Disclaimer:  I do not own any of these characters and am just playing around with them.

Beta Read by my cat Susie-Bean.

Prisoner 786114

Prisoner 786114 gasped before sitting up on his bunk as he woke, his muscles tensed, looking about wildly.  Sweat glistened in the moonlight as it rolled down the man’s face and he wiped at it with his hand, not noticing the old scar on his right hand.  He’d had another nightmare, which were occurring more frequently in recent times.

He looked at the mirror on the wall across from his bunk and saw his pale, haggard image looking back at him.  He inhaled a deep breath and held it for a few moments before slowly releasing it, calming himself.

He pulled a cigarette from the pack and lit one, taking a long drag as the nicotine began to do its job and steady his nerves.  He looked up at the tiny window of his cell and saw a three quarter moon through the bars.

Kyle had never had a window at the Centre.  He’d had one at the Dragon House.  Now, he had one in his cell, where he would spend the rest of his natural life.

Once he had broken from the Centre, Kyle knew they would do everything in their power to recapture him.  They had succeeded.  Cell Block D Cell 118 at Fort Rexford State Penitentiary was Sublevel 27 with a view.

He had company though.  All day he heard the other prisoners talking and yelling and fighting and everything else.  All the noise blended together eventually and it was easier to ignore that way.  At night, he could hear them snore and talk to each other, or themselves.

He hated it there.  But he hated it far, far less than he had hated the Centre.  The food was better, he could go outside, and he didn‘t have to perform simulations.  The guards weren’t anything like the sweepers either.  They treated him like he was a real person.

He lay back on his bunk.  It was hard, but it was similar to the one’s he’d slept on for as far back as he could remember.  Except for at the Dragon House.  The Dragon House had been an escape from the darkness of the depths of the Centre.  The air was fresh and the smells were pleasant.  He had felt more alive there.  He had known her then.

Visions of his nightmare returned to him.  The young boy clawing at the door in the pitch-black room until his fingers bled.  Sounds of crying and screaming from the others locked in their purgatory that was Sublevel 27.  Then there were the voices, which spoke endlessly.

Kyle gave up on sleep and walked to his small sink and splashed cold water on his face.  He looked up out the window and then out the barred wall of his cell.  He would find a way out of this place.

To Be Continued…

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