A cold breeze whistled through the makeshift cells, offering some relief in the dark and musty basement where Eights lay flat on his bed, hands behind his head, plotting his next escape. He glanced at the cell's bars hinged to the concrete wall, then across to the cell adjacent to his, if you could call it that. The old chain-link fence and its rusted metal, held together by ragged zip ties clumsily spaced apart, made up the rest of the prison. If at least they left him in one of those cells, he would have higher hopes for escape, as the gaps between the fencing were wide enough to squeeze through, opposed to the concrete walls surrounding him.
Drip, drip, drip sounded from the cracked sink in the corner of the room, interrupting Eights' thoughts, and he pulled his hands to his ears, groaning as he did. Between that and Twelve's constant coughing, Eights didn't have much more patience before his next attempt—
Creak~! The teen flinched as the old metal door was forced open and the sound of footsteps bounced off the walls, click, click, click. Rushing to the bars, he clasped tightly to the warm metal, pushing his face against them as he craned his head to look down the narrow hall. An elderly woman grasped tightly to the arm of a young girl, who trudged down the hallway. Her silky blond hair graced her shoulders, and loose curls covered her face as she looked downward. Her rail-thin arm was pulled along by whom Eights now recognized as One.
One's eyebrows knit together as she hissed something at the girl before shoving her into the cell opposite to Eights'. Turning to Eights, she sneered, "Don't make my job more difficult by bringing that girl into your schemes."
"Don't put her in the cell right across from me then."
"I wouldn't, if you hadn't broken the fencing around the other one. I'm not kidding, Eight, no shenanigans from you."
As the woman turned and left, Eights squinted through the dark at the girl. She held her hand to her neck, gently rubbing at a bandage covering what surely was a number tattoo.
"Hey, you," he called out. "What number did you get?"
The girl's light blond hair still shrouded her face as she looked down. Her silence was quickly drowned out by the incestuous drip, drip, dripping.
"They told you not to talk to me, didn't they? All the others say it's much better here than outside with the dead." Eights paused, observing the girl as she stood frozen, her eyes glazed as she stared at the small window.
Touching a bandage on his arm, he observed the dried blood caked onto the off-white material. "They're lying, here you're basically a slave."
The girl's eyes softened as she lifted her head and in a small voice she said, "How did you get hurt?"
Clicking his tongue, Eights pulled his arm behind his back as he glanced over at the water clustering together before falling to the sink. A sharp pain shot to his shoulder, and he winced. The girl in the other cell moved closer, clasping the fence between her fingers.
"Is it bad?" She asked.
"It's awful," Eights pressed his back against the bars before sliding to the ground. "I'm Eights, by the way." He sighed as he pressed his palm to the tattoo on his neck. "It's almost as if my parents knew I'd end up here."
"Why are we here?"
Eights peeked over his shoulder, making eye contact with the girl's big doe eyes, and just as quickly, he avoided her gaze. "They just use us however they like, The Twelve they take—"
"Th-the Twelve? I thought they were an old wives' tale."
"They exist, alright, and they are just as bad as the stories."
"What-what are they—"
Creak~ Eights eyes widened, and he turned to see… Empty, an empty cell? Who was he just talking to then?
"Are you going to give us trouble this time?" A middle-aged man with a Ten tattoo approached the cell, followed closely by a young adult with a six tattoo.
"Please don't fight us this time," Six said as he loaded a dart into a tranq gun. "The Twelve will never let you out of here if you do."
"Who says I'd leave? Maybe I like it here."
"No one likes it here, kid."
"Six, stop trying to reason with him. He's as stubborn as they come." Ten snatched the gun from the other man and, with a quick pop, fired it right into Eights' neck.
"You cudn't war' me?" The boy fell to the ground, quickly plucking the dart from his neck as his vision faded. He could hear it clatter against the floor, while he glanced between Ten's legs as the girl flickered in and out of existence. Was he imagining things again?
_0O0_
A throbbing pain pulsed through Eights' arm as he rose from his bed, back in his cell again, so much for taking the tranq out in hopes he that would wake up early. Leaning against the wall he glanced at the cell across from his. No one was there.
"I guess I was imagining it after all." Pressing his hands into his eyes he scoffed at his situation. "It figures they wouldn't actually give me someone to talk with."
"I'm here though."
Eights head snapped around, scanning the empty cell, he chuckled, "Now I'm hearing things? Maybe Six was right, being down here is making me crazy."
"No!" The voice meekly protested, "I really am here though. I just…"
Suddenly the girl appeared out of the corner of his eye as if she was there all along.
"I must be going crazy," Eights clasped at the bars to his cell, craning his neck to look down the hall. "I was hoping it was someone playing a trick on me. So, ghost girl… or should I call you Nine?"
The girl's hand shot to her neck. She pouted as she looked to Eights with her big blue eyes, and in a small voice asked, "Do you think they'll give me another bandage."
"Probably not. The other numbered don't care much for us in the prison." Rubbing the back of his neck, he sighed. "Well maybe Six does, but not enough."
"He was strange…" Nine observed Eights face before her eyes flickered down. "Never-never mind."
"You don't have to worry about being rude to those numbered dogs! You can say whatever you want about them." Glancing at the girl's body, his eyes flickered up and down before he tilted his head to the side. "Where did they take skin from you?"
"Ski-skin!?" She shook her head. "Why-why would they?"
"They take skin from all the numbered regularly. Recently, one of the numbered even had his ear taken… poor guy."
