Radiation Point

Eleven

In that moment,Commissioner Osguard was everything-squeezing the air out of the room with his presence-and nothing. A million thoughts buzzed through my head, but none of them were about running.

Ellen lay against the wall, grasping her shoulder tightly. Pulling her hand away from the wound, she stared in shock at the blood streaming down her shirt.

A cold hand gripped my shoulder and forced my hands behind my back. The action jarred me from my stupor and I glanced up at a guard in surprise. He clasped handcuffs on my wrists, then stood at attention.

The commissioner stood in front of his prize, smiling down at Ellen as if he had won the lottery. Perhaps in his mind he had. Ellen's eyes were squeezed shut, her breathing low and labored.

He slowly turned from Ellen and set his gaze on me, smile still lingering on his face.

"And you," he said cordially. "I thought we agreed to be friends."

I bit back my reply, my cheek still stinging from where he slapped me.

"Oh, don't be mad," he said in a sickening sweet voice. He caressed my cheek with two fingers, his eyes glinting dangerously. "Now you, you area rare thing. You're a fighter. Not the brutish kind that one was,"he said gesturing towards Ellen. "But cunning, brave. You may survive this yet."

His words caught me off guard. They would have been encouraging if his tone and gaze weren't sickening sweet-a bad aftertaste to the shooting.

"Take that one to the medical building," he said, waving his hand dismissively towards Ellen. The guard obeyed without a word, scooping Ellen in his arms and carrying her out. The door shut with a slam, leaving me and the commissioner alone. A new wave of fear washed over me, but I swallowed it and stood straight.

He examined me thoughtfully, his expression grim. His hand snaked out and he stroked my cheek, a feral look in his eyes.

"So young. So innocent," he whispered, giving me a twisted smile. As he spoke,his hand moved down from my face to my neck, stopping on my shoulder.

I jerked away from his touch, yanking my arms against the handcuffs. The metal cut into my wrists, stinging painfully.

The commissioner frowned, his eyes clouded. For a moment, I thought he was going to hit me. Instead, he leaned in close, the feeling of his breath tickling my ear.

"I will break you."

With that he gripped my arm and dragged me out of the room.

He dragged me down the hallway at a breakneck speed. I struggled to keep up; his grip on my arm painfully tight. Wincing in pain, I tried to pull free, but it was no use. His fist was like an iron clamp.

He stopped abruptly in front of a worn metal door in the middle of the hallway. The door opened to a steep staircase, leading to a dark abyss .

Without a word, he shoved me in front of him. I struggled to keep my footing on the narrow staircase. Once at the bottom, he clicked on a light and pushed me to the corner of the room.

Dazed by the brightness of the light, I stumbled forward, landing on a hard cot.Pushing myself up, I glanced around in shock. Metal bars surrounded me, iron slamming shut in my face, as I made a grim realization. The commissioner was keeping me in a cell where there was little or no chance of escape. Even more jarring was the realization that the bars looked rusted and old.

The building had previously been a school-with no reason to have a cell.

My surprise wasn't lost on the commissioner.