14 Solitude
A month has passed and the Warden Kuzen paid Shawna a visit. He gave her a round of applause for being alive. "Well done Shawna. Normally this trick would work but it didn't against you" Kuzan said happily.
"What trick sir?" Shawna asked confused.
"I know you must have noticed your cell being left open for the whole month you've been here. It was on purpose. To give you an opportunity to escape" Kuzen said seriously.
"I really expected you to ditch and die by now but you haven't. The batch of prisoners you came with has all died. You're the only one left" Kuzen said sadly. Shawna started to remember the women exploding that night. It gave her shivers and the urge to vomit. "So why did you leave my door open sir?" Shawna asked politely.
"For you to try and leave. We have little cells here so we don't like it when they are occupied for very long. That's why we lure criminals to their death like this. If you had tried to escape your body would have exploded once you leave a certain range. Remember that, there's no going around it" Kuzen said touching Shawna's belt.
"Can this belt be taken off?" Shawna asked curiously.
"You want it to come off?" Kuzen asked.
Shawna nodded yes in reply. Kuzen stomped on Shawna's right foot and said "Don't push your luck missy. You know that can't be taken off. That will explode no matter what. Anyways you won't be having any more opportunities to die". Kuzen showed Shawna a key that was meant for her door. "I am going to lock your door now. Once it is close it will never open ever again. For the next three years you will be in here. How does that sound?" Kuzen asked curious for the response.
...…..
Shawna didn't give any. She simply kept quiet and waited for Kuzen to lock the door.
KUCHUNK!
Kuzen left the cell after locking the door. Shawna immediately tried opening it but she failed. "It's definitely locked this time" Shawna sighed. "Alone for three years. I should have asked if I will be able to take a bath" Shawna said to herself. The thought of being by herself didn't scare Shawna one bit. Her only worry was if she'd be able to take a bath once in a while.
Four days passed since Shawna's door became locked. "Hmmm, Hehehehehe Terry is so funny" Shawna grinned remembering her time with her deceased friend. "Good times"
Weeks passed and it finally dawned on Shawna. "What day is it? What time is it? Is it morning or night?"
Shawna had no clue about what was happening on the surface because she was in a cell underground. "I thought this would be better than slave work but I'm starting to regret my decision" Shawna said annoyed.
...
...
...
Months passed since the door became locked. Shawna started counting the seconds that has passed throughout the day by slapping the wall with the same stick she had earlier. TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP!
"55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60"
Being alone, having no one to talk to, being in the same place for so long without seeing the light of day. It soon became a nightmare to poor Shawna. One day she just started randomly screaming at the top of her voice. "HELLO! SHAWNA HERE!"
"THE LADY THAT ALWAYS CARRY ME FOOD. DO YOU HAVE A MINUTE?"
"PLEASE I WANT TO TALK TO YOU!"
Shawna got no replied back. She couldn't even get the decency to hear her own echo. "I am sick of hearing my voice" Shawna said exhausted. When Shawna's first year ended Shawna would have been completely unaware of it if the dinner lady didn't left a note with Shawna's food.
"You have two years left alone" the note says.
Shawna broke down crying thinking that a year should have passed ages ago. Her second year was much quieter. She hardly spoke a word. She said something here and there whenever she forgets how she sounds like but other than that she doesn't speak. The scent covering her cell became so strong it felt like Shawna was about to suffocate.
It became so severe they had to give her one chance to take a bath and changed her cell. She didn't get to see the sky thought, she was still underground. "I should just die" Shawna cried. Sometime in the middle of her last year in her cell the Warden Kuzen finally showed himself after all these years.
He opened her cell and greeted "Yow! glad to see you're not dead yet"
Shawna raised her head and saw a man in grey clothes.
...…..
"Seriously, its bad manners not to respond" Kuzen said disappointedly. Shawna lowered her head and rubbed her eyes for almost a minute. "Sir.....hi" Shawna squealed with her lips trembling.
"You've been in here for over two years now. Just six more months left and you'll finally be free. I bet you regret my offer now huh. Being alone for so long. It must be tough. No matter how introverted you are we are all social beings. This is torture and you only have more to come" Kuzen giggled.
"Sir. Please let me out" Shawna begged.
"No! You still have six months. I came here to see if your eyes still had life in it. I can't have dead people working for me after all hahahahaha" Kuzen laughed as he slammed the door at Shawna's face.
"NO! Please sir, don't go, don't leave me in this place. This is HELL! HELL!" Shawna screamed out.
"Hehehehehe, I see that you still have your voice" Kuzen laughed.
"Six more months. Just six more months" Shawna told herself. Her childhood flashed before her eyes and she suddenly remembered something her biological father told her. When her three years of being confined underground ended Kuzen visited her once again. When he saw her he couldn't help but to be impressed. He expected a weak and broken soul to be inside the cell but that's not what he saw.
He saw Shawna doing sit-ups on the floor while controlling her breathing. Her physique changed considerably. The skinny bones turned to having jacked muscles and her eyes were filled with inspiration than despair.
"What happened here?" Kuzen asked confused.
Shawna jumped up and replied "If you can't get something you like right now. It's easier to replace it than to get it".
Kuzen nodded with a smile and hugged Shawna which he immediately regrets because she smelled of sweat and trash. "Hmm, she's made the right choice. Idling in here would only make her lonelier. Doing a little exercise or even playing a little game would keep your sanity for sure. With her physique I expect her to be find with my work" Kuzen said pleased with Shawna.
The first three years of prison was rough for Shawna and she had ten years left before she is finally free. Not a moment goes by of her thinking "Could I use my gift to escape?"
After taking a long and relaxing bath that made Shawna almost never wanting to leave the water, she was carried into the warden's tree house otherwise known as his office. No one knows why he picked this location to be his office but no one tried to question him. "Umm sir, why is your office in a tree house? Couldn't it have been in one of those cabins I see all over the place" Shawna asked.
...…
"None of your business. Anyways congratulations on still being alive. Before I take you to your new station I want to give you another offer" Kuzen said strongly.
"No sir, the last time I accepted your offer I almost became mad" Shawna replied immediately.
"Wait, wait, this one is different. What do you think about moles, snitches, informers?" Kuzen asked curiously.
"Nothing much, it depends on what information you're leaking" Shawna said.
"Starting today you will be working with the fellow prisoner. I'm placing with the batch that's keeping the animals in check. Best to start you off small. Later on I might make you start build houses or cleaning" Kuzen said. "The deal is I want you to keep your ears cleaned and listen out if there are any suspicious activities that are happening among the prisoners. It can be anything, an escape plan, plans for what they will do after they escaped prison, sexual affairs and much more. I want you to feed me information monthly. Keep in mind if you get caught red handed you will be beaten to death" Kuzen added.
Shawna gulped at the offer. She knew the task wasn't hard for her if she used her gift but the thought of being a snitch doesn't sit right with her. There aren't any benefits for her. "So what do I benefit from telling you information?" Shawna asked.
"Depends on the information you give me. If it's something huge I can lessen your sentence. If it's something ok but not that serious I'll just give you more work and if it's something that's a waste to know I'll just ignore it" Kuzen stated. Shawna rubbed her forehead and said "I'll try my best sir"
