P Is for Prisoner

Chapter 6
Six

Chapter Six

Inmate Jennifer Rochelle Dancette stared up at the gray concrete ceiling, her thoughts a blank slate of similar material. The prison Orange she wore was scratchy and smelled faintly of nail polish, but it was better then placing her bare skin against the filthy mattress.

“Hey, Guera, I’m talking to you! Don’t you ignore me!”

Without blinking, Jennifer sighed and shook her head. “I don’t like talking to beaners,” she said, slowly turning to face her cellmate, who was rapidly developing a healthy reddish tint to her brown features. “And that applies to bean-ettes too.”

The sharp hair pull was expected, but the rough slap on the mouth was not, at least this quickly. The beating went on for a good three minutes before a pair of guards finally entered and broke it up. Jennifer noted though the haze of pain (this tussle claimed two more of her back teeth) that the guards response time for her numerous fights was slowing down. Guess it would just be easier that way, she thought.

Mattie Banks, one of the only girls she trusted enough to get close to her, tsked as she scrubbed the blood from Jenny’s long blond hair, shaking her head sadly as she noted where several large tuffs had been yanked clean out.

“You and your mouth, girl,” the black woman said gently. ?Gentle’ was not a word commonly associated with Mattie Banks, seeing as though she was on the Row for no less then nine gang related homicides. “One of these days, they’re gonna kill you.”

Jennifer lifted her head, wincing as Mattie’s thick fingers probed a sore spot near her left ear. Staring into the falling raindrops of the shower, she shrugged, her eyes distant.

“What does it matter?” She asked in a hollow voice. “I’m dead anyway.”

Jenny stared upward at the mobile spinning overhead, wishing she had a bat or something heavy to smash it down with.

It was distracting, like someone trying to read over your shoulder is distracting. Even as Jenny’s eyes and fingers probed the infantile cage she was trapped in, her attention kept wandering upwards.

Giving up on the sturdy railing, Jenny sat back on her padded behind with a frown. She felt vaguely violated by that pervert doctor’s actions, and tried to banish it from her thoughts by clearing her mind. It was something she learned how to do in prison and helped her cope with a lot of the hardships and terror that comes with being incarcerated. Also, in that meditive state, time seemed to pass quicker as well. Unfortunately, it required intense concentration on a blank wall or surface, and casting her eyes around the colorful room, she couldn’t find anything that would help. Everything she saw was either done up with cheerful pastels, or covered in babyish print. Concentrating on those things caused a fuzziness behind her eyes, and shaking her head, she realized that she was out of luck.

Growing anxious in the small enclosure, Jenny was just about to scream out her frustrations when the door began to creak open. Expecting the white coated doctor again, she was surprised to see a female squirrel person enter the room, leading in a host of small, chattering children. There were about five of them, and they couldn’t have been much older then Jenny now appeared to be.

“Alright, children, alright, let’s settle down and line up...we’ll be over and done with this in a jiff, and there is a basket of treats in store for you all afterwards!”

With a chorus of high-pitched squeals of joy, the quintet of assorted kids dutifully began to form into a clumsy line. They were the vision of endearing, ruffled collars and untied shoe-laced adolesence. Smiling down at them, the woman turned and began rummaging through the cabinets across from Jenny’s padded prison. As she passed by, Jenny tried to give her a nasty look, but the woman paid her no mind, as though she was invisible.

Pulling what looked like a small blood pressure kit from the cabinet, she walked back to the line of giggling children. “Alright,” she said in a high, clear voice, “you know the drill. Everybody, sleeves...up!”

As one, each of the children lifted up the sleeves of their right arms, presenting themselves to the lady. Moving down the line, she placed the little cuff around their arms, and gave the pressure pump a little squeeze, making note of the readings on the gage.

Next, she produced a thermometer from the counter, and bopping each child lightly on the nose, she inserted the small plastic device into their ears, waiting for a high, reedy beep before pulling it out. Laughing and giggling as the thermometer tickled, their eyes lit up at what seemed the final test as Jenny watched curiously on, feeling like an animal at the zoo behind the bars.

“Open wide, children,” the squirrel said, holding up a wooden tongue depresser, “here comes the birdie!”

As she opened their mouths and made some more notes, the woman reached into her pocket and deposited large, lime green lollipops into the waiting hands of the anxious tots. Making short work of the wrapping, each one of them soon had a long white lolli handle sticking out of their mouths like cigarettes.

