Flashback (A Road to Redemption follow up story)

Bonus Material: First Contact!

CHAPTER 8: Bonus Material!

And now...Bonus Material! A deleted scene between Chastity and Slade of their first encounter!!!

FIRST CONTACT

"So you're the fresh recruit, huh?" The man asks, smiling good naturedly.

I nod, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. "Yeah."

"I'm Ben Hetman." He offers me his hand.

"Chastity Rider." I give him my best firm grip.

Hetman, that kind of reminds me of mayonnaise. Helman's, I suppose. He's anything but like mayo though. His skin is dark and smooth, his black hair cropped short to his skull. He's a handsome looking guy, with a genuine smile.

"Anything I should know about this place?"

He snorts with a smile. "What makes you think I know anything?"

"Well...I just thought...aren't you a senior officer?"

"Oooh, ouch. Senior officer? I didn't think I was getting that old!" He laughs.

Great, pulling the newbie's leg. We're standing in the hallway of the barracks, the walls white and freshly painted, and the tiles yet unscathed by boots marching over it. This whole facility hasn't been active for more than a few months.

"Depends," he says, his face calmer, but with the ghost of a smile still playing over his features. "What duties are you on?"

"I'm on night shift and breakfast duty."

"Well, not much to know then, just watch out for Slade Wilson's tank."

I furrow my brow. "Why?"

Hetman looks incredulous. "He's a killer, need any more reasons? He's dangerous. My advice? Just get in and out."

***

Just in and out. I nod to myself, my hands beginning to shake as I stare at the cap to his prison. I'm nervous, I've been up all night so I already feel weird adjusting to the time change, and from what I've heard, Slade Wilson is the worst.

The other inmates were pretty easy. Most of them were still asleep. Maybe he'll be asleep too! What are you going to do, stand here all day?

I'm definitely not going to stand here all day, I'm tired. Let's just get this over with.

I put down his tray and turn the wheel, careful to make as little noise as possible. I pop the tank open and peer inside cautiously. It's as dark as a cave in there.

Slowly I lower myself down the ladder, trying desperately to hold his meal with one hand and go down the ladder with the other. Who was the idiot who thought this was a good design!

When I'm almost down, I try to hold myself on the ladder by wrapping a few fingers around the step with the hand that's holding his meal. Meanwhile, I fumble for the light switch with my other.

Just as I find it, my fingers give out and with a crash, I fall to the floor.

"Ow." I say, shielding my face from the light with my hand. I'm laying on the ground, his tray on top of me, the only thing stopping it from making a mess is the plastic wrap over the top. I sit up and suddenly, there he is.

He stands a few yards away from me behind his cell bars. He's tall but thickly muscular, his prison uniform pulled down and knotted at the waist revealing a white tank top. He's standing beneath a chin-up bar, so he must have been working out, and he's regarding me with a questioning squint.

Suddenly feeling embarrassed, I pick his tray off me and stand up. "Uh, hi."

His epic squint continues. "Who are you?" He says, his voice surprisingly low and rough.

"Um, I'm Chastity." I take a step forward and then freeze. What the hell do you think you're going to do, shake his hand?

Slade regards me thoughtfully, his eye patch slightly shining.

I dart my eyes around before going over to his chute and pretending that I didn't just fall down the ladder into his cell. He doesn't seem super imposing and scary, no more so anyway than a guy that looks like him. But he's still the same guy that killed all those people and that's scary enough. My chest is so tight I feel like I'm about to pull a muscle.

After shutting the chute and locking it, I turn to go, fully intending to walk out without another glance or word. But when I turn, his gaze catches me and pins me to the concrete. He's just standing there, but his presence takes up the whole room. He is commanding, powerful and scary, even though he is confined to a dimly lit cell. His gaze is dangerous and dark as he stares at me, his black hair long and messy with streaks of silver on the sides. I blink, my heart is beating so loud I'm positive he must be hearing it too.

"What's it like outside today, Chastity?"

I didn't expect him to speak. When he does I feel as if every word drops to the floor, crawls to me, and then hangs on me like a weight.

I open my mouth and the words stick in my throat. Should I run away? No, you'll just have to see him again tomorrow! "Uh, it's just morning, so...it's hard to say, but it's supposed to be sunny and 67."

He stares for a moment longer, then nods his head, accepting my answer, and leaps up on his chin-up bar.

I leave with the sound of his measured breaths behind me.

I think I've gone full circle with this story line now! Please check out my other stories, as they are written just as well as these or maybe better!