No Escape

                                                  NO ESCAPE
         
         He stared at the judge in complete disbelief. Guilty? No. He couldn’t be. This was too impossible for Jacob to believe. He never really thought he would lose the case. Everything was supposed to turn out fine. He wasn’t supposed to go to jail. He wouldn’t go to jail. “No! I’m not guilty. I’m not!” he yelled, standing up. “You can’t do this to me, you can’t-“ 
         ”Calm down, Jacob. It isn’t wise for you to do this,” Mark said. Mark Thompson, Jacob’s lawyer, was known to be the best lawyer money could buy. He won almost every single case he’s participated in. However, the problem wasn’t the lawyer. It was the defendant. He claimed to be innocent, but Mark had no hard evidence that could prove he was. There was nothing left he could do. Standing up, he put his hands on Jacob’s shoulders. “Listen, I did all I could. I’m sorry. I really am,” he told the man before him. He truly felt for him, but it was completely out of his hands now.
         “You didn’t try hard enough. I’m innocent. I’m innocent! Why won’t anyone believe me!?”
         “Sir, please. Hold still,” said the police officer as he cuffed him and dragged him outside.
         “No!”
         That was the last thing he remembered. Now, he found himself sitting in a dark room with only a twin sized bed covered in simple white sheets. The walls, the ceiling, and the floor were all the same shade of a sickening pale white. Putting his head in hands and rubbing his dark ebony locks, he let out a small groan. He didn’t know how long he had been in there but he couldn’t take it anymore. There were no windows, and the room was almost as small as an office cubicle. It was infuriating. How could they do this to him? “I’m not guilty. I’m not. I’m not,” he muttered over and over to himself.
         “That’s what they all say,” said a voice in the cell next to him. Jacob squinted his olive green eyes to see who it was. The man sat up straight and moved into the light.
         “Wh-What?” he questioned, confusion swimming through him.
         “Everyone here claims to be innocent. And most are, but that doesn’t stop the judges and the jail officers from finding a way to prove you guilty. They always do it,” he shrugged. The man looked to be about 50 years old. His hair was brown but was beginning to sprout a couple of white hairs. “Name’s Samuel Collins. Yours?”
         “I’m Jacob. Jacob Henderson.”
         “So what’s got you in here? What did you rob? Who’d you stalk? Or better yet, who’d you kill?”
         “I didn’t kill anyone!” Jacob shouted, voice rough.
         “Whoa, okay there. Didn’t mean to get you all worked up.”
         “Whatever,” said Jacob as he laid on the hard bed and drifted off into an uncomfortable sleep.
         Jacob woke up to the sound of the cell door opening. “Get up, Henderson. You’ve got a visitor.” Jacob got up and followed the impatient officer down the long hall toward a room at the far end. As Jacob slowly strode down the hall, he looked everywhere for any sign of escape. Analyzing the walls, he noticed an air vent at the upper corner of the corridor. ‘I could squeeze myself threw that if I tried hard enough,’ he thought. ‘I’ll do anything to get out of here.’ The officer led him into a slightly bigger room at the left. It too, was a pale white. His visitor was sitting at a desk in the middle of the room with his head bent down. Jacob moved forward and pulled his chair out to sit down. It was then that his visitor looked up to face him and Jacob noticed who it was. Mark Thompson. “What are you doing here?” asked Jacob.
         “I came to see how you were doing,” responded Mark. “So, how are you holding up?”
         “How does it look like I’m holding up,” Jacob said quite harshly. Mark noticed the dark bags forming under Jacob’s eyes. His hair was ruffled, his clothes were wrinkled and smelled like they were dipped in a bucket full of fish, and his breath wasn’t any better. “How long am I going to be in here?” Jacob was desperate to leave. He couldn’t stand it there at all.
         “Well, I honestly don’t know for sure. Could be weeks, months even.”          “Months!?” Jacob yelled as he stood up and leaned over the table, unable to control his temper. The officer, who hadn’t left his position at the end of the room, rushed over to Jacob and roughly pushed him down. “Sit down, sir!” The officer cautiously walked back to his former position. Jacob, who was still fuming, just sat there glaring at Mark.
         “I didn’t come here to argue with you. I just want you to sit tight for a while before we can figure out what we’re going to do.”
         “So you believe I’m innocent?”
         “I’ve always believed you Jacob,” Mark said whilst Jacob rolled his eyes at this statement, “I’ve just had a hard time proving it.” Jacob looked at Mark with a look that was clearly asking for help, any help at all. “In the meantime, your going to stay here. But don’t do anything stupid, Jacob. And whatever you do, don’t try to escape,” said Mark. His last sentence was said in a low whisper, for the officer was still rooted in his spot, and Jacob barely heard him.
         “What?”
         “Don’t even think about trying it. It won’t work. Trust me,” he said as he got up, leaving a confused Jacob behind.
         On the way back to the cell, Jacob was pondering over Mark’s words. Why shouldn’t he at least try and escape? And how could there be no escape? Of course there was an escape. Every place has a way of escaping it. You just have to look hard enough. Jacob looked the walls up and down. He glanced at the muddy floors and the rotten cells that were littered with “criminals” here and there, rusted bars holding them prisoners. The smell of the place was disgusting. It smelled of dead fish and rotten meat. Just then, Jacob felt a wave of nausea overcome him. His head was starting to spin and his stomach felt like it was being ripped out of its place. That was it. He had to get out of there. Throwing away Mark’s words and pushing his throbbing pain to the side, he told the officer he needed to use the bathroom.
