No Childhood

Number 32

I woke up in the same dirty, cramped cell I had been in before. The back of my head was pounding and scars on my body were burning. I tried to sit up, but something, beside my wounds, was restricting me. I struggled, trying free my hands from their prison. I could hear chains jiggling as I moved my hands. Then I realized that I was hand cuffed, again. I sighed.

"They really don't want you to get out," I heard a voice say from the darkness. "Whatever you did, they're really upset about it. They've never kept someone hand cuffed, in a locked cell," He said.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"We kinda met earlier," He replied. "I'm in the cell across from you. My name is Tre," He said. There was a long pause.

"Why are you here?" I finally asked. There was another pause.

"I didn't pay my debt," He answered regretfully. "Why did they come for you?"

"My mother," I responded.

"That explains it," He mumbled.

"Explain what?" I questioned.

"You look kinda young to be doing drugs," he said.

"Have you been in here long so long that you forgot our generation?" I asked half joking. Then I thought for a second. "How long have you been here?" I asked seriously.

"About a month," He replied.

"How much did you owe?" I asked. I heard him shift on his mattress.

"350," He answered shamefully.

"No one came looking for you?" I asked.

"No. No one cares about me, I'm a drug addict. My mother kicked me out and my father's dead. I pushed all my friends away a long time ago, so it's just me," he explained.

"Oh. Why do they keep prisoners? Why don't they just kill you from the jump?" I asked, trying to alter the subject a little.

"You ask a lot of questions," He said, "but they torture you until they decide that your debt is paid. Then they either kill you or you're asked to join the gang. Only some are set free. It's kind of weird," He explained.

"Are they going to kill me?" I asked softly.

"I don't know," He answered honestly. "They're probably just holding you for ransom, and will let you go."

"What if it's not paid?" I asked. There was silence. My eyes began to burn and I sobbed quietly for a few minutes.

"I almost got out," I finally said.

"Huh?"

"I almost got out," I repeated, "That's why they cuffed me. Right before they brought me down here, I broke a window. I had one leg out before Scoot grabbed me."

"How did you even get a chance t-"

"They underestimated me. I managed to knock some guy named Andre out," I interrupted.

"Really?" He asked, with surprise, "That must've felt good," He said. "But  they're probably going to keep their eyes on you now."

"I know," I said sadly. There was a short pause.

"Do you know who X is?" I finally asked. There was no answer. I waited a few minutes, but Tre never said anything. Thinking he'd dozed off, I closed my eyes, ready to be overcome by sleep.

"He's my brother," Tre suddenly answered.

***

I woke up to my cell opening. I looked up to see Scoot walking in. He knelt in front of and began to unlock my cuffs.

"Don't try anything funny," He said. I just gave him a blank stare. I wanted to fight, but the infected wounds across my body and the fact that I haven't eaten, prevented me from doing so. I was too weak and there was nothing I could do about it.

"Get up." He said yanking me off the bed. I fell to the floor and got up slowly. I noticed Tre wasn't in his cell. I knew we had just met, but it worried me a little. What if they decide that he paid his debt? I thought.

"Hurry up!" He said, pushing me. I stumbled out of the cell and kept my eyes on the ground as we walked down the row of cells. Scoot walked me up the stairs and into the same narrow hallway Andre took me down before. Only this time, we stopped at room 32 and went in.

I was pushed into a room that looked like an office. There were two windows behind a desk with a chair. The windows were barred.

"Just in case you get any ideas," Scoot said, realizing that I was looking towards the windows. "Andre," Scoot called, "I got her. I don't care what you do, just don't kill her," He finished.

"She'll get what she deserves." Andre said turning around in the chair. I could see the bruise I left on his temple yesterday. It was swollen and purple. He seemed upset. Andre waved his hand, signaling for Scoot to leave. He hesitated, but left anyway, closing and locking the door behind him. "Checking out my bruise I see?," He observed. Andre got out of his chair and walked around the desk. I stood there, looking at him with disgust. I have to find a way out, I thought. Then I saw a door on one of the side walls. I quickly looked away, trying not to be obvious.

"See what you did to my face?" He asked, pointing to his bruised temple.

"Yeah​, it's your best feature," I snapped. He came closer, not taking his eyes off me. I immediately took off toward the door, hoping it wasn't just a closet. Surprisingly, it was unlocked. I ran in and saw that it was a bedroom. It quickly came to my awareness that he had wanted me to run in here. I turned around trying to flee my fate, but ran into a hard chest. Andre grabbed my arms and pushed me into a wall.

"Get off me!" I screamed, trying to brake free of his grip. His eyes roamed my body as I struggled to escape. His lips came in contact with my neck and he began to kiss it, roaming my body with one of his hands.

"Let me go!" I screamed, squirming under his hold. He pressed his body against mine, holding me in place. "Get off!" I yelled, pushing against him. He threw me back against the wall, hitting my head in just the right spot, knocking me out... again.