“Because it is,” I state matter-of-factly.
“There’s nowhere else your ships could be unless you keep moving them... You know what I think? I think you’re cheating,” he accuses me playfully.
But I take offense to it.
I place my hands on my hips. “I am not!”
Okay, maybe a little bit.
“Whatever you say, pup.” He laughs. “But I’ve gotta get some rest.”
“Aw.”
“I know. We’ll play later, okay? Promise.”
Sitting crisscross, I rest my head in my palms and my elbows on my thighs, hunched over. I sigh, “Okay.”
Well, now what am I going to do?I draw in the dirt floor around the board game I made. Alone, I find comfort in the only place left as I brush away dirt to uncover the baby photo I hid. I trace the faces and escape through daydream.
My dream of a better life is interrupted when the man who says he’s my master walks in. “Well, what do we have here?”
“N-nothing.” I hide the picture behind me and back away.
Master opens the cell and takes it from me. “Hey!” I jump for it, but I fall short.
He inspects it and then hands it back to me. “The doctor needs to see you.”
He’s letting me keep it?Astonished and thrilled at the same time, I shuffle to lean it against my cell wall on display in plain sight.
This must be what it feels like when they decorate their own room. I beam.
Master grabs my hand and leads me out of the dungeon and into a bright room. I shield myself from the light until my eyes finally adjust. A man in a white lab coat spins in his stool, smiling. “Hey there. Hop up here for me.” He pats the padded table with a runner of paper across it.
Master picks me up from under my arms and hoists me up. “I’ll be back in after you’re done, okay?”
I nod.
He ruffles my hair and exits the room.
The doctor takes my height and weight and has me strip down to nothing to check me. I’m too scared to ask what’s going on.
After he’s done checking me out, my master walks in. “How’s she looking, doc?”
The doctor scribbles onto his clipboard. “Everything looks fine. A little skinny, but overall, she’s healthy. I’m clearing her to fight.”
“Great!”
I jump when Master claps his hands and rubs them together.
He approaches me, sporting a wide, toothy grin. “You ready?”
I open my mouth to speak, and my lip quivers. Then I remember the rule and shut it and nod.
Pleased with my choice, he hands me a piece of jerky as a reward. Like a savage, I snatch and devour it.
He chuckles. “Hungry, aren’t you? Do you want more?”
I nod again, this time with enthusiasm.
