Charlie was posted up down the prison hall at the end. She was leaned back in an executive chair of cracking leather with her boots up on a semi-crumbling desk. Her hands were folded over her abdomen and she was snoozing. Until the yelling started up again.
She woke with a start and her boots slipped off the desk with a dull thud on the floor. She rolled her eyes and sighed loudly in protest.
Charlie didn’t usually mind guard duty. Typically, it was the easiest of the things she was tasked with. It wasn’t like it was atypical for the captives to yell protestations to their captivity. But usually they tired of it very quickly. Thirst and the arid climate made yelling like that quite hard on the throat.
This one, though, kept at it. The prisoner had taken a break for a short nap for which Charlie was grateful, but now she was back making a racket again.
She should have ignored it. Just waited it out like the rest.
Charlie usually kept her head down. It was better that way.
If you looked at the ground, you didn’t have to look at all the horror going on around you. It wasn’t that Charlie was a weak person. She could only care her herself and her own.
And she had a good deal going.
She wouldn’t have joined up with the Brothers Hamada gang had they not offered her aid to help her ailing parents. For the moment, the exchange went well enough. She provided her expert services. She was a decent shot, could hold her own in a scrap, and having grown up scavenging she knew the landscape as good if not better than anyone their gang boasted.
So they provided food, water, and medicine. And she kept her parents hidden somewhere secret. They were her burden, not the sins of the gang.
But she did get up from her desk, that odd vestige of past times when people needed such things. She could barely remember the time before anymore. She kept herself focused on the present. And presently, an annoying prisoner was screaming about food.
Charlie’s boots announced their coming by the lazy scraping they made against the dusty floors. She sauntered in front of the cell where the new captive was being held and folded her arms under her breasts. She looked over the prisoner. This was supposed to be a girl of some importance. She didn’t really know anything. She didn’t necessarily want to know why they’d take some girl. It was easier to just do the whats and not ask the whys.
Charlie stared at the wild dust-reddened face that looked at her from behind the bars. She reached into her leather jacket and produced a candy bar in a familiar bright red wrapper.
“You like a Kit Kat?” She asked as the wrapper crinkled. She was so deconditioned to the scent of sugar that the smell of it seemed sickly in the close heat of the prison. “You wanna tell me your name?”
With a snap she broke off a small piece of the chocolate and held it between forefinger and thumb. She pushed her hand between the bars with the candy offering. A truce?
She woke with a start and her boots slipped off the desk with a dull thud on the floor. She rolled her eyes and sighed loudly in protest.
Charlie didn’t usually mind guard duty. Typically, it was the easiest of the things she was tasked with. It wasn’t like it was atypical for the captives to yell protestations to their captivity. But usually they tired of it very quickly. Thirst and the arid climate made yelling like that quite hard on the throat.
This one, though, kept at it. The prisoner had taken a break for a short nap for which Charlie was grateful, but now she was back making a racket again.
She should have ignored it. Just waited it out like the rest.
Charlie usually kept her head down. It was better that way.
If you looked at the ground, you didn’t have to look at all the horror going on around you. It wasn’t that Charlie was a weak person. She could only care her herself and her own.
And she had a good deal going.
She wouldn’t have joined up with the Brothers Hamada gang had they not offered her aid to help her ailing parents. For the moment, the exchange went well enough. She provided her expert services. She was a decent shot, could hold her own in a scrap, and having grown up scavenging she knew the landscape as good if not better than anyone their gang boasted.
So they provided food, water, and medicine. And she kept her parents hidden somewhere secret. They were her burden, not the sins of the gang.
But she did get up from her desk, that odd vestige of past times when people needed such things. She could barely remember the time before anymore. She kept herself focused on the present. And presently, an annoying prisoner was screaming about food.
Charlie’s boots announced their coming by the lazy scraping they made against the dusty floors. She sauntered in front of the cell where the new captive was being held and folded her arms under her breasts. She looked over the prisoner. This was supposed to be a girl of some importance. She didn’t really know anything. She didn’t necessarily want to know why they’d take some girl. It was easier to just do the whats and not ask the whys.
Charlie stared at the wild dust-reddened face that looked at her from behind the bars. She reached into her leather jacket and produced a candy bar in a familiar bright red wrapper.
“You like a Kit Kat?” She asked as the wrapper crinkled. She was so deconditioned to the scent of sugar that the smell of it seemed sickly in the close heat of the prison. “You wanna tell me your name?”
With a snap she broke off a small piece of the chocolate and held it between forefinger and thumb. She pushed her hand between the bars with the candy offering. A truce?
Bitch, I'm limited edition.
The following 1 user Likes saronym's post: megs
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Burnt Umber [Closed] - by megs - 05-12-2017, 03:13 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by saronym - 05-13-2017, 01:13 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by megs - 05-13-2017, 01:59 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by saronym - 05-13-2017, 08:56 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by megs - 05-15-2017, 02:24 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by saronym - 05-16-2017, 01:20 AM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by megs - 05-18-2017, 08:42 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by saronym - 05-22-2017, 08:32 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by megs - 05-24-2017, 08:17 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by saronym - 05-30-2017, 11:40 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by megs - 06-04-2017, 01:02 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by saronym - 06-05-2017, 02:45 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by megs - 06-11-2017, 12:14 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by saronym - 06-17-2017, 10:55 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by megs - 06-21-2017, 10:06 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by saronym - 06-22-2017, 03:05 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by megs - 06-22-2017, 07:31 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by saronym - 06-23-2017, 12:45 AM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by megs - 06-23-2017, 01:39 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by saronym - 06-23-2017, 07:26 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by megs - 06-23-2017, 08:23 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by saronym - 06-25-2017, 02:56 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by megs - 06-27-2017, 09:14 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by saronym - 06-28-2017, 09:48 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by megs - 06-30-2017, 09:20 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by saronym - 07-12-2017, 06:12 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by megs - 07-14-2017, 07:00 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by saronym - 07-25-2017, 11:10 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by megs - 08-08-2017, 06:04 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by saronym - 08-10-2017, 08:09 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by megs - 08-10-2017, 08:35 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by saronym - 08-14-2017, 11:54 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by megs - 10-09-2017, 07:22 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by saronym - 10-30-2017, 03:50 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by megs - 11-06-2017, 05:06 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by saronym - 11-16-2017, 11:16 AM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by megs - 01-05-2018, 06:11 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by saronym - 01-07-2018, 03:09 AM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by megs - 05-30-2018, 02:34 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by saronym - 06-11-2018, 07:38 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by saronym - 11-28-2018, 09:19 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by megs - 11-18-2018, 04:30 PM
RE: Burnt Umber [Closed] - by megs - 08-24-2019, 09:04 AM