Chapter 10 - Trouble

Tris

I wish that there was a clock or I had a watch or something to tell the time. All that I know is that it's probably around noonish because Derrick said that he gives one meal a day, and it usually comes in the middle of the day. He had just walked through and mumbled that he would be back in a minute.

I just hope to get some food soon. Considering that eating hasn't been on my mind the past few hours, minutes, how ever long it's been since I woke up, I hadn't noticed that my stomach was grumbling pretty loudly.

As the seconds pass to minutes which feel like hours, I begin to get bored waiting for something to change in the room, so I begin to pace. David never said we couldn't talk, but what is there to really talk about? Clearly I am caught up on the stupid five year old rules, and don't need further instruction, but I don't think he'll get me to be quiet unless he tapes my mouth shut.

I remember the last time I was in a cell, after the Edith Prior video was released. Christina, Cara, and I were put in a cell together, and Cara snapped at me for pacing.

That was a cell in Erudite, and that cell was much nicer than this cell that I'm in now.

How are they now?

I stop pacing.

They both think that I'm dead. So does everyone else.

So does Tobias.

How stupid am I. All of this just hit me hard now. They don't know that I'm alive.

Tobias must be so heartbroken.

Christina must be so lonely. No one wanted to deal with her old candor mouth... But she has changed some.

Before I can think about anyone else, David's co-worker, slave, spy, relative, minion, friend? How ever he is related or knows David, walks in with a big box.

All I do is look at him. He is very tall, around Tobias's height, but much, much older looking. He has grayish black hair, and a stubbly beard on his chin. His clothes aren't torn or very dirty, meaning that he most likely isn't a slave. When he speaks, his voice is low and rumbles, kind of like thunder in the distance, or like he has a cold, but isn't even sick. He wears a dark grey, almost black, shirt, black pants with some dirt on them, and black boots that make a loud clunking sound as he walks. Honestly, he scares me a little concidering that he looks like he would punch anyone for no reason, and I am in no condition to fight; especially while behind bars.

He throws a styrafoam container pretty hard at me. It would have hit my head if I didn't move in time.

"Jeez! What was that for?" I snap kind of mad that he just intentionally threw that at my head.

He glares at me and grumbles something like, "Watch... David...you."

I give him a confused look. "What?"

He squats down to my level. "Watch what you say to me, girl!" He spits in my face. "Don't think that I don't talk to David, because I do. I'm sure he'll be glad to correct this behavior of talking to me!" He says with his face getting red with anger by the second.

"Eat. It's all you'll get till tomorrow." He says, clearly.

He throws a container at my father, then my mother, hard, but not as hard as he did to me.

"Don't throw that at them! Why can't you just hand them to them or just set them down?!"

"I guess you didn't get my message, girl. SHUT UP!" He yells so loudly that I cower to the back of the cell and almost start to tremble.

"It's a privilege to have me give you food, but privileges can easily be taken away, how does that sound? Huh?"

"I... I'm..." My voice begins to shake and I begin to tremble. I've never been yelled at like that in my life, and I have no strength, nor area to fight right now, no I am left helpless.

"David is going to hear about this and let me say the consequences won't be pretty. I advise you learn to keep your mouth shut until then, girl." He snaps then walks away.

I don't know how long I sit there just staring at the floor shaking and listening to my ears ring from that being the loudest thing I've heard, well I guess since I last fired a gun, and because of the fear of being here, and what's going to happen next causing them to ring, until I hear a voice.

"Beatrice. Beatrice! Can you hear me?" My fathers voice calling me, but I'm too scared to answer.

"Sweetheart, please say something. It's okay, you're okay. Just please say something, Beatrice." My mothers worried voice pleads.

I try to speak, but it comes out jumbled. I blink a few times as my mother and father try to comfort me. I feel my mothers hand on my leg, but it's like I feel it, but my brain doesn't register that it's there.

"What's going to happen to me now?" My voice comes back sounding way stronger than I expected.

"Don't worry about that, just eat. It will help." Dad tells me with a worried smile.

I can tell he is lying to me for my sake, and even though I appreciate him trying, I know I'm done for.

I shakily nod before reaching out to the box . The sound it makes when it opens makes me flinch. Inside there is a little bit of food mixed up, and the same foods that dad had told me earlier. A slice of bread, an apple, and a piece of meat; ham to be exact.

