Page 80 of The General's Captive
“I am taking you to Riley first.”
I shook my head at this as if trying to make sense of it. It was as if we were heading away from the main prison itself and toward a smaller, separate building instead. One that was surrounded by its own walls. Surprisingly, no guards patrolled this part, and I was growing more confused by the second.
My heart raced and my hands began to sweat profusely. It wasn’t just because I was about to break into a prison to try and steal Riley back, it was about what I would first have to do before that.
“What is this place?” I asked as he put me down and nodded for me to walk through a metal door. One that led into a small courtyard, toward a single-story building that held a stone plaque above the door that said,
1920
Women’s Ward.
“This is where we keep any prisoners we have.”
I frowned up at him after he had squeezed himself through the door, having to go at it sideways. It was such a smallbuilding, with only two barred windows either side of a metal door. A door that Aster would struggle to get into. But as I approached, I started feeling uneasy, like something bad was going to happen.
“Aster, where is everyone?” My stomach fluttered with trepidation when he looked as if he didn’t understand my question.
“No one can escape from here, so there is no need to guard this building,” he replied, unlocking the main door with a key that hung on a hook embedded in the wall.
I swear that none of this made sense. It was as if I was missing something huge here… surely, they had more prisoners than this?
He nodded for me to go inside alone, and when I looked hesitant, he took it for something else.
“I will wait outside in the courtyard and give you some privacy.”
I took his beefy hand and gave a single finger a squeeze.
“Thank you.”
He nodded before walking away and what I was hoping, was out of earshot. I stepped inside, taking note of the patchy, painted concrete floor, the duck egg blue color worn away by decades of footsteps. The walls half painted mint green with the yellowish cream above made me feel like I was in an abandoned hospital. Well, had it not been for the barred metal cell doors that lined the walls. That, and the information boards that hung on the walls telling visitors of the many infamous murderers these cells had once housed.
There were only seven cells in total and each only big enough to hold a bunkbed and a toilet. Again, I didn’t know why I was surprised to find all but one empty, because Aster had already hinted at this.
I continued on, until I got to the very end, gasping at the sight of Riley lying on the bed. A single arm thrown over his eyes as if he was trying to sleep through his unknown sentence.
The doors made it hard to see a lot of details, as they were covered in an old rusty wire mesh, with only a small square cut out of them. I quickly rushed against it, calling his name.
“Riley! Oh, thank god you’re okay… it’s me!”
His head shot up before he was up out of the lower bunk, coming over to me.
“Alex!” His hand quickly going through the hole so I could grab it. It was like he needed to touch me to ensure this wasn’t just all a cruel dream.
“How did you get here?” he asked.
I looked toward the door where I knew Aster was.
“It’s a long story and not one we have time for right now. But we have to keep it down or he will hear us,” I said, looking to the entrance.
“Who will?” he asked, making me shake my head.
“A friend. Look, we don’t have much time,” I replied quickly.
“You shouldn’t have come… The General wants you Alex, and coming here is too risky,” he reprimanded, making me roll my eyes.
“Yeah, well you can scold me later once I have bust you out of here,” I said, stepping back and looking at the door. It was so old that it was only locked by a padlock, and I look around the room for a potential key.
“Listen to me Alex, you need to go… you need to get out of here before you get discovered!” Riley pleaded with me, but I wasn’t going to listen.
