n. a moment that seemed innocuous at the time but ended up marking a diversion into a strange new era of your life-set in motion not by a series of jolting epiphanies but by tiny imperceptible differences between one ordinary day and the next, until...
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I wake up to a dark room. Another morning spent in jail. I was supposed to be out two years ago, but I got my sentence lengthened for assaulting a guard. It's not my fault that he decided to stand where the basketball would hit him.
I look down at the bottom bunk to see my partner in crime, Marah, already awake. She's sitting on her bed, drawing out a new tattoo design. We were able to convince an officer our first year here to get them for us, so that we wouldn't be bored.
"What are you getting this time?" I ask, stretching out my muscles, before jumping from the bed. I land on the floor, where I go to the bar in our room and start on pull ups.
"It's the number Five, with roses in it and flames on the outside." Rose responds, showing me the drawing as I stop my workout to see it.
"Why are you so obsessed with the number Five, rose?" I ask, knowing she already has many like this.
"Let's just say it's my lucky number." she responds. I go back to doing pull ups as she places the drawing on the table. There's a knock on our cell bars, alerting us of a guard.
We share a look, both rolling our eyes as we move off to the side so they can check our cell.
"Hargreeves, Ford. Not hiding anything from us today are you?" the guard asks.
"Why would we do that? We have nothing to hide anymore, you stole everything from us." Marah replies, coldly, scaring the young guard.
The search and strip our beds checking under our books, through our tattoo stuff and Marah's drawing supplies, before they leave.
"You could have at least put the room back together. Did your mother never teach you manners as a kid?" Marah taunts the kid.
As soon as the guard walks away, the cell opens again signalling breakfast time. We walk out of the room, Marah carrying her tattoo stuff and her stencil.
We get to the cafeteria, setting our stuff down as we go to get food. We've grown a reputation over the years as were the two who are willing to hurt a guard no matter what, even for fun just to cause some trouble.
Sitting back down at the table, I eat my breakfast as Marah works on her tattoo, eating occasionally. Other inmates come over to us, asking for tattoos, which they get for doing our chores. The bigger the tattoo, the more chores they must do.
At the end of breakfast Marah, is halfway done with her tattoo. We head back to our room where I do some push ups as Marah finishes off her tattoo. Once she's done, she leans down to show me her shoulder.
"See, isn't it cute." she asks. I look at her new ink, then trailing down her arm to all the other ones she's done or I've done over the years. We have a shared sleeve of them and other's sporadically around our bodies.
As we go to leave our room, Marah is stopped by the new guard.
"You got a visitor, Hargreeves." the guard says, causing both of us to frown. In all the years we've been here, neither of us have had visitors. "Let's go Hargreeves."
Marah starts walk down the hallway, she turns back to me and smiles at me mouthing that she'll meet me outside.
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I walk down the hallway following the guard. Having left Sawyer in the hallway, I wanted to make this quick.
"Did they say who my visitor is?" I ask, needing to know which of my siblings have finally come for me.
The young guard is silent as he walks, I notice a knife on his belt and stumble into him. While he's distracted yelling at me for tripping, I slip the knife into my jumper.
We make it to the visitor room. I have to have my cuffs left on and constant watch with all the harm I've caused the guards and other inmates.
I walk behind the guard to the table as I see a familiar face. Sitting down, he looks up at me and smiles, though it drops when I don't smile back.
"When did you get here?" I ask, not looking him in the eye.
"This morning. Landed in the back alley, same as you." Five answers.
"How'd you know I was here?" I ask, hoping he didn't see the arrest report.
"An article from 1958, of two young girls being arrested on the murder of a policemen." Five replies, showing me the report. "I found the others."
"Oh, goody. Does this mean you're all gonna come and visit me so we can have family day now?" I comment sarcastically.
"Marah, what happened? I thought you'd be happy to see me." Five mutters.
"It's been five years, Five." I growl out. "To you it would have been that we kissed just yesterday, but I've been here for five god damn years. All of which were spent here. So, no, I'm not happy to see you. I have only a few more months and then I'm out, so leave me the hell alone."
"We don't have months Marah." Five responds. "We have ten days. Ten days until nuclear war."
"Are we sure it's not Vanya." I respond coldly. "Because it probably is Vanya."
"Or maybe it's you. As apparently you're working with the Russians." Five replies.
"Wow. Never heard that one before." I mutter. "Normally they say I'm a demon who's doing the devil's work."
"I'm gonna get you outta here Marah." Five says. "I need your help, I need you."
"Why don't you do that, Five." I say, looking towards my guard. "But if you get me out, you gotta get my friend out as well, or else there's no reason for me to leave."
I turn away from him before he can respond. Before I can leave though he yells after me.
"I promise, Rosie. Whatever it takes." Five yells after me. I don't look back, continuing my walk back to the yard. Before I get to the yard, an older female guard comes up to me and takes me from my young guard.
"Took you long enough to get me away from him." I grumble.
"I'm here aren't I." Beatrice says, the guard who got me my tattoo stuff. "You've got another couple patients who want you to do work on them. You'll be outta here with Saw, by the end of the week Rose."
I smile at Bex. "Thanks Bex. This means a lot to us. Were you able to contact her for me?" I ask, wondering if she got my message to Oriella, the worker at the bakery.
"Yes, she has clothes, money, shoes, and anything else you two should need to disappear." Bex responds.
"Thank you." I smile. "But, can you take these off me now?"
"Yea, your stuff is out there with Saw." she tells me, taking off the cuffs and sending me out to the yard.
