The Others

Chapter 7: Tenth Circle of Hell

Each day I awoke with the same expectation that I was safely tucked in my bed and each day I found myself sorely disappointed when I awoke only to see the three padded walls of my cell. The fourth wall was made from some sort of glass that was impossible to break; I knew from experience. There was a metal doggy door at the bottom of the glass wall which could only be opened by a remote possessed by the G.S. soldiers. They used it to safely deliver my food without having to actually touch me. I suppose the entire glass wall was a door in itself but it had been locked since I arrived. The cell could have been smaller, it gave me room to pace and I appreciated that. Pacing saved me from many potential breakdowns. I had everything I technically needed, a cot, a toilet, and I even had a sink that ran hot water every other day.

The first week was the hardest. Not physically but mentally it was draining to be confined in one space with only my thoughts left to entertain me. I knew that was the point. I wasn't on vacation, it wasn't supposed to be fun. I was a danger to society and I needed to be treated as such. At least, that's what they wanted me to believe. But, I didn't feel very dangerous. Standing a few inches taller than five foot, I had the literal body of a stick and I was practically destabilized by a pack of peanuts.

With that said, I no longer questioned my "Other" status. Eileen was right- when you're different you just know. I could argue with the doctors, the scientists and the politicians but ultimately, I couldn't argue with myself. I wasn't dangerous just different but I guess those two always were treated as the same.

I thought by accepting my life sentence as an Other, somehow that would stop my midnight pity parties. I tried my best not to cry, if only to avoid judgement from my neighbor. Her cell was placed directly in front of mine. The cells were a mirror image of one another with three padded walls lacking all personality, one glass door, a cot, a sink and a toilet. I imagined all the cells were the same but I could only see hers and my own, the others were kept out of my field of vision. I never spoke to my neighbor but I assumed she had been at Garrenbuck for a while. Her tanned skin had turned dry and leathery, dark bags hung beneath her eyes and her hands were always bandaged in bloody gauze- even her white jumpsuit looked soiled and ratty.

She was a shell of a human. There was this permanent look of absence on her face, as if she wasn't really 'all there'. Sometimes, I sat on my cot and with nothing else to do and I'd just stare at her. It was awkward at first, as if I were encroaching on her privacy. Then, I remembered the cameras hidden in the corners of our cells.

I liked to think we had an understanding. Like, we weren't friends, we didn't talk but we served as a form of entertainment to one another.

On my fourth day at Garrenbuck, I decided to sit in the middle of my cell and contort my face into strange expressions. That caught the attention of my neighbor who I swore almost smiled. Maybe it was just a facial spasm but I saw her cheek twitch upwards. And then, on my sixth day at Garrenbuck, I caught her trying to twist her fingers in and out of knots. Truly, entertainment at its finest.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about my neighbor was that she was able to leave. Everyday like clockwork two soldiers stopped at her cell, unlocked the door and dragged her out of the complex. She would be gone for hours at a time and I was left to wonder whether or not they finally killed her. But, she always returned by the end of the day accompanied by two different guardians from the time before.

I wanted to know where they took her.
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My wish was granted on the eve of my second week at Garrenbuck.

Per usual, two soldiers arrived early in the morning to procure my neighbor from her cell. She rose from her cot with an effortless grace, and bared her wrists to our captors. A pair of cuffs were attached to her hands and she was yanked out of the cell. This transaction transpired wordlessly, they pulled her like a dog on a leash and she followed without any hesitation. I expected them to cart her away to wherever they disappeared to during the day but once they were back in the corridor the soldiers stopped and turned to my cell.