When he walked me down the corridor, the room came into sight and my heart rate escalated. The rusted metal door creaked open and once again, he had to use both arms to heave it open.
Again, he motioned for me to sit on the rough chair. He locked the chains to the metal ring on the table.
“Think about what you’ve done. Your next step is to confess and give details to be added to the file.”
The door sealed with an echoing thud and locked with a click. Another piece of bread sat on the table along with a small cup of water. It was gone in seconds, and my stomach growled. I watched the particles of dust floating in the light near the cell door.
I strained my neck to see out the window. A white feather floated from a nest in a tree, slowly swaying until, finally, a breeze carried it into the sky again. I lost track of it. The light shone off the reflective pink glass of a building. The blue glass glistened on another in the distance. The birds fluttered and played in a birdbath.
I imagined a child running through the park with a yellow balloon. The glass paths lit with a rainbow of colours, blinking and dancing. I yearned to be free in the sunshine. When my neck muscles burned, I had to stop straining to see outside. When the guard returned, the shadows had shortened.
From the hall, Atkinson asked, “Hey, Officer Chase. Do you know where Mr. Parr is? He asked me to come talk to him.”
“Just saw him. He’s still talking to Officer Pake. He will meet you likely in his office before he interrogates the inmate,” Jaxson answered before coming through the doorway.
“Ok. Thanks,” Atkinson called.
Once the guard strolled away, Officer Chase said, “Stand. Let’s go. You are going to shower while I am on break and then I will take you to see Mr. Parr for interrogation.”
I turned away to gather my thoughts as he unlocked the chains from the metal ring. I had nothing to say.
Mr. Parr met us in the hall. “Is it time for me to speak to the prisoner, Officer Chase?”
“Dr. Cook told me to take her to showers first and then to take her to the interrogation room. The inmate will wait there until you are ready to speak to her. By the way, Officer Atkinson was just looking for you. I told him you were with Officer Pake.”
“Yes, I was just called to my office. It’s likely him waiting for me.” Mr. Parr strolled by, his hands behind his back as his big ring of keys clanged together. The navy suit was too big on the short man. Mr. Parr said, “Oh, add to her file that the Paragon is sending someone to meet her on Wednesday afternoon.”
“Yes, Sir.” Jaxson glanced at me, his brows furrowed.
“Do whatever you can to get her to confess before then. Did you see the new interrogation method in the file?”
“Yes, of course, Sir. I will do my best.”
“Nice work, Officer Chase. I will see you later.”
Parr waddled down the hall, and answered a call just as he reached the end. As he fumbled with the key to unlock the door, he said, “Yes, Officer Chase is working out despite his experience. Yes, I read the notes about the pills and the interrogation strategy… Precisely, I am sure that will help, yes. Gives us a glimpse…Yes.”
Mr. Parr unlocked the door with a key from his enormous ring. He mumbled into the phone as the door closed with a thud.
“Listen, it’s time to tell him what he needs because until you do, I will be instructed to follow a strict method to make you do so. It’s my job that’s on the line and I have no choice but to follow what Dr. Cook and Mr. Parr has outlined in your file.”
Officer Pake approached; I heard his feet shuffling against the cement. He bent over and took the chains. “Have y’rself a nice long break,” he told Chase.
Chase drew in a breath and his eyes left mine to acknowledge the guard. He stepped forward and took the chains closest to my cuffs and his fingers touched mine. He glanced back at me and let out his breath as he handed the chains to Officer Pake. When Officer Chase walked away, Pake unlocked the door.
The locker room smelled of mildew. Black mold grew on the ceiling and on the walls. The carpeting near the lockers was not only damp, but were stained with blood. I shuddered.
“Take off y’r clothes,” Pake said, once we were in the locker room. He took the cuffs off. The chains fell with a clank to the floor.
