Chapter Text
Day 23 – Rodolfo
“Operation ‘Jailbreak’”
“Real subtle, Rodolfo.” She says with an eyeroll as she passively braids what she can of her hair. They cut any hair that was longer than chin length. Red, as she introduced herself as, was one of the very few women in the men’s prison. She was the only one I met, as out as she is. I’m sure there were more that simply pretended to be men just to fit in.
I sighed, but I was used to her snark at this point. Brushing my hand through the dark coils of my hair, my eyes went down to the plan.
It was drawn crudely in the dirt floor, the dirt crusted beneath my fingertips from how I drew it.
“Plan ‘Freebirds’?” George offers from his crouched position across from me. Red scrunches her nose at the idea. JD, as we all called him, seemed to hardly be paying attention to the conversation. His focus was outside the bars, looking out with his fingers twitching nervously around the sleeve of his grey jumpsuit. He was always twitchy.
“Names don’t matter.” He mutters, his voice quiet as always.
“Yeah, just getting the fuck outta here is what matters.” Red retorted.
JD had suddenly jolted away from the bars, his feet kicking dirt over the drawn plans. Poor George had flinched violently at JD’s sudden movements, backing up against the wall farthest from the bars.
The jangling of keys and heavy boots on the ground nearby made us all stiffen. Red curled up, bringing her knees to her chest. George stayed pressed against the wall like he wanted to sink inside the concrete. JD bit his knuckles, his lanky body standing over the messed up dirt, knobby knees shaking. I remained sitting in the dirt with my legs crossed, back towards the cell bars.
Despite how scared we all were, all our eyes met. Step one should hopefully be completed without issues. We hadn’t really thought of a plan B otherwise.
The guard’s shadow loomed over us all in the cell. We waited, my back towards him had me tense.
“George York-” The guard spoke, male it sounded low and deep…and frightening. I saw George’s eyes widen. His blue eyes looked more scared than usual with his pupils sharpening.
Red glared up at the man through her hair draped over her eyes. I knew that look from her. I tried to subtly shake my head, a desperate attempt to stop her.
“Come.” The guard ordered sharply.
George forced himself to walk. I could see the hesitancy in his steps. His hands were trembling. He didn’t get very far before Red leaped. Maybe she didn’t notice me shaking my head earlier, or she didn’t care to calm herself. I didn’t think to try and stop her. If she hadn’t taken the leap, it might’ve been me instead.
I didn’t turn, but I had shut my eyes regardless. I didn’t want to see, but I heard. I heard Red’s angry cry, some fists making contact, then the crackle of the electricity of the baton guards held, a thud, then the quiet huff of the guard. It was silent.
We didn’t see her for the rest of the day, the lights shutting off throughout the building as the three of us remaining in the cell set down our mats for the night.
Day 74 – JD
I didn’t get any sleep last night, not that abnormal for me, especially not in a situation like this. Sometimes I think I shouldn’t even be here, but that’s not really fair. Life really isn’t fair anymore. Not here. I heard the country up North is better, not perfect, but better. A guy like me wouldn’t be in a place like this up North.
I wasn’t the only one who didn’t sleep well. George was having another nightmare, and I could hear Rodolfo tossing and turning on his mat. I could hear other people crying in other cells, some distant screaming, some rats. Not Red. I know I should care regardless, but it’s exhausting.
I heard Rodolfo shuffling over to George. I could hear him murmuring words. I couldn’t hear exactly what he was saying, but it wasn't for me. Anyone could see how those two felt about each other. It just wasn’t the right time, I suppose. If I was like either of them, I would keep it to myself. I almost wanted to tell Rodolfo to get back on his mat. Instead, my eyes glanced towards the cell bars. The lights were off, so I couldn’t see anything. It was pointless, but I was listening.
I don’t know how long it has been, but the two eventually settled. I had glanced over once I noticed it had been too quiet. I could just barely see George’s orange hair in the dark, a dark face pressed into it. They didn’t deserve to be here even if the people that wanted them here meant for them to be here.
I kept my eyes on the cell bars, watching and waiting for guards. I’m not sure if I got any sleep. Time is strange when there’s no way to keep it. Eventually I did hear the heavy footsteps of one of the guards. I glanced over at George and Rodolfo, holding my breath. I hoped the guard wouldn’t see them. Would it be smart to hide them? I suppose I could cover them with my own self, standing in front of them. Would that draw more attention to them? I could already feel the knot tighten in my stomach. I was breathing heavily now. I held my breath. My stupid panic is the reason why I’m here. It would only make things worse at the moment.
Thankfully the guard has only opened the cell door enough to throw Red inside. I was frozen still. Watching. Was she breathing? Moving? Even with my eyes adjusted to the dark, I couldn’t really tell. I didn't dare move even to make sure she was alive, not until the guard left.
I heard the footsteps fade away. Thankfully he hadn’t seen George and Rodolfo. I counted the footsteps, still frozen on my mat. I think I lost count. My breath seemed too loud.
“I got it.” Her voice sounded weak, hoarse, but the words seemed to snap me out of whatever panic I was in. She got it. We were going to get out of here.
I had watched the outline of her body lay down, not making it to where George had set her mat out next to his. I hesitantly reached out, very carefully letting my arm graze against hers hoping the small comfort would provide something for her.
Day 38 – George
The nights were always bad with all the screaming from the other prisoners. The mornings were typically worse…waking up I mean. I felt warmer than I usually did last night, but the warmth had left when the guards began doing their rounds. They banged their batons against the metal cells as the lights flickered on. The loud noises echoed throughout the prison, beeping from the scanners the guards used to scan the barcodes on our wrists.
