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Dana moseyed around outside in the dark, along the edges of the perimeter around the Waste Management plant. A month had passed since she had first arrived. It felt more like a year.
They had been allowed some extra free time and were even permitted to wander outside, as long as they did not go beyond the boundary. She eyed the barbed wire fence that encompassed the area. Guard towers were stationed at various points, with two officers in each.
She looked out at the fields beyond, longing to go there. Memories of picking wild strawberries with her grandfather flittered through her mind. She missed those days and the innocence they held.
Dana studied the barbed wire fence and its eight feet of sharp metal barbs. They had been told that all this was for their safety. Dana felt more like a prisoner.
The whistle of a train stole her attention. She glanced at the streamlined, luxury train as it pulled into its station. So the rumors were true, thought Dana. President Klens is coming for a visit.
Mad Dog walked by. He stopped momentarily and stared at her before moving on. He had not talked to her since the fight. Dana felt as if she could die at any moment from one of his stares.
Well, tomorrow is another day, she thought to herself.
The buzzer sounded, indicating that their free time was over. Dana slowly walked over to the barracks. A thought entered her mind, something she had not thought about for a long time. What was Kenny up to?
Once again Dana and George worked side by side at the incinerator. They methodically raked the garbage into the flames below them. Neither said a word. Neither wanted to, as they tired from their work. Elsie and Sanders had also been assigned to the incinerator that day. Dana looked over and smiled at her friend.
The heat from the fires seared her skin, but she had noticed that it began to toughen up. A strand of hair fell in her face. Dana brushed it aside. She scraped more refuse into the flames. Blisters formed on the heels of her hands from the continued use of the rake and the holes that developed in the gloves.
An agonizing wail filled the area, halting everyone. Looking up, Dana saw that Tony, one of Mad Dog’s friends, had his arm caught in the grinders. No one moved to help him as he hung there with his bloodied arm caught between the gears.
Angered at people’s apathy, Dana ran for Tony. She snatched a ladder and placed it under him to stand on. Grateful, Tony did so relieving the weight from his arm.
Carefully, Dana climbed the gears of the grinder, which had frozen in place. She hoped they wouldn’t move or she, too, would be caught. The blood and bits of meat entangled in the gears sickened her. Swallowing back vomit, Dana concentrated on what she had come to do.
“My arm!” cried Tony.
“Look away,” said Dana.
Tony did so as tears filled his eyes from the pain.
Dana studied the situation and realized that there was nothing she could do, except yank what was left of his arm out of there. She knew there would be no saving it.
“I am going to pull it out, but it’s going to hurt. Bad,” said Dana. “When I do, we both need to jump back fast or we will get sucked into this thing when it starts up again.”
Tony nodded his head in understanding.
Dana knew that all eyes watched her. She had no doubts that the officers were taking bets again about her chances of success.
Dana wrapped her hands around Tony’s arm and yanked. His agonizing screams filled the area, echoing around all of them. The moment his arm was freed, the gears of the grinder started up. Dana pushed them both away. A moment of weightlessness took hold before they crashed to the black dirt.
Dana breathed deeply, recovering from having the wind being knocked out of her. Tony’s groans and grunts brought her back to the task at hand. He cradled his mangled arm. Quickly, Dana took her bandana and wrapped it around Tony’s bleeding limb to stem the flow of blood.
Officer Burroughs barreled his way through the gathering crowd. “What’s going on here? Why have you stopped work?”
“There was an accident,” said one man.
“Accident?” demanded Officer Burroughs.
“This man needs a hospital,” said Dana, holding Tony up. Her authoritative tone did not go unnoticed by those around her.
“Does he now?” Officer Burroughs snatched Tony’s mangled arm, twisting and turning it as he studied it. Pain filled Tony’s face as he tried to not cry out.
“This arm is beyond saving,” said Officer Burroughs. “What is a man with one arm supposed to do in this place? What use is a man with one arm?”
Officer Burroughs circled around Tony as he addressed the people around him. Dana did not like the direction his speech took.
“We only have so many resources at our disposal. Should we waste them on him?” Officer Burroughs pointed his baton at Tony. “So I ask you again, what do we do with a one-armed man when his usefulness has been used up?”
Without warning, Officer Burroughs seized Tony by the shoulders and threw him into the hole that led straight to the incinerator and the fires below. Tony’s scream echoed on the way down until it came to an abrupt end. No one moved, too scared to challenge him.
“That is what we do with those who are of no more use to us,” said Officer Burroughs.
Infuriated, Dana charged him. She punched him in the face. “You jerk! There was no reason for that!”
With expert skill, Officer Burroughs flung her off him, throwing her to the ground. He smacked her with his baton. “It’s time that you learn your place,” he snarled as he raised his baton again.
George stepped forward. “I think she has learned her lesson.”
Officer Burroughs slowly lowered his weapon. He eyed George a moment as his anger dissipated. “See to it that she has,” he said. “All of you, get back to work!”
Elsie ran for Dana. “Are you alright?” She pulled off her bandana and dabbed the bruised cut that formed on Dana’s cheek.
“You need to be careful,” said George, holding his hand out to her.
Dana took it as he helped her up. She glanced at Mad Dog, who remained, still staring at the hole that led to the incinerator. The shock on his face said it all. Not only had he never seen someone die before, but he had also never lost someone he cared about. The two locked eyes for a moment before Dana turned away and returned to work.
The same officer that had taunted Dana earlier for trying to save a man’s life from certain death in the incinerator strolled by. Angered, she glared at him. “Did you win your bet?” she spat, not caring if her rudeness cost her.
He stopped, looked at her, and continued on without a word.
Chapter Nine