He shoved me to get me moving. No curtains covered the showers. He sat down to watch. I didn’t retaliate. I slipped out of my shirt without facing him and my adrenaline rushed through me. Anxiety grew. Then I felt his touch; his lips caressed my shoulder. His hand was on my side. My eyes widened.
The door opened from behind and the man released me. Officer Chase had returned even though his break will have only started a few minutes before. I covered my body with my hands.
“Leave,” Officer Chase demanded.
I watched their reflections in the mirror.
Officer Chase pointed to the door. “Out.”
“I was just…” Officer Pake held his hands out, to gesture that he had done nothing wrong, and smirked. I turned back around. I didn’t like the glint in his eyes.
“I know what you were doing. And it’s not in her file.”
“Y’r on break. Y’ don’t need to be here.”
“Nope, I’m good. I will take my break later.” Officer Chase cracked his neck.
The guard stepped back from me. I noticed, peripherally, him eye me up and down as I stood in shame, and then he turned to face Officer Chase.
“You know, Dr. Bailey Cook told me that I don’t have the sort of soft personality that she requires for this inmate. I got a call to transfer to Edgefield Correction to work with the lovely Miss Anderson, and now I am being replaced by a softy.” He chuckled. “So, I ask Dr. Cook why she thinks a soft personality would be better than mine, you know, as a guard of a facility such as this one. She says that you are more agreeable and y’ don’t like to start fights. I would think as a guard, they would want someone who isn’t afraid to fight. So, it got me thinking…”
“Oh yeah? You were thinking, were you?”
“I figure it’s because you have something going on with the ol’ doctor. Otherwise why would she choose you—” Pake pushed Chase in the chest with three of his fingers— “over me.”
Officer Chase shoved his hand off his chest.
Pake said, “She thinks you’re weak…why would she want that quality in a guard? The way I see it, she is making a huge mistake…you will be more easily controlled by the inmate.”
“I am not being controlled by anyone.” Officer Chase leaned in.
“Not yet…” Officer Pake glanced back at me and I averted my eyes. “I don’t need extra encouragement to get the job done.”
“Neither do I.”
“Sure. Sure. I just think that if you are some kind of softy, maybe you’ll fall for manipulation easily. You will likely fall in love with the inmate and after that, you’ll be easily manipulated by the girl.”
“You’ve made one thing clear. I am in charge and you are not. Get out.”
Pake leaned in and got close, standing inches from Chase’s face. In a breathless whisper, he said, “I can get to her when you aren’t here guarding her, you know.”
Officer Chase pushed him and Pake reached his arm back and sucker punched him in the jaw. Officer Chase fell back to the floor. I gasped.
“See? You can’t fight. You are a softy.” He charged to the door and turned back. “I will see you later, Miss. Pretty.” He chuckled as he swung the door open. “Man up, Softy!”
I took a step towards Officer Jaxson as he got to his knees, putting the back of his hand to his lip. Blood stained his wrist when he checked. Blood had splattered on his badge.
He noticed my approach. “Stay back…I am not that…for you…do what you are instructed to do.”
I shook. He met my eyes in the mirror. I looked away. A tear fell.
“Stop,” he pleaded. His eyes were pained. “They’ll make me…Don’t make me.” He wiped his mouth and got
to his feet.
My chest heaved.
“Just shower.” He cracked his knuckles and paced. I watched him in the mirror as he turned to sit on the bench facing away from me. I went into the shower and let the ice-cold water run over me. I shivered.
When I turned the water off, a towel lay folded on the bench.
“Do I…is this…”
He glanced back and said, “Yes, it’s for you.” He rubbed his head as he bent over, his elbows resting on his knees.
I stood with the towel around me.
“Put on the clothes.”
I lifted the folded clothes.
He cleared his throat. Rubbed at his face. When he rested his fists against the bench, he clenched them tight.
I closed my eyes and drew in a breath. As my eyes burned, I turned around to put the shirt on, using it to wipe the tear.
“Tell him what you did when you see him. I need…you need to move this process further…I don’t want to do what they…I will have to do what they outlined in the file.”
