Deadly Exodus Excerpt
Nyla
wasn’t sure how much longer she could continue to do this, but most of all she
didn’t understand why no one else saw how fundamentally wrong the Facility was.
The prison held thousands of people who would have been free just several
decades ago. Their crimes weren’t crimes. They were simply trying to live the
life America claimed to offer and at one time, the country had been exactly
that place.
She
sat and bowed her head, rubbing her temples, trying to force back the headache
she generally got while inside the Facility.
Maybe the fluorescent light was too bright or the air too stale, but no
matter the reason, the pain crept behind her eyes as she settled in for the
long wait. Nyla imagined the authorities
wanted visitors to feel the chill of the windowless room, to contemplate the
silence and the dismal gray concrete walls, ceilings and floor. She figured the
depressing décor was meant to discourage any free person from breaking the law
and having to be incarcerated. The lack of human contact, color, warmth and
sound was unnerving, and it provided too much time to think, making the
electrocuting sound of doors opening as footsteps approached an almost a
welcome distraction.
“You
came,” whispered the tiny woman clad in a baggy fluorescent green jumpsuit.
The
appreciative voice interrupted Nyla’s dark thoughts. She stood and smiled the
warmest smile she could muster when her heart ached so deeply. Nyla wrapped her
arms around the woman’s narrow drooping shoulders and held her tight, not
wanting to ever let go, but knowing she must since personal expressions of
emotion were strictly prohibited.
The
woman cried while Nyla held her, the sounds muffled in her embrace. Every visit
began the same way, but it never seemed to get any easier. Nyla suppressed her
own urge to release the pain and anger bottled up inside and continued to hug
the woman until she had her own emotions under control.
Nyla
heard the monitor clear her throat, issuing an unspoken warning to break the
physical contact. Nyla forced a smile back onto her lips, repressed the evil
thoughts swirling through her mind, released the woman and stepped back to the
required distance.
“Hello
Mother. I’ve missed you.”
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