Inescapable Truth

Chapter 1

Angela

“Ouch!” I said, but quickly shut my mouth. I knew what happened when someone spoke out of turn. I waited for the machine as it beeped twice and disappeared back into the wall. I sat down onto the white, plastic chair behind me. I made sure that my back was straight, toes pointed forward, and had hands in my lap.

I looked to my left and right to make sure the rest of the people in my row were also sitting properly. The boy sitting next to me, Johnny, was slightly slouching, so I hissed and motioned for him to straighten up or else we'd all suffer the consequences.

When He entered, you could feel the tension of the room. He grunted at a young girl fiddling with her braid and waved a pair of guards over. The bigger of the two guards yanked her hair upwards while the other hacked it off with his personnel machete. He smiled as He continued to walk down the rows.

As He briskly walked through the rest of the hall he said, “Now, you have all been acting very well lately. Well, most of you that is. This week, three juveniles tried to leave the area that I have graciously given you all.” As he talked, guards came up with three kids who were now handcuffed and had black bags over their heads. “Now, what do you think we should do with them? They were rude enough to try to leave the 'party' early, and then one of them spat on my shoes! How do you think this should be tolerated?”

As He expected, none of us answered. We knew that if we did, we would join the prisoners' fate. He smirked and continued, “I think that they should go into the Box. I know that you all agree with me. But first, let us reveal who the perpetrators of this heinous act were.” He cleared his throat and the guards ripped off the black bags. I had a feeling of relief because I didn't recognize the people.

Suddenly, Johnny started shuddering beside me and I worried that he was having an asthma attack. When I looked back at the prisoners, I realized that the one boy and Johnny looked extremely similar. That's when I realized that Johnny's brother was about to be executed and Johnny was trying to refrain from crying.

I tried to calm Johnny down as He lead the prisoners into the giant plexiglass box that was at the end of the hall. The guards took off the handcuffs and locked them into the see-through death-trap. We all watched as they pounded against the sound-proof walls. We saw the one guard turn the knob that would pull all of the oxygen out of the containment area.

Several kids tried to look away as the prisoners died, only to be yelled at by Him to watch. “This!” He said, “Will be your fate unless you follow the simple rules I set for you! Understand this!” He continued to scream this for several minutes until He was sure they were dead.

After we were herded back into our private quarters, I cried. I didn't directly know any of the people, but that's not why I cried. I sobbed because that show replenished my knowledge that I could never escape or else I would die.

But it really doesn't matter.

I’m going to end up dying here one way or another.