Born 01 - Born

eat?"
    She nods.
    I point to the tube. "When we are done in there and they are sure we aren’t sick, they will feed us." I say it loud enough that the lady in the space suit, who is now talking to the other woman, looks at me and nods. "Yup, we will get you some food."
    I pry her tiny, balled up hands from my clothes and smile softly. I step into the tube. It powers on and blue lights flash on me. A flat surface comes down on a robotic arm and a face appears on the screen in front of me. "Please place your hands on the pad."
    I smile at the little girl and put my hand on the pad. A sharp poke digs into one of my fingers. A red light moves from my fingertips to my wrist and then back again.
    The platform drops away and my hands drops down. The floor starts moving like at the airport, before.
    Suddenly, fast moving air blows across me and I move deeper into the tunnel. I get to the other side and it all stops. I step off and another space suit woman comes over to me. "I just need to take you to the sanitation area." I point to the little girl. "I have to wait for her.
    "Sorry, that's not allowed."
    I growl, "I'm waiting."
    She sighs.
    I shout through to the little girl, "See, it doesn’t hurt. It was kind of fun. Just step in. It's going to be okay. I'm right here waiting for you."
    Her breath is still slight heaves. She doesn’t make a sound. She puts a shaking hand out and steps onto the platform. She cries harder as the robotic arm comes down.
    "Put your hand on. I promise it was like a fast little pinch and nothing more. Then you'll come to me."
    Her blue eyes are filled with terror. She shakes her head.
    I nod. "Do it. They won't let you come to me if you don't do it."
    Her left hand hugs herself and her right hand rests on the pad. I see her flinch when the small prick comes. She ducks when the sharp wind hits her, and she looks like she might have a heart attack when the floor moves. She has never seen anything. She was in the womb when the world went crazy. Technology is not something us borderlanders see. Ever. In the borderlands, nature has taken things back. This feels like a small corner humans still control.
    Before the floor stops moving, she leaps off and is under my armpit again.
    The lady laughs, "Okay, you're both cleared."
    She brings us to a small white room. There is a white table in the middle of the room with nothing else but a door on the far side.
    "Please put everything on the table. It will be sanitized and given back to you if it can be."
    She stands and waits. I realize she is going to watch us strip naked.
    I want to have a fit. I want to smash her in the space suit face and run from the room, but I look at the little blonde and take a deep breath. I pull my shirt off. I pull off my sports bra and stand with my breasts out, exposed. It is the first time I have ever been naked in front of anyone except my Granny and my mother.
    I remember swimming in my underwear and bra with the naked people at the camp and smile. The little blonde would love it there. The majestic swimming hole would make her happy. I decide she is coming with me when I run. My brain tries to think its usual 'look out for number one' excuses, but I can't. I think she's alone in the world.
    "The jewelry, too."
    I look down at the silver bracelet and necklace my mom wore when she died. I remember my father removing it from her and putting it on me. I feel sick taking it off. When it touches the cold table, I feel like I will never see it again.
    I nod at her and she starts taking her clothes off. We are naked and filthy and both doing our best to cover ourselves. Finally, the lady walks to the door and slides a card on her wrist through a slot in the door handle. I need one of those cards. The door opens.
    "Now we need to clean you." She points into the stainless steel bathroom. The walls are metal. The floors are metal. There are several showerheads along the back wall and a drain in the floor. The little girl grabs my hand, seeing it. She doesn’t want to cuddle naked, thank God, but she wants to hold my hand. The water starts by itself, making her jump a little. I smile. I've seen a shower before.
    I put a hand out and feel excited. The water is very warm. I step into it and sigh. The warmth of it is something I haven’t had in a long time. Not without heating it on a fire.
    She watches me and feels the water running from my hand to hers. She puts a hand out and smiles at me. It's the first time I've seen her smile.