Chapter 17
The chime woke Elaine just before she vomited on her sheets. She felt sticky and foul, inside and out, laden with a heavy fatigue that would not be shrugged off.
The day has finally come.
She raced into the shower, as the nausea threatened to build again. She scrubbed herself almost raw, spending most of her time on her face, almost using her nails to scrape it clean. The water couldn’t get hot enough, the pain strong enough to make her forget, to cleanse the sickness from her mind. As she turned the water off, she was blinded by terror for a brief instant.
“Ronald?!”
She had a moment’s doubt as to whether he left or not, but it came to her, as if from a thick fog.
He did leave. Just a few hours ago.
He had kissed her face, over and over again. She laughed,
—I laughed!
at his gentle, reassuring words. Then, he told her what he thought would be a terrible secret.
Lainey, I’ve heard, from around, that there’s going to be some trouble tomorrow.
Oh? she had asked, appearing dumb.
Some of the inmates are going to riot. I think, they mean to do you counselors some harm. Is there any place you could hide?
Don’t worry, love, she had said holding him against her. I already know. They will be in for an awful surprise.
But . . . you’ll be hurt! he had cried. Wouldn’t it be better to just hide, until it’s all over?
What about you? They seem bent on killing all those we have awakened to their new identities.
I’ll be alright. Some of them don’t mind me, and I think, when the time comes, that they might even choose to overlook me. I’m just worried about you.
Don’t be, don’t be! In fact, you may taste freedom, before all is said and done.
What—what do you mean?! he had asked, utterly shocked.
There will be an invasion tomorrow, she had said in a low whisper. You, me, and the others will be freed.
But I . . . I don’t even know who I am! All the others know who they were, but you, and I, we don’t!
I know who I am. I discovered it a couple of nights ago. And I believe I know who you were.
He had come close, his hands on her shoulders. Who was I?
You had to be my husband, she had said, like she was reminding him of his own birthday. We are too close, not to have been connected before this place. No matter what happens, you are with me. She had pulled him close. You are mine.
She watched as his face melted into comfort. A part of her looked even closer, and saw a wry smile, underneath it all.
Thank you, Lainey, thank you! I haven’t had someone believe in me, in so long.
Someone to believe in me, she thought to herself, as she buttoned her last button on her shirt. She felt as if she was putting on a uniform of war, though it was the same outfit she wore every other day. Time to do this. I must remain true to who I know myself to be.
The guards were all naked in their expressions and words. For the first time she saw the true, undistilled hatred within them. Any pretense of civility or respect was gone. She passed by Colin, on her way to her office, and he laughed at her, pushing her through the entrance like she has being herded to slaughter. Blake was leaning against one of the cells, talking casually with an inmate, and didn’t even dignify her presence with the smallest glance. She saw Philip dart into a storage room as she approached, and decided to let him hide. Isaac announced the start of the day, in his typical fashion.
“Attention cuntselors and inmates—we got another great day to do!”
She moved like lightning through the hallways, worried the keg could ignite before she was ready. She unlocked her door, flung it open, and slammed it shut, only to find someone was waiting for her.
“Hello, Elaine.”
She was genuinely shocked, but knew if he meant real trouble, she would’ve sensed him earlier. “Tannis – why are you here?”
“Because I know better. I know right from wrong, and something’s coming that is very wrong.”
Elaine motioned him over to a chair, as she sat behind her desk. “You know they can hear us.”
“There’s no one in the camera room!” he cried, with a mean laugh. “Isaac should be on duty there, but he just doesn’t care anymore. When you’re about to release the entire prison population, there’s no need to sit in front of a monitor anymore.”
“Why are you doing this, and not stopping him?” she demanded. “What do you expect to accomplish, being here?”
A wave of realization spread across his face. “You already know, don’t you? Somehow, someone squealed to you. And you’re ready for it, aren’t you?”
She clenched her fist. “Damn right!”
Tannis laughed. “How is it I always knew you weren’t what you appeared to be?”
She sharpened her perception of him, and suddenly wished she could have seen him under her meditation. “What were you, Tannis, before this place?”
