The Foreverlost

Chapter 1

February 2018

"Koskinen, up." A male's voice echoed into the cell.

Kaiya's eyes opened slowly, it was still dark, but within seconds she remembered what today was; release day. Acting quickly as though she'd miss it if she didn't move quickly enough, she stood up off of her canvas cot, pulled on her musty, gray sweatshirt with her assigned number on the back; 031493, slipped on her tattered rubber slip-on shoes and stood at the door of her cell waiting for the guard to open it. A deafening buzzing noise bounced off the cement walls and her cell door slowly opened.

Kaiya's heart beat so quickly, she couldn't believe she was getting out. It had been 5 long miserable years spent inside a Russian prison and she was finally free.

As she stepped out of her cell, two guards followed closely behind, large guns held in their hands. "Is this really necessary?" she thought. As of today she was no longer an inmate, but I guess old habits die hard for these motherfuckers. However, she quickly reminded herself that the Russian corrections department didn't give a shit about her or laws, to be honest, and knew if she stepped even a toe out of line even on her way out of there, they would throw her back in and no one would even be looking for her, so she stood up straight and listened to every direction barked at her.

The guards led her to the administration office where a very old woman was behind a desk. "Name?" she barked without ever looking up at Kaiya.

"Kaiya Linnea Koskinen. Inmate number 031493." She spoke robotically.

The old woman lifted her eyes to meet Kaiya's eyes, comparing her face to the mugshot on her computer screen. 5 years of being imprisoned in one of the worst correctional facilities that Russia, and arguably the world, had taken a toll on her. She was extremely thin, her dark brown hair cut short. Her eyes sunken in from malnourishment, her skin pale like a sickly Victorian woman from lack of sunlight. However, a guard was nice enough on the last head shaving day to let Kaiya keep her hair, knowing she was going to be released soon. Of course, that "kindness" came with a price, one that Kaiya would rather forget. But the guards and other inmates knew exactly what her slowly growing hair cost...

The woman stood up from her desk and walked through a door behind her, minutes later emerging with a garbage bag. "These are your belongings that were confiscated at the time of your arrest. You may get dressed in the restroom over there," she pointed to the left, "Then you are free to go."

Kaiya took the bag from the desk and went into the bathroom, followed by one of the guards who had accompanied her to the administration office. Kaiya looked nervously over at him with a questioning look, "Until you leave, you are still a prisoner." he muttered, staring her down.

"Well are you going to look away so I can undress?" her tone was emboldened by the looming sense of freedom.

"Do you want me to throw you back into your cell, bitch?" the guard replied harshly.

Kaiya stared him down as she stripped and got dressed into the clothes that were in the bag. A pair of skinny jeans, a pair of black sneakers, a bra, panties (which still smelled used so she opted to throw them away), and a black Metallica t-shirt. When she got to the shirt she stopped, forgetting the guard was watching her like a hawk. Sadness washed over here when she held the garment in her hands, instinctively bringing it to her nose and inhaling deeply. She could swear she could faintly smell him still...

"Hurry the fuck up." the guard snapped, bringing Kaiya crashing back into reality.

She pulled on the clothes, which were incredibly loose. She had gone into the facility when she was 28, but since being arrested in the Summer of 2012, she had lost a considerable amount of weight. Now at 34, she was shockingly thin. But being held in such harsh conditions for so long would do that. Food was scarce, and at times inedible. Food was used as a punishment, even if you yourself did nothing wrong.