CHAPTER 6: HOPE

A week had come and passed, well eight days going by my etched tally and thankfully Kelly and I hadn’t made any ill conceived escape attempts that might have got us killed or worse. 

I was tempted though…

Tempted by one of Kelly’s ideas.To use one of the cells on my floor as a base from which to slowly tunnel our way out till we hit the sewers. Kelly however at the second thoughts at the idea of repeatedly suffocating to death over and over in the event of a cave in. I guess immortality has its terrifying downsides, as Kelly’s predicament keeps reminding me.

Fuck that was a scary concept… I’m getting shivers just remembering it.

Aside from the occasional morbid details, the probably futile escape planning was kinda fun and definitely seemed to raise Kelly’s spirits. I know it is cliche, but it felt like us against the world. Well we also enjoyed talking about life outside, our favorite tv shows, movies, music, sport even stuff like what parts of Penrith we liked. 

Sherwood, where Kelly lived, actually wasn’t that far from Görwood, where my rents lived. Both Sherwood and Görwood were built between the old city and the new industrial center during the city’s iron smelting boom to house the new factories and refineries. Where Görwood was suburban, Sherwood was a mix of brutalist residential towers and a secondary business district away from Penrith’s CBD.

After the boom turned to bust, the outer suburbs fell to poverty, crime and disrepair. Sherwood had somewhat recovered, even if it had taken a few decades and now it has a major shopping mall and new developments starting to spring up.

I actually used to go there for work and to get away from my foster parents and their incendiary friends, so Kelly and I had lots of places in common we could talk about, like the big mall. We both were fans of the local band Cement Butterflies and Kelly would even join me when I sung their albums.

People talk about the American dream, but for those younger than Generation X, the Penrith dream was to make it big and get the hell out of Penrith. Cement Butterflies might have started out in Penrith and their songs might have been motivated by the city, but they made for LA at first chance, only ever coming back as one of the many stops on their country wide concert tours.

Overtime I had gone from sitting on the metal table in the corner of my cell when talking to Kelly to having moved my thin mattress on top of it, so I could talk to Kelly laying in my own bed. By moving her pillows and blankets to the floor of her cell next to our hole, we could have what we jokingly called slumber parties. We’d then talk late into the night, long after lights out had been called on her level.

“I love you,” I’d whispered to her, a few nights ago knowing she had fallen asleep where we had been talking minutes earlier. 

Ok I both really liked her and am a coward. Why risk ruining what we have with a love confession? What if she doesn’t like girls? What if she doesn’t like me the same way? Honestly, that terrified me, the possibility I might ruin our companionship and find myself down here alone again. So I know I am being an idiot, but I have no idea what I am doing. I have never been in love before and as much as I wanted that part of my changes, I only became a girl less than three months ago. I’m scared...

I promise I’ll confess my feelings properly when we both get out of this hellhole. 

I’d been in here a bit over two months by my count and I was honestly wondering why they were persisting with my daily interrogations. I had told them everything, my life story, which Ms Clark had confirmed. They now knew who I was, apparently they even had CCTV footage that showed I arrived after the altercation started and even tried to stop Jakob, before he blasted me and set off my incident. 

Honestly I think my interrogator just enjoyed venting on the monster locked in the basement, it was clear he didn’t like emerged. Tormenting me was probably the highlight of his day. He probably got off on it.

I now knew there had been a second set of storms a couple nights ago, because my interrogator was ranting about how there was now another wave of freaks and how he couldn’t believe people were letting other freaks play heroes. This was the second Emergence Ms Clark had mentioned.

But that is old news. So here I was this morning, singing a popular disney song as I enjoyed my cold morning shower. Cold because they thought the heat and energy might ‘charge’ my powers. Not that I really minded, the cold didn’t bother me anyway, especially since my changes and at least the shower had good pressure. 

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I had reached a count of four hundred and fifty mississippi's so I knew my time was running out before questioning started. Quickly hoping out of the shower, I towelled off and dressed in my fraying jumpsuit. My hair was still wet, but there was little I could do with a damp towel and no hair dryer.

I did take a moment to run the hairbrush Ms Clark gave me, through my hair and begin one hundred strokes. Wet hair tangled and it sucked. Have you every tried to pull a brush through knotted hair? It feels like someone is grabbing a handful and ripping it out from your scalp. Fucking painful! I didn’t think the saying ‘Beauty is pain’ would be so literal. 

But more importantly, Ms Clark told me I was pretty and I wasn’t going to let her down. I was going to look after my hair like she said. 

