Freedom for Fiction

Initium

Step drag. Step drag. Sigh. Step drag. Step drag. Cough cough. Step drag. Step drag. Step drag. Step drag. Wheeze. Step drag. Step drag. Silence.

The guard had reached the edge of the corridor. Unable to catch his breath, I heard him mutter something about death's row before he took a seat on the damp and musty floor. He kept a ragged towel hanging on a nail for the damp and humid conditions of the dungeon. I heard the rasp of the towel being lifted off the rusty nail. He blew his nose. He then proceeded to mop the sweat off his wrinkly and spotted face. I could hear him sniff the towel, then gag in disgust. Any minute now he would limp to the other end of the corridor and rinse the moldy towel in the trickle of water that ran down the wall from a crack in the ceiling. After he finished this activity, he looked to his left to stare at me. His eyes dragged lazily from my feet, up to my stomach, to my chest. His raspy breathing quickened. I stared straight ahead, and focused on the dry smear of blood that decorated my cell wall. He made a noise, something between a moan and a purr. He leaned against the bars that separated us. He licked his lips.

"Bumbulum!" called out a muffled voice. The guard jumped, then swore. I could hear the rattle of keys and a lock being turned. The door at the top of the stairs swung open. I could hear distant voices chattering and laughing.
Step clank. Step clank. Step clank. Step scuffle. The person inhaled sharply. The splash of water told me his mistake.

"God dammit, Bumbulum!" said the voice. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop leaving your shit on the stairs?"

I heard him kick the object out of the way. The rifle hit the wall and fell to the floor with a sharp thud. "Where are you ya' old fart?" He asked before reaching the bottom of the stairs. He looked to his right, where the guard was, and let out a snort.

"Perving on the girl again, eh Bumbo?" he said in disgust. The guard glared at him, and removed the grimy towel from his mouth. It was tinged bright red.

"How 'bout you warn a brother next time?" He growled. The younger guard laughed and neared the cell.

"You should find a woman your age, Bumbo" said the guard cheerfully. "You can't keep fantasizing about getting it on with the prisoners. Especially since she's, you know, about fifthy years younger than you."

Bumbulum opened his mouth to say something, but closed it quickly. He shuffled around the younger guard, picked up his rifle, and headed up the stairs. The heavy door slammed shut. Silence.

"Is that the fourth time this week that he's bitten his tongue?" He asked.

"Fifth" I responded, without looking at him. The young guard chuckled. He took out the ring of keys around his belt. He unlocked the latch and slid a tray of food in. I reached over and pulled the tray towards me.

"It's mainly scraps from the dinner they had today" he explained as he lit a lantern."Some folks from Adamas came over to party it up with Liquet."

I looked down at the tray. Fraxinus had tried to arrange the cheap ceramic bowls and plates as neatly as could. I couldn't help but smile as I saw the little blue flowers that adorned a tiny, rudely made vase.

"It's spring, I presume?" I asked. He nodded. He sat on the floor, leaning against the wall, facing me. His eyes were fixed on me. But not like the old guard's. I could never tell what exactly his purpose was in doing this. I didn't mind. He was the only company I could bear. I began eating the meal he had brought me. Some sort of dry meat, with a bowl of beans. There were two biscuits on the side, with steam rolling off. I looked up, surprised. He grinned.

"That's a nice surprise isn't it?" He said. "I snatched em' from Lady Domina' s kitchen. They're fresh out the oven" I ate the warm, soft bread quickly. All the bowls were empty. I coughed. He looked up, then fumbled around his belt. He pulled off a canteen and slid it through the opening.

"Sorry about your water" he apologized as I drank steadily. I finished, and slid it back to him. I shrugged off his apology. He gave me a half smile, before leaning his head back and closing his eyes. I did the same. We sat in silence for some time.

"You were off a few years you know" I said quietly.

"Pardon?"'he asked without opening his eyes.

"Bumbulum is 72. I'm 23" I said. "If I'm doing my math correctly, and I assure you I am, then the age gap between us would be forty nine years. Not fifty."

Silence. "Well damn." He said.