A jet of freezing water crashed over Alyssa. She screamed and threw herself to the back of her cage, fighting for breath. Through the torrent she could see two heavy-duty boots outside her cage door and a huge hand shoving a hose up against the mesh.

'Time to get clean, bitches!'

The wing was full of screams and sounds of splashing water as the guards hosed down the entire block. Alyssa shivered in the corner of her cage, eyes madly wide, and watched Katie lap at the hose for the amusement of the guards. Kayla simply sat back and let it wash over her, arms folded around her knees as usual.

The guards worked their way up the block, laughing as they went, until the last cage had been fully hosed down. Droplets of water fell from the cage above Alyssa's head like a fine rain. Her lips trembled as she held herself in a tight ball. A few moments later the air whipped up and turned furiously hot as a heated vacuum ran through the cage block. It lasted only a few minutes, and when the noise fell away Alyssa felt her body; it was warm and dry, as was the cage, but for a few pools of condensation here and there.

Women were crying and moaning. Katie sat on her ass and pressed a finger to her lips as the guards walked past. One of them gave her cage a kick and she giggled stupidly.

'Why do you do that?' Alyssa asked, clambering onto all fours to stick her head right up against the cage wall. Katie shrugged.

'I don't know. Its kind of fun when they dry us off.'

Alyssa made a mental note to punch Katie in the face if they ever got out.

The lights went out. A loud buzzer let off two sharp blares indicating that it was time to sleep. Alyssa rolled onto her side, facing away from Katie, hoping the silly girl would notice.

'You sure you wanna do this?'

Kayla had not moved from her stoic position, but now her eyes were all over Alyssa.

'You were used by three different guys yesterday,' Alyssa whispered in her direction, 'do you want to stay here?'

'Honey, I don't want a lotta things. I don't wanna die, neither. You saw what they did to Shailene.'

'This is different. One girl on TV is nothing. All of us at once is everything.'

Kayla chewed her tongue and then turned away.

'So do it.'

Alyssa rolled onto her front and looked down at the black floor. She could almost see her own reflection in the pool of warm water below her. It has to be now, she told herself, you wont survive another day here.

She raised her fist and slammed it into the side of her cage.

Moments passed. She waited for the sound. As more time ticked on she felt sure it would never happen, until:

Tsssssss.

Relief filled her heart. After Katie had carried the signal, so did the girl to her right. And then Kayla joined in, and it spread, left, right, upwards and across the block. Every woman was punching the side of her cage in rhythm. Soon it was deafening. Men were running up stairs, yelling at each other, at the women and in confusion and frustration. Then Alyssa spun around and gave her cage door a hard kick right where the lock met the wall.

BANG!

The door bent and creaked. The lock held firm.

BANG!

The hinges squealed.

BANG!

The door flew open and Alyssa leapt out onto cold concrete floor. She bounded to her feet just in time to see the swarm of women leaping out of their own cages. One jumped from three levels above Alyssa and almost knocked her over. She pulled herself up and looked around.

Two guards had already arrived and were immediately attacked by fifty women. The men yelled out and fell as the pack of girls surrounded them. Their screams filled Alyssa's ears as they died, and she smiled.

Katie's head popped up beside her own. Kayla slowly emerged from her cage, struggling to keep the excitement out of her gorgeous eyes.

'This way!' Alyssa yelled above the cacophony.

The gangway down to the recreation rooms was clear. Alyssa knew the way well. They charged down the steps and flooded the hallways through to the chambers. At each door they forced entry and killed any man inside, freeing the poor girl he had been using. By the time Alyssa led her army to the rear loading gate there were hundreds of them.

Five armed guards stood sentry at the loading gate. An alarm had already been raised; a flashing beacon turned the enormous warehouse to blood-red light. The guards yelled out to each other at the sight of hundreds of free women charging at them with fury in their faces. Guns were fired, little bursts of white light in the semi-darkness, and many women fell, but the charge went on until Alyssa threw herself at kevlar-clad guard, and with three other girls wrestled the gun from his grip. She turned it on him and blew his brains out.

