Don't Talk to Strangers

XXXIII

- Dan -
I hated my life. I hated myself. I hated what I'd done. I hated everything. The past few weeks had been absolutely dismal. I, obviously, wasn't able to pay bail, so I'd been confined to the county jail until my trial was heard in less than a week.

I had little to keep my mind busy, let alone at ease. I lived every moment waiting for the next, trying my best to imagine what it would be like when this whole thing was over. I wasn't staying for my entire life. Probably only a year or so. One day I would look back on this and cringe, then shake my head at my young self's stupidness.

Most of the other inmates had ignored me. I tried to flatten out my hair and look as uninteresting as possible. The monotone jumpsuit I'd been given certainly helped my blending in, though the lack of a hood made it difficult to hide my hair.

It had been about a week and a half in, by which time I'd already begun to fall into the routine quite comfortably, before I heard anything involving my case or Cassidy.

"You!" I heard a loud voice call out. I tensed, swallowing and preparing to defend myself. I turned around to see a tall, well-built man with a moustache and thick beard and a lazy expression approaching me. "You're Smith, right? Daniel—?" he started.

"Dan," I managed to input, standing up to meet him. He stood in front of me and I noticed how his head lolled lazily to one side and he nodded carelessly.

"Yeah, Dan Smith. You're in for the kidnapping and theft, right?" he asked. His voice was softer up close and I briefly wondered why he could possibly be in prison.

I stuttered, "Y—Yeah...?" I shifted nervously. What do you want?

"With that Cassidy Meredith girl, right?" he continued lazily. 

I clenched my fists. "Yeah. And?"

He nodded thoughtfully and scratched at his beard. He rotated his wrists musedly and I noticed a small tattoo resembling a spider. I ground my teeth with annoyance. Get to the freaking point, I yelled silently. It took him another few seconds before he said any more.

"I overheard some of the wardens talking about your case. Someone's missing. I think it's the girl, either that or some other 'poor girl' that was kidnapped within the past few weeks." He laughed at his own lame joke. "So yeah, she's apparently missing. They don't know who it is, no suspects either. Said it would've been easier had they had a supposed missing... file on the girl's stalker," he eyed me with a grin, "but they've lost that too. Seems they're a might disorganized, now doesn't it?" He grinned a toothy smile at me. 

I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, trying to let the information sink in. I stared hard at the ground, my heart pounding. Then everything hit me at once. I jumped up and grabbed his shirt. "She's missing? You don't understand! It's him! I'm so stupid," I cried, staggering away from the man. He brushed himself off nonchalantly and I continued to rave. "I have to get the file back to them. I knew it. I took her for a reason. I'm such an idiot!"

I started shaking and had to grasp the table to keep myself steady. The man reached over and grabbed a strong hold of my shoulder. "Hey, come on, you can't help her like that." I ran a frustrated hand through my hair, pulling violently at it. The man slapped my hand and I snapped my head to glare at him. Couldn't he see I was upset about this?

"Pull yourself together, we're no use with you in this state," he scolded me. 

I blinked. "We?"

"Yeah, man. Listen, I'm going to help you out here. I'll keep listening in, you work on... whatever it is you have to. Keep up the good behavior, whatever. We're gonna get you out of here, or get something out, alright?"

I couldn't answer, reeling in shock. "I—I have to get th—the file but I d—don't know where it i—is," I stammered.

"Yeah, we'll figure that out too. You got it?" 

I took a shaky breath and nodded. I still felt ridiculous, but more stable. The man slapped my back heartily. "Great. The name's Will," he held out his hand. 

I took it and shook it awkwardly. "Thanks, Will." 

"Let's get to it, then." Will glanced pointedly behind him at the wardens standing around by the door chatting distractedly. Right, I thought. Business.

EXCITED???? I AM. Okay anyways I randomly found that gif when searching for a picture of his li'l squiggle but apparently he does have a spider tattoo... LOL
Also YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO THAT SONG ON THE SIDE. THIS. TRACK. IS. SICK. I HOPE YOU LIKE IT. - TS ;;;)