HUMAN SPIRIT

HUMAN SPIRIT; Ch. 24

The next day was laundry day, and Finn finally started to understand the structure behind Claudius’ chamber. Terrible as he was, he knew that the best way to keep his prisoners subdued was through mild contentment. Clean clothes, regulated (though tasteless) meals. Finn came to understand this in the early hours of the day. Temporarily replaced with an even worse set of rags to wear, only Lily and Finn (as well as a few other strangers) were allowed in the washing station, which was buried even deeper into the earth, a whole set of stairs leading them downward. There was only a single dark blue light in the lower room, and Huck stood by the door, examining a pistol in his hand distractedly. Finn still bore the terrible hate for his once-best-friend, but hid it so he could focus on Lily. She was pushing a washed-out yellow shirt against a washboard in a metal tub, and let the sound cover her words.

“I know what you three are planning,” she said, not looking up from the tub. Finn, for a moment, thought that the words weren’t directed towards him, but once seeing that no one had responded to her, he recalled her words. I know what you three are planning, she said. Hearing this, Finn wasn’t angry at Lily for eavesdropping like Esther would’ve been. Rather, he questioned exactly how many people might’ve heard their conversation besides Lily. He let a moment pass in thought, pausing in place, before he started it.

“I suppose you want to be part of it,” he said, trying to keep his voice low. 

“I just wanted to tell you how deranged you three are acting,” she said, with only the slightest hint of malice in her voice. Bearing a tinge of restraint, really.

“Deranged is better than nothing,” he defended.

“Well, I’ll have you know that I’m not going to be left out of this,” she responded, “Hear me?” He liked the idea, but an additional thought popped into his head.

“I don’t know how Esther will like that,” he admitted. Lily just seemed more determined to clean whatever article of clothing was against her washboard.

“She’ll just have to deal with me, then,” she said, “Strength is in numbers. Since she only has half of a brain to work with, I’m just filling the void.” Despite the expected malice, she was actually quite calm in tone, so he chuckled quietly. Finn questioned whether Lily simply talked so politely because it was her nature, or if she kept her voice low because of Huck’s looming presence. She thereafter caught onto Finn’s directed gaze at the man in question..

“I’ll let you have him, once we get out,” Lily said. And in that moment, she had Finn hooked. In his eyes, she was definitely an ally now. The only problem in communicating with her, though, was once they returned to their respective cells, any sort of conspiratorial talk would be inconceivable. The hallway, after all, echoed every single word unless whispered ear-to-ear. On a positive note, that kept Esther from yelling protestations towards Lily’s part in the alliance. But on a negative note, that put Lily out of the loop. One can only say so much in hand gestures and glances. This was discussed between the two of them in the laundry room, and Lily accepted her expected lack of knowledge.

“As long as I’m with you guys, I’m fine,” she said. They continued on, cleaning the clothes and working away their fingers. What felt like hours passed by, and during which, Finn took the time to analyze his other prisoners. They were mainly middle-aged, with hunched backs and weak bodies.

“Why them?” Finn asked Lily in that same, confidential whisper.

“There are people as young as fifteen in this prison,” she started to explain, “Claudius doesn’t want them working until their bodies are in disrepair, like these guys. Or if they’re absolutely hopeless. That way, no one down here can ban together and take down the guard.”