Prisoner 0004C

Extermination

"Extermination has commenced. Prisoners 1000A, 9998B, and 9994C move forward." The order comes from the digitalised female voice.

Prisoners 1000A, 9998B and 9994C all shakily creep up onto the stage.

With a horrifying lurch to the stomach, I realize that 1000A is the little blue-eyed boy whose tears had fascinated me. From my place so far back in the line, I can barely make out his head, let alone his eyes. I wonder if those tiny drops have spilled over yet.

Prisoner 9998B is a girl. She looks older than most here, maybe seventeen years. She is openly crying as she stares out at the rest of us.

Prisoner 9994C is a girl as well. Asian, by the look of her angled features and shiny black hair. Her eyes are closed as if she cannot bear the sight of her fellow prisoners lined up in front of her. She looks so innocent: I wonder what got her landed here. Perhaps an illegal relationship with an Organisation official. Often, these rich men lure starving girls off the street into their homes with the prospect of payment. These girls are raped, and then (if they are caught) blamed for those disgusting men taking advantage of them. This is classified as 'a crime against the Organisation' and the girls are imprisoned as Category C criminals. Those foul Organisation officials don't even get fined.

"Sit in Chairs A, boysB or C, according to your Category." The robotic voice orders.

The prisoners shakily make their way over to the chairs.

When the little blue eyed boy sits down, he is so tiny I can no longer see his head even though they are on a stage.

The metal shackles on the hand rests immediately spring into life, bounding their prisoners.

This sends prisoner 9998B completely over the edge and she begins to shriek, fighting tooth and nail against her bounds.

The metal instrument suspending the terrifying helmet begins to lower down, creaking as it goes.

The little boy stares up in amazement as that helmet of doom lowers closer and closer to his youthful face.

The helmets entirely cover the prisoners head: the little boy's shoulders are also concealed underneath the heavy metal casing.

We wait for some horrific bang, or tortured screams but not even prisoner 9998B is squealing anymore. There is silence; the only sound the soft whirr of the Watchers zooming excitedly over our heads. They must know what is coming.

"Extermination of prisoners 1000A, 9998B and 9994C complete." The digitalised voice announces, almost cheerfully.

The helmets begin to lift themselves slowly off the heads of their victims. I stand on my tiptoes, desperate to see what has happened to the little boy in that horrible chair.

His head is flopped onto his shoulder and his eyes are closed. There is no sign of any physical abuse at all. If I didn't know any better, I would say the boy is asleep. But he's not. The little boy is dead, head resting in the identical position to the two older girls beside him.

The number of prisoners in this shithole has already shrunk by three.

The chairs in which the dead prisoners sit on begin to sink from sight as the platform lowers itself into the concrete ground, a panel having slid open for the stage to disappear into.

Almost immediately it hoists itself back into sight but now the three chairs are empty again.

There is applause ringing throughout the Extermination Sector. I swivel around and face the brutish boy behind me. He is clapping wildly, teeth barred and eyes gleaming.

"Neat show!" he calls out in approval as the rest of the prisoners stare in horror at his strange appreciation for what had just happened.

Noticing our harsh glares, the clapping boy grins even wider. "Harsh crowd." He mutters knowingly to me, before winking.

"Prisoners 9999A, 9997B, and 9991C move forward."

And so the Exterminations have begun.