He leaned back, pensive. “I forget how little you know about everyone in here. I hear Sarah’s gonna give you the master download of the prisoners?”
“Yes.”
“You sure won’t like what you find. You’ve befriended a lot of them, and when you know what they’ve done, well . . .”
“You let me worry about that. Now, who were you?”
“I was a general, in the war. I commanded the second largest platoon of the Union army, and helped us win the final invasion. You have no idea the number of men that know me, that followed me. Philip was one of my best, most loyal men. That’s why he's here.”
“What happened to him?” she asked, shocked of thinking as Philip as anything other than a weak-willed coward. “He’s nothing here.”
Tannis took a deep breath as his gaze grew distant, as if looking out on a smoky battlefield of war. “Sometimes you don’t find out what truly makes up a man until you see them out of a familiar environment. When there is a clearly defined hierarchy, Philip is absolutely loyal, and able to accomplish great feats of bravery. But if there is doubt, indecision, like there is here, with multiple factions vying for control, and no clear dominant force, he becomes impotent, unable to decide whom to follow. I’m sure I’m to blame for that. I lost my way a long time ago.”
“What happened?” she asked.
“There was a power struggle, after the war. This mental manipulation technology was at the center of it. I was opposed to its use against the civilian population, but the majority was for it. I was shuffled to the side, assigned here, in disgrace. I’m sure if I weren’t such a good general, if so many men didn’t know about me, they would’ve executed me, or nulled my mind. As it is, I languish here, steward of these bastards.”
“If you were a general in the Union, then you must recognize some of these inmates!”
Tannis nodded, as he lit a cigarette. He took a long drag, and gazed at the floor. “When I first came here, I thought I did. But no more. This place, it makes you forget, and I am all too willing to forget about who I was. I may not have been on the losing side in the war, but I lost all the same, and can never go back to who I was.”
Elaine sat back, thinking on his words.
Tannis took another long drag before dropping it to the floor and grinding out the fire with his boot. “Well, I don’t know what you have planned, but call on me, if you need me. I haven’t forgotten all I have done.”
Elaine debated with herself, before deciding to take a chance. “What if it meant helping an old enemy—one your men fought against in the war?”
“I’m not sure the right side won,” he said with a wry smile.
“Tannis, listen, we need something done that we can’t do on our own. We need the Manipulator shut off.”
Tannis nodded in admiration. “You do know a lot.”
“I don’t think you or I even know all of it. I think the Manipulator has been orchestrating it all, and that it means to have all the ca
ptive soldiers of the Imperium killed. I think it will get you and Todd killed as well.”
“If I were a counselor, I might say you have a bit of a persecution complex.”
“I know, I know, but this is the truth. Too much has happened, like moves in a chess game, for there not to be an intelligence behind it all.”
Tannis nodded, thinking back. “I think I see some of the patterns you speak of. The Matthew clique, the division of the guards and prisoners – even the bickering I see every day that keeps you counselors divided. It’s as if we’re being played against one another.”
“Can you do anything about it?”
Tannis shook his head. “The Manipulator isn’t on prison grounds. They anticipated this scenario, and decided to house it off the grounds in case of a severe insurrection.”
Elaine cursed under her breath. “What about emitters around the prison, or data cables connecting to the mainframe?”
He shook his head again. “I’ve been in too much in a fog to even think about noticing those things.”
Elaine crossed her arms, and thought for a moment. “Then we will need to use the last resort. I was told that if we all concentrate at the same time, we might be able to mentally overload the Manipulator. Do you think you can organize it, among the prisoners? I could tell you who to concentrate on.”
Tannis smiled. “I’ve been watching you, more than you know, Elaine. I know those you speak of. What time?”
“Eight o’clock tonight.”
Tannis laid a hand on her shoulder. “Consider it done.”
Her group was a quiet one, and she felt as if she was just going through the motions. A third of them, the same ones that bared themselves for the auditor, sat back in silence, refusing to even participate. She saw on their faces they believed change was coming, and that they would inherit all.
Philip, though, was all smiles and encouragement. He laughed nervously at the slightest humorous turn of a phrase, paced awkwardly while Elaine spoke. During one of the breaks, she tried to approach him, but he busied himself with lecturing one of the silent inmates. Matthew came to speak with her.
