Tainted

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  I try to ignore my surroundings, but that’s hard to do when you’re in the cold, white confines of a tiny cell. There’s barely enough room for the metal bunk bed that looms over the small table I sit at, and a red flickering eye watches me constantly from above.

  The mirrored wall in front of me reflects the image of a girl I don’t know. Her hair is a mess, her cheeks sag with exhaustion and her blue eyes are heavy with despair. I turn away from the vision, unable to look at it any longer. God, I look atrocious.

  The metal leg of my chair squeals as I shuffle it closer to the table so I can lay my head down on my arms. This place is so small. I close my eyes and try to keep calm. Too small for my liking. It’s barely three meters square.

  I take a deep breath in and then out, and try to avoid thinking about how confined the space is. I can’t let it get to me.

  It’s not hard to distract myself with thoughts of how absolutely screwed I am running through my mind. While I haven’t been told what’s going to happen to me yet, I know it can’t be anything good.

  What was I thinking? I should’ve given up when I found the door locked. I probably shouldn’t have gone in the first place. I grimace as I remember being caught.

  An official walks into the room carrying a glass of water for me. His presence is a reprieve from my inescapable dark thoughts.

  ‘Thank you,’ I say, taking the glass and drinking up the contents.

  ‘That’s okay,’ he replies. ‘I thought I should come in and update you. We’ve booked you in for a hearing before Counsellor Jeffries at eleven o’clock this morning.’ I gulp in response and my tired eyes look down at my empty wrist to check the current time. I rub the bare skin where my CommuCuff usually resides. Only an official or a doctor can remove it from you and I feel so naked without it. I wish mine hadn’t been confiscated.

  ‘I suggest you be completely truthful with him about the night’s events,’ he continues. ‘Jeffries doesn’t take dishonesty lightly.’ I nod back at him. ‘We realise you don’t have a guardian, so we have contacted Quinn Roberts. We’ll let her in once she gets here.’ He turns abruptly and leaves.

  It feels like I wait forever for Quinn to arrive. Time seems to drag in this shoebox of a room. When Quinn finally enters she rushes over and hugs me, once the door shuts firmly behind her.

  ‘I came as quickly as I could,’ she says, as she takes a seat next to me at the table. ‘What were you thinking Elle? Breaking into a storage room of all places?’

  ‘I’m sorry, I was being stupid, and you weren’t talking to me…’ Stupid seems like an understatement. ‘What have you done with the…’ My voice trails off as I catch my reflection in the mirrored wall again. Someone could easily be listening to what I say. I can’t mention the blood sample.

  Quinn seems to have caught on though and is slowly shaking her head.

  ‘I’ve dealt with it,’ she says quietly. The meaning behind her words is clear. She’s gotten rid of the sample.

  I sink down in my chair.

  ‘You can’t be worrying about that now,’ Quinn says. ‘You’ve got a merciless councilman waiting for you. You need to focus on getting through your hearing.’

  ‘Jeffries,’ I groan.

  ‘It will be fine. Just pass it off as a silly prank, or a dare, and I’ll sort the rest out.’

  She sits there so calmly and I feel a rush of gratitude. I’m so incredibly relieved she’s here to help me. Maybe some time in remand is worth it if it means she’s talking to me again?

  When the official walks back into the room, I instinctively recoil back.

  ‘It’s time to go,’ he says.

  I’m escorted to a large room towards the back of the official offices. Several people are already seated, quietly chatting to each other. There are two desks in the middle of the room, and several rows of chairs toward the back. Down the other end is a long, elevated table that runs the width of the room.

  I’m led to a chair in the front row and asked to sit—like I have a choice. I quietly obey and Quinn follows, sitting beside me.

  The whole atmosphere in the room changes when Counsellor Jeffries enters. As he walks in, his long black gown billowing around him, everyone in the room falls silent and stands. The councilman takes long commanding strides over to the seat in the middle of the elevated table at the front. As he sits, so does everyone else.

  He’s old, maybe in his seventies, and his face is withered and sharp. He doesn’t look sympathetic at all. My stomach clenches with nerves and I can barely concentrate on what is being said as the official stands and lays out the charges against me.

  Jeffries’ eyes seem to slice right through me and I wince in response. I bet this guy can sniff a lie from a mile away.

  ‘Miss Winters,’ he says. ‘What do you have to say for yourself?’

  I stand and slowly approach the closest desk. My palms are sweaty and my hands shake with nerves.

  ‘I did what the officer alleges,’ I say, my voice quiet and full of remorse. ‘I was at the hospital and I took some swipe cards to break into the storage room. It was a silly prank, and I am extremely apologetic for my actions.’ I sit down as quickly as I can and allow myself to slowly exhale.

  I’ve barely taken a seat when Quinn springs up. ‘Please excuse my rude interruption Sir. My name is Quinn Roberts. Elle is a minor and I’m the adult who takes responsibility for her. There are a few things I would like to bring to your attention.’ He nods to Quinn as if to say, ‘Go on.’

  ‘Thank you. First off I would like to provide you with some character references from her teachers at school.’ She walks up to the table he sits at and passes them to him, before returning back to her place alongside me.

