I gritted my teeth as the taser hit me once again. Jolts of electricity sprang up my back with unbearable pain. I shuddered, chattering as my neurones fried under this. My limbs shook, the washed white walls turning around. It stopped, smoke wafting in my nostrils with the heavy pain that struck my flesh. I reminded myself on the history lessons, mulling over them to try to relieve myself from the throbbing aches.

  "Move it." The officer behind pushed me forward, allowing me to slip past the sliding doors which opened up to a large hall. Commands sauntered from different speakers stationed along the bland walls. I squinted my eyes, the flourescent lighting adding its own touch of white to the hall. My head ached as I wove through the wooden tables and benches, inmates with police officers and their families scattered across, the chatter filled the room. My hands ached from its confines, numbness washed over my shoulders for being bent back for so long.

I saw my mother from afar, seated at the table just  across from the entrance. She was busy on her pod phone, her shoulders slumped and her sunglasses donned on. My heart sank.

She only wears sunglasses when she's trying to hide her tears.

   The tapping of my boots against the white tiles followed me through, the cleaners held onto moppers that whirred past, taking away dirt while leaving behind the fresh white tiles. Soon I had come to a stop. My mother raised her head, noticing our presence, she dropped her pod phone in her small dark purse, placing the purse carefully in the right compartment in her bag.

"Sit." The officer said gruffly from behind me, animosity ringing from his tone. Without being told twice, I pulled myself down.

"Ten minutes before visiting hours close." The automated voice called, blaring loudly from the multitude of speakers above. I wiggled in discomfort, my hands still pinned tightly behind me. I looked towards the officer, his lips curved down into a snarl.

"Try anything funny and you're back in the grater." Blisters on my back perked, alerting me of the dangers of the facility. I nodded quickly, fear erupting within me as I watched him remove the cuffs with a remote. They fell into his outstretched hand, he glared at me before he stepped back. Relief washed over me, my hands throbbing but at least comforted. I soaked in the bliss of being able to stretch my hands, rolling my shoulders as blood roared back. Someone cleared their throat.

  As if remembering, I snapped back to look at my mother. She removed her glasses, revealing red upturned eyes. My belly churned, rumbling with despair.

"Why?" She suddenly asked, my stomach flipped. Pain seared down her words as she folded her hands over her chest. Her thick cotton jacket did nothing to hide the trembling of her body. She unfolded her hands, resting them against the table. Tension clouded over the atmosphere, I did nothing but stare.

Maybe this was a bad idea.

"Was I not never enough?" She whispered, her voice hoarse. My throat clogged, the words hitting my heart harshly. Words she used after the incident for so long. The seat beside her lay empty as it always did, anger and sadness pulled down my gut.

"Why- How could you do this to me? I thought I had trained you better." Her voice wobbled, her lips trembling. She pushed her long dark hair to the side, her olive skin glistening with water under the intense lighting. Over the course of the week since I had immediately being tried and convicted, I had thought about decision so many times, feeding others around me with lies that I had been the one that had done this.

"You did ma." I grabbed her slightly wrinkled and trembling hand from where I sat across from her. I entwined our hands, my heart piercing with left over shards.

"So why, why did you this? Stealing? I thought I had been able to train my child to avoid them from making the failures I made." She looked away, blinking. My stomach churned.

Was this really worth it?

She looked back at me, her other hand clasping over our already entwined ones. "I'm so sorry." Her voice cracked, trying to pull back another onslaught of tears. My breath caught in my throat, her face a canvas of pain and agony. Haunting shadows danced in her eyes, a faraway look donned in them.

"Robert was rig-"

"Don't say that ma." Anger filled me at the mention of his name, my knuckles clenching.

"You've done nothing but be good. You're the kindest and the best parent I could ever have. Robert had no right to say those things to-"

"But look at you now, stuck in prison, an inmate like I was before he had bailed me out. I did nothing, I only ruined you life."  She sobbed, letting go of my hands as she propped her head with them. I sighed, my heart wrenching in my chest. I breathed out deeply, the sentence still ringing in my head.

Sentenced to jail for two years with hard labor for breaking in and stealing an ancient relic. My lips quirked downward. I held out my hand, wincing at the blisters that still coated them. I hugged her as much as I could, my heart breaking as we sat in silence. The smell of antiseptic and detergent wafted through my nostrils, as I watched people walk through the large sliding doors. Outside of the glass, I could see the patter of rain, the gloomy clouds mirroring the emotions decorating the visiting hall.

I drew back slightly, her cries dropping to whimpers.

"You didn't do anything ma. It's my fault all of this is happening in the first place." She raised her head to me, her bloodshot eyes still brimming with tears. Strands of her hair hovered over her face, sticking slightly to the skin. She sniffled, grabbing a tissue from another compartment in her bag. My lips quirked up slightly at her her ability to keep all the things tidy. A scene crept to mind, Robert standing before a disarray. The smile dropped immediately.

