Silhouette by Arthur McMahon

shined with life. He eagerly awaited his nightly package and spoke to his anonymous gift giver through the slot when it was opened. His voice was deeper than she remembered, rougher, and it melted her heart. She was unsure how to respond to him so she avoided it, as painful as it was to do so.
    One night Davi grabbed her fingers as she put the food into his cell, and he held tight, demanding that she speak.
    “Davi,” she said.
    “You know my name?” he replied. “Who are you?”
    “Davi,” She caressed the tips of his fingers with her thumb. “It’s Sue. Your choti behan.”
    “My little sister?” Davi bent at the waist and lowered himself as much as he could in the tight cell. It was uncomfortable, but he managed to get low enough to see out of the slot. “Show me.”
    She crouched down to be even with Davi’s face. Silhouette slowly peeled off her headpiece, revealing her cinnamon eyes and white skin which glowed blue in the chamber’s light. “Davi. I…”
    “Sue. How? We thought you were gone. I missed you so…you have to get out of here. What are you doing?”
    “Davi, it’s ok. I’m here to help. I’ll catch you up on the details another time, but I’m capable of handling myself. I’m safe. Don’t worry. Uh… you. You look so…old. And tired.”
    “Yeah, thanks. You have a couple of extra creases around those red eyes yourself.” Davi stood up and rubbed his shoulder. “Going to get a crick in my neck if I stay down there any longer.”
    Sue put her headpiece back on, but remained crouched at the slot to chat. “How long have you been locked up?”
    “Maybe a week before you left me that first note. I don’t know for sure. They caught me a few times sneaking away from work, but I guess this last time was my final strike. Might as well live as a slave somewhere else. Wouldn’t be any different.”
    “Why would you start acting up? What were you doing?”
    “Spending time at Baap’s grave. Well, the landfill where they throw the bodies.”
    “Dad’s dead?” Her eyes welled up. She was not prepared for that.
    “Since a year ago. The two of us were in Vix together on a supply run and some guy grabbed a bag of food off of our cart, so I chased him down and tackled him. Punched him a few times and took the bag back from him but I guess a Burmin on the road saw the whole thing. It ran over and grabbed me and took the bag out of my hand. I guess Dad came up from behind and tried to pull the Burmin off of me and we all started shouting a bunch of crap at each other. The Burmin swung his arm around and clocked dad in the head. He was knocked unconscious and went into a coma, and a few days later I was told that he was dead. I don’t think the Burmin tried very hard to save him.”
    “I, uh…” Silhouette turned away from Davi and leaned her back against his cell. A decade of hope and planning and he was already dead; her father was gone, both of her parents were, all because of the Burmin. Tears blurred her vision and she could not decide whether to grit her teeth or let loose the sobs that swelled inside of her. She put a hand over her mouth to hold in the cries. Her thermal sight detected a body marching down the corridor toward the prison entrance and all emotion drained from her in an instant. Silhouette turned back to her brother. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Davi.”
    “Sue, wait!” And the slot closed. Silhouette melted into the shadows and the Burmin entered the room. She sidled along the walls and slipped through the doorway as the Burmin inspected the prisoners. It was not until she returned to the crawlspace that she allowed her tears to fall freely.

    * * *

    During the weeks since Silhouette had first entered the prison, more humans had been locked into the cells. She had witnessed multiple occasions where unconscious bodies were dragged through the corridors and heaved into their solitary confinements. She continued to return to the prison with meals for her brother. As