How Come - The Beginning? I.

What new year's resolutions had she made that year? She couldn't remember.

Kristensen Ryson wasn't sure she had made any wish into the new year or if she had been tied up at work by the devilish, self-centered snobbish woman she worked for.

She simply couldn't remember.

Her life, like many of those making ends meet, revolved around her boss's mood. Ms. Drew's crystal blue eyes calm as summer breeze, and her life would be the most relaxed, Ms. Drew's eyes cold as snow, the most she'd get for lunch the whole week was a doughnut here and there.

Kristensen mused as she leaned against the wall with her eyes closed. Her life truly didn't exude extravaganza, nothing she could truly mourn or had lingering regrets over even if she couldn't go back - didn't mean she didn't want to - but the option wouldn't make her loose any sleep.

She wasn't unhappy, but she wasn't happy either.

"Kris..." A soft voice whispered beside her, getting her to snap out of it, reluctantly. She got carried away, and she acknowledged it.

She slightly turned her head towards the speaker, Arson Mikel, the girl, had introduced herself the first night they met. Had it been night or two or three? Kristensen couldn't remember and by no fault of hers.

"Something's wrong." Arson whispered, her eyes darting around the room. Kristensen gave her a blank look. Strange?

Arson rolled her eyes, "I know, I know. I meant, no one's been taken since breakfast."

Kristensen looked around the room but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Strange?

The situation they were in itself was nothing short of fiction. It had been strange when she woke up to find herself locked in a room full of women she'd never seen before. Strange when they'd looked at her like a mad person when she screamed her lungs out for help and kept banging on the door. Strange when they told her to shut up and take a seat.

They passed the strange phase. Now, they were only waiting for whatever was to happen, in the dormitory, away from the others like it was meant to.

Yet, what Arson said didn't follow the pattern of what had occurred since Kristensen woke up in that room. Every time, like clockwork, some time would pass after breakfast before a girl got taken, given that it happened in the cafeteria when everyone was gathered, they all witnessed it and it happened three times since she arrived.

Where exactly were they?

The night before she found herself in that room, she had an argument with Ms. Drew, if one could call telling their boss a task wasn't their job, an argument, she had an argument with Ms. Drew. Went home, vowing she was going to quit and look for another job.

Kristensen remembered looking at the sunset, a hobbie of hers she'd neglected since she started working. On her way home, she kept thinking about how long she would last without a job before crawling back with a tail between her legs to her parents.

Did she go to university only to be a glorified errand girl and look at the sunset pondering on what to do next?

A simple life had been her wish, a simple life with a nine to five job and a husband she would fight with over the toilet seat.

How did she end up working for an unreasonable overachiever? It left her speechless!

That night, Kristensen went to her empty apartment and drank herself numb to be woken by a phone call.

That phone call...

"Do you think they found what they're looking for?" Arson voiced next to Kristensen's ear, snapped her out of her reverie... yet again. Kristensen pushed Arson's head away from her with her hand.

"Probably not." She replied helplessly, looking at Arson's sparkling eyes dim.

Found what they were looking for? It couldn't be that simple. Else, why would they need to abduct so many women?

The woman in front of their bunker threw Arson a look that said Arson was naive or it was better if she didn't talk, then turned to Kristensen,

"You're right, and they're not looking for someone but someone-s."

The dormitory wasn't big. Besides Kristensen and Arson, there were other two. The overall situation wasn't too bad if she neglected the consent part of things. She was fed, had a place to sleep, and spent time doing nothing.

"Who cares about their purpose? What you should care about is what's going to happen to you if you're not what they're looking for."

A not so friendly voice piped in. The girl never tried to talk to Kristensen or the others, always sat with her eyes closed.

Mel, she'd introduced herself - maybe short for Melanie, Melissa?

"You... you mean we... they won't let us go?" Arson shrieked.

Kristensen's and the others' eyes turned to Arson at once. Kristensen couldn't help but shake her head, so... even she couldn't defend Arson. How naive!

"Since they didn't come, I think there might be a change of plans. We won't die yet, Arson." Kristensen chimed in and continued, "How long have you been here?"

The other girls turned to Mel, too. She carried herself as though she had been there the longest and knew what was going on, Kristensen figured she might fill in the gaps in her story - and there were a lot.

Mel let out a mirthless laugh, "Don't waste your time. I know nothing. I simply want to wait in peace. That shouldn't be too much to ask, right?"

Kristensen looked at Mel a while before turning away. Before she could ponder the truth of Mel's statement, the bell rang.

She lifted her head up towards the sound but saw the many tricklets Arson stuffed under top bunker - her bed. Kristensen shook her head and got out of the bed, Mel and her bedmate, Trudy, were already standing.

"Nothing strange now. They were only delayed." Mel said with a smirk, then took off with Trudy trailing behind her.

Kristensen followed suit only to stop when she reached the door. She turned her head around and saw Arson still sitting on the bunker.

"Arson?" She questioned.

"I, I have a bad feeling about this. I do. How about we don't go? Maybe they won't care or notice we're not there. Huh, Kris? Let's stay here, okay?" Arson said hurriedly, her eyes unfocused.

Kristensen looked at Arson strangely. She didn't know Arson well, couldn't tell if she was serious or not.

"You..."

"I'm fine. Ha. Don't mind me, I panicked there." Arson interrupted. She got out of the bunker and let out an embarrassed laugh, walked out of the room passing Kristensen along the way.

Kristensen eyed Arson's back with a frown. She was sure it wasn't as simple as panicking, Arson seemed to know something...

She decided to put it on the back of her head and followed them.

Her life was confined within that place anyway. What else was there?