South Side - A Prison Break Story

2. Monsters

Michael

'Who are they?'
Isabelle and I were sitting outside together on a bench.
I looked up from the ground and followed her gaze to the other side of the field.
'T-bag and his group,' I answered.
She nodded thoughtfully and bit her lower lip.
'He has a creepy vibe,' she finally said.
'Do you know why he's in here?'
She turned her head towards me and looked at me seriously.
'I think he raped and murdered people.'
I saw her eyes widen before she turned her gaze away and looked at John and his group.
'And him?'
She meant John.
'He was with the mafia.'
I carefully studied her face and saw the red color had drained from her cheeks.
I realized she had no idea what kind of dangerous people she had ended up with.
Something inside me made me want to protect her.
She was defenseless among all the monsters walking around here, because that's what most of them were.
'Michael!'
I recognized the voice calling me from a mile away.
It was Sucre, one of the good inmates.
He walked towards us cheerfully.
'So, you must be Isabelle,' he began as he sat down next to her.
I noticed that Isabelle didn't flinch, in fact, she extended her hand to him.
Sucre took her hand with a broad smile.
It was as if she knew who she could trust.
'I don't know many men named Isabelle,' she said, smiling at him.
The sun shone on her blonde hair, giving it a golden glow.
She had something enchanting, something I had never seen in any of the other women I'd met.
She was special.
'What are you in here for, Sucre?' she asked curiously.
Just before he could answer, she stopped him and raised her hand.
'No, wait, can I guess?'
Sucre laughed, 'go ahead.'
I saw her brows furrow as she looked at Sucre thoughtfully, just like she had done with me earlier.
'I think you're in here for something minor, maybe you robbed a bank?'
Sucre looked at her in surprise, just like I did.
How did she know that?
'Uh, yeah, you're almost right, I robbed a gas station,' Sucre said, and I could hear the amazement in his voice.
'How do you know that?' I heard myself ask.
She turned her gaze from Sucre to me, and when her eyes met mine, I felt my nerves jolt like an electric shock.
What is wrong with me?
'Everyone has their secrets,' she said with a playful smile.
That was the moment I decided to figure out how she did it.
I was simply fascinated by her.
That brought me to a thought: what would she think of Lincoln?
Would she know he's innocent?
The deafening bell rang again; our time outside was up.
I stood up and then heard Bellick's booming voice.
'Miller, infirmary!'
She turned to me, 'his voice is almost as annoying as that bell.'
I laughed, and she gave me a small smile before turning around and walking towards where Bellick was waiting for her.
I watched her walk away with Bellick, disappearing towards the infirmary.
A nasty feeling began to churn in my stomach when I saw how shamelessly Bellick was staring at her.
Maybe it's not just the prisoners who are monsters.