The Truth Survives Characters: Charlene and OPEN Setting: Cafeteria to start, then TBA.
For all of the things Dr. Kendall had zealously prepared for in her life, in this instance she was set adrift. A transfer was not an all-together unusual event for a federal inmate, and it was with some resignation that Charlene allowed herself to be shackled and even blindfolded, her mind floating somewhere beyond her body throughout the shudderingly empty trip. Experimentally she opened her eyes once or twice, seeing nothing but dark cloth before them, and then closed them again to view in hindsight the strange tale that had led a bright and successful future star to become the enemy of the United States.
There was Scott. He had been a whiz with equations, passionate about precision, never missed a detail. He was the first to die.
Then Halim. He'd risen up through the atmosphere of the Middle East to make a name for himself on the world's stage. Most of all, he wanted peace and prosperity for his country. He was second.
Anna. She sat with Charlene in the break room and talked about her husband. They were saving up money to afford a nursery in their house and to have a baby. She died last.
Charlene's throat went dry, her arms shaking with exhaustion. There was purpose, though, when she was pulled to her feet and marched through unfamiliar territory. If she was going to be executed, she was going to do it with the dignity and dedication to the truth that befitted Scott, Halim, Anna. The truth, after all, was not just for herself. It was for them too, snuffed out long before their own stars had faded. They would be nothing now, wasted flesh and energy, but not Charlene. Her purpose had become using her brain like a vault, a vice, gripping to innocence with every shred of its strength.
"You know this isn't right!" her hoarse voice protested. She wriggled in the grasp of someone she couldn't see, who was unfortunately stronger than her. "The real criminals are still out there!"
She thought she had gotten through when she was stopped, when she felt her hands loosen behind her back. They were so numb they dropped dumbly to her sides, and when the blindfold was removed the sudden light screamed through her eyelids. When the white snow of blindness faded from her view, she saw that she was alone. In... an elevator? With a bag at her feet.
The bell dinged and doors opened onto a large room. Charlene's limbs felt like mud, but there was something pungent slapping her into alertness. The sharp scent of alcohol. Slowly, she picked up the bag and hefted it over her shoulder, intending to carry it into the room to investigate.
"Hello...?" she called curiously, but stopped at a nearby table and set the bag down. She unzipped it to discover, of all things, clothing. And a key. Number 10. What was 10?