Chapter 2 - Cell 243

A week later, the power returns.  Bare lightbulbs that hang from the ceiling cast light around each cell, allowing us to see directly into cell 243 - Morris' cell.

It's empty.

I look at the floor of my cell and bite on my lip.  "Morris isn't coming back, is he?"  I ask nobody, before I return to the metal frame of my bed and slowly unscrew one of its legs.  The thick metal narrows to a point at the end, which I've been sharpening for weeks now.  I'm using it to make holes in the wall, so I can talk to Daphne in cell 58 and Hamish in cell 56.

I push the pointed tip into the dent in my wall before spinning it as fast as I can.  The brick and plaster combination slowly disintegrates, leaving a pile of dust on the floor.

I lean towards the deepening hole, unsure how far I have to go.  "Daphne, can you hear me?"

Silence.  I pick up my tool again and begin to drill away at the wall some more.

I've never seen Daphne before.  She came to the asylum after we were put into cells.  As far as I know, she hasn't been experimented on yet.  I don't want to scare her...the stitched up scars on my throat are terrifying.  Maybe she's seen worse.

I do, however, know Hamish.  He was a good friend of Morris'.  I've decided to give him some space before I work on the wall between my cell and his.

"Hello?  Daphne?"

"What?  Who are you?"
"I'm making a hole in the wall, just give me a second."
"What?  How?"

"Just...a...second..."  I put all of my effort into grinding the metal against the rock, until I finally see the light of her cell through the wall.

"How did you do that?"
"I used the leg of my bed...I sharpened it..."
"That's insane!  How did you think of that?"
"I...uh..."
"So...you're...Rosalie?"
"Rosanne...uh, you're Daphne?"
"Yeah...yeah, I'm not sure how the guards know that.  You sound pretty young, how old are you?"
"13, you?"
"You're 13?  What...how...why are you in an insane asylum?"
"I...I'm not sure..."
"Huh...I'm 24.  Hey, can you pass that thing through the hole?  I wanna see if I can break the wall a little more."
Unsure if I can trust her, I hesitate as I pass it through the hole.  "Thanks...stand back."
I hear a thud, and another, and another, until finally, more of the wall comes away.  In a panic, I scramble away from the wall and cover my throat with my hands.

"Hey!  Hey, it's okay, I'm not going to hurt you...look, there's your pole..."

"I..."
"Sweetie, it's okay, you don't have to be ashamed of what they did.  I'm not squeamish, don't worry..."

"Wait...how do you know what they did to me?"
"I don't...I know they do terrible things, like they did to Morris."
"How did you know about him?"
"He is...was...one of my friends from back home."
"Oh...I'm really sorry..."  I mumble, letting my hands fall to my side.

"Your...they...they cut your throat?  Did they try to kill you?"
"No...no, they wanted to punish me...I screamed a lot, so they made sure I couldn't scream anymore..."

Daphne falls silent.

"Don't worry, honey.  We'll get out someday.  All of us."

Reviews

[D.L. Coleman]

Good writing. Took a while for your voice to come through, but it did. The first part read more like a police report, and I was wondering how it was going to be.