“Well done, kids! C’mon, now, hurry along, it’s almost time for the next rotation, and you don’t want to miss that, right?”

“NO!” the kids happily answered, and began to file for the door. Jenny, angry at being ignored (despite the fact that this is what she wanted; to be left alone) cried out an almost unintelligible growl of a curse, trying to provoke a rise out of the woman, or perhaps shock the kids by saying a word they’d never heard before.

To her surprise, and further annoyance, none of the group exiting the room even turned around, treating her as though she hadn’t said a peep. Getting to her feet, she began rattling the bars, calling out every bad word she could think of. Still nothing. Finally, defeated, she let herself sink back down to her bottom, but not before giving the hard wooden rails a good kick.

As she did so, one of the children’s voices caused her to look up. “Hey, Mwiss Sandawah? Why is that baby all awone in here?”

“I’m not a baby, you stupid little fuzzball! I’m a human! A very very pissed off human adult!” She yelled, glaring at the little girl who spoke.

“Well, honey, to answer your inquiry, this isn’t just the place where we come to do our physicals, sometimes, sick little boys and girls come here and get better.”

“Is she gonna be okay?”

“I think so,” the squirrel lady said warmly, giving the crib and it’s inhabitant a knowing look. “Now come along now, can’t be late, now!”

“Bye, baby! Hope you get better soon!” The little minx called, waving.

The door shut before Jenny drew a deep enough breath to really say what she wanted to, but she did a decent enough job of letting the empty room ’have it’.

The twinkling of the mobile above her did little to soothe her ill temper, as you might expect.

A few moments later, Dr. Solonis returned, unable to fully contain a tolerant smile for the sulking little creature he had left in the crib. He was about to say something about facial expressions and their habit of sticking from time to time, but he stifled that.

“Why couldn’t they hear me?” Jenny asked in a flat tone.

“They?”

“Those brats and the squirrel! I yelled, screamed, shouted, and it didn’t seem like they heard me at all.”

“Ah, Mrs. Sandoval’s group coming in for their mini-phys. Adorable kids, aren’t they?”

“Answer my question, Hoppy.”

Dr. Solonis nodded, somewhat taken back, but not surprised. He’d been called a few choice names over the course of his involvement with the Project. “Well, actually, your crib is equipped with a sound funneling device that activates as I leave the room. You can talk, shout, scream your precious little head off, and anyone else coming into the room will not hear a sound. I, on the other hand,” the old rabbit said, scratching at the back of his head, “got quite an earful from you. I guess you could say the technology is similar to a human’s baby monitor, from what I’ve read of them.”

Jenny grunted. Stupid Theran super science.

“But by the Watchers you have a vocabulary!” Dr. Solonis said, chuckling. “Did your mother teach you how to talk like that?”

“Learned it in prison, fuckface,” she said, enjoying the sight of the lapine doctor squirm uncomfortably. “What’s the matter? Can’t stand a bit of profanity, you cum-guzzling shit head?”

“It’s unbecoming for a child to speak in such a manner.” He said stiffly, frowning. “I tend to look at human profanity as a corruption of precious innocence. You wouldn’t know those words if you hadn’t been exposed to them.”

“Yeah, whatever, shit head,” Jenny said, grinning as she turned to put her back against the bars facing him. She was overjoyed that it seemed like she had some power over him, and besides...with what they wanted to do, what’s the worst they could do in the meantime?

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the old man reach into his coat pocket, and she tensed, suddenly remembering the metal collar around her throat. A second passed though, and she relaxed. Pain didn’t scare her. Fuck them all, let them do their worst. If a tazer to the neck was all they had, Jennifer Dancette was NOT going to make this ?Project’ easy for them.

Instead of drawing his Steader, Dr. Solonis sighed and withdrew his hand from his pocket as he walked over to the cabinets. “Forgive me if I do not pursue this topic of conversation, little one, but I have another question to ask of you. The process of regression has been proven to work up quite an appetite...are you hungry, at all?”

Though Jenny didn’t say a word, her pudgy tummy betrayed her and spoke for her itself. Gurgling uncomfortably, the little skunk shifted around a bit as the hunger pangs hit her, as though waiting to be brought to her attention. “Yes,” she finally admitted, not turning around. “what have you got, old man?”

For an answer, a small object sailed over the bars of the crib to land besides the child, who looked down at it scornfully. “You can’t be serious,” she groaned, holding up what looked like a baby’s bottle filled with a thick, yellowish liquid. The nipple was a bit differently shaped then the bottles back home, but that was probably to accommodate a Theran toddler’s muzzle over a regular human face. A smiling sun grinned at her through the raised plastic. “There’s not fucking way I’m drinking from this.”

