Shadow Sister

The Prison Escape

I stood in the middle of a small, brightly lit cell. An older guard passed my cell not even glancing in my direction. There was a younger boy following close behind him, wearing a similar  to the older man's, he was probably the older man's apprentice. We locked eyes as he passed by and I could tell that he was surprised at the fact that someone as young as me, at eleven, would be in such a high tech prison. I backed up at the awkward eye contact, running into the back wall. I leaned my back up against the boring, gray wall, and let my feet slide across the dirt and dust covered floor in front of me, moving my lower back towards the floor till my bottom touched the floor and I was in a sitting position. Glancing up from where I sat in the back of my cell with my head in my hands I noticed that the younger guard was still standing in front of my cell and was staring straight at me. His mentor reappeared in front of my cell, tugged at the young boy's uniform, muttered something that I didn't catch, then with a last glance towards me, they both continued walking past.

    I still didn't know why the young boy stared at me for so long, but he reminded me of someone who's name I just couldn't put my finger on. His crystal blue eyes and jet black hair seemed familiar. Then I got it. My father, he reminded me of my father. Chills flowed through me, thinking of family made me think of my sister who was in a different cell, very far from here. It was my fault she was stuck in a cell. It was my fault that I was stuck in a cell. I looked very similar to my mother,  with my caramel coloured hair with blond tips, that were also dyed slightly blue, and my light grey eyes with hints of darker green. The thought of my parents made my eyes tear up. My parents had died at least two years ago and now neither my sister Ivy nor I have mentioned them much anymore. If only I hadn't exposed Ivy and I. Why hadn't I been more careful, more... controlled. I was so stupid, why did I crack under pressure.

    Then I realized that I had my hands clenched in fists, gritting my teeth and my eyes were squinted intensely. The guards were staring at me tensely as if they expected me to explode in a fit of fury.  I looked them straight in the eyes and tried to relax. The younger guard's mentor must have told him to keep an eye on me because a few seconds later his mentor left. The kid sat down in front of my cell and flipped to a page on his clipboard that I hadn't noticed before. "Hmm.. so you're Cassie, right?" He asked.
    "Y-yes," I answered not expecting him to want to converse with me.
    "Okay. Well why don't you come on over here... Cassie?" He said, seeming to be talking to me like I was a little kid even though I was about the same age as him.
    "Will you let me out?" I asked flatly. He only stared at me for a second, almost willing me to go closer to him. Reluctantly I moved slightly forward.
    "I don't have the keys. Sorry." He  said with a smirk.
    "Fine, what's your name anyways." I muttered defeated.
    "I'm J-" before he could answer the question fully his mentor walked up from behind him and interrupted him.
    "You're not socializing with prisoners right Jay?" He asked in an accusing tone.
    "N-no, sir" Jay stammered his head lowered.
    "Good." the older guard boomed. "Now, let's go."
    "Okay, dad." Jay replied not glancing upward.
    My surprise must have shown on my face because Jay said quickly, "You didn't notice we're related?"
    "Come on... and stop talking to the prisoners or else you're grounded!" Jay's father snapped. Waving a goodbye to Jay, I lay on the cold, hard, and dirty floor and drifted into a restless sleep.

    I awoke the next morning with a start, to see Jay prodding me awake. Sitting up straight I muttered, my tongue still heavy with sleep,  "what...you...why...err...you...here?"
     "Shhhhh! I'm not supposed to be here!" He whispered urgently. "I just came to tell you...." His voice trailed off as the sound of footsteps approached slowly. A guard that seemed around her twenties walked by, glanced toward the cell where me and Jay sat motionless, kept walking, and then did a double take. "Jay...is that you?" She asked squinting.
    "Erm...y-yes?" Jay said gulping. "I-I can explain! I was just...err...I was-" he stuttered.
    "Helping a prisoner escape?" She interrupted angrily. " I'm reporting this to the chief, now get out of there!" She snapped impatiently.
    " Please, just let me explain!" Jay pleaded.
    "No! Come on." She shouted grabbing Jay by his arm and dragging him out of the cell and locking the door behind them. I wondered if everybody in this prison knew Jay. "Wait!" I yelled after them. They both turned and I exclaimed, "This is just a big misunderstanding, please just let him tell me what he was going to say!"
    "Fine, tell her what you were going to say." said the girl guard pushing Jay towards where I stood clutching the small area of bars on the door. He unlocked the door and pretended to whisper something in my ear. Then he grabbed my forearm and pulled me out of the cell, and we booked it down the hallway. "Hey! Get back here now!" she called angrily. "Jay you're gonna be in so much trouble!" Jay seeming to ignore her, took a left around a corner and I followed on his heels. He stopped and I barreled into him not expecting him halt so abruptly. "Is this your sister?" he asked with a grunt.