The conscripts all turned their heads to look in the direction of the echoing footsteps. Neda leaned forward past the bodies of her fellows to see him walking towards them, the power and confidence he exuded could be felt at a distance. He was the boss, the commander, the one who changed their lives forever. Neda shuffled her weight on her feet, watching him get closer. She leaned back into line. Her hands went behind her back, her fingers fiddling with the cuff of her cardigan. The soldier’s posture seemed to straighten more so, showing their respect, or was it fear, for their leader.<br/><br/>Neda watched that slender finger point out at the two men from her town. She listened to their orders, her body shuffling again. A tent with trash around it, her town already sounded better. At least there they were able to remove the garbage from their homes. She watched the soldier step from the group and lead the two lads from them. She wondered if she would ever see them again. Neda avoided the gaze of the commander, instead watching the two walk away to their dooms. She wondered how many actually made it past a year. She watched that finger of doom point to the other girl. She looked at her face, tanned from being outside. She saw her eyes almost sink into her face with fear. Neither of them knew who Collins was but she didn’t sound too nice. Neda turned her gaze to the soldier that stepped forward to take the remaining familiar person form her sight.<br/><br/>Neda looked at the commander then, her weight shuffling again, unable to maintain a still position for long. Her fingers still fiddled, wringing out the thin material behind her back. Her eyes flickered between the remaining soldier and the commander. Her heart thumped in her chest as he as told to leave them. She had heard stories, of commanders picking conscripts for nothing more than a bedmate. Her eyes trailed up the length of the man. Surely she wasn’t that unlikely. Neda’s eyes turned up to his face when she was addressed, though they wandered to the back of the retreating soldier. She wanted him back, wanted a buffer to being alone with a strange man who had the power of the world on his shoulders. He could rape her and no one would bat an eye. His words fell on deaf ears, his name lost on the air. She looked back at him.<br/><br/>Neda followed him, her step hesitating for a moment when he turned his back. The thought of running occurred to her but she knew she wouldn’t get far. He would probably shoot her in the back if she turned and fled. Neda looked around the building as she railed behind him towards the elevator he just rode down in. She was silent as they waited for the doors and obediently followed him in. She stood to the side, keeping her distance from the man as her fingers continued to fiddle with the cuff of her cardigan, the material stretched by now. The balls of her feet bounced nervously as she watched the man use his finger like a key. The elevator moved, making her stumble slightly in surprise. No building where she had been needed an elevator and those she had seen didn’t work anymore. Neda looked around the small box, feeling the pull as it rose high into the building.<br/><br/>Upon arriving at his living quarters she followed him out, still yet to say a word. Her lips parted as she stepped from the elevator, eyes widening at the sheer size, space and view the penthouse had. Without thinking and forgetting where she was, she strolled forward. Her feet carried her to the large bay windows the couch faced. As she went she took in the furniture, more glamorous and wealthy than she had ever seen in her town. Neda went to the window and stood in front of it, her hands no longer fidgeting as the afternoon sun bathed her in its golden light. Her hair almost seemed to glow as it haloed around her. She looked down at the base around the tall building, her eyes casting out past the wall towards the rubble and fields. It looked like the earth was trying to reclaim back its land, the way the trees grew out of broken down vehicles and vines crawled up the length of ruined buildings. Finally, her eyes set upon the large city skyline that reflected in the sun. She had never seen the cities so far close, having never left her town on the fringe of society. Even from the great distance at which she stood, she could tell it was magnificent. Or perhaps that was just her imagination. As she stood there, looking out on the world that was unfamiliar to her, she forgot where she was or who she was with.