Prisoner 0004C

9 Seconds After the Watcher's Message

"Oh this is bad, this is very, very bad!"

The bespectacled nerdy looking prisoner paced, his hands drawn up to his head in anxiety. He looked incredibly familiar, yet I couldn't recall from where. The sleeve of his prisoner top had slipped from his bony wrist revealing the prisoner code inked onto his skin; 0014B. With a sudden recollection I remembered where his familiarity had lain; the bespectacled crying boy labeled 0005C who was Exterminated before me. Twins surely, or brothers.

Kids murmur in fright around me, the Watcher in the hands of the blond girl. Any second now, I think grimly to myself, they'll turn on me wanting answers I cannot give.

As if by cue I am suddenly slammed against the concrete walls of the Hull, all wind knocked out of me.

The brutish boy has his hand at my throat and is snarling at me.

"What does it mean, huh? What the fuck does it mean?"

I swing my knee hard up into his chest and he stumbles backward, gasping.

Kids back away, frightened.

A tiny girl is crying and being comforted by an older girl who shoots daggers at me. The crazed redhead from the Category C line is turning around in circles and staring up at the roof of the Hull as if she can see something we cannot but no one pays her any attention. All eyes are on me. Hallie, the blond girl, the smirking boy and the wolfish Category A kid are huddled together, all glancing at me wearily. They have formed some sort of alliance, a team of sorts. Even Hallie seems scared of me, or at least suspicious. They think I know something. And I don't blame them.

"0004C," Hallie says quietly in a soothing voice as she steps forward, ignoring the groans of pain from the brutish boy I injured on the ground. Huh, so much for Aliyah, Hallie.

"We're all scared. But every sign points to you, and that you know something. Can you please just tell us what's going on?"

I laugh in astonishment and without humor.

"I don't know anything! Okay? I don't know why this is all happening, or why that emergency voice-over mentioned my code, or why," I gesture wildly at the Watcher still projecting its message and clutched in the hands of the pretty blond girl "that Watcher is sending cryptic messages about me! I don't know shit about what's happening, and if I did don't you think that I would try and help? I want to get out of this hell-hole as much as the rest of you!"

Silence meets my outburst, broken only by the feeble whirring of the Watcher and the agonized groanings of the boy on the ground.

"Okay. Okay. She's made her point clear. I don't think she knows anything." the smirking boy says quietly, but as usual, everyone manages to catch every slightly patronizing syllable.

Stuttering, a slightly bemused look on his face the bespectacled boy speaks up, his voice measured but nervous. "W-we need to formulate some kind of plan. I may be a-able to hack into the Watchers d-database w-with the right tools; some which may not be l-located in the prison. However, if you can find the c-correct materials I may be able to put together adequate carbon-copies," he finishes somewhat lamely, pushing his glasses further up his nose.

"And how will that help?" Hallie snaps indecorously.

"Well, I may be able to track the sender's source." 0014B replies, looking at his hands which twist together in nerves.

"For all those who don't speak nerd," the blond girl says haughtily, her hands still clenched firmly around the newly solid Watcher, "what the hell did that all mean?"

"A carbon-copy is just a cheap knockoff and Watchers are controlled by an artificial intelligence, which practically obeys the orders of an offshore controller. This Watcher," the nerdy boy continues to avoid eye contact "was obviously instructed to carry a message to 0004C. If I can hack it I'll be able to see who sent the message, and where the offshore controller is located."

"And this will help us how? We need to be smashing down walls, not holding little tech meetings with the mega-nerds!" the blond girl cries out in a disbelieving voice.

"The walls are concrete, just like I've already told you." The smirker mutters in exasperation, rolling his eyes. "This plan is a start.'

He turned to the nerdy boy with the glasses. "What do you need?"

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this part.

I understand that it is a really teeny tiny chapter but don't worry- a whole chunk of loooong chapters are coming!

Today Prisoner 0004C jumped from #769 on the top 1000 Scifi books list to #463! Again, another small jump but I was totally stoked to see that happen! Thank you so much everyone for all your continued support!

Any votes or comments would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to offer any constructive criticism.

-Laura-Grace xx