Away I: Away

Selene

I wake up to the sound of screaming, but I don't know who it's coming from. I wish I could help them, but is it any worse than anything else here?

I open my eyes, and it's still dark, so it could be any time of night. There are numbers glowing on the wall to my left, bright turquoise letters that spell out '4:37[US Time]'. So I still have twenty-three minutes to sleep, huh? But the screaming combined with the muffled roar of lifesupport systems and general sleep sounds of fifty under-20 males, is almost impossible to ignore now. Selene is a name too beautiful for this place, I think.

I watch the clock for twenty-three minutes exactly, until and ear peircing siren rings through the hall, and dull lights flicker to life, signaling fifteen minutes until we have to report for work.

"Work". More like torture. But prisons aren't known for being pleasant. Certainly not this one. But I don't have time to dwell on what normal is like. I have to get ready.

I sit up on my bed and pull on the light brown overalls I keep under my bed. The copper walls almost shine in the harsh artificial light, but years of grime and filth keep Selene from being pretty. On the bed next to me, Cay is still dreaming. Despite the fact that I've lived here my whole life, and Cay arrived here when he was four, he can sleep through anything. I. on the other hand am a light sleeper.

I reach out and gently shake his skinny little shoulder. He sits up slowly and turns to look at me with his slightly too long blond hair in his eyes that carry a look of pure fury. Waking up has never been his talent.

'You know as well as I do. You have to be up now,'

What would he do without me? I don't know. It's different for me. I was born here, I knew my parents. But so did Cay. He was ripped from their arms. In fact I remember how he cried. He was only four. How can such a young child commit a crime? I was eight at the time. He seemed like a baby to me, and babies need to be cared for. So from that day on, we were brothers. And in seven years, we have never looked back.