MAZE OF FATES

PART 2: SHACKLES 1. A Meeting in Days

Where am I? I don’t know. I look to my left and to my right. It’s all useless. Darkness is my sole companion here. Suddenly, a light flickers overhead. I don’t see its source though. My white night gown reflects light over the iron bars that are around me. I place my hands over those. I push and I pull but there’s no movement. All of a sudden the bars disappear. To my left, I see a stairway heading downstairs into the darkness. I move closer to it. There are no other doors or windows and I consider it the exit. I start moving downstairs slowly. After seven to eight minutes I am still heading down. The way just seems endless. My ragged breathing echoes loudly. I continue on my way without much thought.

After five minutes of walking, I see a stream of light. There’s a wooden door slightly ajar. It’s just five steps away. I run towards it. I grab the door knob and push it fiercely hoping to get out of this place. I am scared and I am nervous. The door gives way to a room. I don’t know where this place is. In the center, there is a table and sitting by it is a girl. Her hair is long, wavy and black in color. I don’t see her face. Her long hair conceals it and she is facing the wall adjacent to the one before which I am standing. “I was waiting for you, Carmen,” she says slowly. Her voice makes me nauseous. “L-Laurel?” I stammer. “I trusted you, Carmen. I told you I was counting on you. It’s not too late, I am still waiting,” she goes on. Suddenly the ground disappears from beneath my feet. I am falling into an abyss. “No,” I scream.

 “Hey, Mrs. Jerry, did you have a good weekend?” I asked over my shoulder as I managed to hold my bag and notebooks together. “Hey, you’d better call me Madelyn. Weekend was fine. How about you? Did you have more nightmares?” “Well, yeah. She said that it still wasn’t too late and she was counting on me.” “I think you should hear her out once.”

I didn’t reply to this but deep down I felt that she really did owe me an explanation. Madelyn Jerry was my boss at the law firm where I was working as an assistant. She had an oval face with big eyes, chubby cheeks and pouty lips. On the whole she looked quite charming.

I aspired to be a lawyer and Madelyn was very supportive of me and understanding too. I studied with the help of charity money but after that it was she who took me in and taught me things after I came to Shellton. After the cops took her, I began having nightmares which usually included of Laurel crying her eyes out and reaching out to me for help while I simply stood watching. It had been 12 days already and I had not once visited her. I told Madelyn all about her and she said that she would help me in any way she could.

“I guess I’ll leave early today if you don’t mind, Madelyn,” I said.  “Go ahead,” she replied without looking at me as she stood by the window, her spectacles glinting in the morning sun. I had decided to go to the juvenile prison today itself and I wanted to hear Laurel out before I changed my mind.

I sat at my desk in the corner of the room sorting out files and looking restlessly at the wall clock from time to time. When the clock struck eleven, I was ready to leave. I got up and stuffed my few belongings into my bag. “Will you be okay by yourself? Do you want me to come with you?” Madelyn asked as she saw me hurrying up. “I’m fine,” I replied. “Don’t have an emotional breakdown or something, alright or I’ll have to come pick you up,” she said as-a-matter-of-factly. “Don’t worry. You won’t have to do that.” I said with a hint of a smile on my face.

I hurried outside into the light and took a taxi. I headed towards the East Quarters where the prison was and when I finally got there I looked at the large grey building with awe. It was huge and there were several windows. They called it sinister for it held monsters as young as one could imagine.

It was my first time there. I headed towards the big, black gate. The gatekeeper opened it for me and I told him and I was there to meet someone. I walked for a few seconds and stood at the threshold in no time. It gave me chills. It was dark inside except for a few are where lamps had been installed. It smelled terribly of sweat.