The cell door slammed shut with finality that resonated deep within Reuben's spirit. The clang was not merely metal against metal but the clang of a future being shut. The Harbor City detention center reeked of despair, cheap cleaning agents, and human perspiration. It was a long way from the fresh, sun-kissed air of Riverside, a world that already seemed to be receding into a dream.
He sat on the thin, grimy mattress, the coarse blanket scraping against his skin. The cell was a block of concrete, walls pitted with the scratched-into disappointments of former occupants. One, exposed bulb, shrouded over by a wire mesh cage, cast a sickly yellow light, and small was it to push back the shadows which seemed to cling to the corners, and to his heart.
This was it. This was the end of the Orac