Nine clasped her hands around her mouth, her eyes widening in fear, "Why would they take their skin?"
Tilting his head once more Eights said, "That's strange, all numbered are supposed to have skin taken from them no matter what. My first day here they immediately brought me into that room…" He shuddered, "They hold you down, and one of The Twelve takes a scalpel and cuts off a bit."
"That's horrible!"
Eights narrowed his eyes at the girl, "Are you really real?"
"I am, just…" She mumbled.
"Speak up, I can't hear you. Man, I really am going crazy, aren't I? I can't even hear the imaginary person my brain thought up."
Nine clenched her fists; her blond hair drooped in front of her eyes as she looked down, and her shoulders trembled, "I'm real!"
"You keep saying that but—"
Her eyes sharpened as she glared across the hall when she grasped the chain link fence and began shaking.
"Quite down, you two!" A voice boomed from the cell adjacent to Eights'. "Those two lads will come back at this rate."
"You're real?"
"I keep saying that." Nine's eyes shifted to the cell next to Eights'. "Is there someone else here?" She whispered.
"That's Twelve. He's been here longer than anyone. Two years ago, they put him down here, because they think he's going to die soon."
"Oh…"
"Don't worry though. Twelve is going to live until he's a hundred and then some."
She glanced off to the side, and as Eights watched her, she seemed to start flickering in and out of existence once more.
"So, wait! If you're real," A devious smile played on the boy's lips as his eyes lit up. "How about you help me escape this place."
"Why would you want to leave?"
"Because I want to be free."
The girl furrowed her brows in confusion, "But you don't have to run from zombies here."
"Are you kidding me? Zombies are easy if you know how to deal with them."
Nine's cheeks flushed bright red, "They aren't easy if there's a lot of them."
Clenching his jaw, Eights spat, "So you would rather live as a slave to The Twelve?"
"I-I never said—"
"You may as well have said that! If you won't help me escape, I'll just find another way."
"Boy just give it up." Twelve's voice sounded raspy from the other side of the wall. "You know they put you in here with me so I'd keep you out of trouble."
"Come on Twelve, you're not going to leak another of my plans to the numbered, are you?"
"Just stay here, it's ain't so bad."
"Another plan?" Nine asked, "You've tried to escape before."
Holding up both hands, Eights triumphantly said, "Ten times to be exact. In my eighth attempt I almost got away too, that's why they ended up locking me in here."
"They locked you in here and you would still try again? Alone?"
"Of course!"
"You're brave, I could never survive alone out there."
"I guess it's true not everyone could survive alone, but…" The old mansion creaked and rattled as the wind blew through it. Eights' eyes sparkled as a warm feeling ran through his stomach. "You wouldn't be alone. You would have me."
_0O0_
Twelve's raspy cough sounded through the pitch-black cell accompanied by a soft snoring. Eights looked up at the ceiling, trying to come up with a way to keep Twelve from telling Six and Ten that he was planning another escape. If only he could get himself and Nine out of their cells before Twelve woke up. He has been sleeping in longer and longer every day, maybe if they got out before noon?
Eights rolled onto his side as a golden beam of light hit the wall as the sun began to rise behind him. It was likely that anything Eights came up with wouldn't be good enough, but if he could just get Six to open Nine's window, they might stand a chance.
A loud phlegmy cough interrupted the continuous drip, drip, dripping of the faucet and Eights pulled his arm over his ear, drowning out the sounds around him. The only problem now was who brought breakfast, drip! If Six, cough, cough, If Six brings it, it could, drip! It could work. Cough, cough, cough! But if Ten brings it… Drip… Drip… Drip… Drip… Drip… Uuuuuuugh!
"Eights!"
The urgent whisper jolted him from his bed, and as he glanced across the hall his heart fell to stomach like a dead weight falling into the depths of the sea. His hands shook as he crawled from his dirty mattress to the metal bars. Whimpering he made his way to his feet where he and Twelve made eye contact. A glazed white film covered the old man's pupils as he looked past Eights. Moving closer the zombie slammed its head into the metal, reaching for him as it did.
"Twelve," his voice caught in his throat. "You were supposed to live to a hundred."
Creak~
"Oh crud! Six, get down here, Twelve finally bit it, and he broke out of his cell."
Eights heard something clattering, followed by hurried footsteps rushing to the basement while Ten lured Twelve to him. The boy's cheek pressed hard against the door as he strained his eyes to see the two numbered corral the man before securing an old dog catching pole around his neck.
"Let me take him out." Ten said. "It's not often we get to go beyond the walls."
"You did it last time, though," Six rebutted.
"Well, when you've been here fifteen years longer than me, you can do it. Now go give that brat his food. I'm gunna throw this old man off the side of a cliff or something."
"Don't you dare!" Eights yelled. "Or… At least bury him after. Ten! Ten, you jerk!" The boy fell to his knees as Six approached the cell.
"I'm sorry, kid, but at least you can get an extra meal from his death." The trays of food scraped against the floor as the man slid them under the door, and Eights looked up at him, perplexed.
"I get… an extra meal?" he looked past Six into the empty cell. Was he really seeing things?
"I'll make sure to bury Twelve for you, kid."
The man turned to leave when Eights jumped to his feet, "Six, before you go… Could you, maybe, open the window for me?"
"Really Eights? Please don't make my life harder than you already have."
"What? Do you expect me to climb out the window when the keys to my cell are up the stairs in the next room? I'd have to be able to walk through walls and be invisible to be able to pull that off."