The Traitor

Chapter Twelve: All It Takes

Three days. I had been in the cell for three days, and the only people I had seen were the ones who brought me my meals and the nurse who came to take care of my leg. Most of the time, I paced around the cell and waited- waited for something to happen, anything to happen.

Mr. Thomas hadn't told me how long I was going to stay in there. All he said was until I could tell him 'who else helped me and where Prisoner 421 was.' No way was I going to tell him any of that.

But how long will he keep me in here till he finally realizes I won't tell him anything? I thought. I hoped it wouldn't be very long, I didn't know how much longer I could stand being in there.

I heard a noise come from just outside the building and realized someone was trying to come in. I glanced up at the small window near the ceiling to see where the sun lay in the sky. I had learned to tell roughly what time it was by looking at the location of the sun. It was roughly noon. Time for food.

I heard the beep of the scan pad outside the door, then watched as the handle turned and the door creaked opened. I was surprised when, instead of the usual guard who brought me my meals, Mr. Thomas was standing in the doorway, holding a plateful of food. Despite my hunger, I turned away from him.

He walked over and set the plate on the ground, then slid it under the bars carelessly, as some of the food piled on top spilled over onto the ground.

I continued to look away from him and faced the back wall, the one opposite from where he was standing.

"Still persistent, huh? You're not getting out of here anytime soon with that attitude." I was sitting on the ground and he bent down so he was at my eye level. "You know Teya, you could get out right now. All I want is to know who helped you and where Prisoner 421 is. That's it, that's all it takes. Tell me that, and you're free." He made it sound like it was a small thing he was asking me to do like it would somehow make everything better if I told him. But I knew better than to give in.

I turned around. "All it takes? You're asking me to betray my friend and my brother!"

He stood back up as if trying to remind me who was in charge and to not push his limits. But believe me, if there was one thing I knew, it was that he was in charge. This was his game, but if I didn't do what he wanted, he couldn't win. "Yes, but we're going to find them eventually. So you might as well tell us, while you still have the chance. Think about it Teya, if you tell me who helped you and where Prisoner 421 is, you could be free of this isolation. Of course, you would still receive punishment for sneaking into the prison, but once we know the other culprit, it would make the punishment a lot lighter on you. Are you really going to stay in here much longer, knowing we will find them eventually? By you telling us, it would be a win-win situation. We both get what we want." That was it. He made it sound like we would both win by me betraying Jasper and Brandon. When in reality, he would win, and I would end up back where I started, with Brandon in prison and both Jasper and I in trouble. 

"No!" I screamed, jumping up, and he took a large step back. His expression showed shock and- was I seeing right?- a small glint of fear as I exploded at him. "I will never betray my friends or family. I would rather rot in this jail cell for the rest of my life than betray them!"

"So be it!" he yelled back, then stormed back through the door, slamming it with unnecessary force to the point where I was sure the whole building might come down. Not that that would be a bad thing. 

"Ugh," I threw my arms in the air in frustration. What's the point of keeping me in here? I'm never going to say anything to their benefit, so why not let me out? I thought. Because it's part of Thomas's little game. "Well, I'm not playing!" I shouted to no one in particular. I started pacing back and forth across the cell, trying to calm myself down.

I thought about my family and wondered what they were doing. Was Brandon home yet? Had they taken him to the hospital? Did he know I had gotten caught? I hoped not. Knowing him, he would think it was his fault I had been captured. But I knew it wasn't his nor Jasper's fault. I should've been more careful. But they weren't going to pay for my carelessness. I would be sure of that.