Search for the Soul Gem

Chapter Twenty

You know when you go on a trip and when you first wake up, you forget where you are momentarily. You think you're at home and before you open your eyes you can imagine everything about your room. Where your bed is placed, all the clothes that litter the floor, all the pictures on your walls. And then you open your eyes and the reality hits you. That's how I woke up. At first when I woke up, I actually thought I was in Niger. It felt like my cot in the very early hours of the morning, before the sun woke and baked the desert. I lay in ignorant bliss for a moment before the reality crashed down around me. The sounds of natural Niger weren't present but the others around me waking spurred me on. I slowly opened my eyes and the fantasy of West Africa faded away. The lights were bright in my eyes, their harsh glow burning into my mind. The metal from the bed dug into my ribs and hips. My body was numb from laying on the metal, unmoving for so long. I tried to move my legs as slowly as possible to keep the men from noticing that I was awake. There was an eerie silence, only broken by grunts and dull murmured. I stared at the metal on the wall, trying to push the despair down in my chest. I lay there for a long time, taking time to numb every feeling I had in my body.

How could this have happened to me? I've never even gotten a parking ticket, let alone imagine waking up in a prison.

I stared down at the black on my arm. What use was all this if it landed me here. I should have let Tony blow up my site. He should have gotten the tablets too. I closed my eyes and pressed my palms into my eyes. As I lay with my palms pressed into my eyes, the locks disengaged in the door. I flipped over quickly, causing a sharp pain to shoot up my spine. The door to the cell was pulled open and two guards stood in the doorway, their huge guns resting on their chest. I scooted myself back until I pressed against the metal behind me. The guards burst into the cell and straight up too me.

"W-what's going on?" I stammered, still thick with sleep. They walked straight up to me and hooked their hands under my arms, yanking me out of bed.

"Oi man! What are you doing!" one of the prisoners next to me yelled at the guards. They drug me through the doorway and down the steps. I stumbled down the steps, trying to get my feet under me.

"Leave her alone, you bastards!" another called out. All of the prisoners were awake now, staring out at the scene in front of them with blurry eyes. They tossed tired insults at us as we passed. The guards said nothing at the insults being thrown at them. At the doors, they paused and pressed a long string of numbers to unlock the door. The yelling from around me followed us down the new hallway. Roused by all the yelling coming from behind us, the prisoners in this hall began yelling after us too. At the end of the hall, the yelling was overwhelming. An elevator waited for us when we reached it. I was shoved into the elevator, stumbling into the back wall. The two guards entered quickly after me. Another long code and the doors slid closed. As the elevator descended lower, the guards cast icy glares down at me. I tried not to move as little as possible, should the guards think I was threatening them. My head was still blurry from sleep as I tried to understand what's going on. The elevator stopped and slip open. The hallway that I was drug into looked like a creepy hall from a movie. It was a long, hospital-like hall. As we made our way down the hall, a pained scream broke through the hall. Fear shot through my veins like ice. I dug my heels into the ground, trying to stop them from taking me toward the sound. Another long scream ripped through the air.

"Wait! Where are you taking me?" I stammered, pulling all my weight back to try and slow the guards. Didn't work. There was no answer to my question either. We stopped in front of a door. One of the guards held my arms as the other unlocked the door. I was shoved in, stumbling into the cold room and tumbled to my hands and knees. The door slammed shut behind me, causing me to jump. I turned over onto my back and looked around the room, leaning up on my arms. The room was about the size of a closet, the only thing in the room was a table and two chairs. I pushed myself up off the ground stiffly. My body was sore from yesterday's aches compounded with this new fall. I circles the room, looking over it completely. I passed back and forth, feeling like a caged animal. The walls were plain cement with no seam for escape. I tried the door but it was locked. When I'd searched every inch of the room multiple times and came up empty, I stood in the center of the room cautiously. I had no idea what to expect. Another terrifying scream broke through the walls and made me shiver. The door behind me swung open, making me jump and spin around. A man I'd never seen stood in the doorway. This man was much more intimidating than the warden. He towered over me by at least half a foot. Cords of thick muscles rested under his uniform, waiting for him to strike. He closed the door behind him and studied himself on his feet.