The following scene is Carrie's experience when she's shown to her own personal cell for the first time. Oh, and by the way...everyone in jail will tell you that they are innocent. *lol* In this case, Carrie really is, the problem: no one believes her.
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| Cover by Michelle Lee at BWL |
“Welcome to Hell.” A voice came from behind her.
Carrie’s heart jumped into her throat. She jerked around to
see a prone form on the bottom bunk and struggled to find her voice. “I… I
thought I was alone.”
“No such luck. They prefer to keep the cells full. Sharing
space makes serving meals and head counts a lot easier for the coven of witches
who work here. My name’s Susanna Crane.” A tall blonde with bright brown eyes
and full lips stood and offered her hand, then chuckled. “Oh, sorry, I see you
have your arms full. The good news is, it’s nice to have company, and the bad
news is you get the top bunk. The bottom one is the only perk around here, and
it’s first-come-first-served.” Her pleasant giggle was a welcome sound.
Carrie stood on tiptoes and dumped her issued items on the
bare mattress. Marks of age crinkled the cold plastic. In a few ripped places,
the cotton filling poked through—like her, it sought escape from a hellish
confinement. A quiet chuckle bubbled to her lips until she tried picturing what
type of people had slept on the bedding before her. She cringed.
At home, her downy mattress was practically new, still
bearing the tags that threatened penalties if they were removed. How ironic.
You couldn’t be more law-abiding than that.
She turned back to her cellmate. “Don’t we even get
pillows?”
Susanna shook her head. “Not anymore. I hear they used to
issue them, but some idiot tried flushing one and backed up the whole sewer
system, so now…”
“I don’t think I can sleep without one.”
“You’ll learn.”
“So… we all get punished for what one person did?” Carrie
hoped she misunderstood.
“That’s the way it works. It’s an incentive program.”
“Incentive for what?”
“I haven’t figured that out yet. I think they expect us to
police one another, yet fighting isn’t tolerated. That seems pretty stupid,
considering the best way to stop someone from doing something that’s gonna
screw us all, is to beat the livin’ shit out of ’em. Go figure.” Susanna’s lips
practically disappeared into a thin line.
Carrie was taken aback by Susanna’s language. At first
sight, with her shoulder-length hair and big eyes, she looked like the
all-American girl. The one you’d find in church or at the Red Cross. Carrie
figured her for twenty-five at the most. She glanced around the cell, pondering
Susanna’s last statement.
“I’m not sure I understand. How can they expect us to
prevent things from happening if we’re all separately caged… like animals?”
“Oh, we get recreation time… a whopping two hours a day. You’ll
love it. You get to socialize with the cream of the crop.” Susanna’s voice held
a teasing tone, as she sat back on her bunk, pulled out a netted laundry
bag and held it in the air.
“Here’s the answer to your pillow.” She plumped the
contents. “Just add your clean clothes and, voila!” She ducked her head,
plopping onto her back, and rested against her makeshift cushion. “If you’ll
excuse me, I have to get some sleep. I work in the kitchen and have to get up
at three a.m.” She pulled her scratchy woolen blanket up and rolled to face the
wall, leaving Carrie with questions still begging for answers.
Susanna glanced over her shoulder. “Sorry, I didn’t catch
your name.”
Carrie massaged the headache looming above one eye. “Carrie…Carrie
Lang. Good night.”
An eerie silence
filled the cell. She glanced at the top bunk, knowing sleep would be elusive.
The sleeping accommodations offered no appeal, and her mind raced far too fast
to rest. She glanced around, taking in the harsh reality of her new home. Tears
clouded her vision and frustration gnawed at her gut. This had to be a
nightmare, the worst in all her twenty-four years. She prayed someone would
wake her soon.
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Now...hope on over to my friends' sites and see what they are offering this week.
http://connievines.blogspot.com (Connie Vines)
http://yesterrdayrevisitedhere.blogspot.com/ (Juliet Waldron)
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