10-22-2014, 02:26 AM
Dahlia was almost too ashamed for words. She kept her eyes cast down to the table. Then Eliseo stood, and she allowed herself a small glance upwards. His eyes looked stormy, like her words had struck something inside him. Then he moved beside her chair, and placed a hand on her shoulder. Dahlia looked at it, not entirely sure of its implication, and looked up at her questioner. He avoided her eyes, but told her that she had done a good job. Did that mean he knew she was honest? His grip tightened for a moment, the gesture was almost comforting in nature, and gave Dahlia a strange feeling of hope. She was still a bit confused though, she hadn’t expected such a break in character from Eliseo, a person she considered to be so constant and unyielding. She took it as a positive break, perhaps this meant that Eliseo would be able to learn to trust her after all.
When he said that they could be done, she let out a breath, and a weak smile appeared on her tired face. She moved to stand, slowly, and followed Eliseo out of the door. They were greeted outside by a prefect. Dressed neatly in his uniform, and sporting his stun-gun proudly on his hip, He gestured a greeting to Eliseo, “Officer Eliseo, My name is David Gallegos, I am the prefect assigned to escort Ms. Darkholme to her detention room. You will now be allowed to return to class.” He grabbed Dahlia’s arm, hand wrapping firmly around her forearm. He tugged her along behind him and she gave a slight wave to Eliseo as they disappeared behind yet another set of doors.
The atmosphere immediately changed as soon as the doors closed behind them. Where the questioning lobby felt like an office, beyond that into the real detention center it felt more and more like a prison. The detention rooms were small white cubicles with clear faces made of a shatter and flame resistant polymer. They were stacked three high, and each row was one hundred cells long. Two students could be kept safely per cell, which contained two desks, a supply of paper and pencils, and a projector that showed detention center propaganda about how the school was detaining them for their own good, and that positive reformation was the only way to stay out of the center and integrate seamlessly into the student body. Depending on which hero was assigned to you, your time in the cells awaiting your trial could be spent in several ways. Iceman didn’t really care much for what he called the ‘brainwashing tele-crap,’ and usually allowed the students to spend their time drawing or talking quietly. Sometimes he would even carry on conversations with the students, he was usually the hero you got if your crime was more innocent, tardiness, and inappropriate language were among these.
But Dahlia wasn’t being assigned to Mr. Drake, she knew as soon as they came to the end of the hall and began to climb the stairs to the second level. This was the Gladiator’s domain, a man with all the power of superman, and ten times the ego. His version of detention was to listen to the propaganda intently and take notes. He didn’t care if you spoke, as long as the work was getting done. He asked to review and grade the students’ notes when they were called into their trial. She had never been on the second row herself, but she had heard stories from other students.
The prefect stopped in front of a cell numbered 1014. As he stepped up to the door, the above bioscanner flashed a blue light over both of them. “DNA analysis complete. Welcome, Prefect Gallegos escorting student ID 72501, Dahlia Darkholme.” a computerized female voice said from a speaker in the scanner. The door clicked and swung open, and the two stepped inside. He led her to the desk, typed in her ID number on a digital pad that appeared on the desktop, and instructed her to sit. “If you move from this chair, an alarm will be sounded and the hero assigned to this level will be here immediately to subdue you. And I warn you, sometimes he uses unnecessary force.” he leaned down and whispered,“I think he’s upset that someone as powerful and magnificent as himself has to be down here watching baby villains instead of fighting real ones.” Dahlia almost laughed, but held it in allowing only a grin to spread across her face, and watched as the prefect pressed the door shut with a soft click and disappeared down the dark hallway.
|