I winced as the lights came on, opening my eyes just to gasp, sitting up on my mat. My eyes had caught sight of another prisoner. A chill went down my spine as I realized it was Red, still lying down in the dirt. She hadn’t even made it to her mat.
“Shut up.” Red spoke. Her voice sounded quiet. She was never quiet.
“But-” I started to speak. Something like this couldn’t be ignored. Her hair that was once chin length was shaved, a few scabbed over cuts on her scalp from where the razor handler got too greedy. Her jaw was blackened with a bruise. The jumpsuit covered most of her injuries, but I could tell just from the way she was breathing that something was very wrong.
“Drop it, George.” JD spoke, cutting me off. I frowned, but I didn’t speak. “She’s got it.” He added. It. She got it.
“But-” I wanted to argue. How were we supposed to leave when she was in such poor condition?
“We’ll figure it out.” Rodolfo said softly, looking directly at me. It was like he had the odd ability to read my mind and calm the racing thoughts of my head.
The muscles in my shoulders didn’t relax, but I didn’t voice my concerns out loud.
“We go forward.” Rodolfo spoke, crouching over Red, his hand touching her shoulder as if she was glass. In this state, she might as well be. I think her bones are brittle enough in her state that her bones might shatter. I hesitantly nodded. I trusted Rodolfo to do what’s right. I had a feeling Red would only get hurt worse if she stayed here in her weak condition. She shouldn’t have attacked the guard, especially not for me. Her anger issues are the reason why she’s here…more or less.
We left after role call was performed right before lights out. They wouldn’t know we were gone until role call the next morning…if we weren’t caught escaping anyway. The lights shut off to the building, leaving the four of us in a dark cell. My eyes adjusted, glancing at the other three.
Rodolfo looked nervous, but ready; his stance in a false confident look, his breath looked uneven but he wasn’t shaking like JD. JD looked nervous, always did, there was an almost hopeful look to him. His stance was ready to run, run out. Red was still in bad shape, her arm on JD’s, probably using him to stay standing. I could barely see her eyebrows, how they furrowed with the usual anger. I could tell she was itching to get out, and even in her state, she wouldn’t let anyone take away our freedom again.
Rodolfo took the keycard from Red that she snagged off the guard last night after she’d been taken. The white card was like a savior, my heart racing as I watched Rodolfo stretching his arm through the bars to get to the keycard swipe. I held my breath as I witnessed him almost drop it. He could just barely swipe the card, Rodolfo straining his arm through the bars.
The bars clicked unlocked and Rodolfo quietly slid the cell door open, and the four of us slipped out of the cell and into the open prison block.
Day ? – Red
I held onto JD as we made our way out. We weren’t out yet, but I’d rather lay down my life than get locked up again. If we got caught, it might as well be as good as death. Maybe we’d end up being one of those “accidents” I used to hear about on the televisions.
I held onto JD who held onto George who held onto Rodolfo as we made our way quietly through the dark space. The guards had night vision, and they’d easily catch us if they saw us walking around. The other prisoners wouldn’t see us, so we won’t have to worry about them calling us out. On the other hand, none of us could really see either even with our eyes adjusted to the darkness.
Rodolfo had already scoped the place out and vaguely had an idea about where everything was. He was the newest edition to our cell, being interrogated for a week about where people could find others like him, dragged from room to room by guards who thought they could pull more information out of him. I respected him a lot, seeing it, seeing him not break.
I heard from my place in the back of the line another door slide open as I assume Rodolfo opened it. We continued forward, walking in the dark halls taking a right, another right, a left. Everything seemed too quiet, too unguarded. I kept hearing footsteps, our footsteps, our heartbeats. Every step forward could be our last.
Another door opened. “Hey-” Not one of us. “Run.” Rodolfo said, and I was suddenly tugged forward before I had a thought on the order. Alarms suddenly blazed, red light and a loud sound blaring throughout the facility. The sudden light and sound was jarring, my body aching and burning already with my injuries.
We just had to run. The four of us ran through the halls, following Rodolfo as he led us through the facility, horridly swiping through a door. I heard the guard just on our tail. JD pulled me inside and just as the guard was about to enter the room with us, George of all people had flung himself at the guard, his thicker body making the man fall. Rodolfo and I pulled him back as JD grabbed a metal table pressing it up against the door.
“Back exit. Leads outside.” Rodolfo told us, nodding his head towards the other door in the room. I didn’t even know where we were, just a small room with some prison furniture, laid out like a living room. I certainly haven’t been in here, but I trusted Rodolfo enough. It wasn’t like the way out was any better than what was in store for us now, the guard pounding and shouting, more of them now.
I wheezed, my body already shaking from the strain. “Come on, Red.” George encouraged, both him and JD who was equally shaking helping me towards the exit Rodolfo opened with the keycard.
It was raining outside. “Rain’s good. It’ll cover tracks.” George chimed in as we piled outside. I let out a sob as the rain touched my bruised skin, the wind in my freshly buzzed hair, the smell of the sea, grass, actual grass beneath my feet. My legs felt weak, sobbing. “She’s probably in pain. We’ll get to the boats and get to the city. We can hide better there.” Rodolfo spoke. He had no idea. He’s only been here for 25 days now, spending most of that in good company with us. JD’s been here the longest for about two and half months with me. George wouldn’t have lasted the thirty-some days he’s been here without the two of us.
I was crying nonstop as the three of them practically dragged me down to the shoreline to the boats. Even then, freedom never felt so fucking good.