Blackbird in a Blossom Tree (COMPLETED)

Silence is the Punishment.

"So what do you do here, just sit in silence?" I joked opening the question to anyone.

"Sometimes." Hazel said.

"We do talk but there's only so much we can talk about and we are in her for a long time." Clint said. "We mostly just sleep."

"Why is the age difference so big between you and the rest of us?" I asked Clint.

"The age difference isn't that big." April added.

"It's recognisable." I said.

"I don't know." Hazel said making eye contact with April. "I don't ask."

"Why not?" I asked.

"We don't ask many questions." Hazel said bluntly.

"What about the questions you do ask?" I said looking round at all of them.

"If someone is coming at me with a knife and I don't have a weapon, do I go for the legs or do I disarm them first?" Shi butted in and I knew that this conversation was over.

"Can we play a game?" Clint said all of a sudden, gripping onto the bars, peering at me with his huge eyes.

"Sure." I said and he began to jump up and down with glee, on his knees. "What do you want to play?" I asked.

"I don't know any games." He stopped and looked down, disappointed in himself.

"Make one up then." I said trying to cheer him up. After a few seconds he spun round and hid in the other corner of his cell then crawled back to me with his hands behind his back.

"Pick a hand." He said smiling.

"That one." I pointed to his right arm. He took out his right arm and held two small stones in his hand.

"How did you do that?" he asked amazed that I got it right.

"I don't know, I just guessed." I laughed at him.

"Pick again." He said and put his hands behind his back again.

"Hhmm." I scratched my head as Shi caught my attention and pointed to his left hand. "Left." I said pointing to it.

"How-how did you do that?" His jaw dropped and he looked around at everyone else, like I had just walked on water. "One more time." He did it again. Shi mimed to me that it was in his left.

"Left." I said.

"Ha!" he jumped up and put his empty right hand in my face.

"Clint that's your right hand, I said left." I laughed and he fell on his knees.

"Oh." He said confused. "I don't understand how you do it." He said and everyone laughed.

"It's magic." April said.

"Tell me how you do it." Clint begged.

"I'll tell you when you're older." I said and he frowned.

"Shi, how does she do it." He ran towards Shi.

"It's a secret, I can't tell you." He smirked at me and shrugged his shoulders.

"Please, I'm good at keeping secrets." He smiled innocently. "Please, please, please!"

"Okay, okay. I'm going to have to tell you then if you won't stop." My sigh and eye roll was clearly fake although he never noticed.

"Okay, tell me." He crawled over to me and sat crossed legged, coruscating.

"Its magic." I whispered in his ear and he leaped back screaming with annoyance trying to hide his laughter and enjoyment of it.

I looked over at the rest of them and found myself sitting the same way as all of them; back against the wall and legs stretched out but there was an unusual commonality between us in this moment, we were all laughing at Clint as he jumped about like a monkey.

"You look like a monkey when you do that." Shi said louder than usual over our laughter as though he read my mind.

"What? When I do this?" Clint said throwing his arms in the air and swinging them back and forth.

"You really do." April chuckled pointing at him and holding her ribs as she bobbed up and down. He then grabbed a hold of the bars of his door and shook them while making monkey noises. All the noise and laughter was too loud, so when the door swung open and the bald man dramatically entered it was too late to pretend to be asleep.

"Clint." I screamed over the noise once I noticed the man and Clint immediately stopped and scurried backwards until he was forcefully stopped by the brick wall, but it was clear that he wished he could move further back. Further away from him.

"What is going on?" he said taking turns in making us bow our head in fear avoiding eye contact with one single glare. "Well?" he shouted and we all jumped.

"We were just having a bit of fun." April said not moving her head from the respectful but shameful bow.

"Don't." that one single word echoed in a deep grunt. "Who started it?" he asked quieter. Shi looked at me and although he never spoke, his eyes said it all; 'Clint started it'.

"Me." I said quietly and everyone looked at me, except Shi who was holding his face with his hand.

"Really?" he asked, not convinced.

"Yes, just don't punish them for my mistake." I said, daring myself to look the rabid dog in the eye.

"So what you want, is for you to take the punishment because you started it and the rest of them be left alone?" he seemed calm.

"Yes." I nodded.

"Well a punishment is never what you want, so..." he took out his keys and unlocked Hazel's door.

"No." I shouted.

"No? This is your punishment, don't you get it? Now you are going to sit there in silence and watch me beat the shit out of her and if I even here you breathe. I'm going to beat the shit out of him." He pointed to Ethan behind him. "Is that clear?" he said and I nodded.

Then I sat frozen, refusing to watch and wishing I had the decision not to listen. But I did listen, I listened to the impact of his fist on her face and the short screech that came after it. I listened as he paused and she spat on the floor before he continued to beat her. After a few more hits he stopped and he fixed his eyes on me. He cracked his knuckles painted red as he almost laughed at me.

"If I hear one peep out of this room tonight, I'm coming back in here to beat all of you with the bat." He paused and left.

I refused to look to my left. I didn't want to.

"Raven." She whispered but I continued to ignore her. "Raven, it's okay." I slowly turned to her, her teeth red, her eye black and swollen.

"I'm sorry." I whispered back.

"I can take a few hits Raven, he knows that. He was just trying to scare you. I'm fine honestly. I need a little pain every now and then to remind myself I'm alive."