Not So Different

Chapter 23

We were brought back to the Tea Partier compound in handcuffs and ankle shakles.  When the guards pulled to a halt outside of the compound they pulled Chris and I roughly out of the back of their electro-cars and pulled us towards the entrence, a guard on each elbow.  The guards were not gentle at all and I didn't make their job of holding on to me easy.  If one of them tugged my arm painfully I would squirm and throw elbows.  Only a few blows landed but it was still satisfying.  I held my head high.

Chris, however, did not.  He hung his head in submission and I kknew part of him had been broken.  I felt guilty, his hopes had gotten up and I had encouraged it but our plan had failed and it crushed his hope.  He didn't fight the guards, he just trugged along with them.

Once back inside the compound we went down multiple levels of stairs.  Down, down, down, into the buildings depths.  The shackles made going down the steps hard and many times I stumbled forward, only to have my guards catch me and prod me forward again.  Being caught almost made me grateful for the guards.  Almost. 

Our little group reached Chris's and my cell shortly and the guards oredered us to hold out our wrists.  Chris and I did so obediently, though I glared menacingly at the guards, and one of the guards unlocked our shackles with an electronic key then did our ankle shackles.  Once our bonds were removed the guards unlocked the metal door and shoved us roughly into the cell, closing the door behind us.  I stumbled and fell, catching my self on my hands and knees.  Chris manages to stay on his feet with his cat-like balance.  He knelt besides me and helped  me up.

"Are you okay?"  He asked in a quiet voice and I nodded.  His eyes held a maelstrom of emotions, none particularly good.  I continued to hold his hands even after I had stably gotten to my feet, forcing him to continue looking at me.

"Are you?"  I asked and something flashed in his feline eyes, the most luminous eyes I had ever seen now held clouds, then he lowered his gaze to the floor.  He released my hands.

"I'm fine," He replied then turned way from me.  In a few long, graceful steps he walked to the far right corner of the cell and sat down slowly, his back against the wall.  I followed him and sat next to him, my leg just barely touching his.  He showed no signs that he even noticed that I had sat next to him.

"We'll still get out of here," I assured him in a gentle voice, laying a consoling hand on top of one of his larger ones.  "We'll still find a way to escape."

"How can we?"  Chris asked in voice that made me shudder.  It wasn't that it was harsh; it wasn't.  It wasn't cruel or angry or grieving.  It was flat, empty, and hollow.  His voice was defeated and hopeless.

"I don't know," I admitted.  "But we have to keep trying.  We have to beleive we will get of this place."

"What's the use?"  Chris asked and he finally looked up at me.  His gaze was blank and slack, like his soul had left and all that was left was an empty shell.  "This place is sealed up tight and there's only a few days until our execution."

"But we escaped the compound today and nearly got to safety," I told him insistently.  "That proves we can escape.  We just have to come up with a better plan."  My voice was nearly frantic and I knew I was trying to convince myself as much as I was trying to convince Chris.

Chris made a noise in the back of his throat.  "Yeah, but we had Sparrow's help.  Now she's gone and we have no tricks up our sleeves, no way to get out."  His head lowered again.  "We have no chance anymore."

I felt anger rise in me and I jolted to my feet.  "No!" I told him in a firm, seething voice.  "No, don't you say that."  I told him.  "Don't give up.  You said it yourself; we can't give up.  We have to keep trying and trying until our final breath.  We can't give up, no matter what."