I wrote this about... 4 years ago? I'm just sifting through some old work and posting it to see what you guys think. It's weird reading this... I don't even remember doing it, and it's weird to see how I have changed in terms of writing.

This story was written for school purposes. It was originally going to be longer but I had to make it under 4,500 words.
Words: 4,447

There are no chapters to this, it is just straight writing.





Prologue

“GET HIM!”
“DON’T LET THAT KID GET AWAY!”
The screams of the police officers echoed through the thin brick layered passage as they chased the culprit of a convenience store robbery. Even though they were fast and had much longer legs then the criminal they could not catch up and he got away. In the days following the officers tied the criminal to other petty crimes which were committed in the big city of Rockwall over the last couple of months like loitering and vandalism. They guessed he was 5’7, 14 years old, 120 pounds, long pin straight dark brown hair which reached mid-way down his nose and covered his left eye but not his right eye, bluish green eyes, tanned skin, and usually wearing jeans with a black or red t-shirt. Though the cops had no evidence against this suspect multiple eye witnesses gave almost the exact same descriptions. Even though he was not that big of a must to catch, police were still hoping to catch him.





Part I

“Dave why did you do that?” The sound echoed through his mind… The voices came from not only himself, but his closest friends. He had always been out of order. But this was different. He did something really bad. He knew he didn’t have long…

The next few days felt like years. The cops arriving at the door, being arrested, being convicted of his crimes. The worst of it all was being in trouble, it was seeing his sad mother. The look on her face made him feel like he had an icy cold heart. He wished he could just go in a corner, stick to the darkness, and have his soul swallowed up, taking away all of his thoughts. He wanted to get away from it all. The judge had been very lenient on him giving him choices. Either 1 years house arrest or 2 months of juvenile prison. The extra downside to juvenile was that the punishments would be more severe if he broke the law again compared to house arrest. He would take his chances…

As he drove down the rock encrusted road, he looked outside at the view. It was not the evil looking, place he thought it would be. The surroundings before the prison were animal filled meadows and beautiful lakes. The scenery made his cold heart lift and unfreeze. He felt a sense of happiness… A sudden stop, a pull and he got out.

“Ok we are walking from here” Said the voice of the driver

Even though there was still the beauty of nature around him, he could not shake the cold feeling of prison, and not seeing his friends for 2 months and only seeing his parents once a week. The cold took over the warm, the beauty around him turned to dust, and his cold sinking feeling took over. The sadness once again over whelmed him… Why had he done those things? Why had he been so stupid? He loved the adrenaline rush, but why did he do illegal things to get it? Why not just perform stunts on his bike? Why not go bungee jumping or something like that? It was too late now. It happened, he did it, and there was no way to stop it. No way to change the past. He would just have to suck it up and go through with it. As he entered the front gate, he was approached by a security guard. Sun glasses, black hat, guns, the whole get up.

“This is Dave, he is new” the driver said to the guard.

As Dave looked up he saw the high walls surrounding the prison. “20 foot walls, barb wire, hound dogs, search lights, guards with guns, we don’t let anyone escape. Last person who tried died in the process so you just stay put.” Said the guard, in a happy, jokingly, yet serious toned voice. The guard brought him to his cell. A 4X4 room which was shared between 4 people. In the two corners away from the cell were bunk beds. In the middle of those was a sink, and toilet. It portrayed what he thought it would be like in the movies except for the cleanliness. All beds were made, all clothes were folded, the sink and toilet were clean, it was much nicer then he thought. “Your roommates are out but will be back soon. They are Geno, whose real name is unknown, he is here on a drug charge, Leon, a multitime offender for different crimes, like a worse version of you, and Jack, he punched out some officers and got into some fights. Watch out for Jack he might try to off you, and Geno will try to get drugs or something off of you so be weary of him. Leon is a good guy, but if you bother him in the slightest way he will mess you up. Now put your stuff away and get ready to meet your cell mates for the next 2 months… Good luck…” after saying all of this, he walked away with an evil grin on his face.

Dave put away his clothes, got changed into his prison clothes, jumped on his bed, which was the one in the bottom right bunk when looking towards to back wall. He sat on his bed, thinking if they could really be that bad, but his thoughts were soon interrupted by the entrance of his first cell mate.

“Hey I am Leon, I presume you are the new cell mate? Welcome. I hope the guard did not scare you like he does everyone. He always exaggerates things and tells people bad things about everyone here. I bet he told you that if you bother me I will clobber you. Don’t worry I wouldn’t hurt a fly” said the boy named Leon. He was tall, and rather bulky. Not a chubby bulky, but a built and tough bulky. He was obviously fit and very strong. He had a scar down the right side of his face, and he looked very nice and happy. He did not look very intimidating, and Dave had a feeling that Leon was here for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Why are you here Leon?” Dave said this as he outstretched his arm to shake hands with Leon.

