"You came back?" she asked. Her expression lightened. "Oh, hey, I didn't
mean anything about that chicken comment . . . "
"Whatever." I replied.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"The name's Andrea, and you are?"
"Stephanie."
Just then, Frederick and Alex came running up the hall.
"Are you okay!" they cried. "We heard growling and shouting and
screams so we ran here as fast as we could!"
"I'm fine." I assured them.
"What was all that noise?" asked Frederick.
I pointed toward the cell. "It was her."
They peered in. "Hey, there's a girl in there!" cried Alex. "What
are you doing in there?"
"What does it look like I'm doing?"
"Are you lost?" he asked.
"No. I've been in this same bloody cell for the past five years."
she replied.
"Well why aren't you with all the other prisoners?" Alex inquired.
She rolled up her sleeve to display her arm. "I'm a little uncooperative."
she answered. There was her tattoo. Number one. "Apparently I'm the only
‘one'" she laughed dryly. "Um, do you mind getting me the keys to this
thing so I can get out of here?"
Alex looked at her number, stunned. "Oh God! We've gotta get
out of here. Run, she's crazy, she'll kill us!" He turned to run but Stephanie
picked up her led pipe and hooked it on his shirt. She pulled his face
up to the bars and looked at him. She brought her face next to his and
grumbled "Get me the keys, or I'll show you ‘crazy'"
"Uh, guys?" laughed Alex, nervously. "Get the nice girl her keys"
"I don't know where they are." said Frederick.
"On the wall," said Stephanie, calmly, "two, bloody metres away."
She took a deep breath.
Frederick went over and got the keys from the wall. They were
pasted there with goo and slime. He brought them over and found the key
hole. He tried to put the key in, but something was jamming it.
"@#$!" yelled Stephanie. "Try again! Just ram it in there!"
"Give it to me, Fred!" I squalled. "I'll show ya how it's done."
I took the key and drove it in the hole. It clicked and the lock fell off.
"Um, it's a girl thing." I answered, as Frederick and Alex looked
at me with surprised looks.
The door slid open, but not enough for Stephanie to fit out.
"Damn! My muscles are too big!" she screamed, as she tried to
fit through the opening.
Frederick started making fun of her. "Look!" he cried. "Now I'm
in!" He jumped in the cage. "Now I'm out!" he slid back out again. "In,
out, in, out, in!"
Stephanie grabbed him by the hair and yelled "Stop it, stop it
you idiot! Or I'll mash your face into the same stuff that's on the walls!"
"Back off," I threatened, "You wanna hurt him, you get through
me first."
"Girl, I could rip through you like a T-2000 on fire."
"A what?"
"It's the name of the robots she uses as guards." explained
Alex.
"Oh, in that case, let's see you try, fat boy!"
"I'm not fat! I'm sturdy."
"You're fat!" I cried.
She screamed and charged at me. The bars bent apart, but she
still couldn't fit between them. "You little twerp!" she cried. She loosened
her grasps on Frederick and Alex they took the opportunity to back away.
"D'oh!" she shouted.