White. White wall. White tile. White light.
Everything was white. Simple and sterile. Andy sat silently in the corner. Knees pulled up to their chest in a protective manner as they rocked slightly back in forth. They kept their head down, counting each movement on their slender fingers. Boredom had become the regular, that was the point. Sound, color, flavor, they were all prohibited. No speaking, white bread and cold broth served twice daily, the constant white light shining overhead, making the passing of time impossible to measure.
Schedule, constant motion, that was the only thing that kept Andy sane. They defeated the point of their isolation in a way that frustrated their captors beyond description.
498 499 450.
Andy pushed up from their position on the floor in one fluid motion. They sat at the edge of their small….white cot for a moment before sliding forward and using the ledge for dips. Their brow was already slick with sweat.
FLASHBACK 2 YEARS EARLIER
“Damn it!” Andy exclaimed as they looked over their shoulder. Two men, each dressed in an all-black police uniform pursued him at a full sprint. Their boots thudded almost as loudly as Andy’s heart. Just as Andy turned the corner a pair of hands snatched them into a side building.
“Andy what the fuck?” A tall broad man’s voice seemed to boom despite its volume being just above a whisper.
Andy paced back and forth as they spoke “Are they gonna find their place?”
“No, tell me what happened” this time the man’s voice raised a notch, demanding immediate response.
“Someone must had leaked the location of my lab, there were to many of them, I wiped most of it but….who knows what they have”
Andy was frantic, their usual collected, purposeful self, seemed nearly lost in their current state. Their shirt had become untucked, sweat stained its collar, wrinkles adorned the material. Their chocolate brown dress shoes were scuffed, caked in red clay.
“Take a breath, Max is in the back, take a second and then we will figure out what is salvageable” The man put his large hand on Andy’s shoulder.
Andy took a few deep breaths before moving to the back room. Max, a tall muscular woman with dark shoulder length hair stood at the sound of the door. She gasped as she rushed to embrace Andy.
“I thought you were….you know” Her voice came out in almost incoherent bursts, tears threated to spill as her throat bobbed.
“I know, I am okay, I am here” Andy reassured, their hand weaved comfortingly into Max’s hair.
After they had both calmed down, they sat before the countless monitors adorning the space, all running different programs.
“They have only managed to shut down the northwest sector, everything else seems intact” Max’s eyes focused on the screens, rapidly alternating between them as she spoke.
Over the past few years, things had gotten bad. The top 1% held more than 80% of the world’s wealth. The American unemployment rate was 24.8%, higher than it had ever been, the unhoused population had doubled in less than six months. There was no money. The government was in debt, countries had begun to recall their favor forcing the U.S Treasury to rely upon the wealthy. The result of such a loan was detrimental to the country, people working completely outside of the law.
CURRENT DAY
Inmate 4490 lay face down, hands behind your back, ankles crossed.
Inmate 4490 lay face down, hands behind your back, ankles crossed.
Inmate 4490 lay face down, hands behind your back, ankles crossed.
Inmate 4490 lay face down, hands behind your back, ankles crossed.
Four times, messages were always repeated four times. In the beginning it was just enough to drive Andy to the brink of madness (especially when they came back-to-back), now they barely paid any notice. However, it was odd, this particular message, not new, but Andy had become skilled in recognizing the passage of time and it was definitely not time for their weekly shower (The only time this message aired).
Footsteps followed by the creaking of the heavy metal door.
4 sets? Same military grade boots. One much larger than the others? On the right?
Andy could not help noticing the minute details. Knowledge was power, especially in a place like this.
Within seconds, they were handcuffed and lifted to their feet. They were marched through the cell’s now open door and down the long white hallway. Large hands gripped Andy’s biceps uncomfortably, fingers dug into their skin in a way that would no doubt leave bruises in their wake.
1,2,3,4….22, 23….55
Andy unintentionally counted the number of steps it took to reach the door they seemed to be approaching.
The two men kept hold of their arms as one of the others swung the seemingly heavy door open, holding it as they entered.
The man Andy knew to be the warden stood up from behind his mahogany desk.
“Mrs. Hart, please have a seat.”
Andy internally grimaced at the title but managed to hide it behind a false smile and quick nod.
“You may leave us, I have no doubt we will all be on our best behavior, isn’t that right” The belittling and yet slightly flirtatious tone of the older man made Andy want to gag.
“Yes Sir” Andy was perfectly capable of faking respect.
