Enslaved to Zion

Chapter 10

Micro... Micro means something very small. Chip? I vaguely recall my master mentioning something about his company making them, but I don't understand the concept, so I nod my head, 'No'. She digs in her case and pulls out a plastic tube with a needle at the end. It's sealed in a plastic wrapper with a white paper backing. Walking over to me, she lays it on the bed and I sit up, pulling the blanket tightly around my chest. I scan the packaging with my eyes for a moment, before looking at the words.

"Micro-Claim" I read aloud. "Legally Acquired Slave Identification Device".

"This is a microchip. We call them LASIDs, for short. Until recently, we used to brand slaves with a tattoo.", she begins. "But in the cases where they escaped, it was difficult to track them down. It was a dangerous game of cat and mouse. Trackers sometimes resold the slaves or held them for ransom. It often didn't end well. Zion, I mean your master's company came up with a way to both mark and track slaves, all with one device. Now, the crown issues them to registered slave holders. It's more humane, less painful, and a lot quicker than tattooing."

I pick it up and turn it around in my hand, trying to figure out how it works. What a strange little piece of equipment. It looks like a much smaller version of something I've seen my father use on livestock, but I can't put my finger on what he used it for. I never concerned myself much with matters of the barn, and now I wish I'd paid a little more attention, instead of daydreaming all day. Recognizing my confusion, she takes it from me and she points to the tip.

"Under this plastic cap here, is the needle. It goes right under the skin on the back of your neck.", she says, as her hand gently pushes my hair all to one side and touches a spot just a few inches below my hair line. "Right about here."

"How is that humane?", I shout, eyes wide, as I instinctively put my hand over the spot to cover it.

"Hey, hey.", she says in an attempt to calm me. "I said more humane, not totally painless. Look here. The chip and its components are all rolled up, teeny tiny enough to fit through the tip of the needle and get deposited under the skin. Once implanted, it expands to lay flat and emits a yellow light that can be seen through the skin. That lets your enslaved status be known. If you escape, it'll flash red. It also sends out a signal to a single device that's connected and controlled by the owner. If that device is lost or damaged, only the crown can issue a new one. The process won't benefit you, so don't get any ideas."

I nod my understanding, as she continues her thorough explanation, but I'm screaming on the inside. So, far from my little farm house, this was the kind of world that has existed all my life. It's not like the story books at all. Never did I think that people could be so cruel to each other. The books say nothing about this type of greed or wickedness. What right does one person have to own another? In all my short years, I've never dreamed of choosing another's fate, and now someone owns me.

"You can never attempt to remove this by yourself, Euroah. This is very important, okay? If this gets tampered with, it's programmed to send out an electric shock that's meant to temporarily incapacitate, but it's important for you to know that if it can stop a grown man in his tracks, it could kill someone as tiny as you are. Do you understand?"

"I don't want it! Take it away!", I wail, and push her hand away.

"You don't have a choice and I'm so sorry for that!", she says through gritted teeth, shaking me by the shoulders. "If I were the king, I would abolish slavery altogether. To the abyss with all the money and power in this wretched world! But I can only help you so much. I've been involved with the Velucia family my entire life. I'll pull as many strings as I can to keep you safe. But I can only do so little to help you."

Seeing tears forming in her eyes again, I look away for a moment to gather my thoughts. I don't have a choice. Neither does she, and I know it all too well. This is going to happen, whether I like it or not. I'm on the same level as a pig to this grand Velucia family. I don't want to cause her or myself any more unnecessary grief, so I look back at her, not even attempting to hold in my tears anymore. No matter how vile and unfair this all is, I have no say in the matter at all.

"Okay.", I whisper, as my eyes close, and my head falls to my chest in defeat.

"I'll use a numbing medication on the area before I insert the needle. You should only feel a pinch.", she says, as she puts my head to her chest to embrace me.

I sob, unapologetically into her coat, as she rubs my shoulder in a futile attempt to comfort me. How can I find comfort knowing that I can no longer make decisions for myself and my own well being? I curse the world once again, hoping to someday find just an ounce of retribution for the injustice of everything that's been forced on me in these horrible past few days. After a few minutes, a knock at the door startles the both of us.

"Do you need help, Akida?", a voice speaks, through the door.

"Nope! All good here. Just about to start the procedure. I'll be done soon.", she calls back.

