Baricade
Characters: Wren and Caroline Setting: Either side of Caroline's door, morning
Wren walked up the steps, and headed to Caroline's door. When she arrived, she knocked on it. "Caroline? I would like to speak with you." she said, voice hopefully loud enough to be heard inside the locked room. It was calm, straightforward. She was almost positive that this was not going to go well, but she had to try.
Caroline was sitting on the floor, on the far side of the bed, watching the locked door like a hawk. The curtains were drawn tightly over the windows, so nobody would be able to see inside. "Go away!" she called, loudly. She wasn't going it, and no request from sweet sounding woman was going to change her mind. Still, she was terrified that they would break the door in and drag her out if here.
"I am not going to." Wren answered. "This is a situation we have all been placed in, and must deal with, including you. Your refusal to even talk it over will not help you. Sitting behind this locked door will not help you. I understand that this is confusing--it is for everyone. People in the courtyard are extremely divided on the matter." she explained. "Hiding in your room will not solve this for you, Caroline. I fear it's going to make things worse. Please discuss this with me."
“I am Not going out there to be put in stocks like some renaissance peasant so people can throw rotten fruit at me! Or worse! I refuse to let myself be made helpless in a place full of murderers and rapists!!” she screeched, the edge of hysteria sounding in her tone.
"No one is going to throw anything at you." Wren told her. "In fact, there's a whole group of people who would very likely seek to protect you from the sun, get you food or water should you need it in the short time you'd be there, and absolutely no one is going to allow anything like an assault." she said. "I understand you're very, very upset. And this all seems barbaric. But if this is the punishment that they have set forth for the first infraction, I am quite nervous about what they will do if you refuse." she continued honestly. "Think about it, Caroline. If this is their starting point, what happens next?"
“I don’t care! Maybe I fail - maybe they take me out of here and fail me and throw me back into prison and you know what - they can do that!” She looked up towards the ceiling. “Come on! Come and take me away! Like you did that other guy yesterday! You took him out - take me!! I know you can - fucking come and take me away!”
"They did remove someone yesterday. Which means if they were planning on doing that, they would be doing that." Wren told her patiently. "And this does not only affect you." Wren drew in a breath and let it out slowly, honestly worried about this situation. "Right now, people down there are voting on what to do. Your fellow 'transgressor' has already gone down and started his punishment, which is quite a lot longer than your own." she informed her. "I cannot say that one group will not come in here and force this--which will be all the more unpleasant. If you go willingly, all of that can be avoided, and you don't have to worry about being injured in the process."
“No. No way - I am not coming out, and I’ve blockaded the door, so you’re not getting in either. You’re just like that other girl - the one that said that if I just let her in she’d bring me food and sit with me and all of you just want to get me to open the door and I’m not going to!!”
"I haven't tried to get in." Wren pointed out. "I haven't even touched the door beyond to knock." she said. "Caroline, what is your end game here? How do you truly believe this will end? Remaining in your room, blockading the door--do you truly believe this will deter people? There's an entire tool shed down in the courtyard full of tools that would very easily dismantle your blockade. This is not going to work. I believe you should consider that. I don't believe you're thinking rationally, which I understand, but know will not serve you well. You sound very scared, very paranoid, and very irrational. I am sorry this is happening to you, and I'm sure this is a terrible thing to even consider. But your current tactics will not help you."
Wren exhaled. "Here are the facts. You can't remain in there forever. You will eventually require food. The administration has decided that you should be punished, and I very much doubt they will opt out of that because you refused. It will merely lead to force of one kind or another. You have pointed out that there are rather harsh, terrifying criminals interred with us, and that is very true. We have been informed, as a group, that if we do not comply with all of this, that we will have our own consequences. I don't mean to scare you further, but please do not give the scarier people a reason to want to break down your door and forcibly remove you from your room. That's truly going to be the way you wind up at their mercy. You'll be angering a lot of people who are capable of terrible things. I genuinely would fear for your safety, should that occur. If your true goal is to be unharmed and not be assaulted...your only true choice with that likely outcome will be to not force people who will not care about you to choose between their own well being and yours."
“Stop it! Stop it - stop sounding all damn reasonable! I know what you do - I know what you people do! You make it sound so damn easy, just do this and then... And then all hell breaks loose and why the hell should I trust you. I am not going out there. I am not giving up what safety I have to put myself at the mercy of a bunch of strangers with criminal records. I’d prefer to starve and then they can deal with it! See how that one looks on their press releases and their stats!”
"Caroline, I'm trying to help you. I really don't want to see this go so very badly, and I very much fear that it will. Please make this easier on everyone, especially yourself. If you want me to stand between you and the scary people for the entire time, I will, and I'll escort you back and forth between your room and there. If there is anyone else you trust, I can get them to escort and protect you. You can go, then come back and barricade yourself in your room again immediately. All hell has not broken loose. If it had, you would be able to hear it down in the courtyard. Ryan has been set in place, and people are looking to help ensure he's as comfortable as possible. What you have in there is not safety. It's danger waiting to happen."
Caroline squeezed her eyes shut and pulled her knees in against her chest, arms wrapped around them. She tried to push down the panic. This was all going to end so badly. She wasn’t safe here - how could they have sent her to a place where she wasn’t safe? She’d never wanted to see a guard’s uniform so much in her life. Still, the girl was getting to her. “Fine! Fine - I’ll come out on one condition! Everyone has to leave. The courtyard has to be empty. I don’t care where they go, but I’m not going out there when everyone else is watching!”
Wren considered that. "I will see what I can do." she promised. "I will return." With that, she turned, to head back to the courtyard.