Peter Prellwitz - Shards Book One

"Abigail,? I said, not quite stifling a yawn.? Yes. My name is Abigail."

It was morning when I woke up. Somehow the lighting in the room mimicked sunlight so perfectly that I was convinced it was morning, though it could have been the middle of the day, or even night, for any actual evidence. Regardless, whatever sleep I had gotten since falling asleep, I felt awake and lively.

Susie was still beside me, but had shifted in the night and no longer had her arm around me. That made it very easy to slip out of bed. I expected the floor to be cold, but it was nicely warm to my bare feet. I stood up and stretched. I didn't know if I would have any flashbacks like last…

The horror and shame came up. I shook my head and bent over. But I refused to surrender to it. It seemed less powerful, more fragile. A moment longer, and the feeling passed. There were going to be aftereffects, then.

I was shaken, but not badly. And I wasn't going to let it disrupt my day right from the beginning. I tried to think of something else. Looking around, I noticed Susie's bathrobe lying on the floor. A shower. Yes.

That would clear my head and keep me busy. It would also let Susie sleep in a little longer.

I slipped on her robe and was pleased that it fit fairly well, as bathrobes go. I wondered if my clothes had been brought in yet and decided to search. Right now, my earthly possessions were the clothes I had worn yesterday and the pajamas I had on now. I opened the first set of drawers on the wall opposite the foot of my bed and was rewarded on the first try. Several sets and changes lay neatly folded, waiting for me to select from. I chose a nice outfit that included a skirt that went nearly to the knee, proper underwear and a kind of, I don't know, aerobic suit thingy that would cover my torso and arms. I guess I'd have to learn the names of these things, and quick, too. I mentally crossed three-piece vested suit off my vocabulary and added aerobic suit thingy. I looked around for towels, then remembered the showers already had some. Gathering up my clothes, I left.

Or tried to leave. The door wouldn't open and I all but slammed into it. I was in a rush because I didn't need to use just the showers. Yet instead of fading away, the door stood resolutely in place. I reached out and touched it; it remained solid. Panic filled me as I realized I was their prisoner. They had no intention of ever letting me…

No! Knock it off, Abigail! You've a brain, so use it. I turned on the gray matter. Since I couldn't turn off my wild emotions I turned them down. Of course the door wasn't set to automatic; people like privacy. I remembered Susie knocking on Corporal Geher's door just yesterday, so this was probably in the same state. I looked around for a control panel and located it near the door? jamb", for lack of a better word, but less than a meter above the floor. That would make it an override in case of difficulty, which in turn meant the door was voice and/or proximity activated. Easy enough.

"Open, please,? I said as quietly as I could. Too quietly, for the door stayed put. I tried again, a little louder, and this time I saw a shimmer ripple through it. It remained opaque, but an investigating hand passed through with no resistance. I followed my hand into the hall.

The corridor was brightly lit with several people moving along it. Suddenly self-conscious, I ducked my head a little bit, staring at the floor. Holding my clothes tight to my chest, and hugging the right wall, I went along the short distance to the ladies room. I received several looks, but they were always accompanied with a smile. By the time I had passed the third such person, I was smiling shyly back at them. Still, the bathroom door was a welcomed goal.

I passed inside. Billows of steam rolled toward me as the momentary breach in the doorway tugged at it.

I started turning very red, and not from the heat, which felt glorious. I had gone from frying pan into the fire. I have no idea why I so shortsightedly thought it, but I had assumed the facilities would be empty.

Stupid assumption, knowing this was the only such facility in the entire complex. There were no fewer than ten women attending to their morning ablutions, laughing and talking animatedly amongst themselves.

Three of them, in the showers, were engaged in a loud song. Doors had come just a bit too far technologically. There had been no warning nor even the hint of sound until I had passed through.

And now it was too late. Even as I wondered if I could sneak out and come back at a quieter time, eyes started turning toward me. Eyes that looked on me and knew me for who I was and, much more embarrassing, what I had been. My heart started pounding, and I felt fear rousing itself. It began to… no.

I forced it down. I took a quick step back, stumbled over my feet, and fell on my backside. My face burning, I snatched up my clothes from where they'd fallen and stood up. I mumbled some apology and turned to go.

Someone took a firm yet friendly hold of my arm.

"Hi! My name's Sarah Grominski. I'm a private in enforcement Company A."

I turned back and looked at the woman. Only she wasn't much more than a girl. A big girl. A very big girl. She couldn't have been over twenty, but she was well muscled, though not too bulky, and had a strong upper body, which was pretty obvious as she only had a towel wrapped loosely around her waist.

Her face was strong and friendly, the features putting the stamp of authenticity on her ethnic surname. If ever I expected to see a cigar sticking out of a young lady's mouth, this would have been the one. But she was comely, too. To her I probably looked like a hothouse flower.

"Uh… hi. My name's… Abi… Abigail.? I flushed at the sudden attention. Even the singers had stopped and were looking at me.

"Well, Abi… Abigail, come on in!? She waved a strong yet feminine hand around at the others, all in various states of undress.? We're kinda informal here."

I couldn't help but laugh, caught myself, raising a hand to my mouth, then slowly relaxed. Sarah grinned from ear to ear, icebreaker extraordinaire.

And after that, it was wonderfully, joyfully, fantastically easy. I disappeared in the group and was accepted. They all got back to their conversations and laughter and noise. Several walked up to introduce themselves and get my name, which, it dawned on me, they obviously couldn't have known before now.

"Just dump your stuff on the counter and grab a shower before the Birthday Suit Trio use up all the hot water.? Sarah's open, blunt friendliness was refreshing and just what I needed. Between their openness, the promise of a hot shower, and the racy song revving up in the background, this didn't just break the ice, it shattered and melted it as though in a blast furnace.

I took Sarah's advice and dumped my stuff on a not-soaking part of the counter. I undressed and walked into the showers. The girls singing the song were obviously building up to a climax, for their voices were reaching shouts. It was a bawdy, lewd, and flat out earthy song that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. As a kid years-centuries-ago, I had always wondered what went on inside girls' locker rooms. If this were a sampling, it wasn't much different than boys' locker rooms. As I rubbed the shampoo into my hair, working it through the tresses, I felt even more at ease. Sarah had taken the showerhead beside me and was singing the final refrain. At the last line, the whole place chimed in, and what they lacked in talent they covered with enthusiasm. They finished, laughing loudly. Sarah grinned at me, looking a little surprised at my surprise.

"Not what you'd expect, huh?"

"Uh… no. Maybe a little more, um, reserved."

"Yeah, that's right, you're used to guys' rooms, aren't you?? She eyed me quickly and brazenly,?