Looking me in the eye, she nods, flashing me a sympathetic, half smile before getting up to prepare her tools. She pulls out a thin blue sheet, some cotton pads, a bottle of clear liquid, some red stuff, a white pouch, and some other tiny parcels and packages. One of the packages contains some gloves of a different color. She carefully puts them on without touching anything and then turns to me.

"Face away from me and tie your hair up with this.", she instructs, handing me a stretchy band from a sealed, plastic pouch.

I do as she says and she wipes my back with something cold. After cleaning the area thoroughly, she drapes the blue sheet over my neck and shoulders. I hold onto the blanket, hugging it tightly for comfort, as I shiver in fear. Next, I feel something scratchy scrubbing across my skin, and then a cool sensation tingles all along my neck and shoulders. It doesn't quite feel like anything I've felt before. It's neither painful nor pleasant. It's simply strange, and then I just feel nothing at all.

"Do you feel that?", Akida asks me.

"No, what is it?"

"Thats good. I'm just touching you. If you can't feel it, then you shouldn't feel pain when I inject the chip. I just need you to hold nice and still for me. Okay, sweetie?"

"Okay.", I sniffle.

Akida opens the package containing the LASID, and I hear the rustling of the plastic, but I don't move a muscle. I hear the cap pop off the tip of the needle, and my heart beats a little faster, but I focus on a painting on the wall. Every bit of my energy is put into holding perfectly still, just like the dancer in the painting. I feel a pressure at the back of my neck, but nothing else. Suddenly, I hear a 'click', and a jolt of pain shoots down the entire length of my spine and I let out a blood curdling scream!

"It's okay, it's okay! You did good, kiddo! You did so good!", she tells me while patting me on the shoulder. "It's over now. We're all done."

I feel sick! I lean over the side of the bed and begin to gag, but nothing comes out. Akida rushes over to her bag to pull something out, before crouching by my side. She holds a citrus scented vial of something in front of my nose for a moment, and I instantly feel better. Once I stop retching and calm down, she removes the blue sheet and gently puts a transparent dressing onto my back, over the place where the pain emanated from.

"I have to go report to your master now. I'm going to tell everyone that you need rest and to leave you alone for the next few hours. What do you want to eat?"

"Eat?", I ask, having been without food for so long that eating is almost a foreign concept to me at this point! "I'd like to eat something big!"

"Something big... Like a hamburger?"

What's a hamburger? I know what ham is. I like ham quite a lot. If it's made out of ham, then it must be tasty. And if she says that it's big, then I should trust her judgement on this one. Assuming that it will fill my belly and give me a fighting chance at surviving all of this, I take her hand, and with wide eyes, I nod my head, enthusiastically.

"Yes! I'll take that! I want a hambirdjer!"

Another knock at the door forces Akida to her feet. This time, the door opens to reveal a black suit, whom I recognize as the man who carried me to this room last night. He was the one who scooped me up when I fainted in the hallway. It's all coming back to me now and embarrassment brings a rosy flush to my cheeks. Did he see me like this? Who exactly undressed me? And how dare they take my clothes while I'm asleep? I bet they'll be in big trouble if our master finds out!

"Yes, Benny?", Akida asks, annoyed.

"Mr. Velucia is asking for a progress report, and he doesn't sound happy about being made to wait.", says this black suit, called Benny.

"Zion's never happy, whether he's being made to wait or being waited on. I've just got to take this IV out real quick, and I'll head up to his office. Don't get your panties in a bunch."

"I'll report it to Mr. Velucia...", says Benny, as he backs out and closes the door behind him.

"Give me your arm. You'll be more comfortable once this is gone.", she instructs.

I comply with her request, and she carefully removes the adhesive dressing, before pulling out the plastic tube. It's a bit sore, but she holds pressure on it, and tapes a piece of cotton to my arm. Finally, I can bend my elbow without feeling like I'm going to hurt something. The awkward sensation of something poking through my skin disturbs me, and I shudder at the thought of it. I can't even explain why. Cuts, scrapes, and bruises don't bother me, but needles are just something else!

"There ya go, good as new. You be strong, Euroah. I'll see you again soon.", she says, as she gathers her things.

I watch her hair bob on the backs of her pretty shoulders as she bundles one thing after another into her bag. And I start feeling a sense of longing, wishing she didn't have to go, wanting her to stay. I know that she has a job to do, but I don't really want to be left on my own in this scary place. If not Akida, who will I meet next? Will they be friend or foe? As she heads out the door, she flashes me one more reassuring smile, before exiting and closing it softly behind her.

And just like that, I'm alone again.