The Prisoner Project

FIFTEEN

"I like this place, everyone treats me nice. Some are a bit crazy though."

- Ed Gein, Buffalo Bill.

FIFTEEN

ONE THING THAT KEPT BUGGING me at the back of my mind was what Banshee had said. I had been too caught up in the moment to dwell on it. If he had loved his mother as dearly as he claimed to, loved that she had hit him and abused him, then why did he regret not killing her sooner?

Was he just that twisted? Or did she do something in between the time she stopped abusing him and the time he began to fantasise killing her? I rested my head against my elbow and sighed.

I hated that Banshees words made me feel like I was being blown back into my past for reasons I knew all so well. It was tragic and I never wanted to admit it but perhaps Banshee and I were similar. "Thank God for diplomatic seals." I whispered as I pushed open the doors of my apartment complex and walked into the cool atmosphere.

The elegance of the building always struck me hard because of the stark contrast it had with the prison. I shook my head at the modern decor, eyeing the chandelier. "I don't even deserve all this "

Just as I reached the elevators, my phone buzzed and I noticed that it was from Diana. It was a text. I hate you but I miss you. We need to talk. OK? - D.B

I rolled my eyes at it and stepped out of the elevators. If I needed to talk to anyone, it was Mirabel. I hadn't seen her in days and she hadn't replied to my email about the file. Despite my aching trust issues with everyone in the building, I couldn't wait to relay the information I had gotten to Mirabel to see what she thought of it. The person I had been recording with for the past few days hadn't cared or aided me.

It seemed like my recordings were beginning to lose relevance. It irked me.

When I pushed open the doors to my room, I realised that it was unlocked and there was someone inside already. Standing at the window by my bed was the person I had been wanting to see.

Mirabel.

She came to find me.

___

I watched her eye the mess I had made on the bed and cleared my throat. "I don't know why you haven't been recording with me but I have a lot of information to tell you. I managed to squeeze out a lot of things from Banshee."

She turned away from me and stared out the window instead, shaking her head a little. "You seem to always want to talk about that man."

I raised a brow. It was true because Banshee had taken up half my mental capacity and in many ways, my physical strength. But wasn't that my job? "Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?"

Mirabel turned back to me, and insincere smile on her lips. She crossed and uncrossed her stocking covered legs. "I'm not complaining. It's simply because most people who do the project are not nearly as invested in it as you are."

"Perhaps I just like doing an honest job." I shrugged, not liking the manner in which her tone cane across as.

Mirabel chuckled humourlessly and waved a hand in the air. "Aria, there is nothing honest about what we're doing in this place."

"It doesn't matter if the people we're lying to are sinners too."

"Sinners." She tested the words in her mouth. Her eyes were boring into mine, and then she scoffed. "You're right. It doesn't matter if we lie to people who have sinned, does it?"