Second Chance

Draw

It has felt like no time has passed since my meeting with Doctor Loseh. I sit on my cot and stare at the green hardcover notebook and its empty contents. My instinct wants me to write what I am feeling right now, but write what? Nothing has happened between now and Doctor Loseh's office. Whatever I write can be done after the Drawing. I know I will have something to say whichever way this goes.

Each sector takes turn. The Commanders draw one human or Being from each of the several sectors. The sectors have grown each year with the high influx of prisoners housed here. When I first got here there were only fourteen. Now, there are a at least thirty. Construction has never stopped since they built this penitentiary. The more people and Being that get arrested, the more space they will need.

Once a human or Being is drawn, they are places in the Second Chance program meant to subside the growing population of inmates. Long ago, they only has the Drawing annually. Now they do it quarterly, every three months. It last for almost a week with all of the sectors having to go, but Sector 5 doesn't wait for more than a day.

"Attention, attention. Sector 5 inmates are to be taken to the social square at this time. Again..."

The intercom repeats the message and before it finishes, foot steps can be heard out in the hall. Guards line up and down the catwalk readying themselves for any casualties for those inmates that want to cause chaos. The cell door opens and a guard, a tall broad shouldered Mercé, escorts me to the hallway. His dark tanned hand holds onto my shoulders, guiding me to the square with other inmates. Some are restrained while some are walking alone or with a guard like me. Loud commotions can be heard behind me, but I don't turn to look. Few inmates refuse to attend the Drawing because it is a laugh in the face if they don't get chosen. It does seem pointless, but there is still a chance to leave here.

But some may have lost hope already. They know that they will be stuck here, no matter how high the chance will be.

The square has been accommodated like it has every  year. The stage, screen, and open space for each sector to stand, awaiting the fate of one lucky person or Being. A handful of guards spread themselves out and around the square keeping a watchful eye on each of the inmates. The guards that escorted us  from our sector to the square line us up: male, female, male, female, and so on. Im in between a pale Prismoid and a light brown, almost beige Ectotherm. His scales flare out on the top of his head. His yellow eyes blink vertically around the square, mesmerized by the sheer netting covering the chainlink fence. A hazy glow can be seen pulsing from the net warming up the square to accommodate not only the Commanders but the Ectotherms and other cold blooded Beings from the sector.

This must be his first Drawing.

From where I stand, a pretty decent view of the screen and platform displaying the many Commanders of the prison and the sector wardens. Showen can be seen amongst the revered leaders. The warden of each sector is the one who picks the candidate for the Second Chance program. Showen has access to our files, allowing him to see out progress and reports about our time in the prison. Each Tally mark, each misdemeanor, etcetera. He knows more about our life than we do. More so for me than others.

The Commanders are the ones that oversee the guards, wardens, cooks, faculty, janitors—even the hounds. No one ever wants to come across their radar. If they request to see an inmate personally, you are never having the opportunity to leave this building, let alone your cell.

Last of the inmates gather in and the guards take their place along the perimeter of the square, watching us like art on a wall. It always fascinated me in the Encyclopedia how humans decades ago would stare at still images. Is it to see the picture in person? To see the strokes of the brush? Maybe it was to see if it would move.