Catalyst

by Shelly Crane

  “The ones who crack,” he explained. “The ones that give information are taken directly to Malachi.”

  “And the ones that don’t crack?” I asked, fearing that I didn’t want to know the answer.

  He crossed his arms, watching the hall.

  “They stay,” he sighed, “and repeat everything tomorrow.”

  “Just what are they doing to them in there?” Lillian asked angrily.

  Her hands were shaking. We’d talked about it before we came in. She and I didn’t need to touch each other or show a weakness for each other in case everything went bad, they couldn’t use us against one another. We were all supposed to be acquainted but nothing more. And I wanted to hold her so bad right then, because she was scared and furious and it pissed me off that we had to be here in the first place.

  “I don’t think you-” Billings started.

  “Don’t you dare tell me you don’t think I want to know!” She inched forward, crossing her arms and spoke low. “I want to know, that’s why I asked. We need to know what to expect so we’ll be prepared. We can help her faster, especially when we get her in the van if we know what’s wrong with her and what to tell Miguel to do for her.”

  Billings looked thoughtful for a minute with his brow furrowed.

  “Alright. I haven’t been back here much except in the beginning for training. I didn’t like it so I chose to work elsewhere but the few times I was back here they used heat and freezing air. They refused them food and water and sleep.”

  “What do you mean heat and freezing air?”

  “First, they get the room so hot, you can’t think straight. Then they throw ice water on you and turn the air down to freezing cold. Your body more times than not goes into shock.” Lillian looked sick but nodded for him to go on. I wasn’t much better. I could feel my body shaking. “They don’t feed you or let you sleep either. Other than that, except for a bit of slapping around and such, I personally didn’t witness anything else. We always heard crazy stories about the stuff going on down here but...”

  It was hard to get a good breath. I couldn’t think of Sherry in the next room being slapped or anything else. It wasn’t right to just stand out here in the hall and let it happen but, we had to. And it frigging sucked.

  We waited. We were almost about to go check the rooms when another group of them came out of a room on the left. Five Lighters, two enforcers. Instantly, I recognized one of them and put my arm on Lillian’s back to remind her stay calm. I heard Billings utter a low curse under his breath. I heard Lillian take a swift intake of breath but kept quiet.

  It was Daniel. Daniel, the Lighter, who saved us and fought for us. And it was too late to turn around, he was already looking right at us the second he exited the room. His gaze jolted in a double take to us quickly then away. Other than that he didn’t act any different than the others as they filed out of the hall.

  I noticed that no one came out of the room with them, which meant that they must have not have given in. Good for them, whoever they were.

  I held my breath, knowing Daniel was going to rat us out any second, but he just followed the others out of the hall and out into the main part of the building.

  One of the enforcers, a big German looking dude, stopped and took up residence in a big chair on the end and immediately picked up a racing magazine from the table. He crossed his ankles and looked bored.

  About half a minute later, Daniel came back and spoke to the guard. We couldn’t hear them all the way at the other end of the hall, but whatever he said, the guard left quickly with a nod.

  Daniel turned to us and I could've sworn he almost smiled. He walked to us slowly and easily. I looked and saw no cameras or anything around, but Lighters couldn’t be filmed anyway. That would kind of give them away to the enforcers when they didn’t show up on surveillance, now wouldn’t it?

  He reached us, stopping a couple feet away and kept his voice low but looked right at Lillian with a look of awe and affection. I tried to remember he was a Lighter and it wasn’t like I should be jealous. It wasn’t like he had a chance with her even though he clearly had some feelings for her, though he may not have understood them.

  “What are you three doing here? I never thought I’d see you again.”

  “They have our friend,” Lillian answered quickly. “What are you doing here?”

  She sounded disappointed and I understood why. If Daniel had some kind of revelation, like he told us, why would he be back here hurting people again?

  He winced like her words physically hurt.

  “I’m here because it’s the only place I can be. The only place I can do any good. Your friend?”

