P Is for Prisoner

Chapter 1
One

P is For Prisoner

By Reva

Chapter One

“No...no...oh please, God, no...”

These words came as a whispered whimper from the child as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. A diminutive, chubby form stood staring back at her, tears forming in her wide, brown eyes. Covered in black fur, her eyes traced the white stripe that began at her pink nose and continued up over her head, to end at the tip of her bushy tail. Five round, little fingers pressed at her face while her other hand clutched her protruding stomach, fighting the horrible nausea that welled up inside her. It was a child’s body she stared at, a child’s eyes she stared into, but Jennifer Dancette was no child.

“The patient arrived promptly at zero-six hundred hours, directly on schedule. She stood watching herself in the primary initial reactor for approximately twenty three seconds, a full seven seconds longer then the previous subject, but five seconds short of the record held by Patient #231.”

At the sound of the cold, brittle voice, Jen whirled around with a gasp. Staring up, she looked into the dark black eyes of an animal wearing human clothes. Taller then he should possibly be, the man stood garbed in a simple white technician’s coat, the numbers ?547’ written on a sash on his belt. Jennifer stared up and him and shivered, more terrified then she had ever been in her short life. “No!” she cried, pleading.

Those eyes glared at her, remorseless, and he pulled his hand from the white coat’s inner pocket. Thumbing the mini recorder on with an almost casual disdain, the man spoke again into the metallic device in a chill, clinical tone.

“Subject displays some familiarity with the procedure and/or the Project itself. Moving to query.” He took a step forward, and Jen tried to turn to run. However, there was something off with her balance, her legs didn’t move as she wanted them to; they felt heavy, awkward, and weak. With a high cry, she crumpled to the ground and in a panic, trying to draw herself up, to not be helpless as the man approached.

“Good morning, Ms. Dancette,” he said in grave tones. “I am Dr. Cade. Do you know where you are?”

“Th...th...Thera...” the little girl stuttered out.

“Do you know why?”

Unbidden, the words fell like water from her trembling lips. She couldn’t have contained them if she tried. “They...there was a rumor...” she stared, transfixed by the horror she felt in her chest, “among the other inmates, that...th-th-that you guys were taking Cons off the Row...to use in experiments...”

The doctor replaced the recorder in his pocket and stroked his tie, looking thoughtful. “Interesting. The story that we leaked to Earth was that we were taking the condemned because we didn’t believe in capital punishment. Apparently, the rumor has been twisted by heresay into a semblance of the truth.”

The meaning behind his words sank in, and Jennifer felt her stomach lurch. “What are you going to do to me?”

Cade looked down, and Jen saw the horrible truth in his eyes. “Three years ago, you were responsible for the deaths of three individuals, one of which was a thirteen year old child. For the crime, you received the death penalty, per California’s revised criminal penal code.” He paused. “That sentence has not been revoked. Only postponed.”

The child’s long, wailing scream echoed off the bleach white walls of the Receiving Room, and everyone who heard the terrible sound knew that this was going to be a difficult one.