“Are you ready for tonight?”
“Yes. The question is, are you?”
“What do you mean?” asked Matthew.
“One of the auditors is one of us. She promised a strike team will be here at nine, to free us.”
“Why are you saying this out in the open?!” cried Matthew in a hushed whisper. “They watch all–”
“Don’t worry. They think everything will change tonight. No one is watching the monitors.”
“Who will take care of the inmates? The strike team?”
“No. They will be undone by their own weapons. Tannis is also helping us.”
“Tannis?!” said Matthew in a hushed scream. “He’s a Union man! He fought against—”
“I know, I know,” she said, motioning him to calm down, “but he regrets his actions. He is going to coordinate out group of inmates in hopes of disabling the Manipulator.”
Matthew gritted his teeth and folded his arms. “I wish you had consulted me about this.”
For a second, anger welled in her chest at his arrogance. Yet as quickly as it came, she smothered it, knowing it was not her true reaction.
“Matthew, I respect you – you need to respect me. I have been very careful in combing through the population to find those sympathetic to our cause. I think you know you can trust me now, in this.”
Matthew relaxed. “Yes, I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
“The Manipulator. The sooner it’s disabled, the sooner we can truly act united, and get out of this accursed place.”
“Ohh . . . uhh . . . it’s time,” interrupted Philip, with a quick wave of the hand.
Matthew harrumphed with derision as Philip walked away. “Is he part of this mess?”
“Yes. And I pity him for it.”
As she and the other counselors walked back to their suite, they were greeted by a raucous cacophony from the cells. The inmates yelled at them, cursed them, shook their bars and threw anything they had inside at them. It was finally all out in the open, and the inmates laughed as they walked to their supposed deaths. Elaine heard from a dozen men what they would do to her, how they would make her beg, and cry. At the exit, Blake stood, leaning casually against a post. He chuckled to himself as they passed through, shaking his head back and forth. After they got to their suites, Sarah came and took Elaine aside.
“What’s going on?” she asked, desperate. “They mean to murder us, and I feel as though nothing will stop them. It seems like everyone knows, except me.”
“Now you know how I felt these past six months,” quipped Elaine. She shook the darkness off, and her expression softened. “I’m sorry. Listen, just stay in your suite, with the door locked. I have learned of a few things, and I assure you, nothing will happen to you.”
“How could you promise that?!” demanded Sarah. “You don’t have a gun, shit, you don’t even have a mean look. I need to tell Todd! He’s the only one—”
“Todd sold his soul to Isaac and Blake and Simon long ago. There’s nothing Todd could do but get killed.”
“No, no, no! You don’t know what you’re talking about! Why didn’t you tell the auditors when they were here? Damn Elaine, I oughta—”
“Shut up?” Elaine pushed Sarah against a wall, and let her darker impulses take over. Her arms were as steel, her eyes like the points of bullets, and from her mouth issued the sound of death. “You have no idea what’s going on here. I do. Without evidence, the auditors would have done nothing. Todd would have done nothing, but pass it off as delusions of counselors who are overstressed and overworked. Do you know what Todd did? He raped me, Sarah. He raped me!”
Sarah searched Elaine’s eyes, and knew it could be only truth. “When?”
“Just before you put me in the detox room. He waited till I got back to my suite, and he raped me.”
“I’m . . . I’m sorry,” she cried, her eyes filling with tears. “Why didn’t you –”
“Tell you? Because it wouldn’t have done any good. Listen, as much as I appreciate your sorrow, your pity, we have no time for this. Tonight the inmates and guards take off their masks, revealing all the pent up evil they have yearned to share. Tonight they mean to feast on us, and we cannot run to Todd, Isaac, or anyone else.”
Something in Sarah knew better than to challenge her, and she backed down. “So, I should just hide?”
“Yes. A lot will happen tonight, and I assure you, you will want none of it.”
Sarah grabbed onto Elaine’s arm, and squeezed hard. “You seem like the kind of person who only wants to do what’s right. Well, I’m telling you, one woman to another, that no matter what else happens tonight, Todd needs to die. That would be right!”