Ven: Part 2

Ch. 18 Move making

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Our prison's are large buildings, imposingly tall, obnoxiously wide, and brimming with defenses.

My steps echo down the empty corridor.

The countless cells lining the walls are empty.

We keep very few prisoners.

There's a whimper to my left.

A soft sound of breathing behind me.

And distantly the sounds of agony.

All being broadcast on a random loop.

We capture their sounds before they die to keep the stories alive.

The prisons are a bad place.

Listen and obey to stay out.

Presently, only two cells are occupied.

Separated by a thin layer of completely opaque and soundproof material of my own design.

I approach one now.

He'd been so cocky bringing them in to me, the 3 of them.

The little sister, face set somewhere between defiant and afraid.

She was easy enough to deal with, I let Ms. Dictum handle her.

The other two.

The scared little boy.

And her.

I approach the boy first.

"Hello, boy," I enter his cell.

Moonlight streams in through the barred window high up on the wall. It's big enough to crawl out through, the bars far enough apart to really squeeze through.

The window has never been the problem.

It doesn't go anywhere.

There is no moon on the other side of that glass.

It's a bright bulb that comes on as the sun sets.

The boy is in here, illuminated by the fake moonlight.

He's backed himself up against the wall.

"Where's Marney?" His voice quavers.

"Safe, for now."

His fists are clenched and trembling at his sides.

"I want to see her. Now."

I smirk behind my mask.

"Don't you worry, Jacob, you will see her soon."

I flex my hands, the steel studs catch in the light.

"Just gotta make a show of it first."

There is no reason for any of this.

The show is not for me.

It's barely for her.

It's certainly not for Jacob.

There are no recording devices for the sounds escaping the boy before me.

I've seen her heart.

She does not care for this boy.

And Vendolyn has no idea any of this is happening.

This is all for nothing.

Filling in the gaps.

Staving off boredom.

Waiting.

Waiting.

Waiting.

He's had enough.

I grab him roughly by the back of the neck and heft him up, strangled gurgles escaping his lips.

I motion with my hand and the wall separating the two of them slides noiselessly away.

The window in her cell is on the opposite side to Jacobs.

The light is just as bright and strong in her cell.

"Hello," I say calmly.

She starts in her bed, a mess of purple hair lifts and whips around to stare. Her eyes as purple as they've always been.

Her jaw clenches.

A single tear wells up in her eye.

"What now, what will you do?" I drop him unceremoniously.

Her mouth moves almost imperceptibly.

"That's right," I let myself out of his cell. "What will he do."

I turn and begin walking out of the prison.

A steady drip has joined my echoing footsteps.

I remove my gloves and discard them behind me.

The dripping stops.