Dark and Light: The Island

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Location: The L. E. O. station

After refusing to answer any of the questions that the L. E’s asked me, I slept in the cell at the station overnight and it was highly uncomfortable. Every time I managed to drift off, a door would slam, or another person would shout. Usually, though, my body just woke up unexpectedly. By the time I finally fell into a decent sleep, it was five in the morning, and one of the L. E.s came to wake me up at seven.

Operating on two hours of sleep would be hard enough in usual circumstances, but I needed to speak with my appointed lawyer. As I had no money and was only eighteen, and therefore apparently not eligible to choose my own lawyer, the L. E. O. had picked one for me. As I was being led to the main interview room, I caught a glimpse of other people who had been arrested during the early hours. Most of them were drunk, or maybe sleeping off some type of drug, but a few stared out of their cell at me defiantly. As if they were proud of being caught for breaking the law. I try to remind myself that I, too, broke the law, and that my criminal act was premeditated, but I wasn’t triumphant about being arrested. Maybe their expressions were just to show the L. E. O. that they weren’t scared of them.

At the table in the interview room was a tall man, obviously over six feet tall, folded into a small metal chair. He had short brown hair that had been styled into the latest fashion. He had green eyes and was wearing a sharp black suit. He looked to be in his early twenties. Very professional - this was the first thing I thought when I saw him.

I sat down and the L. E. - Law Enforcer - left us alone. My lawyer cleared his throat before beginning.

“Miss Hayes. I am Andrew Colton, your state- appointed lawyer. I’ll be spearheading your defence for your trial.”

“I know,” I replied. It had been the first time I had spoken in over a day, so it came out slightly hoarse and raspy. I hadn’t meant to sound defiant, but I realized a second too late that I did when Andrew’s eyebrows went up.

“What exactly happened last night?” he asked, all business.

“I woke up at twenty past two in the morning, got changed, and snuck out of my house. I climbed up a tree and got through the window of the drawing room in the De Morville’s house. I then got to the safe and broke into it, stealing ten million pounds. I got as far as the doorway to the drawing room before the guards caught me. They called the L. E. O. and here I am.” I told him, trying my best to look petulant, arms folded across my chest, my voice and face devoid of emotion. I was suddenly aware of how tired and ruffled I must truly look. I ignored this.

“And your reasons for attempting to steal ten million pounds were…?” he prodded, his voice a little gentler now. I think he was just relieved that I had told him the truth instead of trying to lay some sort of emotive lie on him.

I shrugged, trying to seem unruffled by my predicament. “I needed the money.”

His eyebrows went up again at my comment and he made a tiny note on the paper on his clipboard with his expensive- looking fountain pen. “Why did you need the money, Miss Hayes?” he asked next, a little more probing than gentle this time.

I sighed, leaning forward now, realizing that telling the truth was something that I had to do in a nicer and more personable way if I wanted to earn his trust and enable him to give me a decent defence in court.

“My family and I live in the slums,” I explained in a low voice. “The Trials are coming up, okay? Every year, my parents are getting lower and lower scores on the fitness tests. I’m scared that they’ll take them away from me. How would I be able to live then, without my mother and father? Aside from the fact that my job doesn’t earn enough to feed a hamster anyway, what would I do on my own with bills to pay? The extra money that we get from the L. E. O. is eaten up by the bills as soon as it comes in anyway. It is no use.