  “Sherry.”

  He closed his eyes and shook his head.

  “Your Sherry is a tough one.”

  “What does that mean?” Lillian asked anxiously.

  Billings stepped up.

  “Alright, let’s do this. Daniel, you gonna try to stop us?”

  “You are here to take back your friend,” Daniel said with understanding.

  “And the others if we can.”

  Daniel nodded like he already knew that.

  “You beat me to it. I have been feeding them and releasing a few of them. I can’t save them all or the others will notice. A couple a week, I say they died at night or something. The enforcers believe me, anyway. It's only a matter of time until I get caught. Sherry was going to be my next try, for tonight.”

  “Really?” Lillian asked. “You’ve been really doing that?”

  “Yes," he sighed and took a deep breath. "I told you I wanted to be different and I am.”

  “Ok, well,” Billings started and stepped forward, “I don’t want to get you in trouble so... What do I need to do? Punch you or something so they think you fought us? We can grab Sherry and go?” Billings asked Daniel hurriedly.

  “No. A punch wouldn’t take me down anyway. I’ll help you. I think they are starting to catch on to me in any case, like I said. It was only a matter of time before I’m found out.”

  “How many captives are here?” Billings asked, back to business and I was grateful for it.

  “This is the only captive wing and there are only two left; Sherry and another woman. They haven’t gotten to the other one yet. She was only brought in this morning. Sherry is in that room, on the left.” Lillian started towards the door quickly but he grabbed her arm to stop her. It irked me a little but I let it go. “I warn you, it’s not pretty. I did all I could, but I couldn’t be with her every second.”

  She nodded and I moved to get in front of her as I grabbed the door knob and unbolted the lock.

  “Nuhuh, I go in first remember? And, Lillian, let me handle this, ok? Nothing crazy.”

  She rolled her eyes and smirked a little.

  “I’ll take Billings and we’ll get the other woman,” Daniel said and took position in front of the door opposite us in the hall.

  Then we opened the doors together and we got our first peek of Sherry, soaking wet and shivering, sprawled out awkwardly on the concrete floor lying on her back. Blood was mixing with the water swirling around her. Her bloody legs were bent underneath her. Her skin sickly white and blue all over. She had a massive bruise on the side of her face and her nose was bleeding. Daniel wasn’t lying.

  It definitely wasn’t pretty.

  Now or Never

  Chapter 2 - Sherry

  They were still pumping in the heat. I’d not been fed anything else since that water and granola bar, and I was beginning to wonder if I was even supposed to have that. I’d not been allowed to sleep. Every time I closed my eyes they banged on the door or blared a horn into my room from a speaker in the ceiling.

  I continued to sing in my head. Anything to keep my mind from running. I didn’t know what else to do. I was sweating so much and my face felt flushed and burned. The water and granola I’d eaten were long gone, burned up in my body from the heat. I felt lightheaded and foggy, my knees ached, my head hurt, m
y eye was swollen. All I wanted to do was go to sleep but they wouldn’t allow it.

  I didn’t know how much longer I could hold on without passing out, and then I wondered what they’d do.

  I didn’t have to wait long for the answer. I just couldn’t stay awake. I tried. I heard the banging. I heard the horn, it roused me but not fully and I couldn’t open my eyes. I heard the door, I felt the cool air from the hall blow over my damp skin and it was almost painful with relief. It caused me to shake and have gooseflesh.

  Then I felt someone grab me by my shirt back. I was dragged across the concrete floor, my knees scraping on the way. I was taken to a room a little ways down across the hall. I tried to wake, to see what was going on, but before I could succeed, my face was immersed in freezing ice water.

  I felt a hand on the back of my neck, gripping tightly and bruising. I tried to fight but he was too strong. I struggled and wiggled and kicked and scratched. I saw a burst of light from the corner of my eye where I broke the skin on his hand but he still didn’t let go.