         “Go ahead. I’ll be waiting right out here so don’t try anything,” said the same officer who had brought him to his visitor and stood listening in on his conversation with Mark. Jacob walked into the room and immediately regretted his decision. It was even more disgusting than the cells, if that was possible. It’s white walls were covered in black dirt. The stall doors were covered in horrible writing. The faucets were rusted. The mirrors were smudged with hand prints. The need to escape grew stronger inside of him. He looked around for anything that might help him. He noticed a vent in the corner of the room. It was the same as the one he saw in the hall except this one wasn’t screwed shut. A glimmer of hope lit in his eyes as he surveyed it. It was directly over the lime covered counters. He could jump and in just a couple of minutes. It would probably lead to a maze of air vent tunnels, but he would do anything to get out of the current position he was in. “Are you okay in there?” asked the officer.
         Shaken out of his thoughts by the voice he quickly said, “Yeah. Fine. Just finishing up.” He pondered his choices for a moment. On one hand, he could go back to the crummy old cell and sit there for god knows how long. On the other hand, he could climb into this air vent right now and find a possible way to escape, to find a way back where he was supposed to be.
         “You know, if you don’t hurry up I’m going to have to come in there.” ‘Oh no!’ Jacob thought. ‘What am I going to do?’
         “Hello?” the officer shouted again. Jacob was frozen in his spot, too afraid to do anything at the moment. “Hello!?” Still he didn’t move. “Okay. That’s it. I’m coming in there. One. Two. Three.” The officer barged into the bathroom but when he got in there he didn’t see anyone. “Henderson?” He checked all the stalls. Nothing. “What the-?” Just then the air vent opening hit back against the wall. ‘Great. He heard it,’ Jacob thought. He quickly crawled deeper into the vent trying to think what his next move was going to be.
         Following his instinct, Jacob kept crawling deeper into the dark tunnel. His hands and knees were beginning to turn red and his back was aching from bending over for so long. He was sure they had already realized where he was. But why hadn’t they sent somebody in after him? Why did they just leave him? Is it because they knew these vents led nowhere? ‘No. They had to lead somewhere. I just have to keep going.’ He refused to think there would be no escape. After what seemed like hours, he finally saw what seemed like a small opening. His face lit up with joy as he crawled faster and faster until he reached the small source of light. It was the end of the air tunnels and it led outside! He was going to escape at last. He pushed the bar open and looked down. It would be a long jump, but it was worth it. He shut his eyes tight and readied himself for the harsh impact that was to come. With one big breath, he leaned forward and let himself drop, his skin coming in contact with the warm night air. “Oww,” he moaned as he sat up. He stretched his back and his arms, trying to adjust to the feeling again. But when he stood up, he was greeted by an all too familiar sight. The same jail officer was standing right in front of him, arms crossed, and a grim expression on his face.
         “Didn’t they tell you not to try and escape?” He tried to reach for him but Jacob pulled away.
         “No!” He didn’t just give himself a hunchback for nothing. He was going to escape.
         “Sir, just hold still. I have to take you back.” Jacob struggled with the officer tying to get out of his grasp and think of anything to get him out of the situation he was in. So many thoughts were running through his mind at the moment that he thought he was going crazy. Still struggling with the officer, he made a fist and swung it towards him with all his might. Jacob’s fist locked with the officer’s jaw and a loud crack was heard. Blood immediately poured from his mouth. The pain was excruciating, no doubt. Jacob watched as the officer put his hand over his mouth in attempt  to control the bleeding. “Stay where you are,” mumbled the officer. The punch had clearly impacted his head for he was stumbling as he tried to stand. As if giving up, the officer fell to the floor. Snapping out of his gaze, Jacob looked around. It looked like a big field. Realizing he now had the chance to be free, he broke out into a quick run. He didn’t know where he was going, but that didn’t stop him from crawling into the air vent and it wouldn’t stop him now. He ran, and ran, and ran, until he couldn’t run anymore. He bent his knees trying to catch his breath. Once he caught his breath he turned to see a group of men running to catch up to him. As Jacob started to run again he could hear them calling, “Stop! Stay where you are!” But Jacob wasn’t going to stop now. He was going to escape.
         He was panting hard now and there was a sharp pain in his chest. Running, and running, and running. There seemed to be no end. As he was turning into what seemed to be an alley between two small buildings, he found himself wondering if this was better than sitting in the jail cell. At least he could sleep there. There seemed to be nothing he could do here. Nowhere he could go. ‘No. I will find an escape,’ he reassured himself. Quite a while had passed and he could no longer hear the muffled screams of the troubled officers. ‘I bet they’ve never lost a prisoner before,’ he thought, smiling to himself. He had slowed down, but was still jogging steadily. Once Jacob realized he had lost them for good, he stopped completely and collapsed onto the hard, wet ground. Looking up, he noticed how beautiful the starry night looked. ‘I’m getting distracted. I have to get out of here.’ After he relaxed for a couple of minutes, Jacob got back up to his feet and continued walking slowly. Maybe about ten minutes had passed, and still nothing. He stopped in his tracks wondering what he was going to do. He couldn’t go back now. No, it was way too far. In his state of anger he picked up a large rock from the ground and threw it ahead of him. It seemed to help him release his frustration. He paused, however, when he noticed something. The rock didn’t make a noise when it landed. He didn’t throw it that far, and it was quite a heavy rock. It was bound to make a noise, he thought. Jacob cautiously walked forward a couple of steps until he stumbled and almost fell forward. There was no solid ground before him. ‘How could this be?’ He peered over a little to get a better look. Jacob’s eyes widened in horror as he stared out into what seemed to be a never ending vastness of the midnight blue sky.