The Trial

Chapter 7 - Edited

Time passes far more slowly than it should with no hint of the mist or darkness and I've grown tired of waiting. I'm ready to end this, but I've no say over anything. I've gone from one cell to another and the first was far more preferable than this. At least the other cell gave some degree of movement by my will. It may have been painful to move, but I never let something insignificant as a little pain stop me.

There's a soft tap on the door and it opens to show state clerk sixty-eight's dark eyes, which are filled with the danger she can't conceal. She presses past the narrow opening and stands between myself and only means of escape. She's been gone a long time. Has she been listening in? It doesn't matter, since I didn't say anything to get me in trouble.

There's a slight bounce to her steps as she holds out her hand and speaks with a honey laced tone. "I do hope you're hungry. I am and want you to join me for lunch."

I take her slim hand in mine as I nod and guard my voice. "I am."

She grins and her green touched fangs are hidden well. "Good. Let's go, state clerk ninety-three. You're going to love it here."

I allow her to lead me out of the room and the bounce to her step remains constant. It leads me to wonder how someone this old can have such a pleasant disposition and I know it's nothing more than a facade. The mask is almost perfect and I can almost believe the teeth aren't really fangs at all, but she can't hide her dark eyes which makes my skin crawl.

She leads me to a cafeteria and I find it far cleaner than the school ever was. The smells are more pleasant and the noise is meant to drown out conversations, but there's something dark within the hushed tones of lowered heads. I wish I could decipher what was being said, but the voices all run together.

It takes years to master, but you'll pick up enough along the way to find some valuable information. You may not know what to do with most of it, but I don't need my voice to tell you to keep adding to your private collection. Speaking of my voice, why do you continue to hide from me?

There's a sea of black and gray as I'm lead to a table with no idea how I ended up with a plate full of exotic looking food. She must've done something to get me to drop my guard, but it won't happen again. I must have kept myself in check enough to keep me alive, since she's still here.

State clerk sixty-eight has me sitting across from a man named state clerk fourteen. I don't recall the actual introduction, but I remember his name. Food falls out of his mouth and serves as an unpleasant reminder of state educator four, without the addition of several hundred pounds. Mumbled words leave her mouth and don't bother to ask where she's going. She wouldn't tell me if I bothered to stop her, and what little I managed to understand makes for a rather flimsy excuse.

Green eyes stare at me with a state of loathing from behind a poorly constructed mask comprised of more hair than flesh. His red beard spreads out in all manner of directions and his mustache isn't much further behind. Bits of food are getting lost in the sea of red and I look to see if any creatures poke their heads out of the matted mess.