Bury The Shadows

Part 17

Ms. Hale switched on the lights, making everyone wince. She put away the projector and screen and came to stand in front of the podium where Silver and Roman sat. She took a deep breath before turning to face the judge. 

"I'd like to speak to Silver now," she said, and the judge nodded.

Ms. Hale stepped a little closer. "This may be a little hard, just take a deep breath and do the best you can, okay?" She asked softly.

Silver nodded.

She raised her voice to where everyone could hear. "I'll be reading from a compilation of reports made by the other prisoners, and asking questions based on that." She picked up a stack of papers from her desk and walked to the center of the room. "One report mentioned shock collars being used as a form of control. Silver, is that true?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Were they permanently on your neck or did they get taken off?"

"They were never taken off. They were waterproof, so we had to keep them on even in the showers." He said, his hand shaking in Roman's. 

"How often were they used?"

"Umm," He didn't want to do this. His stomach twisted in knots and he looked at Roman for reassurance. Roman nodded. "Whenever we were being too loud, or if a fight broke out, or if a guard was mad."

The judge was taking notes, shaking her head as her pen scribbled furiously on paper. 

"It says here that some guards would intentionally place weaker 'Numbers' with cellmates who they knew would hurt them. Is that also true?"

"Yes, ma'am. It happened to me, too." Silver felt Roman tense at his side. 

"Can you tell me about that?" Ms. Hale asked.

"I was. . . fifteen? They put me in a cell with a man who had a record of assault and violence. He--" His voice hitched, and he swallowed hard. "He hurt me a lot."

"Can you tell me about that? What did he do to you?"

"He beat me a lot, and one time h-he shoved my head into the toilet. He would rip my clothes off and make me stand still, or push me down and get on top of me. He t-touched me a lot and I hated him." A tear slipped out of his eye as he spoke the last sentence.

"And the guards knew these things would happen?"

"Yes, ma'am." Silver was trembling uncontrollably and couldn't look anyone in the eye. 

"We'll come back to that. What about testing? What did they do to you?"

"Umm, all kinds of things. Mostly puzzles or physical endurance tests, but there was one time when I was strapped down to a table and they had needles--" He placed his free hand on one of his legs, pushing down to try to stop it from shaking. "Whatever was in them made me sick for weeks. But that was the only time."

The judge stopped writing for a moment to look up at Silver. "Can we ask you about what you meant by your cellmate touching you? Can you explain a little, please?"

He paused, frozen. He didn't like this. He squeezed Roman's hand and lowered his head, gazing at his lap. "He would touch himself while he-- he held me down--" He didn't know what to say.

Ms. Hale stepped in. "If I ask you questions, can you just say yes or no?"

He nodded. 

"Did he touch you in intimate places, like your chest or between your legs?" 

"Yes," he whispered.

"Was it just that one man?"

"No,"