"You should try and eat something. You've not had anything to eat since morning. Take this, it will help settle your queasy stomach." I say, handing her a small packet of pretzels.
"Okay, thanks..." She says and collects the snacks from me. She opens the packet and I watch as she nibbles on it until she finally finishes the whole pack.
"I'm sorry I couldn't come on time today. I had a very busy day but be sure I'll come to see you tomorrow with a sumptuous meal. How about that?" I ask and she nods with a smile.
I give her a bottle of water then. After she has taken her fill, she puts the lid back on the bottle.
"Ash, can you tell me what happened this morning between you and the inmate that died?" I ask gently, picking my words so she doesn't feel guilty or bad about herself.
"According to some of the guards, you attacked her on your way to the mess hall for just no reason."
"Wait, what!? But that's a lie! That's a big lie! Why would I attack someone I don't know for no reason? And not just anyone, someone as tall and big as her and in the presence of the guards!? C'mon, I'm not that crazy! The guards that told you that are all liars!
I don't know how things are done in a prison. I mean nobody said anything to me about the way they dress and other stuff. Early this morning when the alarm sounded and I saw all the bars automatically slide up, I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I only stepped out of the cell when I saw all of them were already standing outside their cell. We were walking down the passageway, going to god knows where when I felt a huge arm suddenly wrapped around my neck and grabbed me in a chokehold.
She whispered in my ears, 'Your life is mine. It is my ticket out of this shit hole!'
Two guards witnessed everything. I thought they would intervene but they did nothing! They watched as she dragged me by my neck into that cell. They watched as the sick dirty pig pinned my neck to the wall with one hand and tried to reach under my dress with the other.
It was disgusting and frightening at the same time. She was almost choking me to death but they all chose to just stand and enjoy the show! I was angry and blinded by rage to the extent I couldn't control myself... The rest you know."
I can see her anger coming back as she talks and by the time she finishes narrating her side of the story to me, she's almost shaking with rage. I am furious myself but I try to calm down. It's obvious the attack was a hit on her life and I'm happy she possesses the power to protect herself.
I wait for her to also calm down and be in control of her emotions
"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry that you had to stay in here and go through that... Can you maybe hold on a little longer? Can you give me a little more time? I promise you all these will soon be over and those guards will pay for their crimes. I promise you that too."
"It's okay, really. I'm not angry and I don't blame you for anything. Rather, I'm grateful to you for looking out for me." She says with a smile.
She directs her gaze to the window.
"It's late already. You should head back to the pack. You said before that you had a very busy day, so you need to rest. Don't let me keep you here anymore than necessary."
I nod. She's right. I should start heading back to the pack not to rest though but to resume at the first gate for my patrol duty.
"You're going to be fine here. You have the whole block to yourself. You can take a walk and explore inside the building if you like. No guard or inmate will dare disturb you.
If someone comes around and there's any threat to your life then don't hold back! Don't hesitate to protect yourself by any means possible, do you understand me?" I say, looking seriously at her. I don't want her holding back because she already killed some scumbag that begged to be killed
She nods "I will"
"Good... I should be on my way then," I say and stand up from the chair.
"Yes... Uhmm, can I ask for a favor?" She asks tentatively
"Sure, what is it about?"
"Since I'll be here for a month, do you think I can get some books to while away time with? Preferably the ones I can study in preparation for the SAT exam?"
"Yes of course," I say with a grin. I'm happy about the fact that she refused to allow the situation she's in to get the best of her. "I'll bring them along with me tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay, thanks... Uhmm, another thing..." She says and hesitates
"Go on..."
"I'm just wondering about Thor... How is he doing?" She asks and continues talking before I can answer her question.
"Something is happening. Uhmm, I don't know how I can explain it to you. You see, even though that day when he didn't recognize me, I still felt his warmth in my heart, you understand...
But now, I can't feel him anymore. Sif can't feel Kane too. I don't know Eric, now it kinda feels as if I've lost that warmth. I feel cold all over. It feels like– like a strong wall has been erected between us. A strong wall that I can't break through...
***
I close my eyes and rest my back when I return to my car. I have never been so tired and weary of my job of being Thor's assistant and Beta as I am just now. Knowing she was hoping for some kind of good news and having to lie to her makes me feel bad.
I feel guilty about lying to her but what would I have done? It's not as if I can tell her Thor pushed their memory away to where he can't access it. Or that, it's likely, he won't get the memory back ever again.
I loudly exhale as I reach for the ignition to start the car. I took the third gate out when I was coming to Council yard since that route is nearer to the prison. Now I will have to take a longer route which is about a half an hour's drive to the first gate where I will be working the rest of the night with Victoria and the other Gammas
As I drive, I rearrange my schedule in my mind according to how important they are. I have an appointment to call Uncle Knox tomorrow morning, I just don't know if I should tell him about Ash's pregnancy and the possibility of her being an original since he didn't take the news of Thor being an original too well, or should I just stick to our discussion about Miranda and her family?
I'm almost at the first gate when something massive smashes into my windshield, making me lose control of the car.