Lighthouse Island A Novel by Paulette Jiles

Author:Paulette Jiles
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2013-09-30T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter 25

Nadia was shoved into a great hall full of women; she was made to strip and change into a gray dress, handed straw slippers. The prisoner woman behind the counter found her knapsack and stuffed Nadia’s clothes into it, tagged it, shoved it onto a shelf along with thousands of other bundles.

Then a long confusing march with twenty other recent arrestees through hallways, down stairs, up other stairs, and all the way Nadia counted every step and memorized every turn.

They came to a very large, malodorous room painted a dark gray full of cots, people, and a television screen the size of a Ping-Pong table. Two policewomen sat on chairs outside the door and pressed a button on a small remote as the prisoners were marched through the doorless doorway because there was some kind of photo-cell beam there they had to walk through without triggering an alarm.

This is an assisted living facility! It’s a jail, girls, not a prison! You will remain here under quarantine until we are sure you have no communicable diseases! Then at some time you will be informed of your meeting with your counselor! Your counselor will inform you of your charges and then you will be sent to one of the work farms or solitary confinement or you may have a screen test for television appearances depending on how your offense is categorized! This building is a maze and if you decide to try to run you will not, repeat not, find your way out! You have been given your cot number and sufficient clothing and personal items for reasonable comfort! There is a signal that will activate a siren if you step beyond this door! You have been assigned a cot, find it! Obey the rules!

Their faces were plump and smooth from plentiful water rations. They were all overweight.

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