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But I was more worried about Penny and Ryker.
I stood at the door and called out, “Hey, Ryker, can you see her from there?”
“I’ve got eyes on her,” he said, and I could feel the pain in the strung tension of his voice. He was hiding it from me, but just like me, his body was slowly realizing how fucked it was.
“Can you let me know if she needs help?” I asked. “I wish I was closer to her. I hate being so far away.”
“I’m okay!” Penny called out. “I’m just tired, but I’ll be okay. Go rest, both of you. I have a feeling we’re going to need our strength in here.”
“I’m glad you’re okay, Penny,” I said. “I’m sorry you’re here. I’m so fucking sorry.”
There was a long silence, long enough that I braced myself for her anger. But at last she drew in a harsh breath, coughed, and said, “I know, Everly. I know.”
“It’s not you, it’s the Organization,” Ryker interjected. “Penny knows that. I know that. We all know that. You’re not the one, princess. It’s all those fucking monsters out there who own this. This is their karma, not yours.”
“Yeah, what Ryker said,” Penny added. “I already told you that. Now get some rest. I’m sure you feel as shitty as I do. And holy shit, I feel like shit. Did I mention that?”
I laughed and rubbed tears off my cheeks with the back of my hand. “Thanks, you guys,” I said. “I’m going to lie down while I can.”
And I did, I hobbled to the bed and stretched out under the cozy blankets without worrying about the blood and dirt I must be getting all over the sheets. I shifted here and there because of aches and sharp jolts of pain throughout my body, along with the unavoidable thoughts of Kingston that exploded inside my head every time I settled my mind.
Finally, against the odds, I slipped into the darkness and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
* * *
The soundof the guards opening my door woke me up. It was dark outside. There was nothing showing in the little window at the top of my cell wall.
The door closed as I sat up, and I jumped to my feet, dropping the thick blanket to the carpeted side of the floor. “Hey!” I yelled at them, but they locked the door behind them and walked towards Ryker’s cell.
They had the food cart with them, but I didn’t even register it at that point. Instead, I grabbed the bars and screamed, “Hey! Let me out of here! I need to see my friend!”
They ignored me and went to Ryker’s door, opened it and took him a tray. I yelled again, but got no response at all. It infuriated me, being shut out like that, like I didn’t matter. Like I wasn’t worth talking to.
“Fuck you!” I screamed and watched as they crossed the corridor to Penny’s cell. When they opened it up, I heard her voice talking to them. She sounded sleepy, and I realized they woke her up, not me screaming. She must have been in a deep slumber, much needed, as she said.
“Penny? Are you awake?” I called out in a gentler tone. I was so worried about her, I was so concerned that she had suffered the most and would take the longest, hardest road to recover from it.
“I am now,” she said. “And yum, it looks delicious.”
The guards exited her cell, turned back, and walked out the door. They left us alone again, but this time with food and more water.
I kneeled at my tray, my hunger forcing me into a position like I was worshiping the god of sustenance, the tray being the altar.
This time we were given dinner. I had a plate with pasta, a chicken breast, two dinner rolls and even a side plate with a slice of chocolate cake. I had two large bottles of water and a small cardboard carton of chocolate milk.
In the center of all this was a paper pill cup, the little curled kind you get from the doctor’s office. Inside there were several pills, one small blue one that looked similar to the ones I used to take, along with a few other larger, supplements types. The largest smelled strong, like vitamin B.
I didn’t want to take them, but there was a handwritten note on the tray that said, “Failure to swallow all your supplements will result in punishment.”
I opened a bottle of water and washed them all down before diving into the pasta. I wasn’t about to start piling up Thackeray’s punishments now, not with the pending threat of group competition hanging over our heads. I needed to be clear headed, but more than that, I needed to be strong and healthy.
Everything was gone in the blink of an eye, and my stomach lurched from the sensation of being full. It was strange, feeling sick by filling my belly. Not eating at regular times did strange things to the body.
“Did you finish yet?” I called down to Penny and Ryker.
“I’m done,” Ryker said. “It wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever eaten, but I guess we can’t be picky.”
“If I have one more dish of gruel, I might start a prison riot, though,” Penny said with a bitter laugh. “I hate that I devoured it, but I’m so hungry.”
