THE REBELLIOUS WOMAN (NINE)

Clio turned left as Giselle told her. She saw a transparent glass door that connected to another building. There is a sea of ​​women across her building queuing up to enter the dining room. She saw the women wearing the same clothes as her. A gray trousers and a cream colored short sleeve top. There is a small ribbon accent on their chest and a round collar around their neck. Some women hide their big baby bellies under their blouses.

She looked left and right, looking so unfamiliar with the atmosphere around her. She did not know how to behave in her enemy's territory. There were several Hyperion soldiers she could see in every corner of the building. They stood stiffly like statues and held large black laser guns in front of their chests. Clio could imagine what it would be like if that gun was fired at her if she made a mess of this place. All of her plans would fall apart and she wouldn't be able to get her revenge on that bastard General Colten.

Clio joined the women who were lined up at the entrance to the dining room. She decided to act normal like all the women here. Her eyes searched for slits around the vast and majestic White Wall. But she couldn't find a single loophole. In the vicinity where she stood, she saw the buildings towering majestically. The black windows were tightly shut on every surface of the building. Clio wondered what was hidden behind the black window. It seems the buildings have strict access in and out. And around her was a vast expanse of green grassy land. Woody trees are planted around the place. A huge amount. But it didn't look like a forest at all. The trees are planted in the right places as a beautiful aesthetic.

"Hey, move forward. You're making the line longer."

"O-oh I'm sorry."

Clio quickly moved into the dining room. Her eyeballs almost popped out when she saw the huge, luxurious and clean dining room. Tables and chairs are arranged with precision and neatly forming rows extending from north to south. At the far end of this room is a long buffet where various foods and drinks are served.

Clio's mouth drooped at the smell of meat being fried somewhere. So far she only eats stale food or canned food that is almost expired. If she's unlucky or one of her group doesn't find food, they won't eat until they can find food supplies elsewhere.

Clio is sad to imagine how contrasting life is inside the White Wall and outside the White Wall. Now she almost doubted that the people here would abandon their pleasant lives and go outside to overthrow the tyrannical General Colten's government. But all these facilities were given solely because they were mothers-to-be or mothers of General Colten's babies. They deserve to be fed with delicious food and treated well.

Clio walked around the buffet and saw a lot of delicious food. She could see sandwiches with various fillings. Tuna sandwiches, cheese sandwiches, turkey sandwiches, bacon, pancakes, mashed potatoes, salads, all the food she'd only ever seen in old magazines, lay before her eyes. She was almost drooling as she looked at all the foods and had a hard time choosing. She wanted to eat all that food. But she wasn't sure her stomach would fit that much food because so far she had only eaten very little food.

"Hey, are you General Colten's new woman?"

Clio's cheeks reddened with anger when a woman with a small white hat tied around her head called out to her. She's a kitchen worker. She wore a large red and white apron that wrapped around her wide waist. Her fingers were fat like bananas, gripping the spatula. Her cheeks were round and her nose was almost sunk because it was squeezed by her cheeks that looked like two buns stuck to the sides of her face. She is a clear testament to the prosperity that the White Wall kitchen has. The chefs are always synonymous with their fat bodies because they often taste the food before it is served to their guests.

"I..." Clio held back her words. She almost cursed General Colten in front of the fat woman. But here were too many women who might like General Colten. She couldn't do a rash act that would bring disaster for herself.

"Can I have a cheese and bacon sandwich?"

"Of course. Do you want yogurt or milk?"

"Blueberry yogurt. And may I have a salad?"

"Of course. Eat a lot. You're so thin. General Colten will be mad at me if one of the women is thin."

"Are all the women here fed like cows to get fat?" Clio said skeptically. She failed to hide her hatred for General Colten. Especially since yesterday that bastard had tricked her in the underground tunnel.

"They are not fed like cows, girl. They do healthy things. They go to yoga classes, they do relaxation exercises to keep their mental state in top shape in the tough months of pregnancy. Two months before giving birth, they are usually given a massage treatment to be more relaxed during the labor process. Are you already pregnant?"

Clio's cheeks turned red. She felt that pregnancy was normal and natural here. Meanwhile, outside the White Wall, pregnant women have never been treated that way. She had only ever seen one pregnant woman. Her name is Krystal. She did not get special treatment in the early days of her pregnancy. Instead, people accused each other of who the baby's father was because most of the remaining men had been infertile by radiation. Meanwhile, Krystal never told anyone who the father of her baby was. But Krystal went missing while they were camping in the Greenwild area. Someone saw her last time fetching water near the river. But after that Krystal never reappeared and people never looked for her because they were too busy with their own business.

"Girl, why are you daydreaming?"

"Oh, sorry. I… am not pregnant."

"Of course. You just got here right? Don't be tense, okay. It won't hurt. Well… there are great people who will take care of you."

Clio quickly grabbed her food and went to run away from the fussy woman. Her ears were itching to hear all the chatter. And especially her mouth, she wanted to reply to her every word with skepticism because she strongly disagreed with everything that was happening here. Mainly because she hated General Colten.

