The Devil’s Plaything

Chapter 4

Reese

I feel someone pulling on my arm, and I finally manage to react. I no longer feel the weight of the bag on my shoulder, and Chuck is gone. I dare to glance sideways at the floor, right beside me, and the sight of my father lying on his back with his eyes open and a bleeding hole in his forehead steals all the air from my lungs.

“No, no, no…” I kneel beside him and touch his face. “Dad! Dad!”

“Reese, he’s dead. We have to get out of here.” Nick pulls on my arm again, but I don’t get up.

How the hell did this happen? Dad, he’s… he’s… I sniff and become aware that my cheeks are soaked. I feel Nick’s hand trying to pull me to my feet again, and suddenly all the pieces fall into place.

I’m following your orders, friend.

I’ve done my part.

The old man is dead.

He who betrays a traitor…

Nick is the traitor. He planned everything with Chuck. I jerk my head up and lock my gaze with his.

“Did you do this?” I ask in a voice so ragged that I can’t recognize it as my own.

“Little one, I’ll explain everything when we get out of here. Those sons of bitches took off with the money and left us trapped. We have to find a way out.”

I look at my father again. He’s still dead, and an intense, lacerating pain begins making its way through my chest.

Dad is dead. Nick is to blame.

“Why?” I whisper, shaking my head.

“Reese…” He pulls hard on my arm and forces me to my feet. “Don’t you understand?! If we don’t leave right now, they’ll put us in prison. Move!” I shake my head just as Nick seems to notice movement behind him. He turns around quickly with a gun in his hand. “You! Where the hell do you think you’re going?! On the floor!”

I don’t even think about it. I just let anger guide my movements. Before Nick can turn back toward me, I take a couple of steps to the side, wait for him to look at me, and drive my knee into his groin. I keep my composure as I watch him fall to his knees, and then I crouch down to take the gun from his hand.

“Son of a b***h! You did this! You killed Dad!” I scream, pointing it at him.

With visible signs of pain, he raises his head and looks at me.

“Reese…” he whimpers. “I can explain. It was the only way for…” He runs out of breath and lets out another groan. “Darren was never going to let us be together.”

“I’m going to kill you!” I hiss through clenched teeth, pressing the gun against his forehead.

“You won’t. You’re a good girl.” He takes a deep breath, and we hear pounding on the main door. “It’s the police, little one. They’re coming for us. If we leave now, we can escape through the ventilation duct. We can do it, just you and me.”

I glance again at the place where the lifeless body of the man who watched me come into this world remains, the man who always had the answer to all my questions, the man who taught me to talk, to walk, to think for myself. Now he’s gone, because of me, because I believed in Nick, because I trusted him.

Another blow makes the walls shake, and Nick gets to his feet with difficulty.

“You’re not going anywhere,” I hiss angrily.

“They’re going to come in at any moment. Please, come with me.” He stretches out his hand toward me, and I shake my head. Nick huffs loudly and mutters a curse. “If you want to shoot me, you’re going to have to do it in the back. I’m not going to prison.”

He turns around and starts walking toward where I know the electrical room is while another blow hits the door.

One step, two, and before he can take a third, I pull the trigger.

I’d rather go to prison than live the rest of my life knowing that the son of a b***h who killed my father is out there, unpunished and without paying for what he did.

∞∞∞

One Month Later

We stop in front of a wooden door that the guy accompanying me quickly opens. He told me his name, but I don’t remember it very well. It was Aaron, Byron, Brandon… I was too busy trying to find a way out of this place while he guided me through the endless hallways to pay attention.

“This is your bedroom.”

I take a step into the room.

It isn’t very big; however, it looks nothing like a cell. I look around for a few seconds. There are two single beds, one on each side of the room, two nightstands, a wardrobe, and two desks with their respective chairs. Other than that, there’s only a rug on the worn wooden floor and a thick curtain covering what appears to be a window.

“Sorry, careful. I need to get through.”

I step aside when I hear a girl’s voice behind me.

The girl in question turns out to be a tall, thin redhead who walks past me wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around her body.

“The exhibitionist is Rose, your roommate,” the guy informs me.

Rose drops onto one of the beds and winks at him.

“Do you want to stay and watch, Brandon?”

So it was Brandon after all.

He shakes his head and gives her a warning look.

“Behave yourself and help the new girl learn the rules.”

“Of course, I’ll be a little angel.” She bats her eyelashes theatrically and grins from ear to ear.

“See you at dinner, girls.”

Brandon turns around and leaves, closing the door behind him.

I ignore the redhead’s curious stare and head toward the window. After pulling the curtain aside, I can see that it’s reinforced with bars on the outside, just like all the others I saw on the way to this bedroom.

