Free *Editing*

Chapter 5

Birdy feels like she is dancing with death. Every step she takes makes her riddled with pain and her surroundings are only meer fragments of a memory. A huge dark hall. Dragons in cages. A staircase. A brick hall. A large black door. A chair.

She is shoved onto the plastic chair and almost falls over as she does. The guard has to push her shoulders to and fro to ensure she does not collapse into unconsciousness.

Everything is white. The desk. The walls. The chair. Only one guard is in the small office now. He gives her a white cup filled with crystal clear water. Her eyes question what is before her, but her stomach begs her to quench its thirst. Despite the need, she shakes her head and looks away. The guard scoffs. "It's not poison. Its water. Drink it girl."

She shakes her head again. The guard scoffs and grabs the cup. He takes a sip from it and gives it back. She glares up at his bright red mask, where his unapologetic eyes are shielded.

"I don't want it." She growls. The guard rips it from her hands and walks away. His footsteps echo towards the desk, he places the cup and returns to her side. Birdy knows her eyes are glazed over and her body is slouched. It takes every piece of her willpower to stay conscious. She licks her lips, the man's blood is still there. A sudden reminder of what she's done.

The door behind her opens, a man on her left starts to his office chair and sits down silently. He has a fresh black beard cut perfectly around his sharp jaw. His long nose angles slightly to the left and his thin green eyes are staring at her whimsically. His sharp, black outfit with button-up collars and silver trim is an eyesore within the pure white room. Birdy closes her eyes away from him and stares at the plain wall. The white makes her feel like she is going crazy.

"Birdy, right?" He opens his filing cabinet and flips through the alphabetical tabs. He pulls out a white set of papers with a yellow tab. The stack only has a few papers within, but what the man sees makes him grin.

"You're twenty-one, and your from the Outskirts. Quite impressive that you made it in." He smiles at a photo and turns it towards her. "That you?"

The photo is a full-colour, security image screenshot of two nights before. Birdy is holding Barn beside the crashed white van they used to race into Celedora. Her face is not crisp or full H.D, but she can see the savageness in her own eyes and the blood on her face.

"Who are you..." Birdy finally asks behind her fiery glare. The man puts the folder back onto the desk.

"My name is Enzo, I'm the main proprietor of the Celedora jail and the Warden. Let's just say I'm the most influential person you're going to have the pleasure of meeting for the rest of your life." Birdy doesn't flinch. "It's not a pleasure. Where am I? What are you going to do with me? And where the fuck is my brother?"

Enzo ignores her. "In light of all this, my guards have also informed me that you savagely attacked one of them mere moments ago. I hate to inform you, he is not dead." A deep part of Birdy is infact dissatisfied.

"Birdy, you have been sentenced to life in prison, for multiple attempts of second degree murder, assault, grand theft auto, and illegal trespassing. I'm sure you have much more to add to your list due to the time you've spent in the Outskirts but I dont have the time nor' patience to write it down."

Birdy's gut stirs. "What about a trail?! You can at least let me defend myself. You can't just illegally detail me and pass judgement!" She leans forward and spits out her words. Enzo does not flinch.

"Let me make this very clear to you sweetheart. King Adamant and his entourage can do whatever we see fit-" Birdy shouts. "Like killing innocent people!? Keeping travelers trapped in the forest to be eaten, and killed?! I thought this was supposed to be a safe haven for all people!?"