The Hidden Hybrid Within

Chapter 3: The Interview

Chapter 3 The Interview

      We walked through the door and it shut behind us, there was a gentleman standing in the shadow undoing our cuffs one by one. When we came to a stand still, cuff free, we were standing in a dirt filled hallway, the door behind us was closed but on the other side I could see outside, to my left and right were hallways and staircases and above us was an arched walkway that went above the large hallway we were standing in.

      The lady motioned for us to follow her and we walked to the end into the outside part I had been looking at and I couldn't contain the gasp that left my mouth. The area was massive, the building was actually a circle that went all the way around the area we were standing in. There were trees and grass everywhere. On one side was what looked like a training yard, there were weights, sparing arenas and obstacles, that looks like fun I will have to try them out, I thought making an internal note. On the other side were bleachers and a field, football maybe. And then there were benches and swings everywhere for people to sit. Taking it all in as I moved my head from left to right, I couldn't help but wonder what kind of place this was.

       “Alright ladies, my name is Lady Russell, my husband and I run this facility. You will meet him soon. We are a co ed facility, but in no way do we permit personal relations between our residents. You are expected to follow the rules to the letter. Each of you will be responsible for some type of chore to be done every day. While with us you will also continue your studies, we have a high school on the grounds that you will attend as long as you are with us or until you graduate whichever comes first. Now if you will follow me.”

        Is this lady for real. I spent a month in a local juvenile facility back home after getting out of the hospital and it was like being in county lock up, I didn't say it out loud, but the thoughts were running through my head like the Indy 500.

       We walked back into the hallway and turned left entering a dimly lit hallway. “This is our main area, down that way is the dining room where you will be served twice a day through the week and three times on the weekend. If you are not attending school, there will be lunch served there. Breakfast is at seven am sharp, lunch is at twelve pm sharp and dinner is at five pm. There is a snack bar that is always out in the dining area so if you need a little pick me up you can find it there. The library, media room, common area, meeting rooms and pool are also down that way. There are times posted on the doors of each as to when they can be used, if you are caught there after hours you will be punished with solitary confinement. There are six stories here, each floor has rooms, you will be bunked with someone, there are two beds per room. There is also a private bathroom in each room that you will share with your roommate. You are to be in your rooms with doors shut at dusk and are not to leave your room till dawn. Also, if you want to call home you will find the communication room in the library. Please be courteous to everyone and make sure to not stay on the line too long when there are others waiting. Now follow me.”  We followed behind her and I could hear whispers down the hallway, other residents hiding and watching, I guessed.

        We walked into a large room with a table in the center that looked like it would fit fifty people easy. The walls were a boring grey with no pictures. “Alright ladies, please sit, I am going to speak to my husband, and we will be out to get you one by one to do your entry interview before sending you to your rooms.” We all sat down as we watched her disappear through a door that was behind us.

       “Is anyone else as scared as me?” The same little red headed girl spoke, and I could hear the fear in her words.

      I sat and listened as they all exclaimed how terrified they were, there were twenty-five of us in total. I couldn’t help but smile, “Not really.” I finally added.

     “My name is Claire.” The little red head turned to me.

      “Nice to meet you Claire, I am Sin.” I reached to shake her hand and then we all went silent as Lady Russell walked back out.

     “Okay ladies as I call your name you will follow me.” We all turned to listen. “Sidney Lane and Claire Smith.” We both stood and walked to her, I noticed how Claire kept her head down and was so quiet, she definitely didn’t look like someone who should be here. “This way,” Lady Russell led us through the door and into another hallway. “Okay Claire, you take a step in here and have a seat I will be right with you, Sin you will go through that door.” I smiled at her calling me by my nickname and went through the door she pointed me to.

       “Hello Ms. Lane,” A gruff voice spoke from behind a mahogany desk. The office was dark and little to no decoration. I did notice the large window behind the desk that let in the natural light and framed the man sitting behind the desk. “Please sit,” he said as he pointed to the chair in front of the desk. I took my seat and sat straight just staring at him. I needed to make my point I wasn’t scared of him either. He had a file in front of him he was looking at and I quickly figured out it was mine, seeing as how I could see my mugshot stapled to it. I studied the man’s features while he looked over my folder. His jawline was sharp and well defined, I could see the muscles twitch as he was reading. His nose was pointed and held his small reading glasses perfectly at the end of it. His hair was cut neat in a military style haircut and was much like Lady Russell’s with the salt and pepper color. “So, I see you are here for manslaughter, but because you have no prior record, they prosecuted you as a juvenile.”

     “That’s right,” I said sternly. He looked up at me with those golden eyes and I smiled. “You have the same color eyes as the wolf.”

     He looked at me kind of funny and then went back to reading, “So why did you do it?”

     “Well, aren’t we all innocent.” I smiled at my response, but I watched him stiffen up and I couldn’t help but let out a small giggle. I am in trouble now, I thought.

      “You know young lady that attitude will get you in trouble around here.” He pointed his finger at me.

      Taking a deep breath and pulling my shoulders up higher, I decided to give him the best answer I could, “I understand that you think I have attitude and I can respect your opinion. But you need to understand me, I am only here because I refused to let a monster r**e my eight-year-old sister, or me for that matter. I put the fight of my life up to protect my family. Also, my father taught me to hold my head high, be proud of who I am, take no s**t, know when I am wrong and admit to my mistakes, he taught me the difference between right and wrong and never give up. So, with that said, I am not afraid, I am not afraid of you or anyone else here for that matter, I am afraid of what is happening with my family while I am here but that's all. I will cause no problems, but I will not lay down and take it from anyone, I am not that person.” I glared at him, to prove I was not afraid and would not back down. Truthfully, I was kind of shaking in my boots, but I wasn’t going to admit it to him, not now.

