Torn

Angelos lapsos libera

The chains bungle between me and Alex, rattling as he uses it as a leash. We walk through many boring, neglected corridors which desperately need some new paint and repairs to the back of the building where other girls stand lined up in front of an old classroom. The glass windows are blocked with newspaper, sheltering the insides of curious eyes.


I stare at the girls in front of me, some look like they are around their thirties, and the youngest looks around fifteen. Some stare out of the window, to the stars in admiration. Some stare expressionless back at me and some of the girls look terrified, whispering prayers to themselves as their eyes are dead set on the floor. I sniff and stare at the floor, at my outworn dirty shoes. We all wear the same thin sandals and thick off-white overalls, with long sleeves and a number on our chest. If I didn't know better, I thought I was in prison, yet prison... might be far better than where I am currently situated.


'Can't they just hurry up? I would love to return to my room now...'Says a 25-year-old woman at the beginning of the row.'Yeah, normally it doesn't take this long..'The girl behind her adds. Some chuckle, they all start to rumor, their conversations forming one big overload of sound causing me to only pick up half of what is said.

'She went in fifteen minutes ago..''Bloody hell...''First, they break us, then we are left for dead, and now this? Common!' 'On this rate, I wouldn't be done until dawn.''Please just hurry...'

A high-pitched female scream silences them all, they stare at the door. Rumbling and chains clatter in the room. The door opens, and tension builds up with the girls staring into the door opening. For a brief moment, I see the red chair, a doctor, and the naked back of a tall, slender man with wild curly hair.

My eyes glide over his spine, to an old burn mark of angel wings and the text Angelos lapsos libera. Thick black blood drips onto his burn mark from the gaping wound in his neck. I sniff the air, picking up a sweet, flowery scent. My eyes dart around for a moment then spot the red spill on the floor next to the red chair. The doctor sighs and throws a towel onto the spill, moving it around with his foot.
A strong guy blocks my sight as he forces a woman out of the room, holding her chains tight around the blood-covered straight jacket. She whimpers, her face bleeding. 'Just a bit more, I beg of you... I will be nice!'She begs. Her number is stitched onto the straight jacket. The man takes her away, avoiding the row of girls with an enormous bow around them. Alex pulls on my chains, pushing me subconsciously with his hip as she passes by us. Her begging continues until she has disappeared into the corridor.