Prisoner 09SC001
Her voice was soothing to my weary ears, telling me seemingly exactly what I needed to hear, her skin a more beautiful blue than the surface above, her hair was a mesmerizing shade of green, and her scent was intoxicating. For once I wish for her to call for me. “Clouseau,” she would call my name. “I love you, Clouseau. I need you, Clouseau. My beloved Clouseau. Clouseau. Clouseau~”
“-seau, OFFICER CLOUSEAU!”
The loud voice snapped me from my dazed state. I immediately stood at attention and saluted “YES, MA'AM! OFFICER CLOUSEAU AT ATTENTION AND READY FOR DUTY!”
“Myla! Sit down, there's no need to salute anyone, you were just so spaced we thought you were about to go belly up on us for a minute.”
I took a few seconds to regain my composure and looked around at where I was…I was just eating lunch, right. Well now I've gone and made a fool of myself now haven't I? I had one of my “episodes” in front of everyone.
“S-sorry, I need to excuse myself, I need to go…take my medication”
“But you haven't even touched your-”
“Split it amongst yourselves, I'm not hungry”
I stepped away from the table and quickly ushered myself out of the room, I know everyone was already talking about me while I wasn't there, about how I constantly space out or about my past or why I’m pink instead of a normal colour for a ray, about how weird I was or about how I'm only a prison guard because I was discharged from the military or any number of things.
I hated when they talked about me like I'm some thing or some kind of oddity or freak, that's why they only do it when I'm not around. Luckily whenever I wasn't around I couldn't care less about what they had to say because when I wasn't around I was near my beloved Leona. She doesn't see me as her beloved yet though.
But she will! I know she will! One day Leona will love me like I love her and on that day I can get her out of this hell. Us! I can get us out of this hell! No more bars, no more concrete, no more guards. Just me and my beloved Leona!
I stood before her cell, she was lying on her bed, she was lucky enough to have a bed, hell most prisoners in solitary confinement barely had enough water in their cells to float on. But Leona comes from money so she bought nicer amenities.
“P-prisoner 09SC001 get up from your bed and put you hands on the-”
“Hands on the far wall, if I move you will be authorized to use force in order to subdue me in the attempt of an escape. I already know, I'm not gonna move, I never have, I never will. Besides even if I escape all of Ocean City will try and look for me”
“Fine, I'm trusting you Leona, don't betray that trust please”
She smiled a vile smile.
“When have I ever, Of-fi-cer?” She enunciated every syllable, each one hanging on her lips like a lure, and my lure it was. If only it was my name she said and not my job title, I’ve known her since I was transferred from the military to the OCCF and not once has she called me by my name. She had deigned to refer to the police chief by her name once though I am led to believe it was out of spite.
“Missus Terois, I-”
“Tsk tsk tsk, MISS Terois, I’m not some wasting hagfish, dear, though my disheveled appearance may betray that fact” She cut me off mid sentence, again, a nasty habit she developed around the time I showed up.
“Leona, I’m trying to be candid with you for once so please just-”
“Truly I think a trip to the surface would do my skin and hair wonders, don’t you think so too, officer?” And once more my thoughts are cut off by her ramblings.
“LEONA, PLEASE LISTEN TO ME! FOR ONCE!”
She looked me in the eyes, they, for once, stopped being devoid of life and glassy for a mere moment. “I apologize, the floor is yours, Closeau”
“How long has it been since we met?” I asked, intending the question to be rhetorical.
“Well I got here September of ‘09, and you got here June of ‘14 leaving a five-ish year gap between when I got here and met you, and I’ve been here exactly 13 years on the dot, an unlucky number that is, meaning I’ve known you for exactly nine point seve-”
“SHUT UP! PLEASE! I didn’t mean literally! My point is, Leona, I’ve known you for nearly a decade and just now was the only time you ever called me by my name. And I- I’m not saying to stop, in fact please keep saying my name. I just…I have a confession”
“What? That you’re madly in love with me?”
“I’m madly in love wi-? WAIT YOU KNEW?!”
She laughed, although I can’t tell if it was my confession or my confusion at which she was laughing.
“Leona! STOP! It’s not funny!” I put my head in my hands and waited for her laughing to subside.
Eventually she rubbed her hands down her neck and across her gills to try to appear more composed.
“Sorry, Closeau but I thought you knew everyone knows you like me”
I buried my hands further into my palms “Nooooooo, please don’t say that, if they knew my career would be over”
“Well they know and your career clearly isn’t over, as you put it” She leaned on the bars of her cell “Or maybe they don’t know and I’m just toying with you. You’ll never know, Closeau, or maybe one day you will.”