Legendary

Chapter 3: Ren

LEGENDARY CHAPTER 3

REN P.O.V.

If I could send a postcard from here it would probably say something along the lines of "wish you weren't here!" Then again, the ancient plantation buried within the forest was easily more of a holding cell than a tropical paradise, and mile marker 67 had easily claimed the title of "bane of my existence."

I awoke that morning from a sweet nightmare, the morning sunlight blocked off by my window, deprived of its chance to shed light on the dismal atmosphere of the house. Punching the annoying alarm that my roommates neglected and prodding the shoulder of my three other cell mates, I arose a chorus of groans.

"Get up before she gets you up." I commanded in my strongest voice, motivated not by a sense of dominance but rather an unshakable instinct to protect. Nobody knew 67 like I did, and I intended to keep it that way. I wonder how they'll manage when I'm finally gone. I wonder how I'll manage when I'm finally gone. No one ever hears from those who age out.

One by one my three roommates got up from their coffins of scratchy sheets, not many options of hand-me-downs for us to change in to. Renee, Karly, Jamie- I memorized their names and schedules, feeling more like a warden than their makeshift mother. My brain protested both of those options anyways.

Retreating back to my top bunk and allowing more elbow room, I heard a faint tapping against the window. There was Renee, pressing against the pane, searching and scanning for weaknesses. She turned to face me. "The windows are glass, aren't they?"

"I don't know why you're asking me." I cut off any possibility of eye contact.

"You know exactly why I'm asking you." She retorted.

"Have you not seen the bars right beyond the window?"

"We could file through them."

"This isn't Shawshank Redemption. There aren't just convenient files laying around here."

"Well, couldn't we just use our powers?" Karly chimed in. I could feel each of the three pairs of eyes glued to me- it was unsettling.

"That involves starving yourselves, but still somehow convincing her that you're eating. Powers are hard to control during withdrawal too, so within a split second you'd give yourself away." I spat out information involuntarily, praying it would stop their train of thought.

"How did you do it?" Silence.

"It was them, not me. And I've already told you I'm not going to talk about it again. Especially not while she could be listening." I was a pawn in her chess game, and I knew that she knew that. She lit a wildfire of fear in my heart and it was my job to spread that to the others. I kept them in check so she wouldn't have to. I kept them from experiencing what we all shared in our most perfect dreams.

The door flew open; it would've flung off its hinges if they weren't reinforced. I bolted off the bed, standing in front of my younger cell mates. They were all taller than me, but if I could offer any form of protection I would do it. My mind ran through the usual drill. Stand tall. Stand strong. Shoulders back. Chin up. Don't show her you're scared. You're not scared. You're not scared- but she already knows you are.

Her image was firmly engraved into the back of my mind. Crooked jaw, crazy eyes, dark skin folding with what I could only hope was the weight of her guilt, thick black hair pulled back with a single lilac lotus always decorating it. She filled the door frame, eyes glued to me. God, I hated eye contact.

"Ren." She acknowledged.

"Padma." I gulped.

"Can you tell me what time it is?" I shook my head, unwilling to break our staring contest to glance at the clock directly behind me. "It's 8:13. That's thirteen minutes after you're supposed to be at your jobs." She addressed us all, but then refocused on me. "Ren, I believe you're supposed to be working the register. And we can't miss a single customer." I blinked. "You're more trouble than you're worth, Kobayashi."