Stealing Silence(5)

She managed to eat three quarters of the tray before she could not manage another bite. She had saved the apple and paper cup of milk as she thought they would not let her keep the tray and she was correct for as soon as she sat back, the guard picked up the tray. She snatched the milk and the apple off the tray and sat them on a small ledge beside the bed.

The orderly placed the plastic tube of cream on the ledge beside the bed headed for the door after the guard. “We will leave you now. I would suggest you get some rest.” The pair left the cell and silence descended then the force field hummed back to life. Avalon yawned and decided that sleep was a good thought. She spread out the blankets saving the third to use as a pillow and was asleep within minutes, the first real sleep she had had in a long time.





Chapter 4


Whispered Dreams




AVALON’S DREAMS WERE filled with conversations. Every time she rolled over, she thought she heard voices but her exhaustion pulled her back down before she could wonder at the sound. It was in the early hours of the morning when she woke with a start, her nerves tingling. Someone was standing outside her cell door. Two shadows striped the floor and the low voices carried into her room, not hindered in the least by the force field. She slipped off of her metal bunk and slid her arms into the donated robe, then crept to the side of the door, keeping clear of the low humming force field. She shivered for moment then stilled.

“...choice do we have? You know the feds will be here by noon at the latest,” said a male voice.

“Yes, but how do you intend to explain her absence? They know there is a prisoner here,” said a feminine voice.

“Then why did you not finger scan her record? You, of all people know this is required on every criminal booking. Yet you didn’t take her fingerprints. I think you have a plan already in place,” said the man.

“We don’t have any choice,” said the woman, her voice flat with frustration. “If we wait any longer, there will no longer be a town of Melona. Our appeal of the lottery has fallen on deaf ears. If we cannot get the government fertilizer needed for the next greenhouse crop, then there will be no local food source. The few people remaining will be forced to abandon their homes and head for the city. Already this town starves from within. We must get our hands on our share.”

“Then it is decided. We need a burglar and she has proved her skill set over and over. But she needs to be taken from here, now, while the jail house sleeps. I can get her out of here undetected,” said the man.

“Fine, I will take care of the official records. Take her.” Heels clicked on the tile floor. “Oh, and Mitch, be sure her face is never seen in this town again. That goes for you, too. Good luck.”

Mitch grunted and must have agreed, for the heels continued their journey, fading away. Avalon heard the snick of the lock and scurried back to her bench, lying down just as the opaque door swung open.

Mitch entered her cell, dressed head to toe in dark clothing, and a well-worn baseball cap with the Melona Meteors symbol in blue decorating its crown. He walked over and shook her shoulder to wake her and she stretched and sat up. “What is it?” she said in a sleepy voice.

“Do you want to get out of here?”

“Yeah sure. What do I have to do?”

“I will explain it on the way. Come, grab your things.” He handed her a duffel bag and Avalon found her sweater inside, recently cleaned and a few of the rips mended. She abandoned the robe, stuffing it into the duffel bag along with the disposable slippers and pulled the warm hoodie over her head.

“I also brought you some breakfast. You can eat it in the car.”

Avalon slipped her feet into her runners the grabbed the apple she had saved and downed the last of the milk. “Ready,” she whispered.

“OK, follow me and don’t make a sound. If you alert the guards, we are both in trouble. Now follow me.”

Mitch headed back to the door and with a quick glance both ways to be sure the hall was clear, headed back in the direction of the bathrooms. Instead of the women’s bathroom, he took her into the men’s bathroom then over to a locked door. He punched in the code then pulled open the door. As the door closed, plunging them into darkness, Avalon caught a glimpse of boilers and pumps. They were in the mechanical room of the station. A blaze of light cut the dark as Mitch turned on a wide-lensed flashlight, lighting the interior. “This way” he muttered, leading the way past the appliances and into a service corridor that ran the entire length of the building. He picked up the pace, anxious to put some distance between the cells and their location.

Avalon listened hard, heart pounding, afraid that the sound of alarms would shatter the silence at any moment, when her disappearance was discovered. She trotted after Mitch, matching his long strides with two of her own. At the end of the corridor, another door presented itself, heavy metal and complete with a panic bar and a lit sign that said “EXIT.” Stuck on its surface was a sign that said “Alarm will sound when door is used.” Dismayed, Avalon halted, but Mitch took out a length of wire, a couple of clamps and a pair of snips. He stripped away the coating and clipped on the length of bypass wire then repeated the process on the other side of the door. Once he had the connection established, Mitch cut the wire leading to the alarm contacts that ran around the frame. Pushing the door open, they quickly passed through and flattened themselves against the wall. Nothing moved in the dark parking lot. Two streetlights cast pools of light at either end of the parking lot. “Now listen, there are two cameras mounted at either end of the building. But the one on the left there, the swivel is broken on the mounting. It is stuck facing straight ahead. If we stay along the building, it will not pick us up within its range. Follow me.” He led her along the shadows of the building, dodging out only when they needed to go around an obstruction. They reached the far end with incident then Mitch’s arm swung out and pressed her back against the brick. He raised a finger to his lips, begging silence. Avalon listened hard, then heard the crunching of gravel under a heavy boot. A police officer in uniform passed by the corner where they stood frozen and continued on down the path to a waiting squad parked in the second row of parking. As soon as he was a safe distance past, Mitch grabbed her sleeve and pulled her into the bushes on the other side of the sidewalk, pulling her down beside him. They waited until the officer pulled away and then checking once again to be sure that all was silent, dashed deeper into the trees, keeping the trunks between them and the police station.