“Got another one for you Joham. Possible burglary and stealing an Interpass cuff. Said something about needing money for a hurt brother.”
“Put her in. I’ll turn on the gas and send out an order for prison garb.” Joham, my buddy who runs the cell blocks, switched on the gas that wakes a person up from electric shock.
“You know that the truck couldn’t get her any clothes in the coming weather! I bet all of the other counties are already snowed in!” I smiled and winked. He laughed.
Joham is my friend who turned into a Gadget about the same time I did. We’re both fifteen years old, or at least we think we are. I know my real birthday, but he doesn’t. His hair is a very bright red that is the same color as his cheeks when I come around. He blushes like a flaming porcupine. His eyes are a stormy gray like the clouds I noticed before coming in. He smiled and pointed toward cell number 3.
Lucy Stall’s cell contained a small lavatory, a cot, and attack proof doors that were locked 24/7, unless we needed to get her out. It was cold in there, but not as cold as everywhere else. It hasn’t been occupied for a long time. The last prisoner was executed about three years ago. Tried killing an Order with a steel pipe.
“Monitor her for a little while. I got her information by DNA. Got a bit from a bloody nose.” Every-one’s information is saved on private file by bloodline. When you’re born, they take a little here and there. Adopted siblings need to give written information to the Order. It’s a long process that way, for it can take years.
I’ll tell the judge to be ready by tomorrow.” I then threw her in the cell, and locked it shut. On the video screen her eyelids fluttered, and then fully opened. She screamed, and coughed for a while. That gas is smelly stuff, I’ll tell you.
“Ms. Stall? We’re going to ask you a few questions, and we’d like to get some answers. Do this or we’ll have your family shot.” Joham’s voice boomed and echoed. Lucy trembled helplessly, either shivering with nervousness or with fright.
“Okay. I stole the cuff to get money for my brother Martin. He got in a fight with another boy, who had an axe. I stole the cuff from the store in town, and that girl tackled me in the field. What’s her name anyway?” Lucy’s brow furrowed, wrinkles appearing on her forehead.
I decided to get on the mic and say for myself. I knew this girl was officially a criminal, and she couldn’t lay a hand on me. I hated hurting people, but that’s my job. I have no one else to live for anyway, so what’s the point? Well I had Joham, but...never-mind him!
“My name is Saria. No one steals in Treble. The judge will decide if either you or your family will be punished.”
She grew still and began to sob. I hated the sound of people crying, because that was the last sound my mother made when the second bullet entered her chest. She was a fighter, taking a shot to the ribs. The second shot was to kill her off. The Order got pretty ticked off at using two bullets for one person.
“I’ll call her family soon. You can use the knock out gas if you need too to silence her weeping.” I waved goodbye and opened the door. The chilly air hit me in a rush that nearly sent me backwards. I caught myself on the end of the steel counter-top, and before I hit the ground, back flipped. I landed right on my feet.
“The storms looking pretty bad out there. Why don’t you stay here until it lets up. I’ve got a spare cot in the back room.” Joham then waved me away while he tried to zone out the crying of the girl.
The backroom was a damp, stuffy place with a small fan to keep it cool. The cot lay in the left hand corner, covered in a white sheet and sleeping bag. A bathroom, I knew, was across the hall. A small window lay near the top of the ceiling, a rectangular piece of glass that let a bit of the frozen air in. I laid back on the cot, my hands behind my head. I reached up and stroked my hair, feeling the silky raven locks. I just decided to get up and braid it. Grabbing three equal pieces of hair I began to go under and over while staring at a cobweb in the corner. I knew if I looked in a mirror I would mess it up. Finally, the result was a midnight braid that went nearly to my waist. I rarely ever cut my hair, only if it goes to my upper thighs. Then, by regulation, I must cut at least five inches off.
“Hey Saria, come back to the front. The girl wants to speak with you.” Joham’s eyes were filled with a strange mixture of sadness and regret. I knew something must’ve happened.
I ran to the front cell to find that Lucy Stall hadn’t succeeded in breaking out. But she did end up breaking one thing. Her arm. It hung in an awkward position at her side, bent in a strangely grotesque angle that made me squirm. She was panting, doubled over in intense anguish, but still ran toward the front wall. Her hair, almost as black as mine but tinted with bits of chocolate brown, was out of its braid and a few strands stuck to a sheen of sweat on the nape of her neck. And her eyes! The near obsidian pools were filled with a malice that I could only describe as pure endurance and strength. Now, our cells don’t have metal bars at the front. Oh no. In the past we’ve had people strong enough to bend metal. These walls are solid Sealonite, a compound that is nearly unbreakable unless you put so much pressure on it that it’s enough to saw a thousand pound diamond in half. Lucy still ran toward the wall, and I heard another one of her bones crack. Her hand this time, began to swell purple and blue.
“Let. Me. OUT! Martin. Needs. Me. NOW!” Lucy’s injuries were slowing her down, but not enough to make her stop and realize how much damage she’s doing. I would say she’s delusional, but I know the feeling. Wanting to help a person you love.
A couple of years ago, right after I first became a Gadget, I found a kitten in a dumpster. He was so cute, with silvery fur and large, yellow eyes. I would run back to my shack every day after training to see him. I called him Cairo. He would pur and move in-between my legs while he brushed his long tail on my foot. I loved him so much, but I knew Gadgets weren’t supposed to keep pets. Gadget’s weren’t supposed to feel love, sadness, or regret. Only hate and anguish. But, I realized that me and Joham were different. We could feel the good feelings that set us apart. It made us stronger. One day I came home and found my little Cairo dead on the porch. He had been shot by an Order.
“Joham don’t just sit there! Use knock out gas!” I screeched to my friend at the top of my lungs so loud that it could make a pack of wild dogs run in terror.
“I tried! She used up all of it! She just won’t stay down!” Joham was about to call for assistance, but I told him to put down his Interpass cuff. If the Order came down here, she would be shot. And I saw allot of potential and strength in her.
“Let me in that cell. If there’s anyone who can calm her down, I think that’s me.” I punched in the code for the side door to open and ran inside, just as it shut behind me. I was left alone, in a sealed room, with a criminal. A deranged, delusional, possibly psychotic girl wanting to save her brother. And, with luck, she might just kill me in the process.