NYC Prison, 2146
"Hello? Anybody in there?" yelled Hunter. I slowly opened my eyes. His voice had slowly become more familiar over the past four days. That reminded me, only one day until the Pit.
He kicked me in the side. I groaned.
"This is the last day," Hunter said, "We have to train."
"Come on! Just give me 5 more minutes," I said teasing him, "I'll be dead in 48 hours!"
"No you won't. I won't let that happen. Let's go."
His voice was stone cold, almost convincing. I let the Officials drag me out of the cell.
We are brought to the Mess Hall. There was a line to get in. Of course there was. Every day before you get into the mess hall, they inject you with a serum. It inserts your schedule for the day into your brain. At any time of the day, the people working the computers can show the schedule to you through your eyes. They usually show it at every hour.
Hunter and I slowly shuffled forward. I could hear the beeps of the machine as it inserted the serum. I had always had a fear of needles, or anything that punctured my skin. I had barely gotten by the last four days.
Hunter went before me. He had gotten so used to the needles, he didn't even flinch when they injected it into the side of his neck. He stepped into the Mess.
I was next. Hesitantly, I stepped forward. The Official in white held a syringe of clear liquid. He put the needle in the side of my neck, just as he had with Hunter. I hunched my shoulders. Then the schedule in right orange letters flashed in front of my eyes. It read:
Schedule
530- 545 AM Breakfast: Mess Hall
600-800 AM Training: Training Room
830-1130 AM Strategy: Cell
1200-1245 PM Lunch: Mess Hall
1300-1430 PM Outside
1500-1700 PM Torture
1800-1900 PM Dinner
1930 PM Back to Cell
Torture? I didn't want to think about torture. I thought about asking Hunter, but then I realized I didn't have to. The madness in his eyes was enough. I shuddered.
After breakfast, we were forced into a room with all of the other inmates. One of them bumped into me and knocked me over.
"She wont last 5 minutes!" laughed the prisoner that knocked me over. I didn't want him to, but I had a feeling that Hunter would get in his face. I hoped he didn't.
"Oh really? You'll be dead before she will be. And she's not gonna die," Hunter yelled.
The prisoner sneered.
"Standing up for her, eh? Smart move, lover boy," the prisoner said through gritted teeth.
Hunter lunged at him. He dodged out of the way at the last second. Hunter fell to the floor, and the prisoner laughed.
"My name is Edward," said the prisoner, kicking Hunter in the stomach, "I'm sure you'll never forget that."
The Officials finally got between Hunter and Edward's foot.
"Stop!" they yelled.
Edward stopped. He turned and said, "This isn't over, lover boy."
We were shoved into a dark room lit only by one dim lightbulb. Officials lined the walls, guns at the ready. A loud clicking sound pierced my ears as all of the guns were loaded at the same exact time.
"Come on," Hunter whispered as he dragged me further into the room.
"Prisoners! This is your last day. We have given you one more opportunity to train. No fighting with other prisoners or you will be shot on the spot!"
We all were placed at the far wall of the room.
"Go!" yelled the Officials from all over the room.
All of the other prisoners broke into a run to get their hands on the weapons. Why give these dangerous criminals weapons? I started to think. These people are stupid if they think-
I stopped in my tracks. One of the prisoners was on the ground, their body separated from their head. A pool of blood surrounded him. Edward stood over him, bloody knife in hand, ready to slash another prisoner.
"Freeze in the name of the law!" boomed the Officials in perfect unison.
Edward froze. Everyone else used this opportunity to get their hands on a weapon. But I couldn't move.
Officials began marching towards the prisoner, guns raised. Hunter was still next to me.
"This happens every year. One of the prisoners gets crazy," he whispered to me. I shuddered.
My eyes found the boy on the ground. He was young, probably 16, with short curly blonde hair. I shuddered as I thought, That could have been me.
The Commander loaded his gun, and pulled the trigger. Edward fell to the floor. Everyone was silent.
"Go! Get on with it then!" yelled the Commander.
Hunter dragged me over to the weapons. At first I was hesitant to touch them. It was a childish fear of mine. The only gun I could ever touch was the one my mother used to kill herself. And now that gun was in the hands of the Officials. Silly, I thought, rolling my eyes. My hands trembled as I grabbed a gun. I nervously laughed. Hunter could see my nervousness.
"She isn't gone, you know. She's in here," said Hunter pointing to my heart.
I turned away from him, biting my lip hard to keep from crying. Hunter had said those words to me every time I mourned my mother. No-I thought-He said those words until I let him be captured. I shook with anger, hatred, and sadness, angry with myself for letting him go, sad for my mother, hatred toward my father. Where was my father now? Probably smoking in Vegas getting drunk with drug dealers. God I hate him, I thought. He was the kind of person who no one wanted to be around. He manipulated you, twisted your mind, and eventually he destroyed-
I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and aimed my gun at him.
"Woah! It's just me!" said Hunter, putting his hands up.
I sighed.
"Not now please."
"Why not? Come on!"
"God, you don't understand that it hurts, do you? It's like I'm speaking a foreign language!"
He tries to embrace me, but I pull away.
"I don't need you to survive. I hope you can see me live a happy life from heaven!" I said, pointing to the sky. I stepped on his foot and strode away.
"Ow! Come on Riley!" I heard a voice say behind me. But I kept walking.
