Page 6 of Wraith

Chapter Five

“Get up Esteban.There is work to be done,” Roman barks out to me standing at the door to my room. Four walls, a cot and no windows.My cell. Its quieter and cleaner, but I find myself missing the basement. Missing my friend. It’s been so long since I have been moved I don’t even remember what she soundedlike.

My thin arms push me up from the cot. When I was first shoved into this room I was surprised to have an actual place to sleep besides the cold floor, along with the thin blanket that barely keeps out the cold, but I will take it over nothing. As I do the food I get more than once a day. “You have a new job, Esteban,” Roman says with a lighter tone than I’m used to, using the name he gave me after this place became my home. He tosses me a change of clothes. I take them with wide eyes. “Get dressed and meet me in the basement,” he barks, his usual harsh pitch falling back into place, and leaves the room. I look down at the grimy clothes on my frail body. The small robots that once covered my pants are long gone, caked over by years of dirt and wear. My shirt was the same way until I used it to cover up a cut I got on a rusty nail. One of the guards took the shirt from me when he discovered what had happened. I was promptly given a shot then tossed back into the room—without a shirt. Now I’m holding a black tee shirt and a pair of black pants. They are the softest thing I have ever felt. I quickly shed my soiled pajama pants that once reached my ankles but now come to my knees and toss them onto the floor and pull on my new clothes. The shirt is big and nearly reaches my knees. The pants have to be rolled up three times before they stop dragging on the floor. He didn’t give me anything to put on my feet and the hospital socks I had the night I got here are long gone. The bottoms of my feet have become thick, almost as if I have grown an extra layer of skin. For only a moment I let myself smile at the feel of the clothes now covering my body but quickly wash it from my face before walking out of my room and down the long hallway to the basement, asinstructed.

The familiar smell as I take the stairs hits me, a cross between cleaner and a coppery tang that hangs in the air thick enough to taste. I haven’t been down here in so long, I almost forgot how the smell would linger inside my nose. I find Roman at the bottom of the steps, talking to Sebastian and Trenton, two of the guards I have gotten to know. Sebastian, as he always does, eyes me when I come into view. He is skinny, the smallest between Roman and Trenton, and the most dangerous. “There you are,” Roman greets me with a rare smile on his lips. “Congratulations, boy, you will be our new cleaner. When a cell opens up you will clean it out. Get it ready for a new girl,” he states, leaning back on his feet and hooking his thumbs into his pants pockets. He is dressed in a gray suit, with a crisp blue shirtunderneath.

“Yes, sir,” I say knowing it is the only answer he expects. I decide to be bold and thank him for the clothes as well. “Thank you for the clothes, too,sir.”

“Would you look at this?” Roman whistles through his teeth looking me over then glancing at Sebastian and Trenton. “The boy has some manners. Nice to hear Esteban, but the clothes were a gift from Sebastian. You should be thanking him.” I pale at the words but choke back the fear bubbling up in mychest.

“Thank you, Sebastian. Sir,” I say nearly at a whisper making Sebastian boom out a harshlaugh.

“He will do just fine, boss,” Sebastian says not taking his black eyes from me. Roman gives him a nod before he walks up the stairs, Trenton not too far behind. Leaving me alone with Sebastian. “Well now, boy. Where should westart?”

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