Orderlies Stevens and Meyer are eating in the facility’s mess hall. Steven’s plate is beyond heaping with food. He shovels it into his mouth as if the world will end if he leaves even a tiny scrap of food untouched.
Meyer is more delicate with her eating. She takes mousey nibbles from the morsels on her plate. Swallowing her miniscule bite of food, Meyer finally ventures to speak. Albeit, very quietly. She leans across the table in order to whisper to Stevens.
“Mel, I think Dr. Wessinger has gone too far,” Meyer whispers. “I know she says the top-brass wants answers by any means, but I don’t think this is what they meant. I think we should try to get a message to the parent company. I think they’d want to know what is really going here.”
Steven’s puts down the spoonful of chili he had planned to scarf down. He eyes Meyer with an expression of pure malice. The male orderly's eyes narrow and his skin reddens.
“You think too much, Meyer!” Stevens snarls. “Eat your food and shut up!”
“No, Mel!” Meyer insists. “If they can do this to Dr. Boyd…A scientist renowned throughout the human sphere…How much more will they do to us? A bunch of silly nothings? We have to tell someone.”
“What they can do to us…Is exactly why you need to shut the hell up!” Stevens whispers hoarsely. “I’m not putting my life…Or my sister’s medical treatment…On the line for that crazy whore doctor. You do what you want.”
Stevens grips his tray and climbs from the booth. Meyer stares after him with a frightened expression. What will her colleague do with this tiny tidbit of information?
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Orderly Meyer strolls silently down the corridor leading to her quarters. A couple of male engineers pass by and give her a good once-over. One of them even goes so far as to crook his finger like a gun and blow on the tip, offering Meyer a sly wink. Meyer laughs and blows him a kiss. The engineer whistles and turns to his buddy, who jabs him with an elbow and makes a crude gesture. Meyer shakes her head and takes a few backward steps, watching the two engineers as they head in the opposite direction. It’s been a long time since she has been with a man. Maybe she’ll look the cute one up later. Assuming either of the two engineers is still on the station in the morning. The center rotates personnel faster than some people can throw off their underwear in a steamy situation.
Meyer continues to daydream of a hot night spent under the covers with the sexy engineer. She chuckles softly, and absently rubs her stomach, as a shiver courses through her. But if she can’t get him, she’d gladly settle for his friend. Either one, would be a great catch. Engineers always have lots of credits. They never spend them. They spend all of their time fixing and building things. Extra credits could mean a vacation away from this hellhole. To spend a few nights on an exotic off-world beach with a hot guy? Talk about a fantasy made in the stars.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Orderly Meyer is still in the midst of her fantasy when she arrives at her quarters. By that time, her fantasy has evolved to something closer to a threesome. She considers the downside of inviting two men to share her bed. With a shrug, she decides there isn’t one.
The door to her quarters is barely open when a large pair of hands roughly yanks her inside. Meyer‘s scream is cut off as felon Norris pulls her to him, her face buried in his barrel chest. He strokes her hair with fake tenderness and allows the door to her quarters to shut.
No sooner are the doors closed, he shoves her bodily away. Meyer slams into the door. Lights dance before her eyes and her back screams with pain—from striking the metal door. She gapes at felon Norris in absolute fear.
“My…My,” Norris says. “You’re a pretty one. Dr. Wessinger sure knows how to pick them.”
“Oh no….,” Meyer whimpers. “No. Please no. I don’t know why you’re here. But please, please don’t hurt me! Please.”
“Oh. Dr. Wessinger doesn’t want you hurt, pretty thing!” Norris teases. “She wants you dead! I’m just gonna have a little fun in the meantime. Every job I complete for the doctor…She gets the guys at the top to shave a little off my time. Kind of like for good behavior. Only she has to be real creative with what she tells them. I’ll tell the doc…You had a little accident in the kitchen.”
“No! NO!” Meyer cries.
Meyer turns to the keypad beside the door in an attempt to input her code. Norris grips her arm tightly and twists. There is a sharp snap of bone and a white shard erupts from her elbow. Meyer lets out a bloodcurdling scream. Norris only laughs. For privacy and security purposes, most of the private rooms on the station are soundproof. No one will hear her scream.
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Orderly Stevens nods at the face hovering on his screen and then shuts down the communication link. Two-hundred more credits in his account. Enough to buy his sister another round of treatment. Too bad about Meyer. He had hoped to screw her one time before heading back to Earth. Oh well. You win some, you lose some.
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Teresa is surprised when a new orderly appears to change her sheets the next morning. The woman is of Old Earth Philippine descent, quiet and very professional. While she still adheres to Dr. Wessinger’s cruel rules about towels, clothing, and underwear; the young woman coaxes orderly Stevens to leave while Teresa puts on her gown in the cell. She even offers Teresa a polite nod before leaving.
Teresa sits down on the edge of the bed and considers the sudden changing of the guard. Where is orderly Meyer?
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Down in the galley, the sanitation chief opens the rear hatch of the composting chute and screams. Mixed in with the pile of old potato peels, onion skins, and other produce scraps; is a woman’s hand. Blood covers the entire inside of the chute. The poor woman either fell in or was pushed in. Either way, she is very dead.