Breaking Free

Jailbreak

I’ve been in this cell for two and a half months now. Long enough for me to memorize the winding halls and cook up a way out of here. Today is August 12th. My much anticipated 18th birthday, not exactly how I’d imagined it. However, today is also the day I break out of this hellhole and get my future plans in order. My favorite guard is on my shift today. He comes in and unlocks the silver handcuffs on my wrists, which I wear permanently except to eat and wash up in the showers. The chain between my hands is short and doesn’t allow much mobility, enough to sleep and use my cell toilet. The cuffs around my feet are much the same, but hook into a pulley system in the ground. The chain is long enough to reach my toilet and bed, but stops 3 feet short of the cell bars. I can’t break through the cuffs, but the cell bars are a different story, if only I could get close enough. It was money my father wasn’t willing to spend to coat all the bars in silver. It’s not like there’s many supernaturals caught anyway, let alone werewolves. He thought it better to accommodate per prisoner’s weakness. We usually don’t survive long in here anyway. Always some mysterious illness or an aggressive prisoner killed attempting to escape. Really, my father didn’t want to waste resources on us, He would organize a situation for removal per prisoner. My identity proved helpful in that my father couldn’t outright kill me without looking heartless.

Renzo, my guard smiles at me warmly. “I know, it’s more slop, but the carrots are nice and farm fresh.” he says regarding the food. I smile back, “If they’re fresh, that’s the best birthday dinner I could ask for in here.”

I’m glad at least one person has shown me kindness in here. A few weeks in I learned quickly just how far my fathers manipulation reached when it came to the outside world. Guards regarded me as trash, as if I wasn’t superior in speed and strength. I don’t want the humans to bow down to me just because I’m stronger. I want us all to live equally. We can’t help the traits we are born with, but we can help how we treat each other. None of us should need to live as outcasts, and I want that to change. I’ve decided that I trust Renzo enough to tell him my plans for today. I don’t wish him harm, and the alternative is to actually kill him. He has shown so much kindness to me. He’s become the closest thing to a friend as I have in here. Where other guards have made use of opportunities to harm me, he just does his job, no more no less. All with a friendly smile. After he serves my meal he walks back out of my cell and locks the gate. He takes his post guarding me, silent now. If he shows me to much kindness and he might be thought to disagree with my father, which would end badly for Renzo. I start with the “slop” the prison term for meat and other questionable ingredients mixed up in a gelatinous stew. It’s always bland, and the texture is gross. Yet, out of the whole meal it provides the most nutrients. I eat my slice of bread next, the most filling piece of the meal. I chew and savor the fresh carrots slowly. Fresh produce is rare for prisoners, as the majority of good supplies go to firstly my fathers mansion, then to the wealthier of the citizens. Some neighboring village must’ve had a good harvest for the carrots to make it all the way to the slums. I try to savor them, I don’t know when I’ll receive a treat like this again. I mull over my options, finding a way to broach the subject. Renzo opts for silence just to keep his head down, I actually make it a point to give grief to the other guards every chance I get. My temper needs an outlet. They can hit me all they want, unless I have wolfsbane pumping through my veins, I’ll heal faster then they can damage me. Once my plate is clear Renzo unlocks my cell and steps in. As soon as he locks it behind him and only a foot away from me I speak.

“I’m about to do something today that, if it goes wrong, will get a lot of people hurt. You could be one of those people Renzo, or you could pretend to put my cuffs back on me as usual and I will pretend to knock you out for the cameras benefit.” I say while smiling warmly, letting the footage appear to show me making small talk. “ However, I’m going to break out of this cell either way. You can choose to be a part of my escape, or fight me and it happens regardless. I believe we can all live together in peace Renzo, and the kindness you’ve shown me makes me hope you might believe it too.”

He seems to catch on quickly and mulls over his thoughts for what feels like seconds too long. Thankfully the cameras are old, the feed is grainy, they will only just barely be able to make out smiles and good expressions. After he’s seemed to weigh his options carefully he smiles back at me. “Ava, I really hope you can succeed at whatever you’re planning. I don’t think it’s right what they’re going here. Just put on a good show will ya? I’d rather this not fall back negatively on me and my family.” Renzo says to me.

I smile back. I won’t have to kill my favorite guard after all. Renzo keeps walking towards me and gets his keys out. The keys are coated in wolfsbane, to encourage prisoners like me to not touch them. As he walks closer to cuff my hands I say to him “You’ve just sparked hope in me that my rebellion might actually mean something. Thank you.”

