Trapped

            Her eyes slowly opened and there was no noise, no light, no heat.  It wasn’t freezing, but it wasn’t hot either.  Sitting up, the room exploded in white light.  Grabbing her head, she fell to the ground and screamed.  The lights were too bright, they hurt her eyes.  As she grew accustomed to the lights, she stood slowly.  The room had a white cot, walls, floors, and toilet.  There was a door hanging ajar in the wall across from the cot.  Looking at herself in the reflection of the tiles on the wall, a black, short sleeve jumpsuit hung off her thin frame.  A tight black collar around her  neck had two green lights on the sides.  There was a black mark on her left wrist.  Looking down there was a tattoo on her wrist.

T3182

            “Where am I?” she muttered to herself.  Walking to the door, she pressed it.  It swung open and the hallway lit up.  She stepped out into the hallway and pain exploded into her head as a shock traveled through her body.  She cried out again and fell to her knees.  Grabbing at the collar around her neck, she felt the shock stop.  Breathing through her teeth, she stood up carefully and grabbed the wall to steady herself.  Taking unsteady steps down the empty hall, she passed other doors.  Pushing on the first one, it didn’t give.  The second and third didn’t move either.  Growing frantic, she threw herself against the fourth.  It burst open and she fell to the ground.

            “Ouch,” she whimpered and pushed up off the ground.  The room was just like hers, there was nobody inside it.  Backing out into the hallway, she stumbled down the hall again.  Shoving the door on the end open, she hit a catwalk railing.  Grabbing it, she looked out over an empty floor.  The area was filled with empty round tables.  Doors, just like the ones in the hall she had just left, lined the walls.  All of them closed.  Looking around the walls, signs told her everything she needed to know.

            There will be no warning shots.

            Guards will shoot first.

            If you are fighting, you will be shot.  There will be no warnings.

            She was in a prison and judging by the looks of the cells and the signs, a very dangerous one.  She walked around the catwalk to a set of stairs and slowly descended them.  The metal clanged underneath her boots.  As she walked across the floor of the cell block, she looked around.

            “Jails are populated.  There are people inside a jail.  Where is everyone?” she muttered to herself.  Spinning around in the center of the room, she cupped her hands around her mouth and screamed, “Hello!”

            The only response she got was her ‘hello’ echoing back at her.

            “Is anybody there!” she called out again.  Terror was building in her chest.

            There was still no response.

            “Somebody answer me!” she screamed in terror.   One of the doors against the wall banged and she jumped.  Walking over to it slowly, she grabbed the handle and pulled it up.  The door slid open and pain exploded into her stomach as a boot heel struck it.

            She hit the ground and instantly curled into a fetal position and covered her head.  Squeezing her eyes shut, she cried in terror, “Don’t hit me!”

            The man above her froze as he held a rifle above his head to hit her.  She opened her eyes and looked up at him.  He must have been a guard, he wore heavy body armor and carried multiple weapons.  He lowered the rifle and knelt down.  Taking her shoulder, he helped her to her feet.

            “What’s your name?” he asked her.

            She thought about it for a moment, but came up with nothing.  She racked her brain for a minute, but still came up empty.

            “What’s your name?” he asked again.

            “T3182,” she stuttered taking a tentative step back from him.

            “Not your ID number, your name.  What is your name?” he asked taking a step towards her.  She took another step back.

            “I don’t know.” She cried before turning and running.