The flight to nowhere

The hum of the engines filled the silence. No one dared to speak after the man's chilling words. The air felt heavier now, thick with unspoken fear. Alexa sat rigidly in her seat, her wrists sore from the restraints.

Beside her, a girl with curly hair trembled, her silent tears soaking into her shirt. Alexa wanted to comfort her, but what could she say? They were trapped, their futures stolen in an instant.

Time stretched endlessly. There were no windows near her seat, only the dull gray walls of the aircraft. With nothing to mark the passing hours, it felt like they had been in the air forever. Some girls had their heads bowed, their bodies trembling. Others sat stiffly, their gazes blank, as if shutting down was the only way to cope.

The silence was suffocating.

Alexa shifted, testing the restraints around her wrists. They weren't just regular ties—they felt metallic, firm against her skin. Handcuffs aren't they too young for handcuffs, Alexa wondered .. They didn't want any of them escaping, not that they had anywhere to run.

Then, without warning, the plane jolted slightly, tilting as it began to descend. The sudden movement made some girls gasp. Alexa's heartbeat quickened. Were they landing?

Her ears popped from the altitude change. The steady hum of the engines lowered, and the floor beneath her feet vibrated slightly as the plane prepared for landing. She clenched her fists.

Where are they taking us?

The overhead lights dimmed, and the sound of footsteps echoed through the cabin. A woman in a black uniform emerged from the front of the plane. She carried a tablet in one hand, her dark eyes scanning the rows of frightened girls.

"Your old lives are gone," she announced, her voice sharp and cold. "You will no longer be called by your birth names."

Murmurs rippled through the cabin. Some girls whimpered, while others exchanged terrified glances.

"From this moment forward," the woman continued, unfazed by their fear, "you will be given new identities. Forget the names your families gave you. Forget who you were before today."

Alexa felt her stomach twist. Forget who we were?

The woman tapped her tablet and began calling out names—no, not names. Labels.

"A002." She pointed at a girl with long braids. "A003." Another girl. "A004."

One by one, the girls were stripped of their identities, reduced to numbers.

Alexa clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms. No. No, they can't just erase us like this. Then, the woman's gaze landed on her.

"You." A pause. "A001."

A001.

A number. Not even a name.

The names will be used later during the missions...

Alexa swallowed, her throat dry. The woman didn't wait for a reaction. She moved on to the next girl, assigning another number as if it were just another task on her list.

Some of the girls wept softly. Others didn't react at all, too numb with fear. Alexa bit her lip to stop herself from shaking.

She wanted to scream that her name wasn't A001. That she was Alexa. That she had a mother waiting for her at home.

But she stayed silent.

Because right now, survival meant listening. Waiting. Learning everything she could about the people who had taken them.

The plane shuddered as the wheels touched the ground. Outside, through the small windows, there was nothing but endless darkness. The runway was dimly lit by a few scattered floodlights, casting long shadows across the tarmac.

The air inside the cabin grew tense. No one knew what would happen next.

Then, the overhead speakers crackled to life.

"Disembark in an orderly manner."

A sharp clink echoed through the cabin as the cuffs around Alexa's wrists released on their own. Gasps filled the space as the other girls' restraints clicked open as well.

Alexa rubbed her sore wrists but didn't move. Her instincts told her that any hesitation, any mistake, could be punished.

The cabin door opened, and cold night air rushed in. Two armed guards appeared at the entrance, their faces obscured by masks.

One of them barked a command. "Move!"

The first girl hesitated, her hands shaking. One of the guards stepped forward, grabbing her roughly by the arm and yanking her to her feet.

Alexa flinched.

One by one, the girls were forced to stand and file toward the exit. Alexa kept her head down, following the line as they stepped onto a metal staircase leading to the ground.

As her feet touched the pavement, she took her first real look at their surroundings.

They were in an airstrip, but it wasn't a normal airport. There were no terminals, no bustling crowds. Only the single plane behind them and a massive, looming building in the distance, surrounded by tall fences topped with barbed wire.

Her stomach twisted.

This wasn't a rescue. This wasn't a misunderstanding.

This was a prison.

The girls were herded forward, the guards shouting orders. Some of them walked like ghosts, their eyes empty. Others fought back, only to be met with swift, brutal responses. A girl near Alexa tripped and fell. Before she could even push herself up, one of the guards grabbed her by the back of her shirt and hauled her upright.

"Keep moving."

Alexa bit her lip so hard she tasted blood.

They were led toward the massive building. As they got closer, Alexa could see that the windows were heavily reinforced, the doors thick metal. There were cameras at every corner, red lights blinking.

A facility built for control.

As they entered through the main doors, the heavy locks clanked behind them.

And just like that, the last bit of hope Alexa had been clinging to disappeared.

Wherever they were, there was no turning back