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The shackles jingled back and forth as with each step; my foot jolted to a halt as the chain reached its length. As the unmarked transport door shut, a wave of darkness fell over the eyes of the two scrawny bone piles twiddling their thumbs.
“I’m not meant to be here.”
’20 years’ the monotone words of that narcissistic shrew kept echoing in my mind so much I thought of screaming my lungs out just to make them a little quieter.
The van stuttered and sparked to life, making a low rumble that kept my thoughts at bay for now. As I felt the acceleration of the van, I glanced over at the view window, where a sliver of sunlight was peeking through the almost-closed sliding metal sheet that acted as a small door. I grimaced at the thought of never seeing those precious golden rays ever again.
As we passed over what felt like a long bridge, I glanced over at one of the navy-blue jumpsuits with a person inside it. This deathly-looking ghost almost seemed alive as they glanced straight down across from them, staring at my shoes, although I imagine they weren’t thinking about how my laces were tied.
“Do you know where, we’re going to?” I muttered, not expecting a response.
A couple of seconds of silence passed before I noticed, on the other person’s frail face, I saw a stream of tears falling down his cheek. Looking just as malnourished as the other one, this guy was a little more responsive than the other trembling collection of bones. The teary eyed one then started swaying back and forth steadily, like a rocking chair on a farmhouse deck. This steady swaying turned more rapid, with him whispering to himself some unknown prayer. His escalating whispers, echoed by the bare walls of the van, turned into shrills of terror that echoed into my ears.
“Please, no. Please, God, no. Please GOD, NO. I DON’T WA- “
A loud bang shook the wall to my right as a demanding voice shouted, “BE QUIET BACK THERE!”
Startled, I glanced over to the view window to see those sky blue, hate-filled eyes piercing my soul. If looks could kill, I’d be long gone three times over. As the latch shut, I breathed a sigh of relief, almost wishing for more time just to get away from those eyes. Those goddamn eyes.
1
Jolting awake, I found myself in a strange area. Looking around, I realized I was in a long, dark hallway, so long, it made my eyes hurt when looking too far down. Lining the right-side wall were pipes of all different sizes. One large pipe was about 6 inches in diameter, the others looked almost like long, strewn about wires pulled to make a tight line. Every 9 ft or so, all the pipes would connect to a large metal frame, most likely to reinforce them and whatever contents they contained.
The walls, floor and ceiling were made of one cast of smooth, wet concrete. I then noticed that I was under this single fluorescent lightbulb that illuminated about 3 feet in every direction. These light bulbs were also located down both ends of the hallway, about 20 ft away from each other. This dingy swamp of a hallway filled my lungs with black mold.
I was in shock. I had never seen something so unimaginably compact yet expansive. Looking at environment I was placed in made me sick to my stomach. I felt alone, panic, intrigued, and eager all at the same time.
Confused, I started walking as it was the only thing I could do.
Most of the van ride that I remember was uneventful. After the guard told us to shut up, silence overtook any since of sound I had previously remembered. During what seemed like forever, the crybaby, as I’m calling him, kept shaking and staring at the little intersection of sheet metal directly across from him.
Starry-eyes, the other hollow soul in a blue jumper, now moved their gaze to my knee, something that must have really fascinated them. It was a subtle change, but after a while you really start to notice everything no matter where you are.
My attention returned when I heard a buzzing on top of the other usual car sounds. This sound almost sounded like we were granted access to a facility, most likely our new holding area.
Static.
I heard it on one of the driver’s radios. The white noise played for almost 15 seconds before someone spoke.
“Ready?”
The driver took a while to respond, letting almost a minute pass by before muttering,
“14-20-27.”
“Copy”
I barely had any time to think about what those numbers meant or why they said them before the air felt tight around me.
Drip, drip, drip. I could hear the water yanking me out of my thoughts.
I know this sounds crazy, but the sounds of this place were…off somehow. The droplets hitting the floor sounded almost metallic. Every couple of minutes I would also hear water rushing through the pipes to my left as I trotted down this endless corridor.
I can’t explain it, but everything about this place seems off now that I think about it. There are no entrances or exits, and you lose track of time when everything you see is the same. Even the stains along the walls seem repeated.
Tap, tap, tap.
I hear a pounding on the wall next to me.
“Please! Help Me!” – a muffled female voice screams.
I glance around to where this person is, and there is nothing, just more wall.
“Hello?” I yell out, “Is anyone there?!”
Silence.
I started to worry. Why was someone else here? Who were they? I barely had any time to think before I got my next clue.
SCREEEEECH!
A sound that made my ears shrivel up in pain echoed throughout my skull. The pain was immense, so much so that my neck had seized up uncontrollably. As every single hair on my body stood up, I felt a cold grasp on the back of my neck followed by a quiet breath that shook me to my core.
I froze. Standing here, with this, this Thing right behind me. It didn’t even say a word, but I already knew that if I moved, I would surely regret it.
Sweat dripped down my cheek as I swallowed my tongue. I thought about maybe asking it what it wanted, but its presence trumped mine like a wolf to an ant.
’20 years’ Why was I thinking of this now? I have my entire life before me and I’m thinking of the stupid prison sentence I was given. Prison? No, execution. Why 20? If they wanted me dead, they could have just killed me a long time ago.
Crack*
2
Jolting awake, I found myself in a strange area. Looking around, I realized I was in a long, dark hallway, so long, it made my eyes hurt when looking too far down. Lining the right-side wall were pipes of all different sizes. One large pipe was about 6 inches in diameter, the others looked almost like long, strewn about wires pulled to make a tight line. Every 9 ft or so, all the pipes would connect to a large metal frame, most likely to reinforce them and whatever contents they contained…
“Shit”, cursing my ignorance, I looked around at the place I had already been, and everything was the same. Remembering all that happened before, I looked around for something, anything. I noticed something on my wrist.
‘2’