Almost 2 hours had passed after Ruth's outburst. The burn mark was still implied on the old wood floor and Ruth was already fast asleep. The fact that she was able to sleep so easily in this situation made me utterly confused. After I was taken to this place, I never got a full night's sleep. On some occasional days, I'd try to let go of my thoughts and get some rest for a while. I never saw my reflection since my arrival here, but I was pretty sure I looked like a raccoon because of the bags under my eyes.
I looked towards the door, completely void of any emotion. My chances of escape were slim. I had tried on many occasions but instantly gave up when I realized I got caught every time. About last year, I tried shapeshifting into a guard that came into the room for feeding, by simply taking a glance at him. After a few kicks and several punches thrown, I managed to make it out of the room with the guard unconscious. Maybe that was not the best option, because to get out of the building, I needed to give the head of deputy my ID card and a reason for needing to evacuate the building for a sudden emergency. I could still remember the fear and sheer exhaustion I felt at that very moment. Collapsing to the ground, I retrieved to my original form and was taken back to my room. They then punished me by starving me for days and the guards started wearing masks when food was transported to my room so I wouldn't recognize them.
Just few months prior, I'd been saving up most of my energy by saving up food whenever it was served in our rooms. About a week later, I consumed it all up to conserve my energy and attacked a guard again. This time, he had a gun. Needless to say, I got held at gunpoint and was asked to stay in my place until backup arrived to deal with the situation. The ending was not so nice.
The door then burst open, making it bounce back off when it hit the wall. A masked guard entered the room with a small tray of food in his hands and a bottle of water. His hands were the only exposed parts of his body. The guard dropped the plate at a corner of the room and left without a single word. I cursed myself for not having enough energy to attack and make my escape. Besides, there way no way I'd escape here without Ruth. Even if I only knew her for a small period of time.
I stood up and grunted when I felt the pain pierce throughout my spine. I sucked in a deep breath and limped over to the tray. Harshly grabbing the bottle, I removed the cap off and threw it all over my face. I've been without water or food for four days - despite my power giving me the ability to go without any consumption for longer days, I still felt exhausted. I let out a loud sigh of relief when I felt the water hit my face and lazily smiled.
I held up the contents from the plate and examined them. The tray held a tuna sandwich sliced in half. I dramatically stuck my tongue out in disgust - I hated tuna.
"Hey Ruth?" I yelled over the wall. Ruth let out a frustrated sigh, making me wonder what she was so agitated about. "Ruth?" I repeated again. "I can't believe it! Freaking tuna!" She shrieked and I heard a loud splat being made.
Before I could muster anything else or let out a short laugh at her comment, another series of screams and yells were made from the hallway, making my stomach churn.
The screams became muffled after a while, indicating the prisoner's struggle. I put my hand up to my mouth to cover up my heavy breathing. For the second time this week, I felt empathy and sadness for whoever was being put through this torture and pain - just like Ruth and I.
The government was capturing kids at a faster rate now. When I had first arrived, I thought I was the only one who would be staying here. Now, 4 years later, the STY has already captured thousands of innocent kids just to save themselves from all the 'trouble' that would be yet to come. The question was, where were they finding the space to capture us? Was there another section somewhere near here? Or perhaps miles away? I shook my head in disbelief at my theory.
The sounds were becoming smaller and fainter now - footsteps were approaching my door. Bracing myself up against the wall, the door kicked open with a loud bang. Two masked guards entered the room with an unconscious body of an older boy between them. My body tensed even more than before. They still held the same appearance as they did whenever they entered my room; black masks and uniforms.
The guards dropped the body to the ground. Their gaze went up to my body and met my eyes. My heart dropped to my stomach, and my body started trembling. Their next move would be abrupt and calculated - anything could happen to me, all under the power of just two guards; and no one would know what happened to me. So much could happen in so little time... much to my surprise, the complete opposite happened.
And within a blink of an eye, they were out the door leaving the body of a strange boy with me.
*
I stared at the boy's body. It lay there for god knew how long; not any movement or gesture, no sounds of breathing or anything - it just lay there. I wondered if the boy was dead. Why would the STY dispose a dead body in my room?
The boy's head suddenly shifted its position and turned towards my direction. My breaths became heavier and I widened my eyes. A dead body wasn't supposed to be moving.
After a long, hard moment of silence, his eyes opened and stared right at me. Poor thing. He must have felt as confused as I was when I arrived. I held my breath and swallowed hard as he kept gazing ahead. "Where am I?" his voice came out croaky and panicked. I felt a lump in my throat, unable to answer him. He sat upright from his laying position and looked around him. As expected, he gave out an even more confused expression. "What the hell is going on?!" He yelled and backed up against the wall. My heart throbbed in my chest for what seemed like the millionth time today. "C-calm down. I can e-explain" I soothed while making an attempt to approach him. His eyes squinted and shook his head. "Don't touch me. At this point, I can't trust anyone but myself"
I looked solemnly at the ground. "I know. Me either" I whispered. The room fell silent for a short period. I stared at the mysterious boy who'd just landed in my room. Why would they imprison him here with me? Ruth got a different room than me, and as far as I knew, they weren't supposed to team prisoners in a room together in risks of higher jailbreak. Our powers were far too lethal for us to be put into the same area, so they must have had a good reason to pair us up. I heard about this rule when two guards had been arguing about it in the hall not long ago. It seemed pretty strict to me.
Snapping me out of my thoughts, the boy spoke up. "Why am I here?"
I remained quiet, making up a battle in my head wether or not I should have answered him. I dug my nails into my palms out of sheer frustration. It felt ridiculous how anyone who was brought up here never knew the reason behind it. The moment when I found why I was here, I got into a devastated and broken state. Right now, the only thing I could give the boy and Ruth where empathy. And soon enough, I would have to be the one to deliver the answers to their suspicions.
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Our third chap is over!! Comment down your opinions, and don't forget to vote on this if you like it.
Poor kids, so innocent but so lethal. Frustrating, I know.
This chapter's a bit short but i'll make the next way longer - promise.
With school going on, and all it's pretty hard to update and all.
[ QOTD ]
Have any of you been punished for your actions as kids? If so, how?
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Thank you :)
