Forever Dragging the Chains

Although being underground was new and intriguing, Nee didn’t like the sensation; she was certain that tonnes of rock and concrete would collapse on her in her sleep. But it wasn’t meant to be enjoyable. It was a punishment. You got off lucky, she told herself, curled up on the bed that she had claimed only an hour before. ‘Bed’ wasn’t the best word, as the cold slab of steel jammed into her tired bones with no blankets to soften the blow the simple task of rolling over dealt. Her side of the cell was the one that shared the wall of the stairwell. No elaborate plots of escape made her sit next to the exit, but the occasional sound of footsteps reassured her that they hadn’t locked her away to rot.

And Rowan’s just over there. That was the true punishment: being so close and yet so far from him. Communication was forbidden as well. But what harm had they done, really? Wandering into the forest one night, looking for some sort of sanctuary or at least a break from the harsh reality of District Seven’s never ending toil. Learn, work, sleep. It couldn’t be a healthy routine. The oppression was crushing at times. He had turned to drink to escape, and she had dipped in and out of the woods for a few years for her own sanity. It was too hard to carry the workload, the nerves and the ordinary problems of youth. She sniffed, unable to stop a new trail of tears from making its way down her cheeks. Too much.

Nee could understand why she was locked away in a man-made cavern for years and years of trespassing. But Rowan? He went into the woods once – once! The boy had no idea what he was getting himself into. When he suggested running away she said nothing of the law, only warning him of the perils of the wilderness; all the time the true danger was waiting for them when they returned home to their families, only to be arrested at their own door. It all went back to her; she didn’t put a stop to it when she should have done. It was her fault that he was here. Her father had simply stood and watched in silence when they were captured, leading her to believe that he had a part to play in it, which was likely to be supplying the note that she had written.

It hurt to think that he had betrayed her trust. Yet he had trusted her over the years to at least try and end her ventures outside of the fence. Her father’s message was burned into her mind like his sad stare. You brought this on yourself, Nee. She groaned and covered her head with her arms, pulling her jacket tighter around her chilled, slender figure. How could she ever show her face around town again? Would she lose her place at school? I’ve not got a job any more, that’s for certain, she thought, sinking further into a state of dread. They won’t ever let me work in the forest cutting down trees. It’s all I’ve ever worked for! And it was all for nothing! She didn’t try to stop the tears now, or the sobs that came with them. She wouldn’t be able to; the only thing that could make it all better was locked away on the other side of the stairs.

Even when I leave this will still haunt me. No one will let it go. She was vaguely aware of the drumming of rain from what felt like miles above her, and longed to feel it on her face. Not because she liked it, but because she could. Not anymore, though; she was trapped like an animal in a cage, stripped of her pride and the people she loved. Stranded. Scared.

But perhaps not alone? Nee couldn’t summon the willpower to get up when she heard a key in the lock of her door, however she knew it could only mean that someone had arrived to fill the gap in the tiny cell. As the door opened, she remained still, and decided on one thing for sure: I’ll do what they say. There’s nothing left to fight for, anyway.