by Aella Black
The guy scowled at me. “He was permanently removed from his position. You won’t be seeing him again.”
His words were like a physical blow. The one little glimmer of hope was gone. No Warden Will meant no possibility of protection. The guard had said he’d been “permanently removed.” What did that mean?
We were led through a hall and then into a huge room that looked like it could have once held a formal ball. Imagine that—a ballroom in a prison. Lined up in the vast space were prisoners in gray jumpsuits exactly like ours. Anxious faces, exactly like ours.
We were shoved to the end of the line. “Is that it?” one guard hollered.
“That’s it. Send for the warden.”
I looked down at my feet. Tried to swallow. Couldn’t.
I knew it was ridiculous to fear this unknown person—because, really, that’s all they were—when I’d faced a lethal injection and the electric chair. Then again, it was a person responsible for those as well.
Two large doors banged open, and the sound of heels clicked across the room, echoing throughout the cavernous chamber. I didn’t need to look to know that was the warden.
The clicking slowed, and then the footsteps halted a short distance away.
“Supernaturals.”
My breath caught in my lungs. No. It couldn’t be…
“You may be accustomed to life at Leavenworth, but you’re in my prison now.”
I looked up. The warden stood, tall and regal, her dark hair twisted back in a tight bun. She wore a gray pantsuit, and eyes as cold and gray as her attire swept over my fellow inmates.
This wasn’t possible. She couldn’t have been here this whole time.
But despite what my mind said couldn’t be true, my eyes assured me it was. Though it had been years since I’d last seen her, there was no mistaking the woman standing in front of me.
“Mom,” I whispered.
Epilogue
Xander
“You’re in my prison now.”
Those words, as ominous as they sounded, didn’t cause the chill snaking down my spine. That happened less than one second after.
I’d been watching Phoebe while we waited for the new warden to arrive. I didn’t care to see who intended to terrorize us for however long we were here.
When I’d heard the guard tell Phoebe that Warden Will wouldn’t be joining us, a part of me gave up—but only for a second. Then it occurred to me.
Warden Will had never helped us before. He might have been polite, maybe even genial at times, but he certainly wasn’t on our side. If he was, he’d never have stood by and allowed the things that happened under his watch.
No, we were on our own. Again. And we would have to find a way to survive, just like we did before.
Then I looked over and saw Phoebe’s pale face.
A memory flashed of the moment I’d first spotted her at Leavenworth. Everyone thought she’d been dead for months—the news and the school said so. At that time, I had no reason to believe otherwise. Suddenly, she was standing right in front of me, and it felt like I was seeing a ghost. I had no doubt the look on my face then was nothing compared to the expression on Phoebe’s now.
Instinctively, I knew her reaction was more than the fear of a different prison and a new warden. This wasn’t the stone-cold terror that came with living at the mercy of others due to being an “other.” No, this was something else entirely.
Confirming my instincts was a single whispered word—the last word I expected to hear fall from Phoebe’s lips at that moment.
Mom?
My gaze snapped over to the woman who now stood directly in front of Phoebe. Aside from their identical shocked expressions, the two looked nothing alike. I tried to recall whether I’d seen Phoebe’s mother before, but I couldn’t. Which was weird, considering they were once our neighbors. I supposed that was a pretty good indication of what kind of mother she was.
And if that wasn’t, the way she quickly schooled her features and then continued as if she hadn’t just seen her daughter for the first time in years.
“Ah, Alexander.” I guessed she remembered me. The ward stood in front of me, tall on her heels but not taller than me. I raised my eyebrows. “I had a feeling you’d end up here sooner or later.”
“Do I know you?” I hoped I sounded disinterested.
Her voice lowered. “I’ve known your parents for a very long time.”
I maintained eye contact with her, despite wanting to see the effect this revelation had on Phoebe. Because the way she stated it sounded as if our parents were still in contact. Which sucked, since she hadn’t bothered making the same effort with her own daughter.
“Although they were adamant you went to Leavenworth,” she continued, “it seems you found your way here anyway.”
There wasn’t even a hint of a smile on the woman’s face, but I got the distinct impression she was happy about that.
And that was the kick in the pants, wasn’t it? We’d spent weeks plotting to leave Leavenworth, but this was not even remotely close to what we had in mind. In fact, we were in worse shape than we were before.
