Glitch (The Write Awards 2013 Winner)

Glitch - Chapter 25

It did not dawn on her until she was led into the waiting hall on the other side. She calmly accepted the escort out the court room, nodded in affirmation that she was to stay put until the trial had ended and took a few glances around her new surroundings. This building obviously extended outside the wall as a few windows in the distance painted the hall in a pool of golden light. The lavish wood design continued out the court room and adorned the waiting hall with a similar atmosphere of luxury and power. The marble floor amplified the occasional beat of passing footsteps cutting over the low hum of Government employees going about their usual business.

It happened as she was surveying the carefully carved face of the grandfather clock in the corner. She came to the realisation that there was nothing she could do to contain the black clouds of anger unfurling and seething inside her. Her hands balled slowly into fists. That was it. A small gesture to subtly remove the floods of frustration. But as she turned the key to unlock what was intended to be a small portion of her disgust it quickly became apparent that she had no control over quantity. Now it was recognised she could not bite down the anger.

She managed two blinks to fight back burning tears of humiliation, before all her control dissipated somewhere beyond her reach. If she could have taken a step back and watched herself she probably would have cringed in embarrassment at the screech of anger that rattled out from her lungs and broke the hushed quiet of the hall. But in her trapped cage of anger there was no way of stepping back from the scene. She aimed a kick at the bench she had been asked to sit on while the Patrollers looked on in bemused confusion. No one dared stop her as she rammed her open hand against the wall in repeated fury.

As if the floor had opened up beneath her she felt the unpleasant swoop of empty space where solid ground was expected as the anger swept away in an instant. She was spared a moment to suck in a breath before the melancholy hit. Weak from her tantrum she could not plug the wave. As the pull of misery dragged her down there was nothing she could do to stop it.

From the whirlwind force of her anger she collapsed. She slumped down to the floor as her legs lost the power to support her. Her head buried into her hands as she attempted to hide the evidence of her tears. But the interrupted screeches for breath between sobs gave the game away as tears sloshed onto her hands. The truth was that they had drained her. Taken all her fight and pooled it into their own needs while leaving her an empty shell. From the girl who had attempted to kick off the Patrollers as they dragged her from her home she had been reduced to a trembling mess sobbing on the floor. And they all knew this was the end result.

It took her until the trial ended to subdue her tears to quiet snuffling breaths. She still sat curled on the floor when they all filed out the court room. She searched the crowd carefully; looking for the hand that had stabbed her in the back. It wasn’t hard to spot Andie cutting a path through the crowd. Her determined steps highlighted her immediately. Freya stared until her eyes were met. She expected her to stop. To at least say something. But Andie tore away her gaze and pressed forwards.

“Hey!” Freya called as she scrabbled to her feet. Still Andie did not respond. Finally Freya located the last burn of the embers of her temper.

“Don’t you fucking dare walk away from me!” Her demand was loud enough to command the attention from everyone in the hall. The Patrollers were too taken aback to stop her as she lurched forward. She wasn’t aware if they gave chase as she sprinted towards Andie. It didn’t register on her attentions. Her concentration was focused solely on Andie’s shoulder and she did not remove her stare until her hand was forcefully pulling her around.

“You’re a repugnant bitch.” They were the first and most offensive words she could locate on such short notice. It wasn’t enough. She wanted to tear away the strengthened exterior of Andie and strike where it would hurt the most.