After wandering all over the dining room, Clio finally found an empty table at the far right of the rather deserted dining room. She was grateful that she didn't have to make small talk with anyone and just ate. She wanted to keep an eye on the atmosphere here, see how the people were here and how to escape. Once every ten minutes ten Hyperion soldiers go around the dining room to check the situation in this room and make sure all the women here are eating comfortably. Clio's gaze followed the soldier's every move. They walked very stiffly like robots in their designated areas, then they would return to their posts in the corners of the dining room to keep an eye on everyone in the room.

While Clio was munching on her sandwich, suddenly the main dining room door swung wide open. Several Hyperion soldiers trotted in, and the atmosphere in the dining room suddenly became quiet. Clio looked left and right in confusion. Everyone stopped their chatter and their eating activities. There was no sound but the sound of the soles of shoes getting louder and louder coming from outside the dining room.

Clio continued to chew her food even though everyone stopped their eating activities. She didn't care about anything around her because she was starving. And because of her nonchalant attitude towards her surroundings, a Hyperion soldier came up to her and grabbed her wrist.

"What are you doing? I am eating."

Clio's voice echoed throughout the silent room. She tried to shake the Hyperion soldier's hand from her wrist, but the soldier kept a tight grip on her wrist. Clio seemed to be able to catch his eyes flashing with anger behind the helmet worn by the soldier.

"Let go of my hand I say!"

"You should stop your eating when General Colten comes."

"To hell with General Colten. I'm starving."

All eyes turned to her. Clio didn't care at all and waved her hand violently for the Hyperion soldier to let her go. She didn't want to be bound by any rules here. It wasn't her wish to be here at all. That bastard general has taken away her right to be a free woman and live independently out there.

"Let her go, Kiehl."

Clio recognized the voice. She closed her eyes tightly for a second, then turned to the right to meet General Colten's green eyes that were both captivating and terrifying.

"Miss Clio Yilmaz, I hope you will follow my rules while on the White Wall."

"I don't want to be here. Let me go!"

The gasping sounds of those around her added to the dramatic atmosphere in the room as Clio suddenly rose from her seat and lifted her face before General Colten.

"You tricked me, Colman. Get me out of here!"

General Colten's jaw tightened. He had never faced rebellion right in front of his face and was carried out by a woman who looked weak. But it seems that Clio is not a weak woman. She was such a naive woman who dared to oppose him.

"You will regret this, miss. Hook, Wrick, take Clio to the detention room. She had to reflect on her mistakes this morning."

"Wh-what? Let me go!"

Clio struggled as her arms were tightly gripped by two burly Hyperion soldiers. Clio tried to kick the empty air, hoping the toe of her shoe would hit the general's ugly face. But it was all in vain, because the general didn't even scratch the toe of her shoe. General Colten looked at her coldly and his face showed a deep fury.

"Take a good look at these naughty woman, my ladies. Anyone who breaks my rules and becomes a dissident will be severely punished. So don't you ever dare go against me."

Clio snorted in disgust hearing how general Colten referred to the women here as his ladies. She didn't want to be one of General Colman's bitches. She would rather die thrown into the white river than bear General Colten's baby.

"Let me go. I can walk alone. You think I like being one of his bitches, huh?"

Clio was screaming all the way to a different building from the one she had received treatment in yesterday. She was taken to another building at the back. Clio was dragged along a path with very pretty green grass all around. Had she not been dragged away by the two Hyperion soldiers, she would have spent her time admiring the beauty of this place.

"Arrgghh you guys hurt my wrist!"

"Shut up, lady. We could have hurt you worse."

"Have you? A man who hurts a woman is a coward. A sissy! You should find someone else comparable to be your rival."

"You have to be tamed so you don't become a savage. Doctor Bryce has the serum to turn you into a woman who obeys General Colten's orders."

"No way! You have to kill me first if you want to brainwash me."

Clio screamed angrily but was dragged into a quieter building with a more eerie aura. Clio's hairs grew as she made her way through long hallways with closed doors on their right and left. She didn't know where her final destination was. But her hunch was that this was going to be bad.

"Where are you taking me? Are you going to kill me and mutilate my body?"

"Believe us we want to do it, lady. Unfortunately General Colten doesn't want that."

"What does that damn General want?"

"You'll find out later."

Clio's body was suddenly thrown into a room that was almost similar to her treatment room. The room was white with solid walls all around the place, but there were no windows there. Just a small bed in the middle of the room, then a sink and toilet on the other side of the wall and no partitions or doors.

"You're going to lock me here?"

"This is a detention room for all the women who have broken the rules of the White Wall. You're lucky enough to only get a light sentence like this after what you did to the general."

"I only said the truth in front of him. He was a ruthless general who had robbed women's freedom and their right. And I guess you guys were also fooled by him with all the perks he gave you."

"You'd better reflect on your mistakes if you don't want to be stuck here forever."

"It's not my fault. The damn general was at fault!" Clio barked loudly like an angry dog ​​as the two Hyperion soldiers came out of her new room.

The door closed tightly with a low beep and a flashing red indicator light above the door. Now the door was completely closed and Clio was alone in her new room.

Wearily Clio threw herself on the bed, cursing her bad luck and dragging her feet to climb onto the bed. She kept her shoes on her feet because she was reluctant to take them off. To hell with the sheets getting dirty from the soles of her shoes. Clio bent her knees to her chest, then buried her head on her knees sadly.