"As far as this business of solitary confinement goes, the most important thing for survival is communication with someone, even if it's only a wave or a wink, a tap on the wall, or to have a guy put his thumb up. It makes all the difference."- John McCain

Hazel slumped against the wall opposite to the door. She, Jason, Piper, and Caligula has been given two days each of solitary confinement. Hazel wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it felt like weeks. She was getting bored of staring at the ceiling above her.

     Hazel had thought no where could he worse than her jail cell, but she was wrong. At least her jail cell included a roommate. It was also bigger and had bars instead a door that shut Hazel off from the world. The only light illuminating the dank prison cell was a single light bulb. Hazel feared that it would go out and then she might lose her mind.

      With nothing to distract her, Hazel was drawn to the thoughts racing in her mind. She thought of her brother and how he might be executed soon. The court date was in a week and if the jury decided his crime warranted the death penalty, he could be dead by the end of the month. The thought of losing Nico was even worse than the torture of being alone inside here.

        Hazel tried to pass the time. She used her fingers to trace shapes in the walls. She played with her hair and hummed songs. She paced around the cell and even did some stretches. Finally, she grew tired and curled up on the thin mattress on the floor. The ground was hard against her back and she kept drifting near sleep only to be roused again by the horrible thought of losing her brother. Finally, she fell asleep.

        Hazel slept badly and fitfully; her dreams were filled with the corpses of the ones she loved. When Hazel woke up, the light was off. She blinked a couple times, wondering if she was still asleep. She pinched her wrist, but the world was still dark. She was too scared to get up and the darkness seemed to press against her. Finally, it was too much. She started screaming. Her words were a jumble of fears and intrusive thoughts that were smothering Hazel as much as the darkness.

     There was no response. Hazel screamed louder. Finally, she heard footsteps and a creaking. She saw a flashlight and a tall figure.

     "Shut your trap," Kampe said. "You'll be out in another eight hours."

      "Another eight hours?" Hazel asked.

      "Consider yourself lucky," Kampe said before turning away.

    Hazel tried to fall back asleep, but she couldn't. Her mind played visions of what the future might hold before her eyes. She kept watching her brother die or Frank being beaten up by another prisoner.

      When she heard footsteps again, Hazel was relieved to hear Kampe's cold voice. Hazel followed the light out of the prison cell. Kampe led her back to the main part of the prison. She shoved Hazel back into her cell, but Hazel had never felt so free before.