Jaw

Chapter 18

Silena left the Fingers' house just after six the next morning, when the sun was just barely peeking through their moth-bitten kitchen curtains.

"Where are you going?" Pieck had asked groggily, making Silena jump. Her head was still resting on the kitchen table, neck bent at an awkward angle, and she watched Silena through half-lidded eyes.

Silena had debated lying, but what was the point? She'd tell Pieck everything later anyways. "I want to meet the woman who took Jaw. Do you know where she is?"

"Nope," Pieck replied with a low hum, and closed her eyes again. "I'm gonna stay here, 'kay? To keep Pock company."

Silena knew that wasn't the real reason Pieck was staying, but she hadn't necessarily invited her anyways– not that she would have turned down the company. But as she looked over Porco's sleeping form, she was glad he wouldn't wake up alone.

The roads were all but deserted in the early morning, and Silena made it out of the Internment Zone with ease. She could only think of a handful of places that were secure enough to hold a possibly hostile Shifter, and none of them were in the Internment Zone. It may have just been dumb luck that the first place Silena tried was the right one, or maybe the guarding– just a bit too heavy for a building with so little footraffic– had tipped her off. Either way, Silena knew she had found the right place before she had even stepped inside.

The guards stationed outside stood at attention when they saw her approach, but relaxed when they recognized her.

"Ma'am," one of them greeted her, and Silena was almost inclined to take it as a compliment. "Did War Chief Yeager send you to collect the Devil?"

"No," Silena admitted, assuming honesty was the best policy for the time being. She smiled demurely at them, attempting to channel her inner Aunt Adele as she batted her eyelashes. "Is there any way I could get in there to talk to her, though? I just have a few questions for her– it's a general curiosity, really. I promise I'll be in and out."

They shifted on their feet for a moment before the same guard as before replied hesitantly, "Ah– I suppose you could. As long as you're quick."

Silena's smile was genuine as she replied, "You'll hardly even know I was here."

She was allowed in without a guide, given an approximation of where the holder would be and yet another plea to be quick before being shut in. Not that Silena minded.

The building she was in now was an old detainment building, with the upper floor acting as a reception area, while the lower held the cells themselves. It was a paragon of defensible architecture, with its thick walls and lack of windows, but in its disuse had been turned into a history exhibit. Silena had visited with Pieck and her father on more than one occasion during her childhood, and as such knew approximately where everything was. She found her way down the steps, even without a guide.

Downstairs was stale and dim, but not nearly as dreary as a prison could have been expected to be. Electric lights were made to look like old-fashioned torches, and lit up the white marble making up every part of the spacious corridor. The walls on both sides were lined with cells, but the doors were wide open, the insides containing facts about the old prison hung on their walls; all except for the cell at the end of the hall, which contained a woman. She sat on the floor and cast barely a glance at Silena as she entered.

"You here to eat me?" She asked in a low, husky voice.

As Silena drew closer, she saw more of the woman's appearance. Her skin was tan, and looked rough like animal hide, with a multitude of freckles across it. Her dark hair was short. Even sitting down, it was obvious she was tall, with long limbs and awkwardly large feet and hands. Hardly a physical match for the small, light Jaw.