I cautiously pick up the piece of bread and smell it. It smells fine, looks fine, but I decide to check the other foods before eating it. The ham surprisingly is still somewhat chilled, and other than a bruise on the apple, it too seems fine to eat. I take a small bite out of the apple, and decide that it tastes fine too. I continue eating my food until the door bursts open.

Realizing that it is most likely Derrick, I shuffle to the back of the cell while still on my bottom.

"This is all you get for the day, make it last." He says, setting down an also styrafoam cup filled with water.

"Anyone need to use the restroom?" He asks. "This is your only chance."

Mom nods, standing and so does Dad.

"As usual, ladies first. Then I'll come back for you, Andrew." He says, grabbing keys and handcuffs off of his belt.

He takes a metal key and puts it in the hole. Then walks into her cell and puts the cuffs on in front of her body and holds them as they walk away as if she was on a halter or leash. They go out the door to my right.

I resume to finishing my food in silence. Probably five or so minutes later, they return from the right door and mom goes back to her cell obediently. I wonder if she disobeyed at first to. More yet, I wonder what her punishment was?

Derrick goes through the same procedure as he did for mom to take him to the restroom, and they too exit to the door to my right.

Dad returns to his cell minutes later and the rest of the day consists of nothing other than moping around and doing nothing, until what I assume is the end of the day because David comes strolling through. Out of that same fear returning, I shift to the back of the cell again.

He walks dreadfully slow down the hall until he stops in front of my cell.

"Come up here, Beatrice." He says slyly, tapping his foot at the front of my cell.

I crawl up to the front, my heart racing, both my palms sweating, my arms trembling, and my head pounding as I sit by his foot.

"Well, stand up." He says nonchalantly.

I slowly stand. I can feel my legs trembling as I do.

"You know that I know what you did wrong, and by how your acting... You also know what you did wrong."

I nod, feeling like I'm going to cry from the fear of what he's going to do to me.

He puts his hand in his pocket and pulls out a similar ring of keys to what Derrick had on his belt. "This can't be good" I think to myself.

He unlocks the door and I stand there, looking at him.

"Come here," he says. Now he's looking angry.

I shakily take a small step out of the cell, not wanting to go any further.

"Closer." He snaps.

I step all the way out, part of me wanting to turn and run back inside the cell before it's too late.

He just looks at me, and I look at him. The feeling of wanting to cry returns so quickly that I blink and try with all my muscles to not show signs of fear and defeat, but clearly I am failing epically.

"Why so scared, Beatrice? Huh?! Who is the tough one now?" He yells in my face.

"You know, this is all your fault, right?! If it wasn't for you, none of these people would be here right now. Your mother, father, and all of your stupid friends!"

My friends? Where are they? How are they here?! Why are they here? I want to ask him, but I'm too terrified right now.

He bends down to my hight and pulls me right to his face by the collar of my black long sleeve shirt.

"You are a worthless piece of crap, and you know why?"

I don't answer.

He slaps me so hard across the face; so hard that I can't stop the tears anymore.

"WHEN I ASK YOU A QUESTION DIRECTLY, GIRL, YOU ARE TO ANSWER ME VERBALLY! YOU HEAR ME?!" He screams in my face.

"Yes." I nod my head, sobbing out the words.

"So, answer the question!" He snaps.

My gaze goes toward the floor as the tears roll down my face, my right cheek burning from the slap.

"I... I don't know," I sob, not wanting to answer the question.

"There is many answers to the question, Tris." He spits my name out like venom.

"One." He says, slapping the left side of my face. "You disobey me."

"Two." He says, slapping me in the face again. "You think it's okay to break my rules."

"Three. Everything, all of this, it is your fault." He punches me hard in the jaw.

"And four, you don't realize that your brother and sister-in-law, guess what?! They're next!" He pushes me back into the cell and pushes me into the concrete wall and walks out, closing and locking the cell door behind him.

"DONT YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT TALKING TO HER, NATALIE! SHE SHOULDN'T EVEN BE HERE ANYWAY! AND THAT PIECE OF WORTHLESSNESS IS YOUR DOING!" He yells at my mother, then walking out the door to my left turning off the lights, and leaving mom and dad sitting there in shock and me in pain and sobbing in the darkness.

I take the one blanket and fold it into a pillow, and lay down and cover myself in the other.

My sister-in-law? Caleb is married?

This is too much for my now bleeding jaw to handle. My head feels like it is going to fall right off of my shoulders.

'Oh Caleb, I hope you're okay.' Is my last thought before the pain causes me to drift into a dreamless sleep.