Our guard spoke loudly, reading from his device. “Listen closely. The alts running today’s process have started moving through people much faster. Food and water bottles will be distributed by the end of the hour, and lights will be set up to maintain safety. They have someone going through the line as we speak to give you an estimated end time, as well. The alt in charge apologizes for not understanding human needs and taking care of them earlier.”

I was gaping at the guard long after he put his phone back in his pocket and went back to his original spot.

Maybe today’s alt didn’t only see us as objects.

Or maybe he preferred to keep his broodmares fed.

It didn’t matter either way, because whoever and whatever he was, he was never going to choose me.

I’d seen pictures of the women who were taken. They were every color and ethnicity, but always built tall and strong. Often, they were curvy, too. They all looked sturdy, and I was both short and skinny. My long, thick black hair was wavy and therefore big enough to make my pale face look smaller, too. I’d put it up in a bun to keep it out of my eyes, though. And my eyes were such a faded shade of blue that they almost looked gray.

Often, the women chosen came from impressive backgrounds or professions. I was just a struggling college student who delivered food to keep myself afloat while wading slowly through classes at twenty-five.

I had tattoos, on top of that. A sleeve of them on my right arm, a small one beneath my ribcage on the opposite side, and a large one on my hip. I’d never seen tattoos on anyone who was taken.

So as soon as I got to the front of the line, I should be free to go home.

The sun set while we all feasted on the massive boxes of takeout food that were provided for us. The line was still moving just as quickly as it had begun to after the guard’s phone call.

A large snack was passed out two hours later, along with coffee and soda.

We were given more of the same two hours after that.

Dessert came another two hours in, and I was still salivating after finishing a gigantic slice of cake.

It was almost three in the morning when my group—the final one—made it to the front. There were about fifty of us.

We quickly formed five rows of ten women, with person-sized gaps between us.

I noticed a few gigantic guys and a supernaturally gorgeous woman scattered through a group of human guards. They were clearly alts, and didn’t look nearly as exhausted as the humans.