"Men are the scum of the universe. If it weren't for them, this world would be a safe and good place to live in. They pollute our air, they pressure us to do things we don't want to do and then we end up pregnant and they leave us to fend for ourselves and care for the baby alone." she continued to rant and rave and Christina leaned over and whispered
 "She got dumped by her first, and only, love a few years ago. Then she went pretty much insane."
 "They push us around, never listen to what we have to say, treat us like sex objects put on the Earth solely for their enjoyment and tell us lies about the future. . ." she rambled on a little more until Christina coughed to get her attention. "Oh, um, yeah. Let's get down to business. How'd you get out of the dungeon, you snivelling prick? I'm telling you, if you don't tell me exactly where the opening is, I'll come up with ways of making you talk. And you won't like ‘em."
 "We didn't come from the dungeon! You fat little pig! What kind of a person are you? From what I've picked up so far, you are some freak. You'd have to be a really sick, twisted, human being to lock up her own kind and treat them like trash." I exploded, yelling childish insults and repeating the same sentences more than once. I began to remind myself of a guest on Jerry Springer.
 She ignored my question, and said "Trust me, we checked this planet over very well, there was nobody left! Where were you hiding?"
 "We weren't hiding. We only got here a few days ago. Me and Frederick that is." she shuddered at the mention of a guy. "We met Alex and S-" I stopped myself, remembering that they still didn't know who Steph was. "S-s-some other girl on the way up here."
 "That's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard!" she screamed.
 "Then how come the two of us aren't ‘branded'?" I retorted.
 "What!" she exclaimed.
 Christina whipped off the shawl they'd given me to wear. My bare arm was exposed and the cold room gave me goose bumps.
 "There's nothin' here but skin and hair!" she said, mystified.
 "How is that possible!" yelled Godiva.
 "Could she be telling the truth?" asked Christina.
 "No, no, that's impossible. We must have missed her, that's all. Get her a number immediately."
 "We got rid of that machine years ago. We weren't expecting any more people to need numbers."
 "Well, you're gonna have to do it manually then!" she shouted.
 "That would be awfully painful." Christina said.
 "I don't care how it's done, just get it done!"
 I whimpered and Christina giggled. "Well, you heard the woman. I'm gonna stick you back in your room until we round up the necessary items. It'll give you time to numb up your arm with some cold water."
 She took me back to the room, shoved me inside, and shut the door behind me. I heard her lock it and then walk away. I noticed that my clothes had been cleaned, and in my pants' case, repaired. I changed back into them and lay on the bed, curled in the fetal position. I hugged my knees and wondered what Frederick and Alex were doing. I said a silent prayer, hoping that somehow they'd escape and save me. I wasn't in the mood for a permanent souvenir on my arm. Or what about Stephanie? She was still free, and walking around! I shouted out a long wail. There was a knock on my door.
 "Steph?" I whispered.
 "Shut up in there!" some girl yelled. "Don't make me get rough with you.
 "Frederick, "I screamed at the top of my lungs. My throat started to hurt but I didn't finish until I ran out of breath. If Frederick was out there, I was gonna let him know where to find me.
 The door burst open and a girl charged in. "He's not gonna help you now! There's no need to wake up the whole floor." She lurched at me and it's then that I noticed a syringe in her left hand. I yelped and tried to duck out of her way. The room was small and all though I managed to dodge her for a few moments, she eventually cornered me and shoved the needle into my arm. "Now get on the bed." she ordered.
 "I'm not doing anything. . .you. . .say," I said, as the injection took effect, and I slumped to the floor. The girl picked me up and threw me on the bed.
 "At least you won't feel the tattoo now," she said, although I  was too fast asleep to hear her.