New World

CHAPTER NINE: Promises

"Hey, Winterhill, wake up," says a big black man with a very mild voice. He is bald. He wears a thick pair of eyeglasses that give you an impression that he is very wise. In fact, he is not scary at all, unlike the other policemen I have encountered. I tried to read the name patch on his uniform but it's so dark in our cell block that I can barely see anything but the surfaces that the orange light lands on. "You've got a visitor. You don't want to keep her waiting." Maybe he is a Tyran but the way he speaks makes me think otherwise.

                The moment he mentioned the word 'her', I quickly stood up, not bothering to wake up the now snoring Tino. I know that it is my mother. She is the only woman who cares about me. Theresa also cares about me but she will not visit me today. As far as I know, it is a Monday today. She has classes. Studies first! I can almost hear her say that.

                If it is my mother, what took her so long? She could've visited me yesterday, the moment I was arrested. I am sure that she was informed then. Or not. I remember my father. I know that he is behind all of these. Maybe he told the police not to tell her. But he is not that powerful not unless someone higher gave him the authority. I still wonder what his reason is of doing this to us. I mean, what is so big a deal if I saw those humans in the tubes? I don't even know if those are humans. Besides, I am not that person who will spread a story without knowing all the details.

                "Hurry up," the policeman said. I made my way towards the entrance of our cell. He unlocks it and opens it for me. I offered him my hands, knowing that I will be handcuffed again. I waited for the familiar clinking sound of the chains but I just heard the locking of the cell again. And then he gently pushed me forward, as if signaling me to make my way toward my visitor. But the problem is I do not know where it is so I just slowly walked, occasionally looking at him for confirmation of where I go.

                Like the other hallways from the interrogation room to my cell block, the hallway I am walking along now is dimly lit. We just continued walking, turning to left and then to right. For a second, I thought that we are in a maze. All of the hallways look the same. We continue turning to left or to right. I wonder how they memorize their path toward our cell block. It seems like our cell block is the farthest from the entrance of this prison. It seems like they isolated us from other prisoners. It is true. Our cell block is really big but it only contains Tino and me. I don't know why we are isolated. But I think it is better if they isolate us. I don't want to be mingling with other prisoners. I don't want to be living with the stinky ones.

                We finally reached a hallway that is illuminated by a very bright white light. The last few hours, I have been staying in a dark room. Now that I am in a bright room, I feel foreign. I can see other cell blocks now and the odorous smell that fills my nose confirms it. The smell of combined sweat and orgasm gives this bright hallway an unpleasant ambiance.

                As we go farther from our cell block, the volume of prisoners thickens. The foul smell gets worse. In the block that we are in now, Cell Block C, the prisoners are so many that they had to be compressed in just ten cells, I think. They look like compressed sardines in a jar. I wonder how they are able to sleep. There is absolutely no space for anyone to lie down. I don't know what's up with the policemen. The other cell blocks are so spacious but they decided to compress all of these prisoners in a single cell block.

                Finally, we reached a place where prisoners and visitors meet. It is a very big place which is clean and fully air-conditioned. I can smell the scent of lemon which tells me that they just sprayed air freshener. If they can do this to the Visiting Area, why can't they do the same to the cell blocks?