I wanted to hit something. Or someone. My expression must have said as much because the warden leaned in closer. “Do you like to fight, Alexander?”
I didn’t know how to respond. No, I didn’t like to fight. Would I? In a heartbeat. Especially if it meant defending someone I cared about. Like her daughter.
The warden didn’t seem to care whether I answered or not. “You’ll get a chance to fight here at Lansing,” she said, as if doing me some great favor. “See, we do things a little differently than Leavenworth. We like to see how well our supers measure up against one another. You might find you actually enjoy getting to test out that super strength.”
I couldn’t help it. My gaze flicked over to Phoebe, and sure enough, she looked like she was going to be sick. It took everything in me to keep my “super strength” in check.
I wanted to hurt this woman like she was hurting her daughter. I wanted to get Phoebe out of here where she could never be hurt by her mother again. I wanted to—
The warden’s gaze darted from me to Phoebe and then back to me again. Then she smiled. It was just the barest of a grin—and an evil one at that—but I knew I’d given myself away. Then it was gone.
“Guards, get them out of here!” she yelled.
And that’s when I knew we were in far worse shape than before. Dozens of guys in what looked like SWAT uniforms, all emblazoned with SCC on their shirts, stormed in like they owned the place. Just before she walked away, I caught the look on the warden’s face and it was clear who owned all of us.
The guards pushed and pulled and shoved their way through our motley crew. A fire lit within me. It would require more participants and planning, but we weren’t staying here. Not one day longer than necessary.
I could bide my time, though. We all could. Whatever they had in store for us, we would use that as fuel to fight when the time came.
And there were supposed to be powerful supernaturals here. I had no idea what they could do or how long they’d been here, but surely, they would fight alongside us.
We all shared the common bond of being different, and deep down, we were all just kids who wanted what every other kid in America wanted: the freedom to do what we wanted. None of us deserved to be locked up—none of us.
I found myself smiling as a phrase my father often said struck a chord with me. “Come hell or high water…” It just so happened high water was what got us out of Leavenworth.
To escape Lansing, we might have to raise some hell.
The End
Continue reading Phoebe and Xander’s story in Power Up, available for pre-order now!
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t have to wait long to read the rest of the Supernatural Prison trilogy…
Lock Down >> May 17th
Power Up >> July 17th
Break Out >> September 17th
Power Up
Out of the frying pot and into the fryer…
Xander Aldrich’s life has been upended in ways he never could have imagined. Tossed in prison. Then thrown in another one. Falling for a girl he’s known his entire life.
Well, that’s not exactly new.
What is new is Lansing’s warden, along with the unquestionably barbaric game she’s playing. Xander has no idea what the objective is, but he has no intention of letting her win.
Though Xander still sees most of the friends he’s made behind bars, he often doesn’t see the one person he wants: Phoebe.
She’s made friends at the new prison, and one, in particular, gets under Xander’s skin. Whether it’s due to the guy’s close proximity to her, or their increasingly close relationship, Xander has yet another reason for them to escape captivity.
Good thing he’s always up for a challenge.
Phoebe Atkinson’s ability has made her a target since she first entered the supernatural prison system. Her arrival at Lansing ensures the target on her back is now bigger.
With new inmates to contend with and a complicated new warden, Phoebe tries to find her way without the help of many of her friends. One, in particular, she misses more than the others: Xander.
They may be trapped in the same building, but she’s never felt further apart. In a place where it’s often every man for himself, not having him near is even harder.
But there’s been a void in Phoebe’s life for the past year, and it has nothing to do with Xander.
That doesn’t mean he can’t help her try to fill it.
https://bit.ly/PowerUpBookTwo
About the Author
Aella Black is the new pen name for an author who may possibly have multiple personalities based on her predilection for a plethora of pseudonyms. She likes alliteration (obviously) but works hard to limit it in her everyday conversations.
She loves dogs—who doesn't love dogs?—and wants to save the world one rescue at a time. When she's not world-saving, Aella feeds her other obsession: books.
Writing them, reading them, smelling their musty old pages or brand new out-of-the-box pages. She happens to love the electronic pages too, since a whole host of stories can be transported easily wherever she goes.
Aella hopes you'll want to take her stories with you wherever you go.
To find those stories, follow her Author Page on Amazon https://amzn.to/3da80t7 or her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/aella.black.