I drew in a breath. I glanced around looking for answers. What would I tell Mr. Parr?
My mind was disconnected. I couldn’t figure out why my memories were of something that could not exist. My memories before the day I was arrested were of a world quite different than this one. But that didn’t make sense. I thought back to the glass buildings and lit walks and roads.
My mind drifted to the world that I remembered where the ground was dirt, the roads were asphalt and the buildings were made of brick, not glass. Two worlds: one beautiful and glistening and the other one charming and natural. Why would I remember such a place if it didn’t exist?
“Tell him, Miss. Anderson,” he said flatly.
I shook my head.
I heard his feet shuffle as he stood.
In defense, I shook my head. I held out my hand. “Wait.”
“Tell him…” he urged.
“I can’t. I don’t know what I’ve been accused of…I don’t know…”
He stared at me. “Do you know what is coming for you after the Interrogation? I must use whips as punishment.” Whips?
“I’m not pretending. I don’t know,” I said.
“Keep it down,” he said, urgently. “The walls whisper.”
What did that mean?
“It’s time. You have to tell him…or I have to…”
I closed my eyes and stood in silence. His fingers brushed over my hand as he placed the cuffs back on my wrists. He lifted the chains and I opened my eyes. I caught him staring at my lips. I gasped. His eyes found mine.
“Come. Tell him what he wants to hear,” he urged.
I trailed behind as he led me to the interrogation room and again locked me to the table. He never made eye contact with me and his hands shook as he secured the locks.
Chapter Seven
Mr. Parr walked through the door. The man with grey eyes and goatee from the monitor room, Mr. Everett, followed with a squeaky cart which held a tray of metal objects. My eyes widened. Chase's eyes never met mine, even at the sound of the tools sliding on the metal tray. He stood, his thin fingers shaking and then he watched the minute hand shift on the clock.
“You didn’t take your break, I hear. Pake was instructed to take your inmate to the showers until you were done. Do you want to explain to me why you didn’t follow orders?”
“Sorry, Sir, I must have been confused. Won’t happen again. Would you like me to take the break now?”
“Yes. Depending on what happens here, I will need you back.”
As Officer Chase stepped towards the door, Mr. Parr called him back and said, “Hey, this was just added to her file. It’s important. They say it’s likely that she is carrying a disease. I see here in her file that the doctors have already administered the treatment.” He, finally, made eye contact with Officer Chase, taking his eyes off my file for a moment and he asked, “What happened to your lip?”
My eyes widened.
“Nothing, Sir. I ran into…the edge of a wall.”
“A wall?”
“Yes, Sir. Am I in danger with the possibility of the inmate carrying a disease?”
“There will be a new prescription for you as well. You should wear a mask until you start them. They are in the infirmary.”
“Okay, sir.” Officer Chase glanced at me.
I have a disease?
His lack of eye contact frightened me to the very pit of my stomach.
“I’ve instructed Mr. Bradley to administer the medication to the guards and inmates.”
Parr watched as Officer Chase exited and then turned back to speak to me. “So, Saige Anderson.” He opened the file, as if he needed to read it over.
My picture was paper-clipped to the top of the file. My face. Not my last name.
“Tell me what you are sorry for.”
“Many things,” I said. A frown and a quivering lip only made his eyes flare.
“Well, Miss Anderson, that’s a start.”
“I don’t remember…what I have done.” I drew in a breath that made my next claim shake and my voice squeak. “I think I have amnesia. Perhaps from the concussion.”
Mr. Parr motioned for Mr. Everett to come closer so that he could whisper in his ear. “What concussion?” I examined the tools on the cart. Everything was metal and sharp.
“Mr. Johnson told them to check me for a concussion.”
“Oh, that old flim flam of a man. There’s a reason he is no longer here.”
Mr. Parr proceeded to scratch out what I assumed was the information about my concussion. Satisfied, he leaned in. “So, you hit your head. That’s what you are saying?”
