Cage

16.

Alex's POV

"What are you going to do?" I ask. What if he gets caught in here? Will he get fired? This is my fault.

"I don't have much of a choice..." he says slowly. "I guess I will wait until breakfast when all the gates will be opened."

I nod and sit down on my bed with my back against the wall. I'm freezing, and my toes are just about ready to fall off. There are gossebumps all over my arms and legs. I pull the thin, useless blanket over my body and wrap my arms around myself to try and get warmer.

I can't get the dream out of my head. It's not just a dream, it's memories. Maybe the dream happened for a reason, maybe I needed a reminder not to trust people.

Life is full of good moments which leave you with beautiful memories, and then there are bad moments to give you hard but necessary lessons.

I have had a life full of lessons. I always have to keep myself in check. Maybe that's what this dream was; my subconscious making sure I remember.

Cage sits down and I shift over so he can sit comfortably beside me on the bed. He frowns, noticing that my body is shaking slightly. "You're freezing," he notices.

He hesitates for a second, then slowly wraps his arms around me and pulls my body closer to his. His body is so warm. I glance up at him and notice that his face is very close to mine.

"Thank you." I smile.

He smiles back down at me and places a kiss on my forehead. "No problem, my damsel in distress." I go silent and glance away.

"You know what would be really good right now?"

"What?" Cage asks.

"Pizza with pineapple, chocolate milkshake, fried chicken, chocolate chip cookies— but not any cookies, those soft ones that melt in your mouth. Ooh, and sushi. God, I would kill for some sushi. I-I mean not actually kill. That not what I meant." I sigh.

"You like pineapple on pizza? That's disgusting."

"Bite me," I state and roll my eyes.

He tips my head to the side and trails his finger down my neck. "Just tell me where."

"Shut up." I laugh nudge him slightly.

He smiles. "Now I'm hungry, and all I can look forward to is some soggy mush for breakfast," he says.

"They make you eat that stuff, too?"

"Yeah. The owners of this place are cheap and don't like spending money unless they have to. That's why the prisoners are treated horribly and even murdered and nothing is done. It would be too expensive." Cage shakes his head.

"Owners? I thought jails and prisons were owned by the government."

"Yeah, this is a private prison, which means that there is a third party that is contracted by a government agency. That's why the death penalty is allowed here. This place is only for murderers, terrorists, rapists and those kinds of people. You won't find someone in here that has committed tax fraud."

"Nobody deserves to die the way that man died yesterday. Yeah, maybe the death penalty is needed, but whatever happened in that dome isn't justice. I don't know what it is, but it's not justice."

"Yeah, it's horrible having to see it every week. All those people screaming, crying and begging for their lives and you just have to stand there and let them die. I can't even imagine what I'll do in a few months, when it's you in there."

"Why don't you quit? If you hate seeing people killed like that."

He nods. "I've considered it so many times, but I can't. If I go, who will replace me? What if it is someone like Grant? What if more people are assaulted and abused and killed by those assholes because I couldn't handle it here? What if I leave and they... they hurt you?"