Day: 85

Days Left: 5395

Lives Saved: 0

"No..." Corinna shook her head. "That can't be. She remembers arriving here only two years ago, not over one-hundred!."

"Well, of course." Salim paused, his face softening as he gazed back at the young woman. "They wipe her memories every time she escapes then dump her back here."

"Harmony has escaped before?"

Salim nodded and stared down at the ground. "Many times. At least twenty from what I have recorded. She escapes, and they keep sending her back."

"Then... she can't ever be free." Corinna hugged her notebook close to her chest. Her eyes darted back to the direction where the spire was. She imagined Harmony sat on top of the tower waiting patiently to escape as she had been for two years.

"The only way to be free is to live out your sentence."

"But you two have been here for over one-hundred years! Even if you have done something so terrible, it should be almost over. Surely you two should be free any day now?"

A slight smile appeared on Salim's face before it twitched and wobbled into a frown. He shook his head. "Harmony and I should have been freed quite some time ago. But unfortunately, we proved entertaining to watch. All of those escape attempts we pulled, they revelled in our failures and extended our sentences."

Corinna recalled back to when she walked past some of her relatives cheering and laughing as they watched the broadcasts, yelling at the screen that it was the prisoners' own fault, that it was what they deserved.

"When I learned this," Salim continued. "I decided from then on to do absolutely nothing and to be as unnoteworthy and boring as possible." He waved his hands to a stack of storybooks and then to box of wool and knitting needles. "They cannot make a profit off of me now; thus, they will stop extending my sentence." His proudful grin dissipated. "Of course, Harmony would not listen to my plan. She continued trying to escape, and now she has become the famous monster in The Eternal Abyss. Undoubtedly, her sentence has grown exponentially. They enjoy watching her too much to just let her go free." Salim looked up at Corinna, his mouth quivering slightly as if he was hesitating. "She will abandon anyone for the chance of freedom. I hope you realise this."

"Why don't we just tell her about all of this?" asked Corinna, ignoring the last part of what Salim had said. "We should tell her that she can't escape and she should do what you're doing-"

"Don't you think none of us has tried!" Salim snapped.

The two were silent for a long moment as Salim's voice reverberated across the desolate marshland.

Sucking in a mouth of air, Salim calmed himself down. In a soft and low voice, he continued, "we have tried. Telling her how long she has been down here, how many times she has escaped, everything... it never works. It just makes everything worse. She'll be even more determined, more reckless in trying to escape."

"So, what is the plan then?" Corinna asked in her flat voice after donning her mask of expressionless. "Don't do anything and just watch her escape? Let her be dumped down here with no memories again and again?"

Salim sighed. "I don't know," he answered, his voice wavering and quiet, almost a whisper. "I don't know what to do."

They were both silent again.

"Should I stop her from escaping?" Corinna traced the back of her neck. "Let her finish her sentence?"

She waited for Salim to respond, but he did not.

"On the other side of the portal is just a load of technicians, barely any soldiers. So long as she can fight through them, then she'll be free."

Salim shook his head. "She will be on the run. They will hunt her down wherever she goes. That's not freedom. She is still trapped only the cage is larger."

"I still think it's worth a shot," said Corinna, standing up. "I will set Harmony free."

*

When it began to grow dark, Harmony decided that it was best to return back to the house. She had spent the entire day waiting on top of the rock spire, and the portal did not open as usual. Of course, Harmony had gotten used to this, but for some reason, it stung more than normal. The wait, the expectations... it all felt heavier and twisted her insides as she walked back to the house.

It was because Corinna wasn't there.

Before, they would talk, play games, or spar whilst waiting for the portal. But for the past few days, Harmony was alone. She would sit on the summit in silence and stare up at the sky just as she did before Corinna came tumbling into her life.

The closer Harmony got back to the house, the more her heart thumped beat against her chest. All of the sadness and disappointment from earlier seemed to lift off of her body. Instead, it was replaced with a smile.

Reaching the front door, Harmony opened it and found an empty house. Corinna wasn't there. Harmony's smile curdled. The swelling and churning nausea in her stomach returned stronger than ever.

"She's probably still at Ivette's," Harmony said to herself in an attempt to dismiss any thoughts of Corinna being in danger. "She'll be back soon."

After waiting a while, sitting in her armchair, Harmony stood up and headed to the food cabinet.

Perhaps it would make Corinna happy to return back with a hot meal already prepared, Harmony pondered as she retrieved the necessary kitchenware. She then froze as she saw that there were only two packets left. Of course, they would be running low as tomorrow was the food drop-off, but Corinna had said that there were four packets. Two each with one for dinner and the other for breakfast the next day.

Maybe Corinna already had hers, Harmony thought. She smelt the air and found no traces of food. Her next theory was that Corinna had taken them to Ivette's to eat, but then Harmony realised how long ago she had seen Corinna eat anything.

Corinna had lied about trading with Ivette for enough food for both of them. Corinna had been skipping meals so that she could eat. 

-----------------------------------

Reached 9000+ reads!

Thank you to everyone who has been reading, voting, and commenting!