This story takes place following the events described in "Back to Skool" and unfolds within the universe I envisioned in the "Portuguese Crime Reduction Act." For now, Sara Messias is the only character who appears in both stories. Every person in this story is of legal age at the time of the events.
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The guard led me and the other woman from the black van to a door above which was written, "Tires Correctional Facility for women - Inmate Admission," along with a series of warnings about what could not be brought inside or done.
As I walked into the white cold, sterile room, I could feel the tension in the air like a heavy weight pressing down on my chest. The room was eerily quiet, save for the soft, shaky breaths of the girl beside me. She was a few years older than me, with long, dark hair that fell almost to her waist. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with fear, but she kept her mouth shut, as if speaking might make things worse.
A fat, stern-faced woman with cold blue eyes stood before us, she removed our cuffs and then calmly said, "Strip," she ordered, her voice devoid of any emotion.
I already knew the routine and obeyed immediately, but my unfortunate companion hesitated, perhaps still in shock. The guard pulled out a stun baton, small electric sparks crackling along its sides. "Do it now, or I'll do it for you," she snapped, her voice laced with impatience.
We both undressed as quickly as we could and placed our clothes into two plastic bags. The guard collected the bags and labeled each with our names. We both tried to cover our breasts and genitals; I wasn't modest, but I didn't feel comfortable being exposed to strangers.
"Hands behind your neck, legs apart." She looked at us as if we were trash--trash she had to deal with. "Sara Messias, 18 years old, accused of terrorism. Teresa Silva, 25 years old, sentenced to 30 years in prison for human trafficking."
"I didn't traffic anyone, I just saved liv... HAAAAAHHH!" The guard struck the poor girl in the stomach with her stun baton.
"First rule: obey every single order. Second rule: speak only when a guard commands you." The woman looked at me, possibly searching for any sign of defiance, but the sight of Teresa writhing on the floor in a puddle of her own urine, and the memory of my earlier interrogation, stopped me from acting as I would have liked.
Follow me," the order was given without any emotion. I helped my unfortunate companion to her feet, and we followed the guard.
She knocked on the room door, and a man in a white coat opened it. "Good morning, Hugo. I've got two clients for you: the brunette is a new resident, the one with blue hair is just passing through." Our captor smiled at the man, who appeared to be about thirty years old, with a two-day beard and a refined appearance. Instinctively, we tried to cover our nakedness with our arms and hands, but the memory of the earlier baton strike suppressed the impulse.
Hugo looked us up and down. "Good morning, ladies. I'll be overseeing your admission process. I hope you won't make the procedures any more unpleasant than they need to be. Helga and I are just doing our jobs." His voice was friendly, almost seductive, but a baton and a pair of handcuffs hung at his waist.
I took a closer look around the room. There was a gynecologist's examination table, something I was already accustomed to, and one of the walls had a height chart, along with a series of other instruments. The environment was clinical, and impersonal, designed to reduce us to mere objects of inspection.
Hugo ordered us to open our mouths, move our tongues, and cough. Then he pointed to the wall with the height chart and a scale, "Come on, girls, I need to check your body mass index." It was humiliating, but normal in our situation.
"Sara Messias, 162 cm, 55 kg, BMI 20.96... we'll need to fatten you up, 2200 calories. Teresa Silva, 166 cm, 68 kg, BMI 24.68, 2100 calories." The way he assessed us made it seem like he was talking about livestock.
Next, he pointed to the gynecologist's chair. "I'm going to check that you don't have anything hidden in your vaginas and rectums. I hope you cooperate; there's nothing to gain by resisting."