Fuck!

I won’t be able to get out through here. Besides, it’s more than fifteen meters to the ground.

“Kennedy, is that your name?” I turn my head toward the girl with a frown. She’s pointing at the name on the pocket of the gray uniform they made me put on as soon as I arrived. “I assume it’s your last name. Around here they love using last names, at least at first. Later they’ll start calling you by your first name. Which is…?”

I breathe deeply through my nose. I’m not here to make friends. The only thing that matters to me is finding a way out, but maybe, if I manage to earn the redhead’s trust, she can at least give me a starting point to begin looking for a way to escape.

“Reese,” I answer reluctantly.

“Welcome to the Nevada Correctional Center, Reese,” she says without losing her smile, and after getting to her feet, she takes off the towel and throws it onto the bed.

I arch an eyebrow in confusion.

Why the hell did she just get naked in front of me?

“Relax, you’ll get used to seeing all of us naked around here. The showers are shared. Besides, I’ve never had a problem showing my body.”

“I can see that,” I mutter.

The redhead starts getting dressed while glancing at me every few seconds.

“So? What brings you to this place?”

“I couldn’t find anywhere cheaper to go on vacation,” I mutter under my breath.

The girl bursts out laughing and, after finishing dressing in a uniform identical to mine but with the last name Keller on the chest, combs her orange hair with her fingers. I keep looking out the window for a way out.

“So, you’re one of those?”

“One of what?”

“Rebellious escape artists. Are you going to try to escape?”

I look back at her face and shrug.

“Do I have any chance of doing it?”

“There are always chances, but I don’t recommend it. This place is a fortress. It might look like a boarding school at first glance, but I assure you the security is that of a real prison. There are bars on every window, the doors only open remotely, and if you don’t follow the rules, you’ll end up going crazy in one of the isolation cells.”

I don’t answer. Apart from the part about the cells, I had already figured out the rest on my own.

The redhead—Rose?—sits back down on the edge of her bed and crosses one leg over the other.

“All the rules are on the sign on the door.” She points to where it’s hanging. “Make sure they don’t catch you breaking them and you’ll be fine. If you need anything, you can come to me.”

“Anything like what?” I ask.

“Something the center can’t provide you with.” She shrugs and smiles again. “Cigarettes?”

“I don’t smoke.”

“Drugs, maybe?” I shake my head. “You’ve got me intrigued, girl. I don’t see any tattoos, so I doubt you came out of a gang. You don’t look like the typical spoiled brat who got caught crashing Daddy’s car while drunk either, you don’t smoke or do drugs. What the hell are you doing here, then?”

I take a step toward her and cross my arms.

“I’ll tell you if you give me information in return.”

“What kind of information?”

I wonder whether telling her my intentions is a good idea or not. I don’t even know her, but I need help, and this girl seems to know exactly how this correctional facility works.

“The kind of information that can help me escape from this shitty place.”

She narrows her eyes at me curiously.

“You wouldn’t make it. Believe me, plenty have tried.”

“I bet none of them had my experience. If you help me get out, I’ll take you with me.”

Rose shakes her head from side to side, smiling.

“What makes you think I want to leave? I’m fine here. I get three meals a day, a roof over my head, and a warm bed. This is the most comfortable I’ve ever been in my entire life.”

“What are you talking about? This is…” I take a deep breath. “It’s a prison.”

“A prison where I don’t have to fend for myself every day just to survive. There aren’t any sons of bitches forcing me to steal, sell drugs, or sleep with disgusting old men.” She shrugs, and although she’s still smiling, it’s obvious that it’s somewhat forced. “If you want to try to escape, go ahead, but I’m staying.”

I huff loudly and pinch the bridge of my nose.

“I can’t spend years in here. I’ll go f*****g crazy!” I exclaim.

“Hey, once you get used to it, this place isn’t so bad. Do you have anyone out there?”

I press my lips together and shake my head.

“Father, mother, siblings?”

I shake my head again.

“No relatives or friends?”

“Nothing,” I hiss through clenched teeth.

“Then what are you going to do when you leave? Are you planning to live on the streets? Believe me, I’ve been there and it isn’t fun. Are they going to transfer you to another prison later?”

“No. I was sentenced to serve my entire term in this correctional center.”

“Well, then take advantage of the situation. Study something, do things right, and when you get out, you can start over. There are reintegration programs. They find you a stable job, housing, and all that s**t that makes you a useful member of society. It’s better than begging on the streets.”

I bite my lower lip and hold back the tears fighting to escape my eyes. I miss Dad. Just a month ago, I had an incredible life, and now I’m locked up in some kind of prison with people I don’t know.

How long am I going to be able to endure this?

I guess I’ll have to find out.