Abandon Your Hope

Routine

'Please- no.' I had just wanted to get home. I clawed at his face, weakly.

'I have one last chance. Please- I have to get out.' My thoughts slowed down. My vision started to darken and I felt my body slowly give way. 'No no no- this can't be happening. It can't......' After that- it was dark. But only the start of a week of hell. Torture. Torture that she wouldn't wish on anybody, and the scars from it were just as visible now as they had been fresh. Maybe a little less red and a little less fresh. But reminders of what had happened all the same.

A week of torture. Then I was dumped at the same site they had found the body. Drugged, with a gun in my hand. A gun that matched the murder weapon in my hand. A gun that was covered in my fingerprints and nobody else's. It wasn't hard to pin the blame of the murder on me. I was in the location it happened, with the murder weapon. Even as I tried to plead my case- my lawyer had told me it was better to accept a plea deal than to fight for my innocence. He had told me that he believed me.

It wasn't long before I realized he was only saying that to try and get the case over faster. He had only wanted me to trust him so that he could use the things I told him in the case. To use against me. I had told him everything that I could remember that had happened. Every detail from the week I had been MIA. Nobody questioned why it took a week for me to "turn up." They just accepted that I was a murderer. The family of the girl I had found looked at me with such hatred. As they hauled me away- I begged and pleaded with them. I begged and pleaded for them to believe me. That I hadn't done it. Maybe I had done something to upset God. Or the gods- who knows? It could be anything up there. Maybe the universe saw how I teased my sister and decided I deserved what was happening. As they dragged me from the courtroom, the sentence pounded in my head. Repeating itself over and over again.

"You are hereby sentenced to 25 to life without the possibility of parole. You shall be sentenced to serve two years at the Shyann county Juvie. At the age of 18, you shall be moved to the Westside Federal Mens and Women's joint Corrections facility." The judge had read off the verdict like he was a robot. Bored and monotone- clearly wanting his day to end so he could go home. I didn't understand how he could send an innocent person off to prison with no remorse.

As they dragged me through the doors of the courtroom, my eyes met a pair of eyes that looked familiar. I couldn't quite place from where but they were mesmerizing. Blue irises that help many shades. Powdery ice blue on the outer rings and small flecks of gold shone throughout the iris. The owner smirked at me. Why did he seem so familiar? The guards didn't give me a chance to study him. They dragged me out of the courtroom- and to juvie I went.

*Flashback*

Not much happened while I served my two years in juvie. The same routine everyday. Wake up, attend schooling, work the job they assigned me, get back to my cell and then sleep. Wake up the next day and do it all over again. But today, today would be different.

Today was the day that I would be moved from juvie to the westside. I had no idea what I was going to do. My thoughts whizzed around in my head, one thought in particular sticking around in my head.

'How am I gonna keep myself safe?' The only thing that mattered is that I needed to stay safe. If I act up there may never be a chance to get out. At my hearing they told me I had no chance of parole. But maybe I could appeal and change that verdict. Never get your hopes up but plan out what you need to do. I wouldn't be able to take any of my stuff here with me to Westside. The door to my cell slammed open, and a guard walked into my room with his baton ready.

"Up and at em girl. We need to get a move on, you're already running late." He didn't wait for me to stand up, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards the cell door. My feet stumbled as I tried to gain a good footing. If I were to fall while the guard was leading me, I already knew he'd smack me good for wasting his time. Barely managing to keep up without falling, I don't notice we are heading for the exit door until I felt the cool October air chilling my skin. Goosebumps sparked all over my arms and legs- reminding me that I hadn't pulled my jumpsuit up and I was only wearing a white tank top as a shirt. They had only given me one bra, at the beginning of my stay. That had not lasted long. Not even a week later it was gone. Most likely got snatched while it was in laundry.

With no bra and only a tank top, the air didn't feel very nice. Though I knew better than to ask if I could get a jacket. We were scum. Not even worth the clothes, according to most guards at least. With no way to actually keep myself warm, I just trudged along until the guard brought me to a bus. He cuffed me and then linked me to another chain. This chain connected all the prisoners being transferred. But I was the only one who was getting transferred to Westside.

Westside was a prison for the worst of the worst. The government decided that it was safer and better on resources to have one prison. Maximum security with over 50 floors. The prison was underground as to make escape harder. The 'yard' here was also underground. Multiple bulletproof glass windows filtered down sunlight from all the way up. That was all that was known to the public about Westside. And during my years at juvie, I really tried to dig up everything I could. No matter what I searched, where I searched, it didn't matter. There was absolutely nothing on Westside. Except for those few things. The only reason I know about the yard and the windows is because of the 'official website' for Westside. They had a few pictures on there and in one of them, it shows the fake grass laid out along the floor. The windows that filter in the light are all open to allow fresh air into the yard area. There's a single basketball hoop along the far wall, the netting long weathered away and the hoop itself rusted. The yard itself looked so small compared to the one we were allowed access to at juvie. I sighed as they sat me in a bus seat, watching as more people were loaded onto the bus before the doors closed.
    
     What I assumed must have been the warden stood at the front of the bus, holding a baton and bouncing it off his palm. I suppose to look threatening- but to me he just looked bored.

"Alright listen up. You are all here today because you are being transferred from your old facility to a new one that can accommodate you as an adult. Most of you shall be going to the East Brooke Corrections facility. A few of you, to Westside. Let's make this easy for you and for me. Stay quiet, stay seated and if I hear anyone, you will all be punished." He sat down in the front seat and the bus started it's route. As the juvie building started getting smaller and smaller, my eyes eventually closed. Drifting me off to a deep slumber I so desperately needed.

Authors Note: Ok! So this is a little wonky because I wrote this on another platform and copy pasted to here. If there's anything that don't make sense leave a comment and I'll fix it. Hope you enjoy the first chapter!