"Robert took off yesterday, he said he was going back to his mistress' house. He didn't need me anymore." She looked away again. Anger bubbled in my blood. I gritted my teeth as I watched her scrape her nails, the already chipped nail polish scraping off.

"That's the best thing that could e-"

"No it's not. Robert leaving us once and for all-"

"Could help us-"

"Stop! You may think I'm naive, or too lovestruck to see past his mistakes." She shook her head before she swallowed. "But I love him. His mistakes don't change that." I watched her with slumped shoulders, allowing a sigh to escape my lips.

"Maybe when you're in love you'll understand." She whispered quietly, the chatter almost overshadowing her voice.

"Ma I-"

"Visiting hours has ended. Officers at the site should escort all the inmates back to their cells." My mother put her discarded sunglasses back on, shielding her eyes from my prying gaze. She rose up as I watched her, sweeping a leg over the bench.

"I was looking to apply for bail for you. Hopefully, I would be able to get you out of this mess." Worry creased her voice, her deep smile lines almost gone. I could see the pimples that began to run up her neck where she had tried to hide it underneath her scarf.

"You don't have to overwork yourself anymore. I'll figure myself out." A snort reached my ears, I glared at the officer whom gave a glare of his own. I turned back immediately, meeting my mother's gaze.

"I love you so much." She smiled slightly, before pecking my forehead. I scrunched up my nose but soon dropped the look. She waved slightly before heading out with the rest of the visitors that swarmed out of the hall.

"Alright. Get up boy." The officer announced as the sound of feet scraping against the floor filled the room. With gloved hands, he allowed the handcuffs to hover underneath my wrist. They clamped, burning me with a stinging pain. I clenched my jaw, eyeing the man even as he roughly took hold of my arm. Dark circles formed under the green cloth over his armpits. My nose wrinkled in disgust as the smell overcame me.

"I guess someone needs a bath." His head snapped to mine, his coffee colored teeth showing through his snarl.

"And I guess someone needs to be in the grater." I tried to look away, but I didn't turn in time to avoid catching his breath. I almost gagged.

We passed through a wide hallway brimmed with red lights and different doors cutting into other sections and rooms in the first dome of the facility. The meeting areas soon vanished back, leaving behind the first dome in the prison yard. The smell of blood went past my nostrils, noticing once again the towering spindle needle like walls that fenced the prison. I feel water seep into my white jumpsuit, hitting a sore. I winced.

None of the inmates were out but the officers remained on guard, stationed at different corners. The grey sand that shifted underneath me reminded me of the barren soil that stayed in the Lower region of the Southern Protectorate, which was now called Nue. The next dome was huge, unlike the first which had a glass exterior, this one had completely grey and bland walls. The officer tased me a few times, shouting I was too slow. I allowed information to pass through my mind, keeping out the throbbing pain the taser left me with and backing up my surroundings in a blur.

"Here you are." The scent of blood and urine was the first thing that reminded me that I was back. I wrinkled my nose, detesting what was putting fingers in them. A row of cells ran down this section of the dome. Grey walls chipped away at the top sloped up to a cracked ceiling, red laser bars replacing the old metal bars that I had read about. I could hear the faint sound of snoring. The officer by my side said something into an earpiece a few seconds later, the singeing lasers blared off, he held me to remove the handcuffs. Satisfied with my renewed freedom, I walked inside before the lasers came back on.

There was a bed pushed to the side, the quilt that I had been given neatly laid. The pit off to the side smelt of heavy urine despite it being mine I couldn't help but feel my stomach churn with disgust. The white jumpsuit stunk of sweat and grime, the light from the bulbs that blared across the corridor gave the lights in which the cells lacked. I walked onto the bed, falling onto the muddied sheets. I sighed, staring at the ceiling.

Was this really worth it?

My mind wandered back to once I first met Dana. We had both met in one of my neighbor's house when I was 14 and she 13, her mother had being the maid while she helped out around the house. Being among the people that lived in the lower region of Nue, her parents were barely able to afford much for them. But because of my kind neighbor, soon after she was enrolled in the one of the schools back in the upper region of Nue. We had bonded, becoming almost inseparable.


She had been bullied alot for her skin and her poor background but I had tried to protect her in the best ways I could. By 17, I had noticed her come to class limping, blood stains on her clothes, unexplained injuries and all. Thinking it was a case of physical abuse, I sneaked after her to the the Lower region in which I later realized she was part of a gang from an eavesdropped argument she had with her parents. I sighed again, the world around me turning as my insides still shrieked from feeling this dirty.

I wish I had my sanitizer.

With disgust breathing down my neck, I mulled over the histories I had read about, a way to keep my mind off all of this. I sighed again, the aches and pain adding to my inability to sleep. After a long while of restless tossing and turning, I fell into a restless sleep.


I want to thank God for giving me the Grace to write this. So, how was it? Stanley's having a hard time so far, the next chapter awaits. For some reason I don't think he made the right decision about taking the blame for Dana's punishment. Anyway if you liked it, vote and comment. More is on the way.

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