"Have you explained anything to him yet?" Number 1 asked.
"No," I said, "I figured you should tell him."
"Good thinking, 220359." Number 1 turned to Simon.
"Simon, your people are the definition of monsters. For years they have been
capturing our people, and trying to find a way to conquer the upward land. Our land. They have been feeding the Demonites in hope that they will leave them alone. Us? We just want to live in peace, and not be eaten alive by the Demonites. But for years, we have been battling them on the defense, slowly taking away their population in hopes that we can put that society to extinction. Sadly, we rarely ever get people to come up here, as they have been poisoned in their minds from early on.
"People like her, Collectors," He nodded to me, "are assigned people to try to
convince to come up and join us. You are one of the few that agreed. Our people are
dwindling. Yes, we have jobs here, Farmers, Scouts that look for approaching Demonites, but the Collectors are the most important. They are the ones our whole operation is based on. But it's not easy, most often your people sell us out. Then your leaders take them, in hopes of making a trade with those monstrous Demonites. The more food they get, the less of your people they attack. However, recently, your leaders have been getting more and more of us to feed to the Demonites. We think that the Demonites are getting stronger and need more food, but we don't know."
"Are we sure?" Simon asked.
"Sorry, Simon." I said. "But, it's the truth."
I turned to Number 1, "What should I do?"
"Go get more people. The other Collectors have already been sent out."
"Okay, thank you Sir."
"No problem."
Number 1 turned back around and continued staring at the white board, scratching his head in thought. Simon and I excited the building and began walking back towards the exit of the camp.
"Say," Simon said, "What should I do?"
"I guess you can come with me."
"Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, for starters, your Leader calls you a number."
"So? Easier to keep track of names."
"I thought you were called Sierra?"
"I am. "
"Then why does he call you-"
86