Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Zoya's prison cell is filthy. The walls are streaked with darkened red stripes and other muddier colors that she doesn't want to place. The floors are thinly padded with a layer of browned, old hay that was probably taken from the pen of a pig or other greasy, soiled animal. When she receives food, if she receives food, it's thrown through the bars onto this dirty hay, leaving her to choose whether or not she wants to eat the scraps of food. At first, she'd chosen not to, pride still intact, but as time went on, and her stomach grew more desperate, she'd started to eat.
Now, Zoya twists her fingers together, trying to ignore the migraine drilling into her temples as someone approaches, dressed in an unkempt, wrinkled uniform.
The prison guard leers at her, leaning against the bars of her cell. She meets his gaze defiantly, daring him to try something, though she knows deep down that she wouldn't be able to stop him if he did, for her body is weak from weeks of sitting in an enclosed space, muscles atrophying from disuse.
"You've still got some fire in you," he says tauntingly, face obscured by shadow. His fingers trail across the metal separating them. She uses her silence as a weapon, refusing to answer, merely staring him directly in the eyes until he begins to feel unnerved by her muteness. "Stop kriffing staring."
She disobeys.
"Andhi, come over here," the guard calls down the passageway. An unintelligible voice answers, and the guard in front of Zoya rolls his eyes in annoyance, demonstrating his short temper. "Just get your ass over here."
Shortly, someone else emerges, taller and broader than the first guard. "What is it?" Andhi asks flatly. He doesn't even look her way, which sends a fragment of short-lived relief trickling down her spine.
"I think this one needs to be taught a lesson," he says, gesturing towards Zoya. Her jaw clenches, but she doesn't give him the satisfaction of reacting, remaining still where she slumps against the wall.
"Yeah?" Andhi turns a critical gaze upon her. "What are you gonna do?"
The first steps forward, and a shaft of light emblazons itself across his harsh features. His lips twist into a sickening grin, and one of his hands hooks onto his belt loops. "Let's find out if she fights back."