'Yes!'

She screamed with delight at the feeling of revenge. The loading door was starting to raise; someone had accessed the control panel. Once it did there would be a clear sprint to the perimeter fence. Many more would die, she knew, but they had already come too far.

Women were already hugging each other, crying with relief and clapping their hands, bouncing on the balls of their feet as the loading door opened up. Alyssa breathed steadily for the first time in weeks. She was going home.

Suddenly the laughter and clapping turned to screams of denial. Alyssa turned to the door; fully open it revealed an empty carrier truck. Restraining cuffs hung from the roof. Alyssa's heart sank rapidly. Her grip on the gun slackened. She turned around and heard boots hitting the floor behind them as reinforcements raced up.

'Everyone inside!' She yelled at the top of her lungs, and in fear the women obeyed her, charging into the empty truck. Alyssa led them through, reaching the rear window to the cab first. She would climb through. start the truck and drive them out of the compound.

When she slid back the window her heart leapt again; Nate was sitting in the driver's seat. He turned his beautiful blonde head and gave her a wink as he started the truck. Alyssa felt tears on her cheeks.

'I love you!'

She checked behind to make sure all the women were on the truck. Pops of gunfire erupted in the warehouse behind. Kayla was at the door operator.

'Close it!' Alyssa yelled at her.

Kayla flipped the switch and the truck door began to close just as Nate took off. The truck roared out of the loading stand. Women fell and slid about, grasping onto the walls of the truck and to each other. They lost a few out of the back of the still-closing door. Alyssa gripped the cab with one hand and as many women as she could with her free dangling arm.

Through the dusty and fleck-ridden window into the cab Kayla saw Nate power past the security countermeasure towers. Bullets ricocheted off the hood and peppered the container. The gates came up fast; Nate hit the gas full force and rammed through the sheet metal, punching a twisted squealing hole at the gates' weakest joint, and then they were surrounded by woodland with gunfire trailing after them.

Alyssa let out a long breath of sweet relief. The women stopped screaming and crying just long enough to notice that the guns had all but stopped. There were cheers, whoops and tears of joy as Nate drove them out of the valley.

The truck came to a halt just over the verge. The sky was black and full of stars when Nate rolled up the rear door. Alyssa ran a quick head-count and then ran to embrace Nate. She kissed him hard on the mouth as the fourty-six women they had freed cheered and applauded. Nate smiled.

'Thank you.'

'Don't mention it,' He looked around at the host of naked females thronging the inside of the container, 'we're not done yet. To get out of this area we need to look like a delivery truck. If we get stopped, they will inspect us, and each one of you has to be restrained for us to pass the spot-check.'

There was a general murmur of dissent cut short when Alyssa piped up.

'Nate knows what he's doing. He's our only chance of getting out of here.'

Nate inclined his head and then set about locking each woman individually into the ceiling restraints, using the big silver key from the cab. Alyssa waited her turn and then put up her wrists to be shackled in, popping a kiss on Nate's cheek as he turned the final key. With all of them properly restrained he rolled down the rear door.

The truck moved off again. Girls began to chat with each other, hands strung high above their heads. Most were wondering how soon they could get back to their old lives. A few more were worried about being found out. When the truck stopped again suddenly they fell silent, assuming they had been pulled over. Alyssa froze in terror; if it was one of the compound vans caught up with them, they were dead.

Nate rolled up the door again. Alyssa craned her neck as best she could in her restraints, but could see no-one but Nate. They seemed to be off-road, parked up in the middle of the woods. Nate was holding the shackle-key again, and something in his face had changed.

Alyssa looked to the key, and then to him. Her insides turned to ice.

'No...' she whispered to herself, 'no, no no...'

'NO!' Katie screamed as Nate stepped up to her, unbolted her shackles and hoisted her off her feet, taking kicks to his stomach as he did so. He carried her out of the truck and slammed the door back down with one hand. Katie yelled and kicked for forty paces. Alyssa felt cold tears streaking her cheeks as the yelling stopped and the screaming started.