  ‘These references outline that this was completely out of character for Elle. She is a good student, and would under normal circumstances never act in such a careless manner. I would also like to point out that her best friend was taken last week, and another girl the week before. She, herself, has her testing on Monday. This situation she is in is very out of the ordinary, and has made her unusually distressed, causing her to act out in such an uncharacteristic manner.’

  ‘Thank you Miss Roberts,’ Jeffries says.

  He inclines his head towards Quinn indicating she should sit. As Quinn slides down into the seat next to me I notice my jaw has reflexively opened wide with surprise. I had no idea how much she knew about this stuff. I glance up at the councilman who is reading through the references, and then lean my mouth close to her ear.

  ‘How did you know all that?’ I whisper with awe.

  She merely shrugs in response like it’s no big deal.

  The councilman clears his throat. ‘In light of the information provided to me,’ he says, ‘I would tend to agree with what Miss Roberts has said. I am inclined to believe this action was out of character for Miss Winters. I do find it strange she would break into a hospital storage room and I look upon this act with a degree of suspicion. This is a first time offence for Miss Winters, so I will treat it accordingly.

  ‘Miss Winters,’ he says, looking directly at me. ‘I will order that you undertake an extra five hours of community service for each week of the following month. Furthermore, you will remain in remand until the time of your testing on Monday so you can reflect upon what you have done.’ He closes the file on his table and another official stands to begin announcing the next case.

  My eyes dart to Quinn, who looks at me, relieved. Relieved? How can she be relieved? I can’t be imprisoned for the weekend. I won’t have a chance of finding a way to be taken from inside a cell. This is exactly what she wants. What the hell am I going to do?

  An official takes a hold of my arm and escorts me towards the door.

  ‘This way,’ he indicates, once out in the hallway. Quinn goes to follow, but he stops her. ‘You can’t come any further.’

  ‘I just wanted to say goodbye…’ she pleads. He looks at her blankly b
efore turning and pulling me along behind him.

  ‘It’s going to be okay!’ Quinn calls out to me. I refuse to turn and acknowledge it though. She must be so happy I’m safely locked away, unable to get myself into any more trouble. I can practically hear the glee in her voice.

  Once I’m placed back in my cell the door swings closed with a short, abrupt clunk. As I hear the noise my heart sinks. I’m officially a prisoner, and now any chance I had at trying to find my way to Sebastian is completely lost.

  It’s amazing how draining being stuck in a cell can be. My life has quickly become the weary monotony of staring at a wall. For countless hours I am a statue, and it’s completely exhausting. I have no idea how I’ve made it through two days of this.

  Officials come and go with food and water, but it’s a small reprieve from the desolate isolation in here.

  Around dinner my stomach starts growling. As if on cue an official walks in with a tray. It’s the same official that has been bringing me meals over the last few days. He’s the first one I’ve ever encountered who doesn’t seem completely uptight, in fact he’s almost friendly.

  ‘How are you holding up?’ he asks kindly, as he places the tray down on the end of my bed.

  ‘I’m okay thanks,’ I say. I sit up on the bed, bending my head slightly so it doesn’t touch the bunk above. ‘Can’t say these will go down as the best days in my life.’

  ‘No, I can’t imagine they would. Just one more sleep now.’ He says it to cheer me up, but the words have the reverse effect. I can feel the colour drain away from my face. My testing is tomorrow.

  ‘Could be worse though,’ he continues. ‘You think this is bad?’ He waves his hand around the room. ‘You should’ve seen what they used to do for punishment. Makes a few days in here look like a holiday.’ He shakes his head at the memory, disapprovingly.

  ‘They haven’t always just used these cells?’

  ‘Cells? No, these used to be living quarters.’

  ‘What happened?’ I ask, intrigued and somewhat glad these are no longer used to house people. I don’t think I could handle living in a room this small.

  ‘Well, when we all first came to the ARC, it was jam-packed. Especially after the Old Wing was rendered unstable. They had to use every spare space to fit in all the refugees they could. We were almost lucky people began getting taken. It certainly freed up more living space, that’s for sure.’

  ‘So what happened to offenders?’

  ‘Ah, bit of a messy subject that one really. Mostly they just increased community service hours. Slap across the wrist type of punishment.’ He looks slightly uncomfortable, like he regrets bringing the topic up. His eyes keep darting back to the door.

  ‘What about the bad offenders?’ I persevere.

  He looks around, like someone might hear him and in a hushed voice says, ‘Well it got to the point where they didn’t really have much of a choice with some people. They had to send a few of the bad ones to the surface.’

  ‘They gave them a death sentence?’ I ask, horrified.

  He shrugs. ‘Like I said, your sentence is practically a holiday. Anyway, it’s not for you to worry. You’ll be out in the morning.’ He leaves me to eat my dinner.

  I push the meal they have provided away from me. I can’t eat, and I’m not sure if I’ll be able to sleep tonight either. After what the official has said about how easily they would toss out the bad offenders, I have a foreboding feeling the Council wouldn’t have any qualms dealing with the tainted in much the same way.