walking through the cell blocks you can hear the hoots and hollering from inmates locked in their cells, the drunks singing in the drunk tank and the druggies that are tripping hard yelling and carrying on a conversation with either no one or everyone. the noises don't bother me it's the silence, i'm kinda glad to be in here, there's always some noise even after lights out. finally my block was reached, officer harold shoved me into the small cell by my shoulder, giving me a dirty look as he locked the gate. i walk over the flat thin metal bed hung on the wall by chains and move the itchy emergency blanket to cover the metal surface to lay down. my head rests on the flattened out goose feather pillow that does nothing but it doesn't stop my mind wandering as i stare into the creeping sunlight that shows all the particles of dust and dead skin cells flying around in the air amongst us. 

University Campus 6 Months Prior 

All six pledges including myself stood in one of the living rooms of the zeta omega house.
Elizabeth's face was drained of any color she may have had before, her eyes had dark circles under them from being sleep deprived. Her clothes and hair were simple like she couldn't be bothered with any of it. My eyes shot towards the sudden noise coming from the hall. Alyssa came in looking more put together than normal. Hair was curled, makeup was done well, she wore a tight fitting top to go with her white distressed skinny jeans and her pink color heels. Alyssa's demeanor put off a vibe that everything was good, when everyone knew it was far from that.

"Alright so who wants to volunteer for the first game of the day, it only gets worse as it goes on." She smiles placing her hand on her hips, eyeing each of us waiting for someone to speak up.

"Fine, I'll do it. not like any of these options will be chill." Finn rolls her tired eyes and uncrosses her arms stepping towards Alyssa. Alyssa pulls the cable laid rope from her back pocket and ties Finn's wrists together.

"Go sit in the corner." She points her index finger towards the corner between the fireplace and window. Finn slowly goes over there glancing back at alyssa unsure if she was going to the correct spot or maybe she didn't really think that was the end of the punishment. 

"Corinne there's five left that need something!" Alyssa yells up the stairs.

"Stacy and Natalie are coming back in a few, just get them immobile." Corinne comes down putting a hoop on her ear.

All eyes on her and then back at Alyssa. The five of us impatiently wait to see who gets picked like a group of cattle waiting to be slaughtered. After gazing over her pick of dead meat, Corinne pulls each of us one by one bounding our wrist together and putting them in a corner leaving me last. Corinne makes a simper expression towards me, which causes me to feel a pit in my stomach. Saying nothing she points to the middle of the room to which I go to stand. Stacy and Natalie show up with a box of glass clinking inside with a package on top of it all.

"Get it set up while I take care of this one." Her eyes pierce my very being, taking steps closer she gets handed the package by Natalie.

"I think you should start to get comfortable in these now." Corinne sneers pulling a pair of handcuffs out of the white bag. She slaps the hard cold metal on my wrists making them as tight as humanly possible. I could already feel the bruises start to form on my boney arms.

"Shit!" Everyone's head turns to Stacy who had knocked down what looks to be a hookah.

"Stop being a dumbass Stacy." Corinne snaps.

"Then you do it you fucking cunt!" Stacy raises her voice and stomps upstairs. Everyone is taken aback by her sudden outburst.

"period?" natalie assumed while shrugging her shoulders. 

"Natalie heat those things up will ya." Corrine said a bit quieter than usual with the normal eye roll.

Alyssa and Corinne stand around texting on their phone while Courtney tries to help Natalie with the hookah. After what feels like hours but is only a couple minutes the hookah coals start to turn red almost. Courtney clears her throat gaining Corinne's attention. Both pairs of eyes land on me and smiles filled of Pure evil appear upon all their faces. Metal tongs are brought from the kitchen and used to grab the perfect circular coal. Corinne disappears into the kitchen and comes back with plastic wrap. Courtney looks at her one last time before dropping them in my metal bound hands. I let out a blood curdling scream as the heat burns through layers of skin on my hands. I try to let my hands fall to the floor and drop the hot coals but Courtney keeps them straight while Corinne roughly wraps my scolding hands in plastic wrap.

Tears stroll down my face making thirty five percent of my face wet. When the two back off I try to get to my feet to which I am knocked back down to my knees again. After several times of trying to get up and constantly getting kicked back on the floor, I take my hands and swing them at the two. As I get to my feet Courtney tries coming at me when I swing my hands colliding with her cheekbone and her eye. suddenly someone's arms get looped in with mine dragging me back on the dirty floor I just got up from.

"Courtney are you alright?" Natalie quickly runs to her friend trying to consul the crying 22
Year old.

"Shut the fuck up, you're not the one with third degree burns on the palm of your hands now are you?" Finn spats catching me off guard.

"Since you want to act like you have the right to say something you can join your fucking lesbo girl toy." Natalie hissed and brings over two smaller pieces of burning coal, placing them in the palms of her her hands.

"Anyone else have something to say?" Corinne yells waving a fireplace poker. The other girls put their head down or turned back to face the wall. 

I look over at Finn blinking away the tears, mouthing the words 'thank you'. She winces at the pain and keeping herself from screaming she quickly nods. I noticed the coals are starting to cool otherwise I have reached a point where I can no longer feel the pain. Finn tossed the coals into the fireplace when the sisters were turned to Courtney and then closed her hands as if she were still holding the coals.

I catch a glimpse of Courtney's face and it's swollen and there's a cut along side her face where it's bleeding.

"You're going to pay for this!" She yells holding onto her cheek examining her face in the large mirror. 

"I can say the same." I mumble.

"What did you say?" She goes to lung at me but is held back by Natalie.

"Nothing, my words are nothing to any of you." I let my body fall to the floor and lay there on the hardwood giving up or at least waiting until they try me again, but they don't. natalie and courtney step over my body when moving past me and don't acknowledge my presence anymore.When there's tugging at my wrists I look to see Finn took the coals from underneath the plastic wrap, she tosses the coals back and forth between both hands until she finally throws them in the fireplace. She weakly smiles at me through her tears of pain. i give her a weak smile and push my lips out asking for a kiss without words and thankfully she understood. finn leans down and gives me a peck then rubbed our noses together. with help from finn i sat up, using each other as something to lean on while we waited for the next torture stage.