The Prison of Deviants

Chapter 21: Winter Is Coming

I was unable to find out what had happened to the warden back then. When we met again, Knut did apologize to me for leaving without saying goodbye, but he didn't really answer my questions. He only said that his brother is sickly and needs medicine from time to time. His sickness apparently comes from the fact that his animalistic form, his organism, and his element do not complement. I don't completely understand what that means, but Knut didn't go into details.

Three months have passed since then. I've been meeting up with Knut, but moving the relationship a bit further from friendship has proved harder. At least, I've gotten a pretty good look at the prison data in his computer, so now I know all the details of this prison. As days pass, I'm developing an optimal plan for the escape. Knut doesn't know I've been peeping into his computer, so he has no idea of what I'm planning. He's not suspicious at all. He fully trusts me.

In these three months, autumn has passed. The green meadows have turned yellow. Now, as winter has started, they're going to be covered with snow.

Yelen and Annabelle have told me that winter is bitter and harsh on this island. We don't go hunting very often since it's too cold and the game is too few, so the overseers hunt for us and give us scarcer food than usual. It truly sucks - one needs more food in winter, yet they're starving us to death while they feast merrily.

Annabelle has explained that it is actually the warden's strategy - he starves prisoners so more could die, and those who dare steal from the administration would be punished to death. That way, he can free space for the newer lot to come in spring. The deviant particles rarely spread in winter, so there are always way more newcomers in spring.

I've come up with a good idea: I'll use all the wintertime to devise a plan, then I'll disclose it to the tormented and angered prisoners, and we all will break out in spring.

Yelen and Annabelle have a different strategy to cope with the problem: whoever hooks up with an administrator, be it a guard or an overseer, can be permitted by them to eat from their stocks. That way, they can survive.

Yelen, who's already turned into a pure vampire since her white raven wings have formed (white because she's albino) is already Rufus' girlfriend and the administrators' favourite, for they find her unusual colours quite dazzling. Annabelle and I, on the other hand, have yet to find the means to survive. After all, I cannot completely depend on Knut, who's only a best friend to me.

"You need to move your relationship further," Annabelle advises me, "or else, you're going to starve."

"Yeah... And, what are you going to do?" I ask. After all, she too is single.

"Hotaru has said that he won't leave me alone."

"Who the hell is that?"

I'm hearing the name "Hotaru" for the first time.

"My biker friend from the past." She smiles. "He too has been infected. He's a bear deviant, though. He's hooked up with their panda headwoman, Mei. She's permitted him to eat their share. He says the bear portions are too big so he's going to share with me. So I'll be fine."

Yeah, as always, Annabelle finds a way to survive all the prison harshness due to her many relationships with the different districts I've never been to. She truly is a phenomenon.

Vincent comes and opens our cell:

"It is dinner time, girls!"

Rufus hasn't come. He's apparently with Yelen, who barely even spends time in our cell now when she's a fully-fledged vampire and Rufus' girlfriend. They always hang out together and Rufus doesn't let her rot in this cell, while we're going to be locked up for even longer hours than usual since we do not hunt anymore.

We stand in the line and follow the vampire guards to the dining hall. All the prisoners look depressed - I guess they know what the winter is bringing.

When we enter the dining hall, Annabelle leaves me to hang out with the bears. I remain alone. When I go to the counter to get the food from the cooks, all I receive is a bowl of bean soup. So much for the first day of winter... The starvation has already started, it seems.

I see Shon sitting at a table with Honorée. The two have grown to be quite good friends since I introduced them to each other for the first time, some months ago. Shon has a really good way with kids. He says it's because he had two kid sisters back in the human world.

"Hey, guys!"

"Oh, hey, Theo!" Shon smiles, "Long time no see! Come, sit here."

He offers a free chair to me. I take a seat.

"Nice to see you again!" Honorée smiles too. "How are you?"

"Meh, coping..." I shrug. "They say we're going to have it tough for the winter."

"Jared has said that the warden is going to supervise us on his own, from today on," Shon says.

"What?!"

The warden is going to manage affairs on his own? How come? Knut said he's hurt! How can he be in shape to administer the prison in such hard times?

"Yeah, Nanny has said so, too," Honorée mutters. "He really is scary... I hoped I'd never see him again."

"What do you mean? Isn't he asleep all the time?"

"That's the issue," Shon says, "He's been sleeping all the time, but in winter, he no longer sleeps in the daytime. They say he loves cold, so he doesn't sleep in winter."

If the warden doesn't sleep in the daytime in winter and manages things by himself, it means trouble for all of us - he is the only true monster in this prison, as many people have claimed.

"Attention, prisoners!"

Bob and his feline administrators have come to the dining hall. Knut is among them. I guess it is some announcement. Knut looks sad, so I'm getting an even worse feeling now.

"This is the first day of winter, so you know what it means!" Bob grins in a malicious manner, "The warden has awoken! He's going to supervise you on his own, now. So you probably understand - if ever you cause trouble, he'll be watching."

Honorée's trembling. Some other prisoners are shaking too. I guess they rather want to scare us, saying that the warden will supervise us. I'm not buying that. They must be lying. As Knut has told me once, the warden is sick and needs sleep because of that, so there is no way he'd remain awake all day long only in wintertime. It sounds absurd.

"This winter, however, there are further details," Bob goes on, "Lord Knut van Irbisen is going to leave with a small group of our feline administrators, to get additional supplies from the deviant kingdoms. As you may know, we are running low on food at the moment. The situation looks very dire for this winter, so we've come to an agreement to refill the supplies, this one time. Lord Knut and his party will be gone for a month. So, do not look for his mercy when you decide to cause trouble, now!"

He chuckles. I guess he's happy about it - he never liked Knut's kindness.

They exit the hall. I am sad and concerned about two matters: Knut is leaving, and the warden is in charge. This month is truly going to be hard for everyone, but mostly for me.

Because, without Knut, I'll be losing all the privileges in this prison.