Dr. Solonis shrugged, spreading his hands as Jenny turned to glare daggers at him. “I’m sorry, Jenny, but for a kit your age, that blend of nutrients and vitamins is perfectly essential to your development. It contains everything you need to grow up healthy and strong, and from what I’m told by some of the bolder researchers, it doesn’t taste all that bad, either. Hints of banana, I think it was.”

Cautiously sniffing at the plastic nub, Jenny suddenly remembered herself and bent her arm back to throw the offending item back at it’s owner. As she did so, however, her weakened arms threw off her aim, and the bottle hit the bars of the crib with a plopping sound, dropping back down next to her. “There is no fucking way I’m drinking from a baby’s bottle! Get it out of here!”

“Why?” the doctor questioned, moving to stand over her crib. “Is it really that bad, nursing from it?” he winced, seeing her eyes narrow. Shouldn’t have used the words ?nursing’. “Why do you fight it? It tastes good, and will help your stomach.” His voice took on a sympathetic tone. “I’ve done this several times, child. I know how bad your tummy must feel right now, if prior testimony can be called into account.”

“Go. Fuck. Yourself,” she growled. “There’s no way I’m doing anything for you. I’ll starve to death first.”

“Suit yourself, then, Jenny. I’ll be back in a moment...remember that I can hear you, so holler if you need me.” The doctor paused. “But also know that I can turn the device off, so please, don’t flood my ears with your curses. I’d hate to have a real emergency in here and not find out until it was too late.” There was no way she could know that he was lying about being able to shut off the sound funnel; even if he could, his parental dedication would not allow it. Even though he knew quite well what she was used to be, at the moment, she was a child, and it was blasphemy for a Theran to ignore a child’s distress.

“Hey! What do you mean, emergency? What the hell could happen, I’m stuck in this damn cage!”

“If you are not going to eat, I’d suggest taking a nap. Those hunger pains are only going to worsen, and a few happy dreams might assuage your discomfort for a while. Here,” he said, thumbing a switch on the wall, causing the lights to dim and the mobile above her head to start to glow. “Soft dreams, little one.”

Jenny took no comfort in the discovery that the doctor’s word, at least in this matter, could be trusted. As the moments ticked by, her stomach cramped up worse, and curling into a ball on her side only slightly dulled the pain. Eyeing the full and glistening bottle with a look of hatred, she turned away from it and closed her eyes, trying to get comfortable despite the unfamiliarity of her new body. Sleep...the only true peace. That is, when she didn’t dream.

Oddly enough, despite her situation, she dozed off easily, lightly snoring only a few minutes in the wake of Dr. Solonis’ passing. In moments, her sleep was so deep that she didn’t even notice the door re-opening, allowing in a quiet group of white coated Therans who came up to the crib-side brandishing clipboards and notepads.

Fitfully, the child rolled around on the soft pastel mattress, twisting and turning as the pangs in her tummy threatened to break through her slumber and rouse her to it’s need. Finally, a particularly sharp, shooting sensation woke her with a cry and she sat up, blinking blearily around the darkened room. Upon finding herself still alone, she was overcome with a strange feeling of loneliness, and she actually found she had to bite her tongue to keep from calling for the elderly rabbit. Her stomach immediately seized on the moment of confusion to flare up again, and wincing in pain, the girl finally began searching frantically among the blankets for the damned bottle. It’d be ok to have at least a couple of sips...as long as the bastard wasn’t here, it wasn’t like she was appeasing him.

Feeling triumphant as she found it, still cold besides her heart-shaped pillow, she gingerly picked it up as though it were a venomous snake. Finding it difficult to hold onto with just one clumsy paw, she wrapped both hands around it and very slowly brought it to her mouth, taking one last look around to make sure there was no one hidden, watching her like a voyeur in the shadows.

The chilly plastic tickled the inside of her mouth as she wrapped her lips it, and fighting a moment with proper placement (her jaw was just a bit different then the one she was used to) she got it into a comfortable position and began to drink.

Or at least, she tried to.

