We were taken into a room that was a cool relief from the shipping container. We were directed to sit, and after a few minutes, the bags were taken off our heads.
The room was an atrium open to the sky in the center. It was very pleasant and soothing. The room reminded me of places that were built in the 60’s and 70’s. The Room was oval shaped and made of concrete, with plants and water flowing through the large planters which lined the walls and the center of the room. There were benches around the planted areas. The large planter in the center had trees growing up through a hole ceiling.
The men who brought us here left, and a friendly looking young woman in a suit stood in front of us. Without any introduction she began, “You are not permitted to talk to anyone here. Don’t think we won’t hear you, there are microphones everywhere, and you will be overheard”. After a pause, she continued, “Your old life is now over, this will be your new life. You will serve the guests of this island as needed. Anything they ask, you will do. You will start with cleaning, and be moved into other service positions as we see fit. The less trouble you make the better off you’ll be. Over time, I believe that you’ll find life here can be quite enjoyable as long as you do what is expected, and don’t cause any trouble.”
She continued to explain to us that, we can never leave this island. If we attempt to leave, we will be killed, and there will be repercussions that affect those we care about back home. She said, "You have all been injected with a non transmissible bacterium that will kill you, if you do not get regular injections from us." Then, I will never forget, she said, “Remember, there are no second chances.”
When I left Chicago, I did not have any living family and few friends, so, for a moment, I did not see how that would affect me. I was wrong. Being alone in the world makes us vulnerable. I immediately felt this was a selfish thought. I am not alone here, and of course, there are people that I do care about back home. However, I knew now that one would come for me.
After her little intimidation speech, we were fitted with a collar, then we were released from the handcuffs. She said that the collar was to identify us, and there were other implanted devices used to track us, if we somehow managed to take our collars off. she also mentioned that it could be triggered to explode, if we tried to escape.
I kept thinking, this is insane. how did I get here? I started going over what happened in my mind. It became a loop which continued for some time. Going over the details, trying to find something I could have done differently. As if it mattered. Nothing could change the situation I was in. I was sure that the job I signed up for was never real. It was a trap.
