"You know the punishment for humans: death!"

I'm not as afraid as most people would be. Ryker, my older brother, told me that gems won't hurt you if you don't hurt them. I stay perfectly still, trying to breath slowly.

The huge orange gem removes her hands from my shoulders and wraps her arm around my neck. "Don't speak or move," she tells me.

I glance to my right, where the green and purple gems left. I can see two figures peeking out from behind a building, one short and one tall. It's too dark out for me to tell if they're the green and purple gems from earlier, though.

The orange gem is now talking into a black rectangle with a black stick coming out of the top. The gem technology just keeps getting more and more advanced, I can't keep up with it. "General Jasper reporting," she says. "Yes, I captured a human."

Muffled voices come from the rectangle.

"Yes, General Jasper 14G-92. Should I kill her?" The gem called 'Jasper' presses a button on the rectangle and it instantly shrinks to a small oval with a hook on it. She puts it up next to her face and continues talking. "Okay, I'm on it."

I'm still looking at the figures in the alley. Jasper is now talking in a language that I can't understand.

"Okay, brat. You've been spared. But you can't leave yet. We still need you." Jasper takes out a long, rope-like material from her belt and ties one end around my wrist. She's holding the other. "Follow me."

I jog to keep up with Jasper's fast walking pace. Whatever she tied on my wrist makes me feel sick for some reason. It burns my wrist and I can feel it tightening on my arm whenever I slow down.

By the time Jasper stops walking, I'm out of breath and my wrist feels like it's on fire. We're now inside a small building with only one room. It has a wooden chair and a table, but that's it.

"Sit," Jasper instructs, pointing to the chair. She pulls her end of the strange rope and it unravels from my wrist. I feel even weaker now.

I stumble over to the chair, and when I sit down, two metal circles immediately clamp onto my ankles.
I wince in pain, but Jasper doesn't seem to care.

"You. What are you?" she asks me, slamming her hands down on the small table. 

I can't see Jasper very well, the room has no lights or windows. But I can tell that she's staring at me, and it's a bit unsettling. "I'm a human," I whisper.

"You're different than the rest. You didn't struggle when I caught you. You actually obeyed my instructions. You..." Jasper falls silent.

"I knew that you would do something bad to me if I did struggle or if I disobeyed you," I mutter. Just talking to such a powerful gem soldier makes me nervous, but I can't show my emotions to her. It would show a weakness that all humans have.

"Whenever I catch a human," Jasper starts. I can tell that she's having a difficult time talking to me, as well. "Whenever any soldiers find humans, we're always ordered to kill them. But recently, we've just been told to take them away."

I stare at the ground. "H-how many humans have you caught?" I immediately know that I wasn't supposed to ask any questions.

Jasper walks over to the chair and picks me up by my waist and drops me over her shoulder. The huge gem presses her hand against the wall opposite to the wall with a door. She walks through the newly appeared entrance and suddenly we're in the alley where the green gem and purple gem escaped. "Don't tell anyone about this and don't come back," she orders. Then she's gone.