Brittany's POV

I work without stopping. Day and night. Hours blur together.

It's not just to protect the children. It's to numb myself. To stop feeling.

If I keep moving, keep scrubbing, I don't have to feel the pain.

My hands are destroyed. The skin is pale. Wrinkled from constant submersion in filthy water.

My fingernails are black underneath. Packed with dirt that won't come out.

The smell never leaves. ...