Chapter 4 A Nurse Uniform Like Lingerie Costume

Clara clutched the uniform, her body trembling slightly.

Her eyes filled with doubt and hesitation. "Alice, is this place even legitimate? Look at these clothes—they're nothing like regular nurse uniforms."

Alice grabbed the clothes and examined them. Her smile vanished, replaced by shock.

"Oh my God. This is what they're giving us?"

Clara nodded, then turned to look out the window.

Outside, armed soldiers stood guard. A team constantly circled their temporary dorm, watching them like prisoners.

Clara gripped Alice's hand. "I don't think we can stay here. It's too dangerous. Maybe..."

She lowered her voice and leaned close to Alice's ear.

"Maybe this job will get us killed. Let's just run."

Alice bit her lower lip and pulled her hand free.

"But if we run, where would we go?"

Clara froze.

Right—even if they left, where could they go? Back to that filthy town? My uncle would beat me to death!

But staying here was just as dangerous. They could lose their lives any moment.

Alice pressed a hand on Clara's shoulder, her eyes unusually firm, her fingers digging in.

"Clara, look at me. Don't forget—we stole money to get out. We don't even have enough for a loaf of bread now, let alone two boat tickets back."

Clara still hesitated. "But..."

Alice grabbed her hand and shook it gently. "Maybe things aren't as bad as they seem. When I came back, I saw other nurses. They all looked fine. These weird uniforms might just be requirements for special positions."

"Some patients are hard to care for, with all kinds of habits. I'm sure these uniforms are designed for working with them."

Looking at Alice's hopeful eyes, Clara couldn't refuse.

She bit her lip and finally nodded, both agreeing and trying to comfort herself.

"Maybe you're right. Let's observe for a while. If anything seems wrong, we leave immediately."

"Okay." Alice patted her shoulder. "Don't worry. We worked too hard to escape—we can't go back like this."

That struck a chord with Clara.

She pressed her hand to her chest. The image of Katherine's desperate eyes flashed through her mind again.

Katherine had always been so good to her.

She had to earn money and go back, or Katherine would be killed.

She clenched her fists. She would stay—for now.

Then a loud bang came from the door.

Clara's head snapped toward the entrance. An armed soldier had kicked open the rusty iron door.

The door scraped loudly before giving way. The next second, it crashed to the ground.

The soldier's gaze swept the room, his knuckles white on his gun.

He locked eyes on Clara and Alice, pointing his rifle at them.

He swallowed and spoke impatiently. "Hey, you two."

Clara froze. Years of enduring her uncle's violence had trained her to stiffen in the face of authority, to want to run.

Alice looked terrified, her face drained of color, pale as a ghost.

The soldier didn't wait. "You two, hurry up. Put on your uniforms and report to the central square."

With that, he turned and left, boots stomping.

Clara's tension eased, though her hands still trembled. She grabbed the uniform from the locker and quickly changed with her back turned.

The uniform barely covered the tops of her thighs. The slightest movement exposed most of her bottom.

The neckline plunged so low that leaning forward would give anyone a full view.

Clara tugged at the hem constantly, trying to cover more skin.

"The assembly whistle is already blowing. Let's go."

Alice had already changed. She covered her chest with one hand and pushed Clara forward with the other.

They headed to the central square.

The square was already full of women in the same uniform.

Clara looked around. All the women were attractive. Some of the bolder ones flirted openly with the soldiers.

The soldiers laughed, their greedy eyes roaming over the women.

A soldier standing closest to Clara stared at her bottom, licked the corner of his mouth, whistled, and muttered to his companion.

"Hey, look at this one. Great tits. Wonder which prisoner she'll get."

"Not you, that's for sure. The prisoners here are a nightmare. That woman in front—she looks like she'd be wild in bed. In that uniform..."

"Hahaha. That would be hot."

Several soldiers laughed without restraint.

Clara was terrified. She hunched her body and pushed deeper into the crowd to escape their stares.

Alice, though, looked excited. She pointed at the crowd. "Look, Clara, so many girls just like us. Three months of work, a hundred thousand dollars. Then we can leave our old lives behind for good."

Clara tugged her sleeve, about to voice her concerns.

Bang! A gunshot rang out, drowning the noise in the square.

The square fell into dead silence.

On the platform in the center stood a man in uniform. The sun hid his face, but his voice was deep and commanding.

"Everyone be quiet. Welcome to Ironhold Prison."

Awe and fear crossed their faces.

The soldiers who had been joking snapped to attention, their sharp eyes scanning the crowd.

Clara's palms were slick with cold sweat. Everyone lowered their heads to avoid eye contact—everyone except her. She kept her head up and locked eyes with the officer on the platform.

The officer had an old brown scar running from his brow bone to the corner of his eye.

His cold, oppressive gaze landed on Clara for a moment, indifferent.

"Next, I will read out the rules for nurses. To my right is a lottery box. Each nurse will draw a prisoner's name at random and will accompany that prisoner around the clock for twenty-four hours. You must wear the regulation uniform during work hours. Anyone who violates the rules will be severely punished."