      He stared blankly at me for a minute before he smiled, “So tell me Sin about your family.”

     I was a little taken back by his reaction, but I recovered quickly, “Well I have a younger brother and sister, twins to be exact, they are eight years old. Natalie and Nathan,” I smiled thinking about the two blonde headed, blue-eyed angels that I dearly missed. “I also have an older brother, Dylan, he is twenty-one and I am unsure where he is, my stepmother ran him off as soon as he turned sixteen. My stepmother who I have always had to call mother or mom doesn’t really care about me, but oh well and my real mother died when I was three.”

      “Interesting." He tapped his fingers against his folder mindlessly, I could see he had more on his mind. "What of your father?” And again he looked like he was in deep thought thinking about me and my family.

     “My father is my hero. His name is Abel. He was a marine,” I wiped the tear from my eye, talking about my dad could make me cry every time. “He was a raider and always doing the dangerous missions. About three years ago he was called out for duty in some confidential mission and we learned that he had went missing. Mom up and moved us to Atlanta to be closer to her family she said, but not long after she was with Ken. We moved in with him and they started dating, I guess. Anyway, about a year ago or so, we were informed that dad was officially declared dead. My whole world ended. My dad was my life.” I couldn’t help the tears streaming down my face, but I refused to show any other signs of weakness.

     “Sin I need you to tell me about that night.” I just looked at him.

       I didn’t want to tell anyone, it’s not like anyone was going to believe me anyway, they all believed what was in that report, I just simply killed the man while he was in a drunken stage. The police didn’t believe, my step-mother didn’t, so why would this man, and why drudge those memories up. What’s done is done, and nothing will change it, I told myself.

      “I know you don’t want to. And you probably do not trust me, but I need to know, I need to know if I am wrong in fighting for you.”

        Stunned at his words, but somehow finding comfort for the first time in the last year I took a deep breath and told him the story. I didn’t leave a detail out, I told him all about the fight, what I had done, what Ken had done, everything. Even the recovery period I had to do in the hospital and then the time spent in the juvenile home while waiting for the trial before being shipped here.

       “That is very interesting Sin.” He stood and walked around the desk sitting on the edge and extending his legs out in front of him, placing a hand on my shoulder, which I suddenly noticed was still bleeding from the wolf attack, but he didn’t seem to even notice. “Sin you are safe here. I want you to know you can talk to me or my wife anytime and I want you to flourish while here with us. I know this is pretty much a prison to you, but I don’t feel you are here for any wrongdoing so you should not feel as you are in prison. Now why don’t we get you to the infirmary and get that looked at.” He pointed to my arm, I nodded, because I knew I probably needed to clean it, so it didn’t get infected. “One more thing Sin, how in the world did you take down a large man at your age and put up one hell of a fight, and then take on a large wolf.”

      “Well, that’s a good question.” I started laughing thinking about my dad and Dylan. “We lived in L.A. when I was three. We were broken into in the middle of the night and my dad was out for business. I remember the men clearly and the way they treated my mother. She fought with all she had but when they found me, they held me captive to make my mother submit. I remember the fear in her eyes while she let them do with her what they wanted and made me watch.” I cleared my throat trying to hold back the waterworks. “Anyway, when they were done with her, they slit her throat and threw her to the other side of the kitchen like she was nothing and turned to me. I remember everything so clearly, the way they smelled, the way they tried to touch me, their eyes, they were dead.” A shiver ran down my spine, I didn't know why I was telling him all this. Those memories had become nothing more than a nightmare for the last eleven years and I had never told anyone but my father about exactly what happened that night, but I couldn't deny there was something about Mr. Russell that made me feel I could be honest with, I could tell him anything. I quickly cleared my throat and continued, “Just as they were dragging me kicking and screaming to my bedroom, my brother and my father came home. I remember the fight, even my ten-year-old brother could fight, and they killed the two men. When the police came, they ruled it self-defense and not long after my dad took me, and my brother and we moved to Arizona out of the big city.” I couldn't help but let out a semi muffled giggle, thinking about mine and dad’s conversation after that, and me only three years old. “I bugged the crap out of my dad to teach me to defend myself, I wanted to know how to fight, I never wanted to feel helpless again. He always told me I was strong and destined for great things, that I could always overcome anything. He trained me daily and I sparred with my older brother and his friend every evening, they never treated me like a girl or weakling, I learned at an early age to take a punch. Dad always said I would be stronger than my brother ever dreamed of being. So that night when I walked in, I knew that I had to use everything my dad taught me to protect my family. He always made sure to instill in me to never start something, only protect and defend, so that’s what I done.”

      “And the wolf?” Mr. Russell raised a brow to me.

     “Well, I figured if they were going to eat me, I was going to make them at least work for it. I am not afraid of an animal or a person for that matter. At this point in my young life, I have seen too much to fear anything.” I raised a brow back showing my confidence.

      “Like your father, I agree, Sin you are destined for great things. I hope I am around to see them.” He stood and led me to the door. “Now my secretary Lynn will show you to your room and help you get settled. Please don’t hesitate if you need anything to find me. You start class first thing Monday morning so use the next two days to find a routine and get use to things around here.” And with that he opened the door for me and led me to the hallway.