“Dr. McFadden said that I am to rest.”
He grinned at me. “Sure. Rest.”
“It’s just that I’m confused. I don’t know how to explain why I can’t remember…anything.”
“You remember your name.”
“It’s on the chart, Sir.” I thought adding ‘Sir’ to my conversation would earn me something.
Mr. Bradley knocked on the door. “Antibiotics for Officer Chase.” He placed a small white cup on the table and exited. Mr. Parr nodded and continued, sliding the med to the edge of the table and placed his elbows there instead. “I don’t believe you. You had grand stories about not belonging here. That claim has intrigued the Paragon. They are coming down to meet you Wednesday.”
“I’m confused too, Sir.”
He slammed his fists on the table. Mr. Everett grinned. “I didn’t say that I was confused. I am implying that I don’t believe you.” At the sound of the shout and pound on the table, Chase's face appeared in the window of the door. He still hadn’t gone on break.
“I’m not satisfied.” Mr. Parr examined the tools.
“Please, I am not lying.”
Mr. Everett crossed his arms and smiled at the fear in my statement.
I swallowed hard. “I have no information to give but I am not keeping anything from you.”
Mr. Parr narrowed his eyes at me.
I averted my eyes and stared at the cuffs. Mr. Everett rolled the sharp tools around on the tray. He picked one up and scraped the tray with the sharp end.
“Well, Miss Anderson, maybe some time with Mr. Everett will help you to remember. We have great tactics.”
He stepped towards me with the knife’s sharp edge pointed. His grey eyes glistened with pleasure.
“Wait,” I whispered.
Mr. Everett leaned over me and placed his hand on my forehead. I tried to move away but he pressed against me and made me lay back. I let out a whimpered cry. I heard the door open.
“Sir?” Chase's voice.
As the blade pressed against my neck, I thought it was over. I wouldn’t swallow to keep the blade from cutting.
“Sir, I think I can start the whips tonight and see if I can’t get more out of her that way.” Officer Chase wore a mask. It made my stomach sink.
“I think that the pain we can execute here will f
orce her to be truthful.”
“But let’s follow the report from Dr. Cook. She requested that I follow the strategy.”
The blade cut and I struggled against the chains.
“Fair enough. I thought a little of both would be good. Let’s see how she does after some lashings.” The blade was lifted. My face was released. I felt embarrassed and hurt, fearful and defeated. I didn’t cry but I wanted to.
My chest heaved as Mr. Parr slid the chair against the cement floor. “We can pick this up tomorrow, after the Program.”
Mr. Parr walked out first, shuffling down the hall.
Mr. Everett glared at me. “I was looking forward to that. Until we meet again, Miss Anderson. There are some new tools I have been dying to try out.”
He turned and pushed the squeaky cart out of the room. “Officer Chase,” he said. “Your antibiotic is on the table.”
“Okay. Thanks, Mr. Bradley.” Officer Chase watched me as he approached the cup. He moved the face mask to put the crimson pill into his mouth and washed it down with a swig of water and readjusted the mask.
When Mr. Bradley’s cart squeaked down the hall, Officer Chase said to me, “Let’s go. Man, I really wish you…” He paused, his eyes wild. “Why didn’t you tell him? What is wrong with you, Inmate? I can’t…I have to…”
“Do what you need to do,” I said, trying to rid myself of any contempt in my facial expression. “I can’t change things. I only remember the day that I was arrested. Before that…well, my mind is playing tricks on me.”
“What do you mean ‘tricks’?”
“I mean that I remember a different life that I thought I had led. And now, I’m in this world and I don’t have memories of it.”
Chase pulled the chains towards him so that I would follow. “That makes no sense.”
“I know. My mind is playing tricks…Like I said.”
He paused, standing still as he examined my eyes for truth. He walked to the door and I followed.
“I don’t have a choice in the punishment I am instructed to give you,” he said, as he averted his eyes.
Switched and Fears Page 5
