he was as he bobbed his drumstick body all around. But all she could think about was how hungry she still was. The protein shake she’d had for supper hadn’t filled her up for very long.
Still he kept singing, but most of what the Glorious Leader said went in one ear and out the other. He seemed to be singing about how the Compound was a paradise and she was lucky to be living there. But Penny kept imagining what it would be like to go take a bite of his juicy fried chicken body. The giant drumstick appeared to be extra crispy—her favorite. If only she had some mashed potatoes and gravy and coleslaw to go with it, she would be perfectly happy.
The dream seemed to go on all night long and Penny got hungrier and hungrier. By the time she woke up, her mouth was watering and she was hoping that she and Shurla could get some breakfast before they made a break for it and tried to escape.
She sat up in bed and noticed that she was the only one awake. It was still dim in the dormitory but there was a slit of a window, high up on the far wall, and a thin sliver of pale dawn light had painted a single luminous stripe on the blank white floor. It must be early in the morning then—which explained why everyone else in the cots all around her was still asleep.
But was the early hour really the reason no one else was up? There seemed to be a hushed whispering sound coming from somewhere. Penny frowned, remembering her strange thought that her pillow was trying to tell her something. Something about the Glorious Leader and a giant chicken drumstick…
No, he was the chicken drumstick, Penny thought. And he was singing something but I couldn’t quite make it out…
She put her face back down to the pillow experimentally and the whispering sound got louder. But try as she might, Penny couldn’t make out more than one word in ten. Every once in awhile she caught, “Glorious Leader” or “Shining Star,” but nothing else made any sense.
Penny frowned. Was there something wrong with her translation bacteria? And why was her pillow whispering to her, anyway? Was she still asleep and only dreaming that she was awake?
As if in answer to her question, the overhead lights suddenly came on and the door opened.
“Rise and shine, my lovelies!” cooed the voice of Mother Toone. “It’s another beautiful day in the Compound.” She went to each of the beds and shook the women gently by the shoulder. Penny had quickly pretended to be asleep the moment the door opened, so the NeverBreeder attendant shook her too.
Penny yawned and stretched, pretending to wake up just like all the women around her.
“Wakey-wakey!” Mother Toone sang brightly. “Time to get up and have some tasty breakfast. Then off we pop for a quick exam and then some lovely activities and maybe even some time in the exercise yard if you’re all very good.”
She bustled out the door and Penny sent Shurla an excited look.
“Did you hear that?” she whispered, leaning close to her friend’s cot. “The exercise yard! That must be outside the building. And if we can get out of the building, we can escape!”
“Escape?” Shurla frowned at her as though she didn’t understand the meaning of the word. “Why ever would we want to escape from the Compound?” she asked Penny, looking confused.
“What?” Penny stared at her blankly. “We want to escape because we don’t want to stay here with this crazy cult! We want to get back to Hell’s Gate Station so you can go back to your life as a, uh, joy-girl and I can call my friends and have them come get me.”
Shurla looked shocked.
“I don’t want to go back to that awful place!” she exclaimed. “It was dark and dirty—not nice and clean like the Compound.” She smoothed the bright white pillowcase beside her lovingly, as though admiring the cleanliness all around her.
“What’s wrong with you?” Penny hissed. “Last night you couldn’t wait to escape! In fact, you were the one who came up with the plan!”
Shurla opened her eyes wide and stared at Penny as though she was crazy.
“Why would I make a plan to escape paradise?” she asked, sounding honestly bewildered. “I must stay here and fulfill the Glorious Leader’s will for my life. Soon I will be united with my Forever Mate and after that,