He sighed, looking down at his plate. "Probably will have to help the others out." he said, jerking a thumb behind him, pointing to the table where the servants where. "We are basically just servants. But...we're also different. We're The Numbers."

Jenessa frowned, pushing her tray for him to have without even trying it. "You make us sound special." Her made it clear she felt anything but. She glanced over at the servants, noting their appearance and how they were collared as well.

Ty frowned at her tray, then at her. He knew she needed to eat. But..he wasn't going to try to force her. He instead nudged the tray toward Zack and Tabitha, who both didn't waste any time eating it up, especially Zack.
"Well...we are younger than the servants. Healthy; in good shape. And we take the training lessons with Zero."

"Right, how could I forget." She tore her eyes off the slaves and back to the table, watching the others eat in disgust. Her head and arm throbbed, making it near impossible to forget her standing here even if she tried.
She glanced at the last couple of ice cubes and gingerly took hold of her shirt sleeve. With a deep breath to steel herself, she yanked the material up. Pain shot through her in a dizzying array as the material pulled away the burnt flesh that had melded to the fibers. She fumbled to grab the slippery ices finally getting a good grip and running it along the burn. A breathe of pain passed through her teeth in a hiss. She glanced at the burn quickly. The pussing, angry red skin blistered and bubbled into the distinct shape of an eight. This would definitely scar.
She looked away, closing her eyes to steady herself. "Time left?" she mumbled, wanting a change of topic or something to distraction

Ty's lips pressed into a thin line as he watches Jenessa, remembering when he was in that same spot. As if everyone else got the same memory, the table suddenly became quiet. His own number, a large 1, was clearly visible on his left arm. The pain wasn't there for him anymore, but he was pretty sure that scar would stay on his arm his entire life. Even though...knowing this place...he probably didn't have very much life left. "...Less than a minute."



Zero watched the others out of the corner of his eye, staring at Eight's arm. She's tough. But she's lucky he branded her, and not his father. His lips tugged into a frown at the thought, remembering the...incident with Six and Mr.Jacobsen. Zero scratched his back where his own brand was and looked away.

Yes, she's tough. But is she tough enough? Probably not.

The ice dissolved in her finger tips and she pulled back down her sleeve, drying her fingers on her groody work uniform. "Are we sticking together or..." the unexpected Weighed down her stomach like lead.

Ty's mouth opened to reply, but he was interrupted by the reverberating sound of a bell throughout the castle. A man's voice suddenly filled the area. The voice was smooth and confident, the tone of a rich, arrogant man.
"Lunch is over. Servants clean the mess. Guards head back to your posts, except for Sheldon and Joss. You two head to the east gate and dispatch a...problem."
People immediatly rose to their feet at their orders. A few of the newer looking ones would stay stubbornly seated, then wince and hold the collar at their throats before quickly shuffling out. Servants came over and took everyone's plate away, whether they had finished eating or not.

The voice came back just a few small moments later. "Two, Five, and Seven. Go clean the servant's bath area."
Bridget nodded, her pale hair bobbing. She got up without question and went to carry out her orders. Miranda dragged her feet and followed with a foul look on her face, while Tabitha gave her a pat on the back.

Ty glanced at Jenessa, raising a brow. His handsome face held a grim expression, his light, friendly blue eyes seeming to get a little darker. "Jenessa..." he murmured under his breath, flinching when the collar reacted to the disobedient act of using her name.

Her stomach did nervous flip flops, an uneasy feeling growing through her. "...Yes? What, er... do I get to go back to my room?" Her voice was pitifully hopeful.