  Just when I thought that this was it, he was just going to kill me this way, he pulled me up and held me by my hair, which was no longer in a bun but a sodden mess. He was right in my face.

  “Awake?” he barked.

  I couldn’t say anything as I spit and sputtered and gasped. I blinked and tried to focus but, no good. I could barely see him right in front of me. The curtain of hair in my view didn’t help either.

  He pushed my face back into the sink of water again, this time he held me under for less time but it was enough. I again sputtered and choked.

  He pulled back from me some and slapped me across the face. It felt so different from the last time I’d been slapped, this one was openhanded, wet and close and quick. It stung and pounded through my head. I forced my eyes open all the way so he wouldn’t do it again.

  “Awake?” he asked again gruffly.

  “Yes,” I croaked.

  “Hey!” The Lighter holding me turned and we saw another one had yelled from behind us. “Don’t damage the goods. Malachi may want her.”

  “She hasn’t been processed yet. She needs to be handled before he can have her.”

  I worried about that word ‘processed’.

  “Where did this one come from?”

  They talked like I wasn’t in the room. Like I was nothing, nobody.

  “No idea. Who cares? She’s not a loyal, right? Out there way back from town? Only rebels that way, and if not, well then Malachi gets a nice new plaything.”

  “I guess. Well, take it easy on the face anyway. He likes them pretty.”

  I saw the water beneath me was red in the sink. I looked up to the mirror on the wall above it and there was blood running down my nose and chin. From the slap I guessed. I also noticed that I looked absolutely horrible.

  My eye and cheek were swollen, red and bluish. I remembered the elbow to the face in the car and the car window. The rest of me was paler than usual. I had bruises on my arms and neck. I had no idea how they got there, must’ve been from when I was passed out and they dragged me. My pant legs were ripped and bloody, as were my knees. They were crusted with dried blood and new blood and dirt. I hurt so much all over I could barely stand up.

  The Lighter who had me by the hair dragged me with it to the same room I was in before. I felt the heat on my skin from the hall, then he pushed me in and let me fall to the floor from the release of his hand.

  “Stay awake or you’ll get another dunk. They’ll be in soon enough to ask you some questions.”

  He slammed the door.

  I lay there, waiting for- what? I knew I wasn’t going to die. I could see that now. They wouldn’t kill me, yet. Not until they’d tortured me for information. I blanked my mind and hoped beyond hope that I could withstand the pain. That I wouldn’t cave, wouldn’t give them what they want.

  What I thought was a few show tunes and a couple hours later, they came in. Five of them; three Lighters and two enforcers. They all looked so normal, so human. Even with the dark hair and eyes. The two enforcers were blond and tall and regal looking. They refused to meet my gaze. I did recognize one of the Lighters as the one who’d said he would help me, who brought me food and water.

  Daniel.

  Right now, he didn’t look like he’d be much help. He stared blankly at the back wall.

  They closed the door and gathered around me in a loose circle as I still sat half sprawled, my legs under me, on the floor in the middle. I tried to keep my breaths steady and not show them how scared I was. They had two five gallon red buckets and I wondered what was in them.

  My hair was still wet from my dunk and scraggly all over my head and face and shoulders. My pants and shirt had blood that had dripped down from my nose. And though I was so hot I felt like I’d pass out, I wanted to shiver from fright.

  This was it. Whatever their end game plan was, they were putting it to action.

  The two enforcers grabbed the buckets and came one after the other and dumped them on top of me. The water was freezing cold. There were even some ice cubes that fell beside me but melted quickly on the hot concrete. Then I felt the air change. They were no longer heating me, they were freezing me.

  The air vent directly above me blew in frigid air in a fast current. I tried to inch over so the air wasn’t right on me but one of them kicked me in the leg to halt me.

  “You’ll stay right where you are.”

  I shivered and my teeth chattered. I wanted to tell them they didn’t have to try so hard to freeze me. That I got cold really quickly anyway but I knew it didn’t matter. My head seemed to float and my ears were waving in and out of hearing. The lightheadedness made my vision swim. I blinked to stop it but I felt myself slip, I couldn’t stop it.

