CHAPTER 43: ARE WE GOING TO DIE SILLY HERE?

While Selene was in isolation, Ronald was entrusted to look after Hannah during her absence. So whenever it was break time, Hannah would be with him just like the three of them.

It had been two days since Selene had been in isolation, and Hannah felt increasingly worried about her. She had heard that the room was very cold and also dark, which must have made her feel uncomfortable.

"Do you think she’s okay? Can’t you go and check on her?" Hannah asked Ronald.

"I wish I could, but not all wardens can go to the isolation room. Only those who are designated are allowed to enter the area," said Ronald who was also worried.

"Selene must be freezing in there. She must also feel lonely being alone in a dark place like that." Hannah’s eyes dropped at the thought.

So far, Ronald knew that Selene was fine from the other wardens. Though he wasn’t sure if by fine she meant alive or something else.

Lately on Markward Island where Redboiler Prison was located, there were often strong winds that felt so cold. The isolation room area, which was very cold because it was in the basement, would feel even colder because of the wind entering the small vent in the small gap in the upper corner of the room.

"I already feel cold being in an open field and there’s sun here. What about her down there? What if she freezes to death!" Hannah looked like she was starting to panic

"Hey, calm down, Hannah. Don’t panic too much about this. I’m sure Selene is a strong woman and she’ll be fine," he tried to calm her down.

Until now, Caelum had not given them any information about Selene’s time in isolation. The man seemed to be silent, not even showing any of his usual expressions or reactions.

They didn’t know if he really didn’t care, or if he was already planning something.

"There are rumors around the wardens that Chief Rothwell never came to the isolation room to see her. They think that maybe Selene is just someone to release her desires," Ronald said.

Hearing this, Hannah’s feelings were further hurt because her best friend seemed like a puppet for someone she feel special.

Meanwhile, Caelum himself was in his office and busy doing something. He never came to the isolation room as they had rumored until now. No one know what he was thinking, but at that moment Caelum felt that he wasn’t himself anymore since he knew Selene.

He seemed to have become someone else, even siding with the criminals in his own prison.

’How come I’ve always broken the rules that I made myself, until they actually reprimanded me for this?’ he thought at the time.

In the almost 8 years he had been Chief Warden, he had never treated anyone special even if they tried to seduce him. He had never once favored anyone, not even opening his heart to a woman in prison.

However, this case was different in that he seemed to be bewitched by Selene. An unusual feeling arose, making him unable to control his own thoughts when around her.

"I knew she was dangerous. I even went so far as to create a petition to free her," he muttered at that moment.

He had never done anything to this extent, let alone what he was doing as if he was breaking the law by spreading information about Selene that no one was allowed to share with the public.

The more he got to know that woman, the more he felt they had a connection with each other without realizing it. At that time, he deliberately did not go to the isolation room because if he went there, she would definitely try to get him out of the place.

However, there was clearly an inner debate within her.

"Should I go see her or..."

****

Three nights later, Selene lay limply on the floor of the isolation room because it was so cold. She didn’t have a blanket or anything, only the clothes she was currently wearing.

A strong wind entered the ventilation holes in the wall, making the isolation room even colder and Selene began to shiver.

"Damn, it feels so cold. At this rate, I’ll get hypothermia," she muttered in a trembling voice.

There were no guards in the isolation room area, especially since it was located in the basement. She couldn’t ask anyone to take her outside or ask for something to keep her warm.

Slowly her breathing became heavy, and her lips trembled. But she tried to hug herself.

"Just like in the past, huh?" asked an 11 year old girl kneeling nearby.

Selene raised her head, looking at the girl who had her face when she was a child. She realized that she was starting to hallucinate because of the coldness, but she couldn’t let go of the hallucination.

"Mom was very angry because we accidentally broke a small plate. Then she pulled us out of the house and threw us into a small shed full of holes in winter," said little Selene.

She smiled, remembering the incident when she was 9 years old. She accidentally broke a small plate and her mother took her to the shed at the back of the house. Her feet were red, stepping into the cold snow barefoot and she was forced to sleep in the shed overnight.

"It was really cold, the wind entered every room in the shed and we could only curl up on the floor. It was really miserable," she says with a laugh.

"But there won’t be Mrs. Kim to save us this time. Are we going to die here?" little Selene asked again.

She recalled the time when she was rescued by her own old lady neighbor, Mrs. Kim. She was the one who finally saved her and took her to the hospital when she got hypothermia.

However, this time there was no one who could save her. Was she going to die in that place?

Slowly, she grabbed the hand of little Selene who was still kneeling nearby but looked frightened. She grasped her hand even in hallucinations trying to make the child version of herself no longer feel frightened.

"Even if we’re going to die here, we’ll be together. Don’t be afraid, I will be there for you. You’re no longer... Alone..."

Her breathing was getting heavier and heavier, and her body was getting hotter and hotter from being too cold. She knew that if she were to lose consciousness, she could really die in that place.

Her eyes closed slowly, but in her remaining consciousness she remembered that man and wished he had come to save her.

"Cae... Lum..."

Was this the end of the Siren of Justice, where she froze to death alone without anyone nearby?