Free Indentured by Scott McElhaney

up!”
     
    Startled from the depths of a dream, it took Declan a couple seconds to recognize his surroundings. The painful discovery that his son wouldn’t be returning was magnified even further by the realization that yesterday wasn’t a dream after all. He was still aboard a spaceship inside a body that wasn’t his own.
     
    “ Breakfast will be in thirty minutes in the cafeteria,” Ensign Rowe insisted, standing in the doorway, “Even if you aren’t eating, your presence is required. Though with these new bodies, I imagine you’re probably starved.”
     
    Then she was gone as quickly as she came. Declan wasted no time getting out of bed, leaving his blanket in a twisted heap. Once in the bathroom, he had no problem locating his ‘F’-imprinted toothbrush and something that he assumed was a futuristic form of electric razor, but he couldn’t find any soap or toothpaste.
     
    He felt around the sink searching for a lever or a pump that he was somehow missing. Eventually, he pushed on an almost invisible disc on the sink, causing a cylinder to rise up from the sink. He found two more of these camouflaged discs, bringing forth two other cylinders. He pressed the black button on the first bottle, releasing foam of some sort. The second released another color of foam and the third released a minty smelling paste.
     
    He took his chances with the paste on his toothbrush and became fairly certain by the time he was done brushing that it indeed was toothpaste. He’d figure the foams out later.
     
    “ Don’t try the shower,” Delta peeked in at him, “Apparently space-faring people of the future are limited to showering every other day. And today’s not one of those days.”
     
    “ You tried?” he asked.
     
    “ Yeah, they shut off the water,” he said, “The ensign said that they conserve water on ships, so we have to adapt to their ways. Say, where’d you get the necklace?”
     
    Declan reached up his hand and took hold of the little amulet. Somehow feeling it this morning made everything from last night all the more real. He’d forgot all about the necklace until just now.
     
    “ It was on my bed, so I figured maybe it was a good luck charm or something. We’ll see if it works,” he replied with a tight smile, “Though starting my day without a shower doesn’t make it seem like we’re headed in the right direction.
     
     
     
    . . .
     
     
     
    They weren’t allowed to eat until everyone arrived in the cafeteria and as of the moment, they were only waiting on two more Indentures. Declan rested his chin in his palm as he watched the people across the table from him. He was glad to see that Juliet had come to the cafeteria today and actually seemed to be in slightly better spirits as she carried on a conversation with Sierra. Watching Sierra, he tried to imagine Tami Guzman or Ensign Rowe for that matter as the spirit inside the woman.
     
    At that moment, Oscar and Golf entered the cafeteria, causing Ensign Rowe to finally close the cafeteria door. Golf still wore the pained expression of a man struggling just to make it through another day. Declan recalled that he and Quebec were having trouble accepting the loss of their families and though Quebec seemed to be doing a little better, Golf didn’t.
     
    “ Now that everyone is finally here, you may go ahead and grab your breakfast. As we have a limited supply of meat aboard this ship, breakfast is the meal everyday where no meats are offered. It’s basically breads, cereals, or nutrient bars,” the ensign said, “We are living in a closed environment, so there are limits to certain things since we have limited quantities. You probably noticed you couldn’t shower today and even tomorrow when you can, you will be limited to five minutes. The water will shut off after five minutes and if you decide to step back in the shower and take another five minutes, your roommate will be forfeiting his or her shower. I don’t think you want to