The Prison (Book 1)

Going for a Swim

Going for a Swim

I stayed quiet. I was afraid anything I said would trigger him even more.

"If it weren't for him, I could have been a track runner. I could have gotten away from it all. Instead, I'm stuck in doing 'family business' for the rest of my life." There was so much bitterness, so much hatred in his voice that I shuddered.

He abruptly released me and I stumbled backward. I hadn't even realized I was breathing heavily until then.

Slowly, cautiously, I asked, "What... What happened?" I genuinely wanted to know what had gone down between them. More than anything, I wanted to say that "Schneizel would never do that" and defend him, but I suddenly realized that I knew next to nothing about Schneizel's past. I knew who his father was and what 'business' their family was in, but that was about it. Would Schneizel really do something so horrendous to a friend? Who knew? I mean, Schneizel was an imprisoned criminal, after all. I'd seen him murder someone -albeit now I understood it was for my sake. Still...

Maybe this was a one-in-a-lifetime chance for enlightenment. I wanted to know more about Schneizel, especially when he seemed to know so much about me. The thing was, I wasn't sure if I would like what I heard.

"What does it matter what happened? It's already been I don't know how many years since it happened."

"It matters to me." I met and held his gaze, willing him to see my determination to hear the whole of it.

"There's nothing to tell other than that I was a fool to trust Schneizel. I trusted him to end the war between our families, and he fueled it instead, getting me shot as a result."

"So, he didn't shoot you himself?" I was immensely relieved.

"He might as well have." He walked back into the house, leaving me standing on the porch, needing to know more. I briefly noticed him limping as he went to his office. He slammed the door shut, indicating that the conversation was officially over.

Dammit. Just when I'd finally got him talking.

****

The next day, I couldn't find Cain anywhere on the island, unless he was holed up in his office as he often tended to do to avoid me. The door was locked as always, but usually when I knocked, he'd answer, so I was left to assume that he'd gone somewhere. Which meant that Cain had a way of leaving the island.

It was either by boat or his helicopter, which meant that there was a dock or a helipad somewhere on the island. Well, probably. It wasn't like those two were strictly necessary when owning a boat or a chopper, but someone as meticulous and 'posh' as Cain most likely had them.

I set out to find at least one of the two, keeping my eye out for a pesky parrot.

As I delved into the tropical trees, I recalled last night.

Cain claimed to had been betrayed by Schneizel.

I didn't have a way of knowing just how much truth his claims contained. I didn't know the first thing about the nature of the feud between Schneizel and Cain, except that it was bad. Me being here was living proof of it.

Not until Cain told him his part of the story anyway.

****

After wandering hopelessly in the jungle, I reached a cliff. Had I not been paying attention, I would have walked right off the cliff; the dense foliage had concealed it excellently. Gathering my courage, I went to stand at the edge and looked down from the drop to see a crystal clear lake.

I smiled from ear to ear while reaching down for the hem of my shirt. I stripped down to my briefs.

"Please don't be bacteria and dick-crawling worm infested," I said, and shrugging, jumped into the water with a cry that would have made Tarzan proud.

****

It had been months since I went for a swim, and even longer since I had a pool all to myself. I did laps around the decently-sized lake, swimming from end to end. I measured how long I could hold my breath underwater -which disappointingly wasn't very much at all. I tried to catch a fish just to see if I could, then settled with just observing them zipping around when I failed miserably. And finally, when I'd exhausted myself, I lay on my back, floating gently on the water and bathing in the soft sun. By now it was the afternoon.

Birds chirped and screamed, communicating all around me. The jungle was alive with sounds and motion, dwarfing me, making me feel utterly insignificant, yet I was in no way terrified by it.

The water was amazing. It was that perfect lukewarm temperature that kept me warm as I floated around, but not too hot for it to be unbearable. It was a refreshing change from the insanity of my life.

You're wasting time having fun. A chastising, hard voice disturbed the peacefulness of my mind, making me stir in the water.

The voice of reason would have me run around the island looking for a way to get off of it. But I'd already done that, tried everything I could possibly try, yet I didn't find a damned helipad or a dock. And there was still no trace of Cain anywhere on the island.

So here I was, loitering the days away until... something happened.

Just how long did Cain intend on keeping me here?

And what would happen to me once he got fed up? That was the million dollar question.

"Enjoying yourself?"

I started and suddenly my face was under the water and I was swallowing it. I pushed up and break the surface with a gasp, then proceeded to cough the water out.

Once my lungs stopped burning, I looked over at the bank to see Cain standing there with an amused expression on his face.

"I see you found the lake."

"Where have you been?" I demanded in a rather annoyed voice, wiping the water off my face with a wet hand.

"Why? Did you miss me?"

"Not particularity, no," I said.

"How's the water?" He asked.

I stiffened. "Cold," I lied.

"You look lonely in there. Should I join you?"

"No."

But Cain was taking off his shirt and pants already -and then his briefs!

Mortified, I averted my gazes and hissed, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Stop acting like an untried virgin. You were in prison, for god's sake. I'm willing to bet you've seen your fair share of swinging dicks."

I sighed, and then I heard a big splash.

When I looked over to where Cain had been standing on the bank, he was no longer there.

Horrified, I looked down at the water.

Something wrapped around my ankle and pulled me into the water. 

*~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Happy New Year, guys! Let's make this year awesome! 

If you'd like to finish the story, as well as gain access to exclusive NSFW content, you can find it already completed on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/feastofnoise) and Ko-fi account (https://ko-fi.com/feastofnoise). If you'd like, you can also support me in my journey to becoming a full-time writer. <3