The Life That Everyone "Wants"

Prologue

She sat in the very room that she had known inside out. She lived in this room for almost a complete year. Did she want to? Not a chance. But heaven save her if she tried to leave. That orange outfit stamped her as "danger". She was never allowed in society ever again.

   "8965, you have visitors," called a man from the end of her hall. He slowly approached her room and unlocked the door, hoping she would be in a good mood today and cooperate. She rose to her feet, put her hands out, and closed her legs with her heels and toes touching. The man put the cold metal cuffs on her wrists, attaching them to a chain which was to go around her waist, with yet another chain leading to another pair of cuffs for her ankles. 

   "Is this necessary every time I have visitors?" She whined. He looked up and cackled, thinking this was a joke, "Do you remember what you did?" 

   "It is very clear to me what I did. But you do realize that this is family?"

   "No, this is not family." She grew confused. Who would want to visit her in this wretched hell besides her family? Her husband, daughters and sister were the only ones who visited her, her brother had never made an appearance, but that never seemed to anguish her, "This is a journalist. He wants to know about your life." The man explained. She knew there would be a catch. She had to tell her life story now. No if, and, or buts. She had to, there was no escape.

   "Why should I tell him anything?" She scorned, "I won't get anything other than humiliation out of this." He took her by the arm as he started walking out, she obediently followed, "This is beneficial for you, actually." As her eyes rolled, she scoffed and kept walking. The sounds of the shackles dragging alerted her housemates as she walked down the hallway. They all looked through their doors to see who was there, all were not shocked at her presence. She frequently had to walk down this very hallway, her husband and two daughters were frequent visitors. 
   
   "I don't want to tell them anything," she huffed, her fists clenching lightly. "They're gonna screw me over, just like the rest of them! They're no better than the men who threw me in here!" 

   "Hey hey, calm down now." The guard whispered, lightly squeezing her arm. "Just do as they ask, and your time will be reduced." Immediately, she bursts into laughter, placing her cuffed hands on her legs as she bends over.

   "Reduced time? I'm serving multiple life sentences for my crimes! Reduced time is just a way of screwing me from behind on a deal! I'm not giving them the pleasure of a single word of my past!" She cried. Her eyes filling with tears, whilst coming to the realization that she will never get out of this torture chamber. She will never leave the gates of this prison, which stood in No Man's Land. No living soul crossed the boundaries of this prison besides the guards and those who dare to visit their beloved inmates. They finally made it into the visiting room, after what felt like three years. She saw two men sitting at a table. The guard slowly released her arm and she could feel herself take a step forward. The men, wearing sharp looking suits, stood up, fixed their coats and smiled faintly while clearing their throats.

   "Mrs. Claudia Clements!" One man said, the other piercing her eyes with his, staring so deep that she thought he would reach the pit of her soul with that glare, "It is a pleasure to meet you! I am James McCormick, I'm a journalist and I would love to know about your life." He held his hand out, hoping she would accept his greeting. As she walked forward, she felt as if her hand was being drawn to his—a magnet.

   "Hello." She whispered, looking up and meeting James' gaze. The fingers of her inner demon had pulled her mouth to a smile. She looked over to the other man, seeing as he still held the same stare.

   "And you are?" She asked, trying to find her way into his mind through the doors of his eyes before he spoke, rather quietly, "I am Steven Bates. It is an honor to meet you." She couldn't help but laugh. She knew damn well that he was lying. She could see lies like they were presented to her on a silver platter. 

   "You know that's not true," she spits, "you wouldn't have come here if it wasn't your job. No one does, not even my own brother." Her eyes filled with rage. She took every inch of her strength to keep herself contained.

   "You want to know about my life?" She exclaimed, "Well, get ready for a trip, into the deep, dark, unknown."