My count had reached just under seven hundred mississippi's, the intercom was late. Had they given on on interrogations, or… I could feel my hope rising. The elevator at the end of the corridor dinged and the sound of heels clicking on concrete, rang out. My hopes were being rewarded!

I was eagerly sitting on my bed frame near the cell entrance in one second flat. If I had a tail, it would probably be wagging. Ms Clark was currently my number two favorite person in the world and she was here! Head mounted light and all. Play it cool Robin, we don't want to be too eager and scare her off. Play it cool…

“Well look whuse excited to see me again, ay,” I could hear the warmth in her voice, hiding behind that amused smirk. 

Wait? Did I have a tell?

Crap what do I say? Remember play it cool. Pretending to cough, I hid my face behind my hand and gathered my thoughts, “Ok you got me. Guilty as charged for once. How long are you extended my holiday down here?”

“About that… First I brought yu anuther treat,” She reached into her purse and a baby ruth bar materialised in her hand, I swear they must not search her on entry. Maybe I can ask her to sneak me in a file or key.

“While yu chew on that, let me tell yu a aboot myself, little Robin. I dun’t know If yu placed my accent, but I’m from Nu Zuland. I started off as ay legal aid lawyer for the indigenous community, then I was a publuc defender. I later ended up as a whustleblower ayd activist uncovering abuses in the justice ayd prison systum. Ended up having to leave tha country. Got my green card, then my citizenship. I ended up working for Amnesty International here, working to abolush the death penalty and help prisoners wuth appeals. The Oh Em Arr recruited me from thaya to help people like yuse.”

Holy shit, when she told me she was a caseworker I assumed she was a clerk or social worker, not a legal expert or human rights activist. I almost dropped the half eaten chocolate bar on the gritty floor. Holy fuck Ms Clark is amazing, like a superhero but instead of a powered Emerged person, her powers were legal knowledge and probably knowing people.

“I’m telling yu thus so yu know I can help yu ayd that yu can trust me. I’m building a case to get yu out of here or at least to a lower security facility where yur rights won’t be ignored ayd yu won’t be kept in abusive conditions. Unfortunately thaya are moves to register Emerged ayd classify their powers. I thunk I can use ay trial classification program being run in these facilities as a bargaining chup. Thus system is probably going to be rolled out nationwide sooner or later.  All I need is for yu to cooperate.”

Wow she could probably get me out of here. I could start my life a fresh. Fuck... I forgot about Kelly. How would she get out? How could I even think about abandoning her?

“I’m sorry… I can’t do it,” wow it was depressing turning down this offer, I bet she could hear it in my voice.

“Is thus aboot the tests? I’ll make sure to oversee them ayd make sure yu are fine. I’ll also have a release or transfer agreement signed by a judge beforehand,” crap Ms Clark sounded confused and worried about me.

“No, I just can’t leave here.”

“Is thus aboot yu thunking yur a monster again? Because yur not, yur a scared girl in a situation yu don’t belong in.”

“No… It is just… I have reasons I can’t leave here,” I was trying to avoid saying it, what if this backfired and Kelly got moved to a different cell, where we couldn’t talk. Neither of us would last here long if that happened. But maybe she can help…

“If I tell you, I need you to promise you won’t tell anyone here, even if you can’t help…” I gave her my best attempt at puppy eyes. I hoped it would work, but I knew I didn’t have the practice other girls got growing up.

“Robin… I’d ‘ave hoped yu would trust me by now, but I promuse ayd I will do everthung in my power to help yu. I know yu wouldn’t be hiding anything for bad reasons.”

“Well it's like this…” I started telling her about Kelly.

Telling her about how I came to meet Kelly Newhall, about the hole between floors, about how Kelly died. How Kelly came back to life and wound up here. About how they hurt her. About everything we talked about from her friends, family, about Kalia. About how I didn’t want to leave her here. By the end I was crying and I was sure I saw tears in Ms Clarks eyes too.

But behind her tears were eyes filled with determination.

“I need to get both of yu out of heeya Ay Ess Ay Pee! Thus place needs to be shut down! I know I can’t talk to her, if they are keeping her heeya in secret, but I’ll confirm what I can ayd then I’ll I’ll cause such a media storm, they wull not be able to cover thus up! I’m gunna see that tha hammer of justuce is brought down on thus place ayd everyone running it!”

Ms Clark was furiously ranting, but her righteous anger made me feel relieved, we might both get out of here. She was going to save us! 

We’re allowed to hope, right?