Evolution

Chapter Seventeen: Different

Sleep eluded me, it did not allow me escape from the night's events. When I closed my eyes, I saw Jesse, his face directly in front of me, calm, perfect. He would repeat his earlier words 'Tell me about it'.

It was ridiculous, he was ridiculous, but I couldn't rid him from my mind. I hadn't spoken to anyone about what had happened with me, with my family and here he was asking for the information as though he was taking my dinner order from me.

I tossed and turned, my eyes finding Keira on the opposite wall of me. She had been asleep since I'd crawled into her cell, our cell. I found no comfort in the prison beds, yet I found comfort in her face. She looked calm, relaxed, peaceful, and completely oblivious to the dangers around her. She, along with many others here, had no idea of the dangers. It pained me. I closed my eyes and with an overflow of memories rushing through my head, I drifted off to sleep at about 3 in the morning.

I hadn't slept long, which did not surprise me. It was the sound of Keira's voice that woke me, she was trying to sound hushed, but she was unknown to the light sleeper I was. My head had stopped aching and my brain was no longer fuzzy. The memories remained of last night, but they were no longer a dreary cloud. I rubbed my eyes and forced my body upwards. I was sweaty, dirty.

"Good morning princess" Coby spoke towards me, his body leaned in the doorway, his arms over his chest. He looked older, more in charge. It made me proud of his progress, yet for all the wrong reasons. He was a Shaun robot.

"Hey" I grumbled in response as I stretched my legs and arms out, the true intensity of last night's training session coming to light. My face contorted with pain when I stood

Keira and Coby chuckled, their new black outfits clean and tidy. Keira had showered at some point, her hair still slightly wet.

"Come on" Coby sighed "Get up, I'll take you to the showers, the hot water will help"

It had been about eight weeks since I'd last had a real clean. It had been about 2 years since I'd had an actual shower. I hadn't expected the showers to be as ordinary, but they were. I was given a stack of clean clothes – a black singlet, black jeans and a jacket – that had been neatly folded and left for me beside the open plan shower room. I was a little hesitant on stripping down butt-naked at first, but once Coby had left the room, closed the door behind himself and stood outside, guarding, I knew that the shower would be well worth it.

I trusted Coby.
I removed all of my clothes and switched on the hot water. Spits of water came from the round shower-head above me, and then, a flickering stream of steaming water. I sighed and stood beneath it, ignoring everything else beside the way the water felt against my every limb. I closed my eyes and placed my entire body underneath the heat, my face becoming soaked, my hair striped of its thick oil.

Heaven was real, and this was it.

Coby had reminded me countless times before I'd entered the shower that I had a limit. Ten minutes maximum. I could understand, but that didn't mean it made it any easier to actually get out. Ten minutes, it felt like five, it was nowhere near long enough. But rules were rules, and if I wanted to blend in with Shaun and his soldiers, then I needed to play by those rules. I dried myself thoroughly and after a moment's debate, I decided on leaving my hair out to air dry. If I had of tied it up, it would remain wet, it would become unmanageable.

I dressed in the new clothes I'd been given and felt like a new person, fresh, clean, confident, a feeling that I hadn't felt in a long time. I was suddenly grateful for something that Shaun's prison had provided me with.

I tapped on the back of the bathroom door, signalling Coby that I had finished. Seconds later, he pulled the door open, a new wash of air greeting me. I could smell food, hot food with a hint of garlic. I inhaled deeply, the scent reminding me of the times I'd spent at home, years ago, sitting at the dinner table eating dinner with my family.