Identity X

Chapter 1

"Up 370462!" is the first thing I hear in a morning, every morning. Groggily, I opens my eyes to be met with the bright fluorescent lights of my cell. I try to block the light with my arm as I come to, and groan as I sit up slowly.

"To the showers, now." the man in front of me says, calm, but authoritative. Nodding, I stand up slowly and wobble toward the gate, not arguing with the order. I duck under as it's opening and pad down the hallway, my bare feet not making any noise on the strange material of the floor, following the others toward the shower room. As I walk in, the steam surrounds me, the heat and moist air making me slightly dizzy. I walk over to the nearest shower, grabbing a towel as I go, and strip myself of my clothes before stepping into the warm stream of water. I quickly wash myself before stepping back from the flow and drying myself. As always, I walk to the corner of the room where the clothes are kept and pick up mine, with my number plastered on the back, pulling them over my almost dry body and walk out of the shower room, discarding the towel in the basket next to door. 

After showering is breakfast, usually eggs and bacon or cereal or something like that, not terrible, but very boring. I walk to the front of the room without a word to anyone and wait in line for my food. I don't have friends in this place, I don't see the point, they aren't going to make it any better. I get my simple breakfast of toast and go to sit in the corner in the most remote part of the room. I absentmindedly pick at my food before deciding I'm not hungry and just sit there with it in front of me, thinking about my life before this.

When I was young, the new government decided that too many people were getting hurt for being different, so in a half-hearted attempt to 'protect' them, they banned everything that would make someone different; clothes, hairstyles, hair colours, music and even names, which is why I'm referred to as '370462' instead of a name. Even the most basic names were deemed too "different", meaning, the name my parents had given me, Alfie, was replaced with this number.

"370462, your time to eat is up." I'm broken out of my memories by one of the guards. My head snaps up to the right and I stare for a moment before realising what was said and jump up, speeding down the corridor back to the cell. I slowly sit down on the cot, staring at nothing when I hear a commotion from outside. I step up to the door to look out of the bars at the top, into the large, circular room to see a young girl with bright blue and purple hair, with one side shaved, trying to get out of the grasp of some guards. I hear someone out of my field of vision talking.

"Who is she with?" I hear from a man to the left.

"370462." is all that comes in reply; my eyes widen at the sound of my number before the guards begin to bring the struggling girl over to door.

"Step away from the door." a gruff voice shouts through the door and I immediately obey. The door is flung open and the girl is thrown in, the door quickly being shut and locked before she can even get up. She hits the door in anger before walking to the far wall and sliding her back down it, pulling her knees to her chest as she does.

"370462, 5640403 is very violent. This placement is only temporary, please do not try to communicate with her. She will be moved by tomorrow at the latest." I nod after the director of the prison finishes her sentence and watch as she walks away. My eyes travel back to '5640403' as she grumbles to herself, her head placed on her knees, her neon hair hurting my eyes because of how unused to colour they are. I slowly approach her, and timidly crouch down in front of her. Suddenly, her voice rings out in the silence, muffled by her position.

"So, you're 370462 huh?" I could hear the bitterness in her voice as she spoke my number. She looked up at me slowly, piercing blue eyes lit with hatred meeting my own. I nod slowly, without taking my eyes away from hers. Her voice is slightly rough, whether that's natural or because of her shouting I don't know, but I can't help but think it suits her a little too well. It matches her rugged look, pink scars scattered on her pale face like freckles and a forming bruise around her right eye.