hesykhia • bellamy blake

prologue.

Sᴋʏᴇ ᴡᴏᴋᴇ ᴜᴘ in a plain white bed with scratchy sheets over her legs.  A bandage, she could feel, was wrapped around her head covering some kind of wound.  Her eyes open up to a bright room and causes her to whimper in pain.  The brightness of the room only sent pain through her head.  She hears someone shuffle somewhere in the room, but she doesn't want to open her eyes in case it'll cause more pain.

"Skye?"  The person speaks.  "I'm Abby Griffin.  I've been treating you for the past couple of days. I would like to-"

"Treating me?  Treating me for what?  What happened?  Where's my dad?"  Skye asks, eyes still closed.

"There was an incident involving you falling and hitting your head.  For the past few days, you've been in a sort of comatose sleep.  Now, I would like to run some tests.  Can you open your eyes for me?"

"I can't.  It hurts my head.  What do you mean there was an incident?  I want to see my dad."

"Just try, sweetheart.  Open your eyes."

"Why won't you tell me where my dad is?"

"Skye, I need you to open your eyes."

Finally, Skye forced her eyes open and was met with the face of a woman with dirty blonde hair.  She remembered who she was from being on the Ark's council.  From what she can remember, she's always liked Abby.  The doctor pointed a small flashlight into her eyes to see how well her pupils dilate.  She let her do other tests and sit her up before she dived back into her questioning.

"Where's my dad?  My mom?  Why can't you let me see them?  Why aren't you answering me?"

"Alright, before I answer your questions, I'm going to need you to answer mine."  Skye nods her head while Abby takes a seat in the chair next to her bed.  "What is the last thing you remember before waking up today?"

Skye thought long and hard about her answer, "I think the last thing was having breakfast with my mom."

"Okay, and where was your father?"

"Well, he always left before I woke up for his shift as a guard so that's probably where he was."

"Are you sure you don't remember anything else?"  The wounded girl shook her head.  "Skye, do you remember any reason why your father would want you to hurt your mother?"

"Hurt my mother?  What are you talking about?"  Skye shook her head but was met with pain making her lean back.  "Is my mom all right?  Is my dad?  Can you please tell me what's going on?"

"Do you remember who gave you the scars on your arms, stomach, and back?"

At this, Skye glances down at her arms and, sure enough, sees random lines of scars up and down her arms.  She feels like she remembers the memory of the pain when she got them, but she can't remember actually getting them.  Lifting her arms, she examines them and finds even more.  With tears in her eyes, she meets Abby's gaze again.

"Who-Who would do this to me?" Skye stutters out.

"You honestly don't remember anything?"  Skye shook her head as the tears roll down her cheeks.  Abby took hold of Skye's hand and enclosed both of her hands around it.  "By what the guards had found and what the nurses have been able to figure out, the council have come to the conclusion that your father forced you to shoot your mother."

Skye's breathing picks up and her ears feel like they've been submerged in water.  "Shoot-Shoot my mother?  I shot my mom?  And-And-And my dad forced me to?  That can't be.  I-I don't believe my dad-He would never.  I want to talk to my dad."

"Skye, the council has already decided you and your father's sentence for your mother's death."

"She didn't make it?  Is this really happening?  Please let me speak with my dad.  There's no way he was apart of this.  He couldn't have.  Let me talk to him, please."  Skye forces herself into a sitting position and pleads to Abby with red rimmed eyes.

An expression of hopelessness and sympathy crosses over Abby's face.  Skye feels like she knows where this is going, but she's afraid if she acknowledges it'll be real.  She shoves Abby's hands away and shuffles away.

"I'm so sorry.  Your father was floated this morning for aiding and abetting the murder of your mother.  And since you are under the age of eighteen, the council has decided to keep you in the Juvenile Lockup, also known as the Skybox, until you are."

Turning onto her side away from the doctor, Skye says the last words anyone will hear for a while, "I killed my mom."

     ···

Cold, metal cuffs clinked around her wrists as the guards got her ready to transfer her from the medical station.  Today was the day Skye was going to be moved to the Skybox where the rest of the delinquents were put.  The delinquents consisted of common thieves and vandals, but now they were going to have a murderer among them.  She didn't know what to expect when she got there but she knew it was where she needed to be for what she did.

"Prisoner 314 is secure," a man with a deep, resonating voice says.  Skye looks up from her hands and glances over the man's facial features.  His eyes are a soft, dark brown and freckles spotted across his face.  The black tuffs of his hair were slicked back, but it didn't look right.  She had a feeling it looked best when left alone and mopped on his head.  But this was probably the last time she would see this man so it didn't matter much what she thought.  "She is ready for transfer."

The man took a stance behind Skye and took hold of her elbow as a different guard did the same on her other arm.  The walk from medical to the Skybox was approximately ten minutes and she knew that because she counted each second over.  She also noticed every single person who stopped what they were doing just to stare at her.  She tried not to look at any of them and kept her eyes forward.  When they stepped into the large room of the Skybox, all of the delinquents started to get loud to try to intimidate her.  She was led into an empty room by the first man while the other waited outside.

The tips of his fingers brushed against Skye's wrist as he went to unlock her handcuffs.  She kept her eyes on the man's face while he did so.  Once he was done, he looked up to find her staring at him.  For a few seconds they just stared at each other before the man broke the silence.

"Enjoy your stay."

Skye didn't know if he was trying to be sarcastic or if he actually meant it.  Either way, as he was turning away, she glanced at the name on his chest and knew she'd remember it.

Blake.