LEASHES

II. Claudette

Meg Thomas, she learns, is not a morning person. When the fluorescent lights turn on without warning at 6 AM, the redhead gives a strangled groan and buries her head under her flimsy pillow. Claudette herself isn't used to being up at the crack of dawn, but she's never been one to sleep in, either. She's always gotten up at a good time and spent a few minutes in nature before the rest of the world invades it. But today, she has another reason for being up early.

Today she meets her partner.

Claudette quickly rises, slipping into the neon orange jumpsuit that was left for her. She brushes her teeth at the sink in the corner, polishes her glasses, and is ready to go by the time Meg and the other girl in the room, a tiny Asian girl named Feng Min, are getting out of bed.

"Why are you so excited?" Meg asks sourly, pulling her tangled hair back into two braids. Claudette shrugs.

"I'm not excited, really. I'm perturbed." Meg blinks at her, expression blank, and Claudette feels a blush rise to her cheeks.

"It means nervous, or worried." She explains. Meg scowls once again.

"I knew that." The redhead says defensively. "Are you saying I'm dumb?"

"No!" Claudette protests. "I didn't-" She's cut off when the gated door slides open.

"Wakey wakey, fresh meat!" A voice crows. Nea and Laurie step into the room, both looking virtually the same as yesterday. "Who's ready to meet their new best friends?"

Meg storms past Claudette and the other girls, out into the hall. Laurie frowns.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Don't worry about it." Claudette mumbles, looking down. This was why she hated meeting new people. And interacting with people in general, honestly. Why was she here again?

Because you got caught up with something you couldn't handle, that's why. The voice in her head chides. Claudette sighs, following behind Feng Min as Nea leads the way out of the room.

It hadn't seemed like the worst option at the time, but this was definitely a mistake.

…

The breakfast they are served doesn't look terrible. Hash browns, a few small slices of fruit, a piece of toast. The only thing odd is the bacon.

"This looks like plastic." Meg says flatly, poking at the crumbly brown strips. "Why is it so overcooked?"

"Meat, particularly undercooked or raw meat, is considered a trigger to a lot of the criminal's psyche." Nea explains, finishing off her piece of toast. "In order to limit the potential for violent reactions from criminals and volunteers, you'll notice that some things are tweaked around here. It's part of Mrs. Carpenter's protocol for 'a safe and productive environment.'" Claudette notices that Laurie hadn't touched her rubber bacon at all. Did she not like the overcooked food? Or was there something else at work there?

"Who's Mrs. Carpenter?" Meg asks, shoving the plastic bacon aside. The only one who seems to be willing to eat the stuff was Nea, who was clearly immune to the food here by now.

"The head of CAMPP." Laurie answers absentmindedly, pushing pieces of fruit around on her tray. "You met her yesterday."

"Don't expect to see her much." Nea adds. "She only comes in when there's a big issue or she's showing government officials around in order to keep her funding."

"No complaints here." Meg answers, and Claudette feels inclined to agree. The woman had spent all of ten minutes with them before pawning them off on Nea and Laurie, anyways.

"So, do any of you have any last minute questions before you meet your partners?" Laurie asks, looking at everyone sitting at the table. Feng Min raises her hand.

"Yes. Why are we orange?" She asks. Claudette had noticed that too. Some of the other volunteers they had met were given green or blue jumpsuits, and then separated from then. Claudette hadn't thought it was a good sign.

"Orange is the color given to the "high priority" cases." Nea answers. "So the killers. Blue is the hackers, and I think green is other minor crimes? I can't remember."

"Anyone in an orange outfit like ours is part of our group." Laurie continues. "We'll be together for a lot of the time, doing group activities and the like. You'll rarely ever see the green and blue groups." Claudette raises her hand, and Laurie nods at her.

"Is that a smart idea? Putting all of the violent criminals together all of the time?" She asks. Laurie gives a rueful smile and shakes her head.

"No. But the officials don't really care, so long as no one dies. And there aren't enough resources to give each criminal their own personal system." Claudette thinks back to the check her parents were presented with, and frowns. The resources were there- they were just going to a different place. The prison cared more about keeping them quiet than safe.

