Jackie was practically thrusted into the compound. It was only down to pure luck that she didn’t smash her face right into the compact, white-silver walls.

But she was close enough, to see the walls themselves tighten, bulge. It was readying itself for whatever impact was going to befall it, as it was designed to do. To keep everything and everyone safe.

It didn’t make it any less creepy.

“Don’t cry over a fucking wall—” Bryce clutched the tall girl’s shoulder. “—Move it, we literally don’t have all day.”

Jackie was still restrained—if not a stripped-back version of it. Standard handcuffs, well, “standard”. Metal braces on the wrists, but metal rings around each finger bound by small chains. At this point, Jackie scoffed that they should’ve added a collar around the neck, just to bring the look together—in her head, of course.

She had to keep some level of levity, to be in her thoughts, to distract from the reality she’s found herself in. She’s locked up, she’s being ushered into a para-military fort as if she’s committed a crime—well, the fact that she committed a crime to begin with.

This was for good. She was right, she was right in the end. Had to be.

It didn’t help that the hallways of this place were so constricting, felt like the people walking within them had to contort themselves multiple times to remotely move.

And even then, there were no… Visible signs that these were differing hallways, to the naked eye. Jackie was forced to turn, and walk down this featureless, overly-lit tube. Over and over again.

Thankfully, the monotony was broken up by the occasional breach of walls—were holes were formed on the sides of the thick waves, allowing more EXTANT Enforcers to patrol out, as the wall “swallows” the holes close. So of course, anytime that happened, Bryce and his “friend” gripped Jackie’s shoulders, and used their entire strength to pull her back, causing her back to slam into their shell armor, causing her to yelp out. And she got a shove for her answer. Only to march into the infinite, ever-stretching tube.

Enclosed, jerked about—yanked and held back, before doing the same motions. As her head was still aching from the trauma of before.

It didn’t help that she had to keep things in mind. Very critical things in fervent mind.

Eventually, the duo Enforcers held Jackie still, gripping her rather toned arms. She wanted to turn her head, but it might’ve been seen as a challenge at this point. So, she used as much of her visual range as she could, and looked to the corner of her eye, on the right.

It was quite literally a pit. The “door” slowly opened before Bryce, facing it while still maintaining the death grip on Jackie’s arm. She couldn’t gauge what led anyone down into this chamber, but Jackie could definitely see what was below.

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Kids, just like her—eerily younger in some cases. A few instantly shot up from where they were, shouting upward about if they could be let go—pleading not to tell their parents, Jackie even heard pleads to not to be sent back to their parents. Some tried to make a break for it, but was stopped either by the pile-up of other teens having the same idea, or the stairs Jackie couldn’t see. Many of the teens were against the walls, one girl hugging her legs while muttering to herself—multiple boys trying to maintain their “cool” decorum by leaning against it.

Then there was the one, that was so pent up by this stress that… And Jackie couldn’t make this up, and proceeded to pull his shirt up to ball up around his head… So that when he passed out seconds later, it wasn’t such a harsh fall.

“Alright, get in the hole,” Bryce said so unceremoniously, yet Jackie knew for a fact that he enjoyed this on some level.

Cue a series of high-pitched chirping emitting from the guard’s helmets so loudly, Jackie heard it—causing her to jump in her skin, in which an enraged Bryce nearly chucked her down into the chamber.

Heaving, cleansing breaths had to be forced out of her. Jackie knew despite the clear abuse of power, the man’s only doing his job. Terribly, but still doing his job. There’d be no use in giving into her hatred and then dooming not just her plan, but the others if she yelled at him—screamed and curse this pathetic man out. She opted to furrow her brow and shake her head.

“…Oh fuck off.”

The other Enforcer just sighed and regained the grip. “You’re going to the questioning chamber because our SO’s a crazy bastard.”

Jackie couldn’t help but smile. Felt the sweat trail down her odd-trembling face, but a genuine—proud smirk all the while.

She did it.

She didn’t care as the clearly annoyed Enforcers dragged her away from the hole, as it slowly sealed itself away. She didn’t care what Bryce was railing at her. Maybe it tipped her hand, being suddenly confident, but her oppressors were so lost in their own sauce that I’m sure it was noted. They’re just too pissed off to remotely care now.

And when they do realize, it’d be too late.

Before Jackie knew it, she found herself before an open hole, and shoved into a stainless, white room as the hole sealed itself. It was odd, to find so much comfort in seeing a small curly-haired girl, a bored Asian girl, a shaggy portly girl that only glanced upwards before looking down, and a timid girl that could barely stay still.

Yet... So conflicted.

And before the uncomfortable, but needed conversion could ensue—there was an immediate rush of air that thrust into the room, causing the girls to look back at the source.

“Soooo! An urban youth with a laundry list of grievances—followed by a daredevil girl with repeat offenses—a former child star who’s had multiple breakdowns—and a young maintenance worker who really, really shouldn’t be in the position of having any sort of spot on her record. Yet here we are…”

Despite hoisting a tablet several inches before his face, the Enforcer Head’s voice still bellowed outward, pinging against the walls as the echoes rumbled the girls’ brains in an instant.

A stocky, stout man. Forearms that were the size of hams and hair sprawled across them like the thickest forest grove. He lowered the thin, glass panel-lite tablet near his brick wall of a gut, to unveil his massive black beard. Almost like someone drew a caricature of a woodsman, or a witness report sketch gone wrong, his face was nothing but his whiskers, shiny reflective aviator glasses, and a dark green hat that was worn. His actual Enforcer helmet tucked under his massive arm.

“All led by the daughter of a comrade I just invited over here a week ago—and proceeded to send essentially their suicide notes at the same time, all to just get bailed out by us. Face it girls, y’all are insane--!”