I lift up my wrists for the cuffs genuinely smiling at him. As he grabs a wrist I move quickly, faster then he probably believed I could. We’re by the wall in seconds and I smack his head into it as gently as I can. He has to have a bruise, ideally a cut for this to look right. I wind pull back for a second hit and pretend to slam his head into the wall with force. I let my hand slip off his head and making contact with the wall instead. The bricks crack and he slumps to the ground. Any damage done to my hand heals quickly. Quick enough the cameras hadn’t see it. Healing comes naturally to werewolves. Yet, with true concentration I can make a small wound close in seconds, major wounds in minutes. This is something I have spent plenty of time perfecting during my imprisonment. Having a smart mouth with guards means I’m prone to getting hit. Other untrained werewolves would heal more slowly on their own, but they would still heal fully. Unless, of course, we bleed out before the wound can close. I quickly rip off some fabric of his uniform and grab the keys through it so I don’t come in contact with the wolfsbane. Renzo’s eyes are shut and he lays crumpled on the ground. He’s playing his part well. Based on the smell of blood I know the bricks cut him. I can only hope he’s not terribly hurt. This is the unfortunate price for helping me. Once my feet are free of cuffs I approach the cell door quickly. I could probably bust out of it, but I have the keys in hand. I opt for unlocking the cell door as well. Why cause unnecessary noise? The guard who watches the cameras will be eating and shouldn’t be paying too close attention. Still I need to hurry and be quiet. With a quick and quiet thank you to Renzo, I lock the cell behind me. I begin quickly winding through the hall towards the hub that connects all the cells. Each cell is at the end of a twisting hall, connected by that floors hub. Depending on the floor an elevator will lead up or down the three story building until you’re on the ground floor where the main entrance is. Which, is also heavily guarded. Being on the second floor I’m looking for the unguarded emergency exit. Once outside I’ll be in the middle of the slums. I know the cameras are on, the guard just has to see Renzo on the floor so my pace quickens. After what feels like ages I’ve retraced the steps I’ve walked countless times, with guards as escorts of course. I’m halfway to the hub, where the showers for my floor are located. A large window to my right which is attached to the fire alarm is my escape route. Once I open the window I’ll have to move even more quickly. It’s been quiet, most guards are busy feeding prisoners like myself.

I scan out the window to plan my route out. I’ve not been allowed this close to the windows since I arrived. Being two stories up, my best bet will be to immediately jump off the fire escape deck, rather then take the stairs. A long jump for humans, it could be a long jump for me as well. If anything breaks I can’t risk stopping to heal until I’m safe. Once the window opens I’ll be outed immediately. The siren will be impossible to ignore, and the person keeping watch will be searching for what set off the alarm. I decide to just go for it, adrenaline coursing through my veins. The siren begins screaming in my ears, as I step onto the rusty fire escape. Maintaining my momentum, my hands make contact with the railing and launch my legs over. My senses go into overdrive and I feel like I have endless time to maneuver my body properly. What probably took 5 seconds felt like a minute, I make contact with the ground safely in a graceful roll. I don’t marvel at what I just did, there’s no time for that now. My feet hit the pavement sprinting to the edge of the city. People of the slums are looking at me now, either in shock or disgust. Being in the slums means being close to the boarder of town. The slums are the furthest away form the bustling town square where my family mansion resides.

I glance over my shoulder, guards have started pouring out of the prison, some on the fire escape I just leapt from. I had moved quickly enough, they’re too far away to even pray to catch me. Another glance back and fear sets in, they’ve started bringing out weapons. Weapons I recognize. I’m within feet away from the protective fence around our town. One swift jump and I’ll be safe in the woods around out city. I’m just touching the fence when I hear the first shot ring out. My body has cleared the fence and I’m diving against the forest floor when the wolfsbane bullet hits the fence behind me. I’m on my feet in a flash and running again. I hear more shots ring out, but I’m too far away for the bullets to reach me. Had I been hit the wolfsbane would’ve slowed me down, working as a sedative. Where silver blocks my strength and dulls my senses, wolfsbane zaps my energy. If one had made it in my system they would have had a faulty easy time hitting me with more. Too much wolfsbane would kill me. I didn’t plan on them catching on to who was escaping so fast. Not knowing if I was a vampire or a wolf would change how they react. The guns that fire wooden bullets are vastly different then the ones which fire silver. They have distinct descriptions to help the guards react quickly when in situations like this. I guess it worked, albeit not well enough. Once I feel far enough away I come to a stop, panting heavily. Even with the lifestyle I lived before, two and a half months of no exercise has drained me. As well as the distance, never having a reason to run that far before. I take a deep breath and access my surroundings. Happy Birthday to me. I made it out, now my next phase of life begins.