Jealous Much? – Chapter 2

RUDE AWAKENING 

     The room was dark and the air felt dense and still, it all felt too familiar. The siren went off as disappointment flushed over me. The siren was followed by the usual rumbling of prisoners. Some banging on the detention cell as they rushed by my cell for their morning food. The chains all felt a bit more comfortable now, at least I could sleep and dream about escaping in them. It hurt that all I had just been through, was a dream. Maria still hadn’t come to see me; I began to scream and shout her name as usual.  

     As usual the wardens rushed to have their fill of fun with me for the day. Banging on the detention cell box to match the volume of my shouting. I realized I wasn’t getting anywhere with the shouting. If Maria was going to come, I had to make a statement that they would not be able to ignore.   

     I stopped shouting and sat beside the only window of the cell. They came looking in one by one and couldn’t see me. Then they decided to bring all the fun into the cell. The gate clicked multiple times as they unlocked the various locks that held the detention cell, after which they slid the gate open. There stood before me, four prison wardens. They all had smug looks on their faces, it was pretty clear that they were here to do all sorts of things to me.  

     Warden James, the head of this gang of prison wardens was first to step in, motioning for the rest to follow. They all surrounded me and started kicking me and hitting me with their batons. I had bruises everywhere, today was getting worse by the second and I needed to change that. The siren went off again and they all had to leave because of the returning inflow of prisoners. Finally, some breathing space, they all went out and closed the gate securing every lock they had opened to get in.   

     I sat up to begin checking my wounds when I felt something press up against the bottom of my lap. One of those idiots had dropped their keys. I picked up the bunch and could only wonder what doors this would open up for me. Definitely not the detention cell though, at least not from this side of the gate. It was time to formulate a proper escape plan.

…

   Morning had come again and I was pulled from sleep by the sound of the detention cell gate opening. I had hidden the keys in one of the loose floor panels of the detention cell. The door finally slid open with warden James staring down at me, behind him was his usual “entourage”. They came in and unchained my hands, feet and neck. Then pulled me out of the cell, I hadn’t had a bath in 7 days now, and that was why they were here, I was beginning to stink up that wing of the prison.   

     The water hit my back like blocks of ice being thrown at me. I was pinned to the wall while they took turns spraying me with the high-pressure hose. My injuries from yesterday were still fresh and the water reminded me just how painful they were. The wardens all made jokes out of it and each had a laugh. When they were done, they threw a used towel from the pile of dirty towels at me. “Dry yourself up”, one of them said, the towel smelled like something fresh out of a drainage system but what choice did I have?  

     After I had worn my clothes, they dragged me right back towards the detention cell, but they didn’t put me in. In fact, they were cleaning it out for someone else. Looks like someone had done something worse than I did. I still needed to get the keys from beneath the loose floor panel I hid it under but they were all watching me; I really needed those keys. It would only be a matter of time before they take me back to the usual cells with a new roommate.   

     The megaphones echoed, “warden James Fretman, your attention is urgently needed in the director’s office”. This was the break I was looking for; anywhere that warden James went, his entourage was sure to follow. 

     Sure enough, the room was emptied out fast, leaving me with the two guards who were cleaning the detention cell. One of them had of course been assigned the task of shooting me if I moved. ‘I need to act fast’, I thought to myself. By merely looking at the two guards it was clear that I could take them. One was armed with a mop-stick, the other with a gun. The mop stick man would be easy, I just need a way to distract the guy with the gun. 

     As if Mr. mop stick heard me, “hey Philip” he called the gun man, Philip made the mistake of turning to face mop stick man and before long, I had control of the room, I couldn’t shoot them though, the sound would attract the others.  

     I motioned for Philip’s associate to move into the cell, then followed him in with Philip to get my keys. I came out and locked the gate of the detention cell with them in it, all the while leaving my new gun focused on them until I left the room.

…

  The whole prison was on alert now, guards were searching everywhere, armed to the teeth. They had come through the bathrooms but they forgot to check the loose ceiling grates. I had watched them check the bathroom stalls twice now. Things were getting very uncomfortable up here; I needed a disguise or a better hiding place. But it was still too busy to come out now, they would spot me for sure. I had to wait for night time before coming out of here.  

…

     Evening came faster than I expected, even though I was phasing in and out of sleep sessions. I was glad that darkness had fallen and I would soon be free to escape. I had listened in on prisoner chatter while I waited for nightfall. The word around the prison was that I had escaped. The first man to escape brim-wood penitentiary. I thought to myself, I’d be making history. Soon, the shuffling feet and side commentary had seized. Only the steady footsteps of the pacing wardens on night duty could be heard throughout the hallway. It was now or never.  

     I dropped from the ceiling like a cat on the prowl, it was surprising how silent my landing had been. But there was little time to celebrate my spectacular skill in stealthy movement. Just outside the bathroom and getting closer, was the sound of footsteps and the glare of a fully charged flashlight. I couldn’t get back into the ceiling in time, so I pressed up against the wall beside the door frame and waited for the person to pass.   

     The warden stopped in front of the door. Pointing his flashlight into the bathroom. The room lit up like the sun had risen. If he were to come in here now, he would definitely see me. The warden turned away and continued down the hall. The bathroom had fallen dark again. And it was time for me to get my plan together. I had a loaded gun with seven shots left in it and I had a bunch of keys that opened some doors that I didn’t yet know.  

     I pushed the gun into my trousers covering it with my shirt and then I held the keys in my left hand. My inventory was set now all I needed was a map of this place. There was one in every prison wing except the detention wing. People in detention didn’t need any sense of direction, I guess. I had to find my way back to the east wing. It was the closest to the detention wing. That would be my only way out of this. Another set of footsteps approached from outside, so I got in position pressed against the wall right beside the door frame again. This time the warden stopped right in front of the door and walked in. Luckily, he hadn’t looked at his sides as he walked in. This was only going to end one way.

…

     I felt his warm blood drip onto my hand from the bottom of his jaw as I pushed the key deeper into his head. I had caught him by surprise and had given him little time to react, he could barely struggle anymore. He grasped desperately for my head with one hand while trying to pull my hands away with the other. It was all futile, I had my key lodged deep into his throat now, twisting and pushing deeper until he finally stopped struggling. Yet another soul cured of his meaningless life. 

     A certain joy swept over my soul, a feeling I was getting very familiar with. This was why I was put on this earth, to give people a second chance at life by taking away the miserable ones they were living. I looked down at his healed body, his blood still oozed from his neck. I began to wonder what it would taste like.