The Devil's Country

The Escape

(Henry Schwarz's perspective)

The guards drop off my food. I get up and I eat it swiftly. The prison is on it's Saturday lockdown. Role call is happening soon. I grab the knife which now resides under a stone in the wall. The agenda over the last day was who took the knife. Everyone got searched including me. I slide the knife in an apartment under my shorts. I fall or get shoved and the knife will slice my leg. These prisons are too nice for my tasting. I will escape through the dungeons. No one ever goes down there.

I heard there is an air pipe. Many have tried to climb it but most fail. It's long and narrow. Every once in a while there is an opening, but no one has made it pass the third opening. It's either I go through there or a water line infested with crocodiles. It runs under the prison.

I hear the role call bell. I get up as the door slides open from some mechanical system. I walk out to the role call area. The world goes numb as every step I take. The soft sound of stone under my feet makes my skin crawl. The coldness of this prison isn't something I enjoy. I get to the hall area. Boys and girls gather together only arms length from each other. I hear names get said. Each name I've almost memorized. I'm ready to leave already yet I've only been in here for a month maybe? A week? Too much time has passed for me. I stand to hear them miss my name. It's probably a common mistake. Like me. I hear the next bell as each kid's name has been called except mine.

I walk into the hallway to my cell. I look right. I look left. Then I run down into the dungeon. I run steadily through the narrow hallways to the escape pipe. I run and jump into the air pipe. I fall for about two seconds. Then I adjust myself. I climb steadily back up. Slowly climbing the air vent. I see freedom above. I see spiders crawl around me as I climb. Centipedes climb down the walls as I climb triumphantly. I will achieve freedom today. I climb and I climb. Spider webs get into my eyes. Spiders crawl on my clothes. I feel the knife sliding back an forth against my leg. I'm scared of what could happen with that knife if it shifts too far. I get to the first opening in no time. I peer in to see the kitchen. Cooks frantically prepare for lunch. I climb farther up.

By now I'm covered in centipedes cockroaches and spiders. I brush them off hoping they don't bite me. I climb farther to see the second opening. I peer in once again to see my cell block. My cell is wide open. People are laughing and ignoring my cell. People are clearing my cell. I climb further up and up.  My heart races to the sound of rocks cracking. This long narrow tunnel is no laughing matter. My arms ache as it's been an hour of climbing. I get to the third opening. I peer in to find a kid being carried out of prison on a cart.

"Poor lad," I said smiling at my fortune.

I climb higher and higher to see spikes lining the top before the vent opening. Alas my fortune has run low. I take my knife and I try and break the spikes open. They don't budge for many hours of picking at them. Until the spikes fall beside me. I climb more. My strength depleted as I finish my way. I climb out of the air vent covered in bugs. I see my misfortune has hit again. No wonder anyone has never escaped. I climbed to the top of the central tower. It's a large tower full of guards. I see buckets of water. The first thing I do is poor all that water all over me. All the bugs come off right away. Clothes are stacked there. They hang to dry because of the powerful winds they dry quickly. I put on the clothes. They fit quite well. I walk around the watch tower. It's inner curves all the way down like a long spiral staircase, one singular ramp. Probably to bring hay up to burn it. I see a carriage with horses. I climb inside the trunk and place myself under the clothes. Then I rest.