A commission for Shneeba

Kelly looked at the sheet of paper for the seventeenth time that day. Her Lottery Notice waved lightly as her hands shook. She had hardly been able to keep working that day, her hands scanning the groceries for customers, independent of her will, like they were on autopilot.

She felt numb, like she’d been hit in the head with a giant invisible hammer. It was the kind of thing all women were aware could happen to them at any moment, but the reality of the situation just didn’t seem like it was able to sink in. She was scheduled to be processed that very evening.

Usually they gave a week to a month’s grace to get your affairs in order. Kelly guessed that there must’ve been a rush order at the processing plant that day. It happened sometimes, or so the workers at the Supermarket loading dock had once told her. She was going to die today.

Her ashen look probably gave away her feelings because her friend Anne, a younger cashier with a mouse brown bob cut, at the register opposite Kelly gave her a sympathetic look.

“What’s getting you down Kelly?” She asked her redheaded senior, with genuine concern and compassion. Kelly hadn’t figured she was going to tell anyone about her summons, just go quietly to the processing facility by herself after work with no fuss, but she couldn’t lie to Anne about it.
“I got my lottery notice this morning… I’m scheduled for snuffing this evening.” She said, still hardly believing the words spilling from her mouth.

“I’m so sorry babe, that’s not really fair is it? I got mine last week too… but I’m scheduled for next tuesday. I still can’t quite wrap my mind around the idea of becoming meat myself.” Anne tried to comfort her. It was anything but comforting to Kelly though.

“I’m just so… scared… I don't want to die alone, surrounded by complete strangers. It’s all so demeaning.” Kelly scanned the barcodes of a shopper’s food items as she chatted to her short mousy haired friend, baring her soul openly. Anne gave a thoughtful look that seemed out of place on her usually carefree face, as if she was deciding something important.

“I suppose I could go with you, take you down to the plant. They might even let me get processed early. That way, you wouldn’t be getting killed with strangers, you’d be getting snuffed with a friend?” Anne suggested in a morbidly carefree way.

Kelly sniffled as she agreed. It didn’t seem right that Anne would have to shorten her own lifespan by a week… but the idea of going alone terrified Kelly too much.
“OK Anne… I think I’d like that.” She forced a smile onto her face, but had difficulty holding it there. Anne just beamed back genuinely. Kelly didn't understand how Anne could be so upbeat about the whole thing.

One of their coworkers, Emma, who had been stacking shelves returned to the cashier desks.
“Hey, what are you two talking about?” She asked.
Kelly didn’t really like the stuck up bimbo too much, so she just cut the conversation off fast.
“Just talking about that latest crazy Dolcett snuff video Anne’s brother was showing her.” Kelly said.
“Oh, just a silly Snufftube thing… I have no idea why boys get so worked up over them” she said with a hint of disdain covering a blush.

After they’d counted the money in the tills at the close of work, and handed it over to the nightstaff, Kelly and Anne walked in silence to the nearby train station. They were largely silent as they walked side by side. Each mulled over their immediate futures inside their own minds. Kelly was having trouble keeping it all together. Tears welled under her eyes, threatening to burst forth in a never ending stream. Anne had longer to process the strong emotions, so she seemed largely accepting of her impending fate.
“Hey, it’s ok girl… let it out, you’ll feel better.” Said Anne.

Anne paid for two tickets to the terminus at Riraito’s Fine Meats. Kelly found it odd that they made girls pay for their own transport to their own executions… as if that was somehow more callous than the act of execution itself.

A dozen other girls waited by the tracks for the train to arrive. They were dressed in all kinds of manners, teachers, lawyers, schoolgirls, housewives and more. There was only one reason for a girl to ride this particular train, so Kelly knew that they were all going to the same destination. Soon they’d all be naked and getting branded together. It was a maudlin thought that Kelly took no pleasure in.

The gleaming, freshly waxed train pulled into the station and the automatic doors opened with a gentle hiss. Glowing orange text on the front let them know it was the right train; it read Riraito’s Fine Meats. Anne practically had to drag Kelly into the train, as Kelly’s feet refused to budge on their own accord.

As the train sped away to its destination, Kelly couldn't help but sink into a deep depression. Was this all her life had ever amounted to? Was her grand addition to the human experience merely the value of the meat on her parted out carcass?
She broke down into tears while she stood in the middle of the carriage. Anne said nothing as Kelly ugly cried. She knew it wouldn’t help her friend any. She just had to get through this part on her own. By the time the train neared the stop, Kelly had stopped sobbing, controlling herself so that she only uttered small sniffles and sobs.

“There there, do you feel better now?” Comforted Anne.
“Yes.” said Kelly shortly. She didn’t really though… she was barely maintaining the low level of composure she had. She felt like anything could set her off into a flood of tears again. The two girls disembarked from the train, and ambled over to the facility at the exit. Kelly wiped the tears from her reddened eyes. They were greeted by the humble front windows of the establishment, where freshly roasted girls were displayed, and Kelly’s lip began to tremble again.

Kelly wondered how she’d look with golden brown skin, hung from a hook like that. She’d always loved the aroma of cooked girlmeat, but now that delightful smell just gave her an uneasy feeling deep in the pit of her stomach.

Anne led the way. She wasn’t quite enthusiastic, but there was some kind of eagerness to the way she moved, like she just wanted to get the waiting over with. Kelly found her chipper demeanor in the face of extermination unnerving. She could never behave like that.

They joined the line of waiting girls queued up to enter the Meatgirl reception around the side of the building. Some of the ladies already in line had started up smalltalk conversations. The topics of conversation were varied, but most centered on the upcoming processing in some way. Kelly just bit her tongue. she didn’t really feel in the mood to talk much. Anne nervously tried to start a conversation.
“Do you think we’ll get good meat grades? I always try to exercise, but I don’t know if I’ll make ‘A’ grade.” Anne enquired.
Kelly shrugged noncommittally. She appreciated the conversation, but it just wasn’t the right time.
“Dunno.. kind of out of our hands now isn’t it?”
“I hope I can be a whole roaster.. I don't fancy getting ground up, or parted out. I want to leave a pretty body.”
Kelly had to agree with Anne’s point of view, though she couldn’t bring herself to answer in the affirmative out loud, and instead opted for a period of prolonged silence.

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