Leon returned the shake, with a firm grip and began his little story on why he was here. “I am here for multiple things. First I was hanging out with my friends one night, and 5 guys came up to us and told us to give us all of our money or they would kill us. We were terrified because they were older then us, and when we told them we had no money, they attacked us. They killed my best friend and then started hurting the rest of us. The others managed to run away, but I got pinned by a guy who broke a bottle and had the sharp edges against my neck. I kicked him away and ran away, but tripped and fell unconscious. Next thing I know I am being handcuffed by an officer. After I explained my story to him, he brought me over to an ambulance that was where we were attacked. It seemed that the guy who attacked me fell back and cut his own eye out. We went to court and everything, but I was let off. Even though I was guilty of nothing, it was still noted. Later on, the same guys, minus the one without a second eye, came after me and my friends again. This time with guns. They shot my arm, and one of my friends in the leg. They went up to my friend first, and they were going to kill him. I charged after them and drop kicked two of them which in turn knocked over the other two. I picked up a gun and kick away the other guns. I thought it was all good but then out of nowhere they charged at me, kicked me in the stomach and I was scared and I gripped both of my hands tightly, in turn pulling the trigger, and shooting one of the guys in the head. It was a terrible mistake and I am sorry for it everyday. Even though it was an accident it was murder nonetheless and I have almost finished my time. I have 1 month left.” As soon as he finished speaking the two other cell mates appeared.

“Ok this one over here is Geno, and this guy over here is Jack.” Said Leon, first pointing to a shady looking but mysteriously happy boy whom could not be too much older then Dave, and then over to the other boy, a shorter aggressive looking kid, who had a bad look to him.

“Hey I am Geno nice to meet you. If you don’t know I am here on a drug bust yata yata, and I got another year here so that’s basically it. I am not going to ask you for drugs or anything like the guard most likely told you, and I want to be friends, ok.” Said the shady boy.

“Ya and I am Jack. Just don’t do anything stupid and everything will go just dandy ok.” Said the boy named Jack. He seemed to the point and did not like to waste time on small talk. “So why are you here?”

At this point, Dave decided to tell his story. He told of all the things he did, of the robbery, and of his choices.

With a quirky glance Geno said “Well let me tell you about this place. Wake up at 6. Eat, get changed, and then we all got to clean up. Then we can do what we want until lunch. After we eat, at 1 we do 2 hours of physical training which is either laps, drills, or basketball. After that we have another hour of free time, and then we have the thing we all dread. A one hour lecture from the head of the prison. We don’t know him by any name so I can only tell you he is very mean and very strict. Talk or move and you get the whip. We basically get yelled at and whipped for an hour. In this hour guards can bring up misbehaviors of us and we get whipped for it. Then we eat again, and have free time for the rest of the night. On Sundays we get to watch a movie but it usually sucks and its optional. We have to be in the cells by 10 and lights out at 11. So now we are about to go eat dinner, and then we can do whatever we want. We will introduce you to some guys and stuff. Oh ya and there are girls here too. Some of them are real lookers. We only see them during meals and free time.” After finishing he sat down and sighed. “This place gets more boring everyday, and when ever something exciting happens, it doesn’t last long. You are lucky you only have 2 months here.”

“So lets get going to dinner shall we?” Said Leon and they got up and left for dinner. He was being stared at by everyone, like he was a t-bone steak and they were all lions. We got in line; got his dinner which consisted of mashed potatoes and what looked to be meat loaf. They sat at a table which had 7 other guys sitting there.

“Ok these guys are John, Zack, Anthony, Benny, Colin, Andre, and Rocco.” Leon said pointing to each guy as he went down the list of members. They did not have many distinguishing features to each, and even though Dave felt uncomfortable, Leon whispered to him that you usually only hang out with your cell mates.

Then Jack leaned back and started talking to a pretty girl who had quickly whispered to her friends and they all got up and walked towards Dave. “Hey we are the cool girls here in the prison. I am Jennifer, call me Jen, this is Domenica, Monica, and Alyssa.” Said the pretty girl. Domenica was not a very pretty girl, she looked tough and did not look too friendly. Monica was a girl, half the size of Dave, and looked very hyperactive. Alyssa seemed to be the nicest next to Jen. She had long blonde and was the average height for a 14-year-old-girl. She was extremely pretty and her blue eyes shone out so beautifully that it was the first thing Dave noticed. “I came here with Jack. We got the same sentence. Domenica and Monica are leaving in 2 weeks. They came here together on a bullying charge. Alyssa is here for robbery just like you. She just got here a week ago and has 2 months.”

“Yo guys lets go hang outside or something” said Geno impatiently. Geno, Jack, Leon, Dave, Alyssa, Domenica, Monica, and Jen got up and went outside. It was an extremely nice night. It wasn’t cold but not blazing hot. Here he could actually see stars whereas from his home he couldn’t see anything. A minute after emerging to the outside, Jen and Jack left together and would not be seen for the rest of the night. They played some basketball and talked to each other. Dave had taken a liking to Alyssa and it seemed the same for her. They laid down outside and just looked up. It seemed that every 10 minutes Dave and Alyssa had nudged closer together. By the end of the night when they had to come inside, they were holding hands and had big smiles on their faces.

“You’re a good guy Dave” said Alyssa as she softly kissed him on the cheek and walked away. They all went back to their cells and the guys spent the night swapping stories of their troubles or funny stories, and the girls were gossiping and talking about the boys. Later on in the night, way after lights out the guys were still talking in the dark. They told Dave how good he hit it off with Alyssa and congratulated him. Dave was starting to feel that this wasn’t going to be too bad after all…

“WAKE UP YOU WORMS! IT’S WENDSDAY SO GET UP AND GET SOME BREAKFAST!” screamed someone in the distance. Dave woke up, scared and angry. He was having the most amazing dream where he had never gone to prison, and where he and Alyssa were friends. He was with Leon too. Then Leon had something very important to say and he was awoken. They all got dressed and lazily walked down to breakfast. Dave, Leon, Geno and Jack sat with Alyssa, Domenica, Monica, and Jen. Then they said good bye and went off to get ready for the day and to clean up. At around 8:30 Dave and Geno set off to go play some basketball. When they got outside they grabbed themselves a net and ball and started playing. The game was up to 21 and Dave was losing 10-18 when Leon and Jack came outside. They were accompanied by the girls and then Dave felt very nervous. He gave up the next basket, and was down by 9. Out of nowhere Alyssa started a cheer for him and with this new confidence found from him knowing she was behind him, he scored 10 in a row. The score was 20-19, but not for long as Geno scored once again. It was down to the final basket. Geno dribbled up, attempted a shot and was stuffed by Dave as Dave took the ball, cleared it, and took the shot, far beyond the 3 point line, it shook off the rim, Geno jumped and dunked it. Geno started showboating, and Dave decided to ask for a rematch. It happened. The score was 21-8. Geno was still filled with emotion, but not the same kind. Dave had demolished him, and went to go sit with Alyssa.

“I remember you…” Said Alyssa calmly. “We used to go to school remember? We never talked and were never in the same class…”

“Were you the girl who always stole things?” Asked Dave, now more interested then before

“Yes… And you are the kid who was always in trouble for stupid reasons… Who would have though that we would be in juvenile prison together…” Responded Alyssa

“Well at least my time here wouldn’t be a complete waste” Dave said coolly

Then Alyssa rested her head on his shoulder and they sat there, until they were called in for lunch. Lunch passed quickly and so did the physical activities. He later realized what was next and he braced himself for what was to come of the next hour.


Part II


The crack of the whip could be heard, and a scream was emitted. Jack was being whipped.

“Why is Jack being whipped?” Dave asked to Leon as they were being walked into the Auditorium.

“He was smart mouthing a guard, if you look at his back you can see he gets whipped frequently, but this is the first time I have ever heard him scream” Leon responded in a slow scared tone. Jack walked back down afterwards from his whippings and sat quietly, ashamed that he had let out a whimper.

“Now… It seems that we have another new degenerate… This one is a dirty thief… I think its only fair that he should be whipped to show that we have NO MERCY!” Said the head of the prison, an evil looking man, whose description would not be very accurate because the features he possessed were almost impossible to fathom. The last two words he emitted echoed through the room and had an extra tint of evil. “DAVE COME UP HERE NOW!”

Dave walked up, scared, but confident he could handle it. He was instructed to take off his shirt and to lay against the wall. Then without warning he was whipped. Once, twice, trice, and a final crack that would be sure to leave a long lasting mark. Though he did not speak at all during the whippings, he shed tear once or twice. He was sent back down and he sat their quietly. The rest of the time was filled with the head screaming and commenting on how disgusting the prisoners were. Once in a while a guard would suggest a prisoner to get whipped and the whipping would commence once again. Once it was all over, they went back to their cell and had a quick chat.

“Jack why did you let out a whimper? Why did you let them see some weakness in you?” Said Geno, filled with shock and slight anger.

“That whip he used on me was special. It had extra tips or something. My back is killing me now…” Jack said as confident in his word as possible.

“Let me see your back, you might have a deep cut. I will try to make a make shift bandage with sheets” said Dave. Jack removed his shirt and when the other boys saw his back they understood why he has screamed. The cuts seemed deeply infected, as if the whip has poison tips. They had come to that conclusion, and now headed down to dinner, all worried if Jack would be alright. That night they just hung out, and not until lights out did an interesting topic come up.

“What if we were to break out? What if we were to escape? I mean Dave and Leon, you guys don’t really have a reason to since you will not be here long, but me and Geno will be here for over a year. Do you think we could do it? Some sort of rebellion… Something to help us out…” Jack presented this idea with such seriousness that the others had thought he was losing his mind. Without another word they all fell asleep.

The next 2 weeks passed without anything popping up. The ok life Dave had pictured was lost. It now seemed that only the times that he was hanging out with Leon were bearable, and only when he was with Alyssa was he happy. A few days after Dave’s arrival, Jack stole a gun from the guard, without them knowing, and kept it “just in case”. During Dave’s second week, Jack brought up the idea of the Rebellion again. This time to a wider audience and it was received well. Now every free time was basically dedicated to finding out ways to escape. Leon, Dave, about 20 other guys and all the girls were the only ones, it seemed, who did not participate. Once night, 4 days before Leon was to leave, a riot broke out. Leon and Dave did not learn much about it. They were locked in the cells as soon as it happened, and they could only hope their friends were ok. Almost everyone was injured and some were even removed and put into hospitals for the time being. All of those involved in the Rebellion were given 1 month- 5 months extra time depending on their status in it. This was all revealed to them at their next meeting in the Auditorium with the head. Then the worst news broke. Jack was dead. He took down 4 officers with him. It was a sad day for all those in the prison. Right before the end of the meeting, Leon was called up.

“Leon, I know you were great friends with Jack, and I know that Jack was not smart enough to plan this himself. Confess or your punishment will be harsh” said the head

“I have had nothing to do with this. Why would I? I am going to be released in a few days time.” Responded Leon.

What happened next was unexpected. The head took out the whip and started whipping Leon’s head. It continued on for what seemed like hours until Leon finally cracked. He grabbed the whip and took it from the head.

“NOW TO SHOW YOU HOW IT FEELS!” Leon cracked the whip at the head “IT HURTS DOESN’T IT!” he cracked it again. Then the guards came and took him away. With Leon’s bravery a huge riot broke out. All Dave could think about was finding Alyssa and getting to safety. He easily spotted her and they ran. They ran away from the riot, away from everything. They ran outside. They ran to the front gate. The only stopped running to see something that would come to a huge shock. The front gate was open… They faced a dilemma, if they ran away they might be able to present their case to the court of law and show that that punishments given were given without reason. But they might get in more trouble if they did so. If they stayed God knows what would happen. After minutes of thinking, they decided to stay, this would all blow over soon anyway… Or so it was thought…

Dave awoke in his cell, to find it empty. He got dressed and went to breakfast. There were half the people who were normally there. In the middle the head had appeared, and told everyone that Leon had been removed from the prison and would be facing the court of law. Then he went on to say a list of 10 people, all of whom were killed last night. Geno was one of them. The next month had been a blur to Dave for the rest of his life. Everything was harsher, but the return of Leon seemed to make it better. He was sentenced to be released the same day as Dave. Alyssa was released a week before him, and she told him that she would be waiting right after she gave him a kiss.

The final week there was a painful one. Every night Leon and Dave were whipped with the same whip Jack had been whipped with. Then the day had finally arrived. They got their bags and were escorted out. They were free. The trip home was a sad one. They remembered their friends, and all the pain they had gone through. Dave was dumbfounded when he realized he never asked where Leon lived. Leon lived in the neighborhood next to Dave’s, but was moving to Dave’s. Things seemed bright for Dave’s future. He had come out ok. He was now sure that he would not be committing illegal acts, he made a great friend, and he met a girl who he felt so strongly for he would do anything for her.

Dave had 1 week left in the summer before he started his grade 10 year. His whole summer had been wasted at that prison. His parents wouldn’t leave him alone, but his friends had vanished from his life. They wouldn’t speak to him at all. The only thing keeping him going was the thought of Leon and Alyssa.

When school started Dave found it hard to adjust. He was lucky to have Alyssa and Leon in most of his classes, but he could not make more friends. People were scared of him, but still he was happy.

Dave’s life went on. He worked hard and became a teacher. He got married to Alyssa whom also became a teacher. Leon and Dave are still best friends. Dave made many more friends in university when no one knew of his past. His life seemed to be perfect now. One day he was thinking about his past. He thought about how much of a troubled kid he used to be. He remembered his whippings, he could not forget since the poison whips still left one mark on him. And worst of all, he remembered the death of his friends. He remembered how short it had been. He had known them for a month. Whenever he thought about his 2 terrible months there, he just remembered how positive it had been on his life too. Leon and him never feuded and were best friends till death. And Alyssa, they were perfect for each other. Dave thanked the Lord everyday for the blessing he was given and for the second chance that he got. He had turned around his life and he was proud. And he lived his life to the fullest, always doing his best. He never gave up and he always fought on, because he had been given a second chance. And he was not going to throw that away. Not for the world.