The Prison Project [-Editing-]

18: Linley

For MorganDozier7. Thank you so much for your encouraging comments :)

18: Linley

Days pass. I can’t quite seem to keep track of how many, but I know that it’s definitely plural. My head aches with a furious throbbing every waking hour. I spend most of my time crying because with each day, another memory slips away. The only thing that stays is the boy with the kind face and pretty eyes.

Every morning, when I wake up, I see a little boy watching me through the food hatch.

“Hello,” I always say. “Who’re you?”

“I’m Scott,” he says.

“I’m Linley.”

“I know. We’re friends.”

“We are?”

“Yes. You do this every day.”

“I do?”

“Yes. They’re stealing your memories, so you can’t remember it.”

“Oh.”

“But it’s okay. We’re still friends every morning.”

“That’s good.”

“It is good.”

And then I lose another memory. And I begin to cry. And Scott looks sad. And he begins to sing to me. He has a pretty voice. It calms me down.

A man with disheveled hair and big glasses steps into the cell. It takes me a minute, but I do remember: his name is Keene. And my mind tells me that he is taking care of me. But my heart tells me that he is hurting me. And Scott tells me that they, whoever “they” are, are stealing what makes me happy. And I know that Keene is one of them.

“Good morning, sunshine,” he says brightly.

“I hate you,” I hiss through clenched teeth, tears pricking at my eyes.

He pouts. “Oh, Linley dear, that was not the correct thing to say.”

He steps forward, violently pulls me upward by my shirt, and begins to drag me down the hall. Scott watches me leave, his eyes wide and full of dismay.

“I’ve been nice up until now, Linley,” Keene says, still dragging me so that I can hardly move my legs to keep up with his. “But now I’m done. Your final test will be today, and it will work.” He takes a step out of the pattern I am trying to follow, and I tumble head over heels, landing face forward onto the hard floor and skidding several feet. I moan as a metallic taste fills my mouth and blood drips into my line of sight.

“Get up you worthless imbecile,” he barks. I try to lift myself up off the floor, but my limbs begin to shake uncontrollably and I crumple once more.

“UP!” he bellows in my ear, yanking me upward by my hair. I scream as pain rips through my head. I begin to struggle, but he’s too strong for me; he hauls me to my feet and thrusts me against a wall. My head thumps against it and black spots fill my vision. I sob hysterically. I don’t know where I am, I don’t know what to do, and I don’t know how I got myself into this situation. As far as I can remember, Keene has never treated me this way before. But then again, my memory is not exactly a stable source as of now.

Keene seizes my hands and starts to lug me down the hall. I watch as blood trails behind me. I whimper, a feeling of helplessness overcoming my systems. All energy leaves me, and I literally feel myself become nothing more than a sack of potatoes. Keene mutters angrily under his breath, a new flame burning behind his eyes.

“What’s the matter?” Jade says as we enter a room.

“She’s still fighting,” Keene says, livid.

“What?” Jade snaps, rising from her seat. “How is that even possible, Keene?”

“I don’t know!” he shouts, throwing his hands up. I drop to the ground.

“Get her up,” Jade snarls. “Now!”

Keene effortlessly lifts me up and releases me into a chair. He begins to strap me down. Hysteria begins to overcome me, and I start to struggle.

“LET ME OUT!” I bellow. “LET ME OUT!”

“Oh, shut up,” Jade scoffs, annoyed.

“Let. Me. OUT!” I cry, jerking upward and breaking my bonds.

“Oh my word,” Keene whispers, catching his breath. “Jade, she broke the straps.”

“She what?”

“She broke the straps!”

“Get her down! Get her down again! Now!”

Keene lunges forward, but I’m ready. I growl and throw myself at him, punching with all my might. I catch his lip, his eye, his nose.

“Jade!” he sputters through the blood filling his mouth. “Jade, help!”

“I HATE YOU!” I scream.

I throw another punch. “I HATE YOU!

Another. “I HATE YOU!

And another. “I HATE YOU!”

I stop and look down at my handiwork. Keene’s face is covered in blood. He coughs violently. His lips are completely split open, along with several other places on his face. I look down at my hands. They are also covered in his blood, and my knuckles are cracked and bleeding my own blood. I let out a sob.

“I’m a monster,” I whisper horridly to myself.. “They’ve turned me into a monster, and I’ve given into it. I’m one of them now.”

Shaking, I stand and climb back in the chair.

“Do what you will with me,” I murmur. “I am nothing now.”

Jade grins evilly. “Good girl.”

She straps me back down in the chair and goes to get the tools. Keene staggers to his feet, angrily wiping the blood from his face. I look up and see Annie. It’s the first time that I notice her here. She looks stunned at my actions.

“I’m so sorry,” I mouth. “I couldn’t do it.”

She just stares at me. And I can tell: she’s heartbroken. I have let her down. And it hurts. It hurts so badly.

“Here we are,” Jade says, returning to my side. She is holding a vial full of neon orange liquid. “Open up.”

I open my mouth, and she pours the contents down my throat. It takes effect immediately. A burning sensation ripples throughout my body. My muscles start to experience wild spasms, and I watch blankly as my limbs start to flail without my command. I begin to puke. I sputter viciously as I begin to choke on my own vomit. My eyes bulge and a flaming sensation spreads through them. Jade smiles.

“Goodbye, Linley Peterson,” she whispers into my ear.

And then, my mind falls to pieces, and

I

Am

Gone.