"Do you have any advice?" One of the boys, Dwight, speaks up. "For us meeting the killers?" The table is silent for a moment as Nea and Laurie consider.

"Be careful." Nea finally speaks. "It's going to be scary at first, but there are a lot of measures in place to keep them from harming you. That doesn't mean you should test your limits, though."

"The criminals you're assigned to are new." Laurie adds. "They were only recently transferred to the facility and admitted into the program. This was done intentionally- it may not seem like it, but they have just as much at stake here as you do. They saw what happened to the last group."

"What happened to the last group?" Meg frowns. Laurie clears her throat, as Nea stands up.

"Don't worry about it. Now, stay here for a second. We'll be right back." Both girls get up and dispose of their trays, heading out the door and leaving the group in silence.

"We're going to die here." Meg groans, resting her head against the table. Claudette thinks about comforting her, but remembers their spat this morning and reconsiders.

"What did you all do to end up in here?" Feng Min asks. Claudette bites her lip. She really wasn't eager to share the worst mistake of her life with strangers she had just met.

"I stole a car." Dwight admits, quietly. His face turns red when he sees all the incredulous looks aimed his way. "What?" Meg whistles.

"Who would've thought." She grins at Dwight, who smiles hesitantly back. "I, myself, accidentally bought drugs from a cop." She shrugs, as if to say 'what can you do?' Feng Min laughs.

"I hacked a bank." She smiles impishly. "I thought they were going to put me with the hacker group, but then, that would probably be a terrible idea, wouldn't it?" She shrugs and they all laugh this time.

"I was arrested in a riot." Jake, the quiet boy at the end of the table, answers. He doesn't seem willing to say anything more than that. The man across from him, and the oldest one in their small group, shrugs.

"Fraud." Ace grins. "Don't do it, kiddos." They all roll their eyes at this. Ace was kind of the outlier in this group, but he seemed to keep the guys calm, so Claudette didn't mind too much. Feng Min turns to her.

"What about you, Claudette?" She feels a rush of dread in her stomach, and is relieved when she hears footsteps behind them. They all turn to see Nea and Laurie walking back towards them, with two men in orange jumpsuits behind them.

Killers, Claudette realizes with a shudder. Both were fairly tall- especially compared to Nea and Laurie, who looked like children next to them. One had dark skin and a tall, thin frame, while the other had pale skin and dark hair. It was their eyes that scared Claudette the most, though. They were cold, blank. Any human emotion in them-if it had ever been there to begin with- had been snuffed out long ago.

"Guys, meet Philip and Michael." Nea introduces. "Philip is my partner, for about a year now." Philip nods at them, but does nothing else. Claudette gets the feeling he's rather uncomfortable here. "And Michael and Laurie were the first ever team CAMPP produced." Neither Laurie nor Michael look particularly thrilled about this, Claudette notices. In fact, Laurie just looks strained, like she's waiting for disaster to strike.

"We're going to take you to meet your own partners, now." Laurie says. "But first, some final advice."

"Don't piss them off." Nea nods sagely. "I know we said so earlier, but it bears repeating. It's critical that both you and your partner remain calm, especially in the early stages. And remember, that this is your life now. There's no point in thinking back to your old lives. Things will be better for everyone if you accept that now."

"And finally," Laurie makes a brave attempt at a smile, "know that you're here for a reason. All of you were picked specifically for this program, and for your partners. That means someone out there has faith that this will work, right?"

Silence is the only thing that greets her. Claudette can feel her stomach knotting up from the anxiety, and a quick glance at the others shows they aren't faring much better.

"So with that, it's time for your partnerships here at CAMPP to begin." Nea grins. She walks over to a door and tugs it open, making a sweeping gesture with her arm. "Meet your new partners."

TBC

A/N: Due to popular demand, Leashes will become its own multi-chapter story. Just keep in mind that it'll take a while for me to completely write out the plot, and that Two Souls Bound will take priority over it. But don't worry, there will be more of the CAMPP crew to come!

Thanks for the support everyone! I'll see you all next time!

~EndWillows