Sucking harder, her little cheeks working furiously, Jenny began to wonder if she’d been tricked. No matter how hard she tried to pull liquid from the bottle, nothing flowed past the unyielding plastic. Biting down hard on it as she started to lose it, she tried tearing the nipple clean off, and all that got her was a mouth of sore baby teeth. Pulling it from her mouth, she leaned over and began bashing it up and down, as hard as she could, on the wooden bars, but again, that did nothing. Yelling in frustration and pain, Jenny finally flung the stubborn bottle away from her again and stood, pulling on the bars. Dr. Solonis, who was standing just outside the door, waiting for this, took his cue and calmly entered the room, eyes widening in mock surprise as he pretended to notice the full bottle.

“Having some trouble, little one? I thought you’d be asking me for another bottle, and here I see you’ve still got a full one!” Reaching into the crib, he grabbed the bottle quickly before she could lunge forward and bite him, but she remained still, glaring at him.

“Don’t play your idiot games with me. It wouldn’t work. I...” she hesitated, then mentally said ?fuck it’ as another pain hit, “I tried to drink from it, but nothing came out. I knew all this ?kind doctor’ crap was a lie...you’re just as sick as everyone else around this stupid place.”

“I apologize for the ruse, Jenny. This bottle is actually a special type of instrument designed for children your age.”

“I’m not a fucking child! I’m twenty three years old!”

“Not currently. As I was saying, it’s made to seal shut unless it’s held by a parental or other adult figure. That way, a child could hold on to it, play with it, or use it to sooth teething pains, and not have to worry about formula all over their play pen or crib. Oddly, Theran children tend to develop strong bonds with their bottles...it’s one of the reasons this technology was invented, for the protection of stainable flooring everywhere.”

Jennifer waved angrily at the rabbit. “Well, then, damn it, make it work! I really hurt here! You said it yourself! You know what it feels like!” That much was true. It was all the little skunk could do to keep tears from her eyes. The pain in her stomach was such that it was actually making her whole body ache now.

“Jenny, to make it work, I have to have a firm grip on the bottle itself to allow the formula to flow. Will you allow me to?”

As the realization of what he meant to do dawned on her, Jenny was about to mount another explosive argument when her stomach rolled, chasing the fight out of her. “No...” she said weakly. “No way am I gonna let you feed me. Nuh-uh...”

Dr. Solonis sighed, shrugging. “Well, I can’t very well force you to allow me, but I cannot let you expire from malnutrition, either. I will have a couple of orderlies up in a few moments...they’ll fit you with an IV and we can intravenously feed you that way. I’m...sorry that you couldn’t trust me with just this thing...I may have rushed into this following my success with changing you. I will send them up,” he said, making for the door.

“Wait! Wait...damnit. Don’t...you don’t have to...I don’t want an IV,” she said, the weakness and pain making her almost delirious. “I’ll let you...you can go ahead...”

Jedin turned, feeling warm inside. Even though she hadn’t reacted exactly the way he had wanted to, this was another wonderful, positive step. The next thing would surely come later. At least that much was guaranteed.

Without bothering to lower the rails, Jedin reached down and placed his hands underneath the girl’s arms. Jenny gave no resistance as she was lifted out and pulled close to the rabbit’s warm body. Oddly enough, being this close, she could smell him, a strange tangle of cinnamon and antiseptic. Stepping across the room to a comfortable looking rocking chair, Dr. Solonis eased himself into it, allowing Jenny’s short legs to drape across his lap as he held her in a reclining position. Pulling the Smart Bottle from his coat pocket, he made shooshing sounds as the child’s stomach sounded off again. As he raised the nipple to her mouth, one of her paws came up and held it away.

“Why...why can’t you see....I’ve got no reason to trust any of you...look at what you did....to me...” she whimpered, looking into the man’s hazy eyes.

“We saved your life, my lovely. Now hush, no more words. I understand this is difficult for you and I am trying to make it as painless as I can. Shhhh...open up for the birdie, Jenny...”

As she did so, Solonis eased the nipple into her mouth and was rewarded with a look of grateful surprise from the child as the first drops of liquid splashed around on her tongue. The formula was engineered to be both pleasantly warm and soothingly cool at the same time, and the banana flavoring was a racial favorite. Within seconds, her hunger pains eased as the thick liquid coated her stomach, making her feel light and fluttery. Any nasty words she had (and still had....they hadn’t won yet) dissolved away, at least in these few moments that they sat together. As she nursed, he used his large feet to rock back and forth, and when the last air bubbles disappeared from the bottle, Jenny was sound asleep again. Luckily, she wasn’t at the age where she’d need a burping after each meal.

Not yet.

 

---