x
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk5gCh2pqM8
The cell was a dank, dark place, every inch of it a dull gray, smelling of rotten things and the putrid fragrance of death.
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlOTKmvjsjz
The girl slumped against the wall, wrists and ankles secured with a thick cord, keeping her completely and utterly trapped, incapable of moving the slightest bit. The white frock cloaking her figure, so downright stunning just a day before, tattered and smeared with the mystery fluid puddled on the cement flooring, dried blood, and dirt.
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLM3KL4fcOj
She wasn't going to lie to herself; she knew exactly why she was where she was. She had said something she wasn't supposed to, gone against the carefully formulated statutes of the system that controlled all; she gave the people, enslaved and manipulated by the unethical regime that handled them, hope. And hope was a very dangerous thing.
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOebkDA0ncs
The door opened, and in came a tall, brooding man who, at a glance, seemed to be maybe in his late thirties. The moonlight pouring in from the tiny window bathed him in a silver luster as he carefully closed the door behind him and took great care in sitting himself directly across from the glowering girl.
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3TsXtgjygc
"What do you want?" She was the first to break the uneasy silence, her voice hoarse yet full of a ferocity that could not be tamed.
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡydl998zoZb
"Oh, Ms. Aloise, what you must understand is that it's not what I want but what I need," he clicked the button atop a miniature device in his hand before raising his eyes to tack her face with his glare. "Now, what I need is to ask you a few questions; call it an interview if you will..."
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaaqOc4APCz
"Untie me," Aloise lifted her bound wrists.
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡohopeGzOPE
"You know I can't do that," the man scowled before continuing on. "First thing first, I need to know your full name."
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNtU4FurDfk
"Aloise Lissette Barrett."
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡViiW5p1vkZ
"Age?"
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMSt31XFvoy
"Why do you need to know?"
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW39ZOZUPS8
"Age?"
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4hOimJUTSQ
She grimaced, mumbling under her breath before answering him.
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjEDexVaPpV
"Seventeen."
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeKf04TjrGz
"Date of birth?"
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWumMco2zEI
"September Fourteenth."
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwygKY49Aj
"Parent's name and age as well as siblings?"
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWwmG0jc6Kn
"Annalise Carole Barrett, thirty-nine, Benjamin Leo Barrett, forty, Olivia Willow Barrett, fourteen, and Andrew James Barrett, eleven."
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOsMRsWOf44
"Where do you live?"
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVunevEcCum
"The west side of the agricultural precinct.
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6uCnxqtoW2
"Height and weight?"
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj45B6XqA0l
"How is this relevant?"
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Y2YsQsDDQ
"Just answer the question, sweetheart."
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAOf1GQt5Hu
"Five-foot-three and one hundred pounds."
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxUlDaQAIya
"Such a small girl yet such a large temper," the man fixed his firm gaze on the girl as she stared right back, lips pressed into a line and eyes filled with valor that showed him that she was in no way intimidated by him. "Let's start with the real questions, shall we?"
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPe4qLa0u1S
"Please, enlighten me," Aloise's tone was laced with venom as she crossed her arms, refusing to concede defeat.
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwvKkHwuRe
"What made you think to say what you did in the courtyard this morning?"
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNUe8zLpdA
"Because I should be allowed to voice what I think. It's called free will. Though you've probably never heard of it."
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwL3lkAnWMY
"Ms. Barrett, what you don't understand is that our system is a very well-constructed institution, created flawlessly to govern the population and keep it in control. It is created entirely to protect humanity..."
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpjiJaIEEaV
"You've got to be kidding me..." Aloise barked a laugh, shaking her head in disbelief. "Protect humanity? That is the biggest lie that I've ever heard."
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJoVtdkgrS
"You are walking on very thin ice, Ms. Barrett; you don't seem to understand that you are jeopardizing your entire future. Every word that you say to me is being documented and surveyed by executives that have more authority and money than you have ever known in your entire life. And they could very well end your life right here and now if they wanted to; terminate every person you've ever known and wipe every trace of your existence from this world. It would be like you were never born."
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzdUQuB3sKL
"You know what? I have a question for you, Mr. Reporter," her voice dripped with sarcasm. "Why is it that you seem afraid of me when apparently it should be the other way around? If you truly think that your administration is powerful enough to control the population, then how come it seems that I'm a threat to your system? What are you scared of? That the people you've mind controlled into doing your bidding will finally start to think for themselves...?"
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCcdw3BTRkR
"Listen here, little girl!" the man barked, reaching forward to shove her shoulders against the wall, fury carved across his features, radiating off of him. "If you think for one second that you are going to stir up some sort of rebellion then you are harshly mistaken. If you even take a stab at rebelling, we will eliminate every single person that you care for, or worse, bring in your family and annihilate them before your own eyes. We can do just about whatever we need to do to restrain you, Ms. Barrett."
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyCCea5x8Xc
Aloise cocked her head, a mocking smile present on her lips as she calmly replied. "It must be a fragile system if it can be threatened by a little girl."
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgo65unsBIV
And just like that, the man stood, clicked off the recording device, and stepped outside the cell door.
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0jvjnuZNIe
"This interview is over."
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1txlUPyY3a
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGA96aXHpO9
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoLjWJt7DBA
136Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIlNmeFfzwh
