CHAPTER 10 

"I said time's up!" 

"Where are you taking me?" 

My plea for answers fell on deaf ears as I stood up from the bunk and watched him attach a chain extension to my restraints. He started directing me out, giving short lucid commands. We left the room, walking straight ahead before taking an immediate left. My hands fell heavily behind me as I leashed before him. 

As I crept down the passageway, the surreal shock of the situation gloomed over me. I needed a plan, and I had little time to come up with one. I thought about so many ways in which I could escape these chains, but then I realized it wouldn't matter. The guards would be all over me in no time, not to mention the constant surveillance. There's no way out of this. 

But deep down, I wasn't scared. While walking down sterile and stark hallways, my steps were sure and steady. I'm not afraid, but probably not for the reasons that you're thinking. The sad truth is, I've already seen my death. I felt it... and my visions are never wrong. 

A fact I'm so desperately trying to ignore. 

So, while I am in constant turmoil, my mind gnawing at this indescribable pain that comes from the knowledge that I will die soon, I take solace in knowing that wherever the guard is leading me, I will not die there. 

He is taking me somewhere, however, and even though I'm pretty sure it's not to my death, it can't be anything good. 

We took the elevator from the second floor down to the ground level. My mind observed the fine details and small nuances of this new section of the prison where I was being led. I began to get a better understanding of the AI operations. This part of the facility was completely white—doors, walls, furniture, even the workers' clothes. 

Hmm, how clever... This section appears to be under constant surveillance by the AI. 

It puzzled me how anyone got any work done around here. There were no signs, no markings on the walls or doors, nothing at all. And then I picked up on it. By allowing the AI to scan their UI, the workers have the ability to communicate with the AI at all times, giving it a wide variety of commands such as "Take me to the first floor" or "Bring up the files of all the inmates who have blood relatives that suffered from any chronic illness. Or show me today's lunch menu." You get the point. It is a highly sophisticated design. No wonder they want to implement this into the whole prison. When that happens, however, oh boy, talk about no privacy. 

We exited the elevator and came to a stop at one of the doors on this floor. The guard scanned his UI, and we entered what looked like a waiting area. We didn't linger; he walked straight through the room to the other side and then opened the door. I followed suit... 

"Stop," he ordered. I halted at the opened entrance. He began removing the restraints. I knew that whatever was coming next couldn't be something good, but I just didn't know what to expect. 

"You may go." 

Alright then, so I placed one foot in the door and took a step into the room. I don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't this. 

Wait... what? 

"Prisoner P13, you are being released from containment under the sole testimony of witness Prisoner P12." 

What is he doing here? 

It's Alex. He's here, and he's looking straight at me. We're in a little white intersection of a room that connects a number of halls. This guard is at the very front of the room, almost like a judge. She's in complete white, standing behind a white table, and she reads from an electronic scroll. I walked up beside him to stand in front of her as well. 

"Today, January the 4th, 2121, at sixteen hundred hours, prisoner P12 reported a crime of attempted rape, which was instigated by prisoners G78, H56, and G91, in which you, prisoner P13, intervened and prevented the crime." 

He's just standing there, expressionless, with both hands tucked so neatly by his side. 

"This led to an altercation in the lunchroom in which prisoner P13 was harassed by the previously mentioned alongside prisoner D18 and J20." 

What are you up to? 

"Prisoner P13 will be released effective immediately. No other testimony has been brought forward. This case is considered closed until further notice. You will proceed down hallway 2; GuardCV4513 will be awaiting your arrival to escort you back to your respective cells." 

She pointed to her right. "If you don't have any questions, please proceed down this hall." And then she got up and left. 

The door closed behind her, and we were left alone. There were only two exits: the one she pointed at and the one she exited through. The room was completely white. There was no furniture, no windows, nothing but a hallway to walk down to freedom. Yet, a chainsaw couldn't cut through this air of angst. As Alex turned to leave, I impulsively stretched out my hand to stop him. "Why did you do this?" 

My pulse sped up, clearly anticipating his response. 

He stopped and remained still for about ten seconds before tilting his head upward from the ground to respond, without even looking back. "Does it matter?" he asks. His tempestuous response was as elusive as it was lined with strands of scattered possibilities. 

I parted my lips, ready to press for answers when a squeak of his shoe stopped me mid-way. One second at a time, he made headway, turning around in an unwanted fashion. His big brown eyes looked steadily at me, sending impulsive chills up my spine. 

"Because..." 

"What did you say?" 

"I said I owed it to you. You saved me that time in the bathroom after all," he reiterated. 

I was slow to respond but finally came out with, "Yeah. I guess I did." 

"I believe everything happens for a reason," he continued. "I don't know what your reasons were for that time in the shower. But mine is clear. Plus, you didn't deserve to die for standing up for someone else... for doing what's right." 

This is coming from the guy who confessed to murdering a man in cold blood? 

"Thanks, I guess." 

I was confused. Sure, what he did and what he said made sense. But his voice, his face... it all seemed so genuine, even compassionate, and maybe even sane... 

It began to piss me the fuck off! 

Why... how did it end up like this between us in the end? How did you end up killing me? 

Why is someone like you spending life behind bars for such a heinous crime? Taking another human's life... that's the worst thing you could possibly do. You don't just kill someone and proceed to preach about right and wrong. 

"Wait, aren't you here for murder?" I couldn't help myself from retaliating. The conflicting personas I was getting from this kid were enough to wake my ire. 

Alex's eyes narrowed, and he pinned me with a scornful look as he said, "You don't know jack about me!" 

My reply was instant. "I know the facts. The report says that you entered a man's home and bludgeoned him to death while he was unarmed and defenseless." 

"Fuck you! You don't know anything!" 

In the midst of his attack and rape attempt, his expression remained almost neutral and somewhat annoyed. But bring up his stepfather, and he literally changes into a different person. 

What's really going on here? 

Alex then turns and begins to head down the hall. I momentarily step off as well. 

We exit the hall and meet up with GuardCV4513 on the other side of the door. He escorts us back to our cells. We walk in complete awkward silence. If you think about it, we barely... No, we don't know each other at all. Yet it seems like we've been reading from a script printed with our names in bold, one that inevitably leads us together. I'm just gathering my thoughts when a shout from a guard gets my attention and brings me face to face with another threat. 

The twins! 

"Please keep left; you'll find the entrance to the bathroom." 

As if the fact that they're twins didn't make them stand out enough, these guys were ripped. It was only for a moment, but I got a glimpse of the new prisoners on their tour of the facility, and I'm definitely sure that those were the guys Alaya warned me about. 

We arrive at our cells at exactly 5:08 pm. I spend the rest of the evening trying to figure out my next move. At exactly 8:30 pm, the call-waiting beeper goes off, and a guard comes to get me. 

Alaya... perfect timing! 

He escorts me to the phone, and I wait for him to be out of range to speak freely. I put the phone to my ear and get one hell of a surprise. 

"Warehouse shipment number: 8356Z, Room 67, passcode: LIEZ2." 

Nope, not Alaya... 

"Warehouse shipment number: 8356Z, Room 67, passcode: LIEZ2." It repeats. 

I don't speak but rather listen intently. The command is repeated three times before the line is disconnected. I place the phone down and sit there for a minute before getting up to make my way to the exit. I feel a minor headache coming. But with everything that's happened today, a minor headache is the least of my worries. Rubbing my forehead while standing up, I don't quite check my side-views and walk right into someone. 

"Hey, watch it, punk!" a voice gives out. 

"Oh, my bad..." 

I grab hold of my head with both hands and begin shaking from this blast of pain that goes through my temples. 

"Ahh..." 

The short yet sharp jabs of pain in the side of my head come out of nowhere as the images from my vision are once again made clear after making direct contact with this inmate. 

I remember now. 

And this could only mean one thing... 

"Eason..."