“Now, let’s get right to it, I have chosen to give you another chance at returning to general population, but I am going to need you to prove to me that you can control yourself, that you can so as you are told” The warden said with a smirk.
Andy did not like what he was insinuating and yet somehow, they were not surprised. The faults of men. How they felt their dick inevitably gave them power when in reality it was their biggest weakness. With the right smile, right walk, a purposefully innocent reach here and there, that special tone of voice, the power shifted.
“I can do that.”
Genpop. 500 inmates to a building, 100 to a unit, and 2 to a cell. Andy had started in general population, one too many fights had landed them in the “hole” for an extended stay, an entire year it had been. They regretted nothing.
It did not take long to settle into a new cell, a handful of belongings, all prison issued, was all they had.
“My man, damn, I never thought I’d see your dumb ass again” A young black man’s voice rang out behind Andy as they made the top bunk.
They turned, a smile adorning their usually indifferent face.
“James, how’ve you been.”
“You mean over the last year? Well, I am still here so, but not too bad.”
They exchanged a quick conversation before the nightly count.
FLASHBACK 2 YEARS AGO
“$5,378,100,870 in raw funds, 1,452 patents, and $1,678,003 in stolen goods and you are saying that you are the sole responsible party, the sole member of ‘Hood inc’? Now, why is it that I find that hard to believe?” A middle aged, balding agent spoke in his most authoritative tone.
Andy sat, hands cuffed to the table in front of them, Papers lay before them listing the evidence of their various offenses.
“Only me” they said, eyes moving from their place looking at the table to meet those of the agent in front of them.
It took five hours for the department to give up simple interrogation and move on to something more severe. A week before they decided that it took more effort to gain knowledge than it was worth. Definitely a shitty week.
“This court sentences you to life in prison without the opportunity for parole.”
The words echoed in the empty room, echoed in Andy’s head.
CURRENT DAY
It had been two years, two years of no phone calls, no letters, no visits. It was too dangerous for Max to risk contact, too dangerous for anyone and yet there it was, the still sealed envelope with no address sitting under Andy’s pillow.
It had been smuggled in by an officer, it was the only way something like that could make its way into the prison. It took everything in Andy to not cry as they read Max’s words. They had not left them there, it had been slow going but there was a plan, if Andy could find a way to get distract some of the guards, Max had been planning a breakout. There had been a rapid growth of support for the cause since Andy’s incarceration. Numerous attempts for a retrial had gone unanswered (unbeknownst to Andy) and sparked an active and often violent rebellion.
Max and a few other close friends of Andy’s had managed to corral this energy into a storming of the prison where Andy (and many other political prisoners), were held, tomorrow at midnight, Max was tired of waiting. Andy’s being released from isolation had been the sign to move.
Andy spread the news slowly, only to those they trusted to hold the information close. There was too high a risk to allow the news to spread uncontrolled. However, Andy spread the news of a riot, most prisoners loved any kind of action. At midnight they would all be locked in their individual cells, guards regularly patrolling the halls, occasionally shining flashlights into each cell.
Around 11:45pm, Andy let out the whistle, in every single cell in the unit, the two men rooming together began to fight. Guards sprang into action, unlocking door after door to pull the inmates apart, but as soon as enough doors opened, the men turned on the guards rather than each other. They substantially outnumbered them, using that and the element of surprise to their advantage. Within minutes they had incapacitated the guards and opened the remainder of the locked cell doors.
Moments later a loud explosion rang out in the main hallway. Max had not made her entrance quietly. Using the knowledge that fewer guards worked the overnight shift she and a few others had knocked out the guards stationed in the lobby and blown the few doors between them and Andy out.
Andy and Max embraced before they were interrupted by the booming voice of their fellow anarchist,
“Might wanna get a move on” he said matter-a-factly though the happiness in his voice was impossible to hide.
2 WEEKS LATER
“Andrea Hart, Travis Reed, George Barnes…. if you have any information regarding the whereabout of these men and women please call the number listed below, a reward has been allocated for any information resulting in capture, if seen call 911, they are armed and dangerous.”
The message played from the FM/AM radio for the hundredth time and Andy sighed in annoyance.
“They can’t even get my name right can they” Andy joked.
“Support is growing, and they wonder why they haven’t heard a word about you or anyone in the movement in weeks” Max spoke from her place before her computer.
The government was falling. Riots had fallen upon the capital, assassinations, protests, there was an insurgence on the horizon. The only question now was if the new would be better than the old.