The Shock of the New

Chapter 35: Parole

Ian spent a very long time in the cell. Although his injuries from the interrogation were slowly healing, they were still incredibly sore, to the point Ian could barely move without feeling excruciating pain. Not helping matters was the minuscule food and water rations he was expected to survive on. To take his mind off the pain and hunger, Ian passed the time with conversations with George

"Who were you?" Ian asked "Before you ended up in here"
"I cleaned toilets for a living" George explained "That's the best job I could get. I mean I had a wife and two young daughters to support."

"Didn't you try to get something better?" Ian asked and immediately regretted it

"Of course! But I'm a non-white , so there's really nothing else available!" George's voice rose slightly as he said this "So it was that or my family starves!"
Ian could only say "I'm sorry"

"How do you think I feel?" George replied "Eventually it got to breaking point. My daughter was sick and our health insurance didn't entirely cover it. So in the end, out of desperation, I went to my employer and asked if I could get a raise. Not a lot, just enough that would give us a bit more breathing room in our finances"
"And you ended up in prison?"

"Yes. I was instantly accused of stepping outside professional boundaries and was thrown in here to teach me a lesson about my place in the world"
"How long have you been here?" Ian asked

"A couple of weeks, I'd say" George explained "To tell you the truth I've lost track of the time. I haven't even spoken to my family since I made the mistake of asking"

Ian was more than a little disturbed by George's story. Why, he didn't know. He'd been taught from day one that the W.E.R.'s laws were absolute and anybody who got punished, especially if they were one of the lesser races, deserved it. But now Ian was very much wondering if this was truly the right way.
"I'm gonna get some sleep" he yawned "I'm tired and I need to lie down"
"I don't blame you" George's voice replied "I hope you get a good sleep."

That was the last time Ian ever heard George's voice

When he awoke, Ian still wasn't sure how much time had passed or how long he had until the guards returned and gave him another savage beating.

"Hey!" he called out "What did I miss?"

No answer. Ian tried again

"Hello? George? If you're there say something!"
Again Ian got no answer

"Come on George, this isn't funny anymore! Talk to me will you?"

Again, Ian got nothing but silence

"Fucking say something!" he screamed.

Realising that George was not going to reply, Ian curled himself up into a ball and began to sob. His conversations with George had been the only thing keeping him sane and now he'd even been denied that. Ian let out an angry screamed and completely collapsed onto the floor.

How long he lay there, Ian didn't know. He was tired, hungry, in a lot of pain and completely alone. Part of him just wanted to close his eyes and never wake up again.

Ian had been curled up on the floor sobbing for several minutes when he heard the sound of footsteps. Perking up, he realised that they were heading towards his cell.

At this point, Ian was horrified. He'd barely survived the last interrogation and he was already extremely weak from hunger. The thought of another round of questions and beatings was just too much.

As the door to his cell swung open, Ian felt like he was going to faint. Two guards stepped into the room

"On your feet!" one of them ordered. Too weak and terrified to protest, Ian meekly did so. The guards then grabbed him by the arms and dragged him out of the cell and through the prison.

Eventually Ian was dragged into an office and forced into a chair. Sitting in front of him was an older man in the uniform of a prison governor. As he saw Ian, he smiled a rather nasty smile

"Enjoying your stay here Mr Clarkson?" he asked

Ian looked up at him "I've had better" he croaked

"Good good" the governor nodded "I love a man who can laugh at what he's been through"
"Cut the bullshit!" Ian snapped "What the fuck is all this about?"

One of the guards raised his hand to strike Ian. The governor however looked at him and shook his head at which point the guard immediately withdrew

"You've been brought here to let you know how your case is progressing"
Ian raised an eyebrow "And?"

"We've got nothing else to hold you on" the governor replied "We raided the address of the Mosley Close black market and found the building empty. So we're going release you from custody for now"
Ian sighed with relief. Before he could say anything however, the governor spoke again

"Don't get too excited. Your record will still be marked with the crimes you've committed and we're still going to be monitoring you. So if I were you, I'd buck up your ideas and make sure you act extra patriotic from now on!"

Ian sighed with relief. Although he'd been left battered and bruised, he'd made it through to the other side. As he began to leave, Ian turned back to the governor

"By the way, what happened to George? You know, the guy in the cell next to me"
The governor thought for a second and laughed

"Oh him! We had the little shit liquidated! Got to keep the lower races in their place you know!"
Horrified by the governor's callousness, Ian asked

"But what about his family?"

"We had them burned too" the governor replied "If we've got to make an example, we've got to include the family as well. Otherwise the lower classes could get all sorts of nasty ideas!"
For a second, Ian wanted to scream at the governor about how this was a horrific action to make note of and that he was a vile piece of shit for allowing such an action to take place. However, Ian knew he was on thin ice and decided to drop it

"Very good" he nodded "Long live the W.E.R.!"

After retrieving his belongings, Ian was bundled back into a prison van and sent back to his flat. When he stepped out, it was getting late and Ian was looking forward to falling asleep in a nice soft bed for a change. He wasn't even that angry with Grace for ratting him out.

When he made it into the flat, Ian yelled "Grace! I'm home!"

No answer. Looking around the flat confirmed that she was not inside it. At first Ian assumed she'd gone out for the evening and decided to surprise her when she returned.

After cooking a decent meal (the first he'd had in a while) Ian settled down on his bed and decided to check his emails.

Looking through his inbox on his phone, Ian was met mostly with junk mail. However one email caught his attention as it was from Grace. Ian immediately opened it and began to read

Dear Ian

I'm sorry, but I can't do this anymore. I can't live with a man who is completely at odds with the W.E.R. and refuses to support the advancement of the white race. So I'm taking my leave. Hopefully we'll meet again and you'll have come to understand the importance of loyalty to the W.E.R.

Grace

Ian's heart sank. His stupidity in listening to Neave had cost him the woman he loved and one of the few people he could bear to be around on a consistent basis. As tears formed in Ian's eyes, he simply lay down on the pillow and sobbed himself to sleep.