  I blacked out.

  I was awakened with another slap across the face. I gasped and focused with everything I had in me. This time it was the enforcer. I looked him right in the eyes. It wasn’t the Lighter that hit me. This was the human.

  He held my shirt in his fist and waited for me to steady myself. He didn’t even flinch when I felt the hot tears stinging the flesh of my frozen cheeks, which made me wonder how long I’d been unconscious to be so cold. He just watched. This was his job. He’d been made to believe he was doing good. I guessed I shouldn’t blame him for it. It wasn’t the enforcers' faults. They didn’t know any better.

  He let go once he saw I wasn’t going to pass out again and I laid there, freezing, shaking and hurting. I wiped my face to remove all traces of crying, my fingers were white and stiff.

  “Now that we have your attention, we want to know all the names of the people you live with,” one of the Lighters asked me, bending down on his haunches to be at my level.

  I blanked my mind, though Daniel told me he’d block me, I was scared to believe. I said the first thing that came to mind.

  “My brother Richard and I l-live with my grandparents. I w-work at the store you found me at,” I chattered.

  “Wow. You are an absolutely horrible liar. It’s like you’re not even trying.” He laughed humorlessly but the others stayed silent. “Why don’t we try this again? Who do you live with?”

  “I t-told you,” I said quietly and looked up at Daniel.

  He was watching me now and nodded, a small movement that no one else saw. He was telling me to keep it up. I looked away before someone saw me staring and pulled my knees up to my chest for warmth.

  “I don’t believe you. Do you know what we are going do to you?”

  “N-no.”

  “Lot’s of bad things if you don’t tell us what we want to know. We can keep you in here as long as it takes. Or until the lack of food and water kill you. Either one ends badly for you.”

  “There’s nothing else to t-tell.”

  “Tell me the truth.” He looked at me directly and spoke slow and steady. I knew he was trying to use the Lighter speak. “Who do you live with?”

  “I told you already,” I a
nswered softly.

  I tried to think of inconspicuous things while they all just sat there and watched me. A cheese sandwich. My high school prom. President T. Roosevelt. When no one’s expression around me changed, I decided to test the theory. I pictured myself sticking my tongue out at the jerk Lighter in front of me.

  Nothing, but I did see Daniel crack the tiniest smile and he shook his head just a bit. I sent him a thought.

  I guess you weren’t lying about blocking me.

  He gave me a look that said ‘I told you so’.

  What’s gonna happen to me?

  He looked sad and shook his head slightly and we all sat there as they continued to study me. Finally I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to say something.

  “If I knew anything about rebels, I’d t-tell you. That’s what you’re looking for, isn’t it? I’m not one of them,” I said and saw my breath like a fog in front of my mouth.

  “What do you know about it, little girl?”

  “I saw it on the n-news. You’re offering a reward for them. If I knew I’d t-tell you. I c-could use the money. Believe me.”

  “Why?” he asked and stood up looking around at the rest of them. “How are they all so blank and unresponsive? It’s like they know what to expect from us.” No one answered. It wasn’t really a question, he was just venting. “I’ve had it with this.” He bent down, grabbing my shirt and slapped me across the cheek again, much harder than the other two had done. When the stars cleared I wondered if my cheeks would ever feel the same again. “You will tell me exactly what I want to hear or you will die, understand?”

  I didn’t. I didn’t understand anything. I was in a haze of pain and miscomprehension. I lay limp in his grasp, waiting for him to slap me again and wake me from my stupor.

  “I-” I heard myself stammer.

  “They’re all dead you know. We found them and they are all dead.”

  I knew he was lying. Not only could I tell but I also knew that if that were true, he wouldn’t be asking me for information that he already had. I tried to keep my face blank, which wasn’t too hard since I was on my way to passing out anyway.