The rest of the day passed in a blur. Strategy was awful. I had to be in the cell with Hunter after out big fight for two hours. I went to lunch and sat as far away from him as possible. When i went outside, I brought the map with me. I located where Hunters goodies were and how to get to them without him knowing. Instead of strategizing with him, I strategized against him. I had to be one step ahead of him. Finally torture came. I was pushed into a room with a Commander. He had his mask off, and I recognized him as Ryan from his facial features. Dark smooth skin, brown eyes. He never smiled.
I hesitantly walked into the room.
"Torture isn't as bad as you may think," he said, not looking at me.
"Is that how you advertise it then? Torture isn't bad, so come on down to the prison and get a needle stuck in your neck!" I said, trying to put on my best advertiser voice while staying angry.
"No, we don't do any advertising for the prison," he said, not knowing that I was being sarcastic.
Ryan had been all over the prison, monitoring the prisoners, making sure that the Officials did their job. But he was always near me. For some reason, and this was out of the blue, I thought he liked me, just a little. I was disgusted.
I walked over to the chair without him telling me to. He fastened me to the chair. I felt restrained, trapped. And that was never good.
"It'll be over before you know it. Trust me," said Ryan as he pulled out the syringe full of orange liquid.
"I will never trust you."
Then I went under.
I appeared in a room. My vision was hazy, so I couldn't see much, except for the little holes in the wall. I tried to take in my surroundings. They must have put me in some sort of simulation. But at the time I didn't know that. All I could think about was the water coming from the holes in the wall.
There were no windows in the room. I tried to narrow down my options. One option was to try to swim through the hole in the wall. No, I thought, I would drown. Another option, to wait the water out. See if it will completely fill the room. But that was highly unlikely. If they wanted to kill me, they would do it now.
Water was rising to my knees, and I still had no plan.
Trust me. Ryan's words boomed in my head. How could I have trusted him? He was following me around, counting my weaknesses. Now he finally had what he wanted.
The water had reached my waist, rising faster and faster. I heard the roar of the water, pounding on the walls loud and fast like someone knocking at the door. The water tugged at my shirt. I tried to scream but no sound came out. The water was at my neck now, reaching my chin.
"What do I do?" I thought aloud.
Suddenly, a voice boomed, "Run! Run, Riley, run!"
I couldn't figure out where it was coming from, but I trusted it more than anything. I waded over towards the wall, as fast as I could go. I hit the wall with more force than I thought I would. Then everything went black.
I awoke on the floor of the torture room, hands unshackled from the chair. Hunter was in front of me, protecting me from Ryan.
"Why did you do that to her?" he yelled.
Ryan didn't answer, but his fist did with a hard blow to the stomach. Hunter stumbled backwards, kicking me in the side. Hunter fell to the floor and hit his head. He didn't move. I stood up, clutching my side. I lunged at Ryan, but he grabbed my wrists before I could punch him. But he wasn't finished yet. He thrust me backwards onto the floor. My head hit the ground first. My vision went black at the edges. I tried to stand up, but my legs didn't move. Ryan took this as an opportunity. He pinned me by my wrists to the ground. I struggled against him, but he was too strong.
"Get off me!" I yelled.
He pulled out his gun and aimed it at Hunter.
"One more move and I'll shoot," he said coldly.
I reluctantly put my hands up. I had no plan this time, no way to escape. I looked over at Hunter. He was slowly getting up, rubbing his head. Ryan elbowed him in the stomach and Hunter fell to the floor again.
"Stop!" I yelled.
Ryan picked up his radio and spoke into it, "This is Commander Ryan in Sector 13 of NYC Prison. Two escaping prisoners. Request for backup."
"No!" Hunter yelled.
There were black dots spotting my vision from the hard impact. I finally collapsed and blacked out.
I awoke in a bed. I felt restraints over my stomach, binding me to the mattress. My side ached and my head throbbed. Where am I? I thought. A figure walked up beside me.
"Don't worry. Ryan was arrested," he said. His voice sounded familiar, a distant memory.
"Where am I?" As I spoke, my voice cracked. I was weak.
"You're in the hospital. Sector 158 of NYC Prison."
My vision was blurred, but I could make out his face. He looked like someone I know, or used to know.
"Who are you?" I asked out of curiosity.
"Who am I? Come on Riley, you know who I am."
How does he know my name? I thought. I shook my head. The man looked away from me.
"She must have hit her head hard. She doesn't remember my name."
"Well, what is your name?"
"David."
David. The only person that helped my mother and I when my father was around.
"God, David!" I exclaimed.
He laughed. He was the father I never had. I could see more clearly now. His features were recognizable. He had brown hair and brown eyes. His hair was cleanly buzzed so close to his skull I didn't know how he did it.
He pulled me in for a hug.
"Thank god you're here," I told him. He hesitated, then pulled back and looked at his shoes.
"You know…in all honesty…um…the thing is…I can't get you out."
I stared at him for a long second.
"What?" I asked shakily.
"I tried. I tried to tell them what you've been through, but they wouldn't listen. You are going in a few hours."
I tried to find out what time it was. I looked outside. It was night time. I must be going in in the morning.
"I…I don't understand. You said you would help me. Help us," I said, thinking of my mother. My cheeks flushed. I was angry now. "You said you would help us and now she's dead."
The word dead rolled off my tongue so easily now.
"I-I-I I know and I-I-I'm so sorry for your loss."
"Sorry for my loss? That's it? I expected something like, 'I'm sorry I couldn't be there to save your mother who was your last hope!'" I spat at him. I struggled against the restraints now. He looked nervous.
"I'm sorry Riley. I really am. But I can't help you anymore."
Then the last part of my broken family left me.
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