Practice Writing A-11: "This is All Your Fault"

Writing Practice(s): File A-11 Date Published: 10:24, 27 May 2013 (Minnesota Time) Category: Suspense/Drama Title: "This is All Your Fault"

Writing Practice(s): File A-11

Category: Suspense/Drama

Title: “This is All Your Fault”

 

      The door to Isaac’s cell opened with an earsplitting screech and an unnerving slam. Isaac flinched and grimaced at the horrible sounds. He had been imprisoned there for over four months and he still couldn’t bring himself to get used to the everyday noises of prison life.

      He hadn’t actually done anything illegal; in fact he didn’t belong there at all. He had no criminal records, had never done anything illegal, never broke the rules, he was a “good boy” if you will. He didn’t even have a reason to break the law. There were no financial troubles, no problems at home, and no sick and dying relatives in need of surgery or special medical care. He always received good grades, went to a good school with good friends, never got bullied or harassed and always avoided the “wrong” crowd and the wrong influences.

      The police had just showed up at his school in the middle of March, dragged him from his biology class, slapped a pair of handcuffs on him and dragged him off to prison. He wasn’t even given a fair trial �" or any trial for that matter. The police had refused him the right to a trial by jury and justified it by claiming he had no rights. Isaac hadn’t believed them at the time but was powerless to do anything about it. They wouldn’t even tell him why he was under arrest. Whenever he inquired on the subject they simply replied; “As if you didn’t know, mutt!” They would sneer and kick him in the rear and slap him across the back of the head screaming and cursing, “Shut up, freak! Keep moving!”

      It wasn’t until after he was fitted for his prison uniform and assigned a designated cell that he discovered the reason why he had been so wrongly imprisoned and his rights denied.

      He was part werehog. He hadn’t known he was part Packian until they tested his DNA and locked the handcuffs on his wrists. Ever since President Wilson passed the law to imprison all Wereians, werehogs have been disappearing across the country, no matter their profession, relations, record, age or history. Isaac was no exception.

      As it also turned out, Isaac was also part Clanian, another race of Starians that had been declared dangerous and illegal to be free and a law passed for them to be detained. The officers refused to even inform him what Element Clan he hailed from. He supposed they thought if he knew what Clan ancestry he had he would try to bend or use the special abilities of whatever Clan he was from. Though it wouldn’t have mattered anyway, taking into account the guards forced every Starian inmate to wear these electric collars that not only cut off a Wereian’s transformation, but also disabled Clanians from using their powers.

      “Hey, mutt! Get out of that cell! Didn’t you hear the breakfast bell?” screamed a nearby guard angrily at Isaac.

      The teen flinched at the harsh words and slowly stood up and shuffled out of his cell. The guard groaned impatiently and seized Isaac by his electric collar and threw him out of his cell and onto the ground.

      Isaac groaned in pain and shakily tried to pick himself off the ground, but was immediately kicked in the rear by the guard as a sign to get moving. The abused teenager clutched his side and attempted to pick himself up as quickly as he could.

      A strong figure grabbed him by the back of his orange jumpsuit collar and pulled him to his feet. Isaac shot a grateful look to the muscular red figure. It was Clawface, a Ruby werehog and a loner in the prison system. He was a fierce warrior, but he never went out looking for a fight. However he was still the kind of person you didn’t want to cross paths with. His real name was actually Devin, but no one had the guts to call him that.

      “Thanks,” Isaac croaked and rubbed his sore throat.

      Clawface smiled and placed a strong hand gently on his shoulder. “Hey, we Packians gotta stick together, right?”

      Isaac smiled weakly, but it immediately vanished when the guard shoved the pair from behind in order to keep them moving forward as quickly as possible. Isaac was careful this time not to fall and simply stumbled forward.

      Clawface glared back at the guard and bared his canine teeth, a low grumbling forming in the back of his throat.

      Isaac sighed wearily. He had gotten used to the everyday beatings and abuse, but prayed every day that it would end and he could go home.

      Isaac nudged Clawface. “Hey, come ‘on,” he urged gently.

      The Ruby warrior glanced at him and sighed, pushing his golden hair out of his scarred face. The two walked in silence down the cell block’s long corridor to the mess hall for their daily sludge.

      “So, Clawface, have you heard anything new about Thunder?” inquired Isaac, trying to lighten the mood a little.

      “Uh, yeah. They’re letting him out of solitary today,”

      “Really?” asked Isaac, trying not to sound too optimistic and excited.

      “Yeah. They’re letting him out for a while for good behavior,”

      Isaac had to resist the urge to burst out laughing and instead allowed a suppressed chortle to escape.

      “Thunder? For good behavior? No way,” Thunder was notorious for rebelling, causing trouble, and in general breaking just about every rule in the prison system. Thunder being let out of solitary confinement for good behavior was completely unthinkable and utterly ridiculous.

      “Well actually he’s being let out because he bribed the guards, but they’re saying they’re letting him out for good behavior instead,”

      “Probably to keep from looking bad,”

      “It’s a little too late for that, don’t you think? They’ve already imprisoned innocent Starians for no real reason, I don’t see why them accepting a bribe would be such a bad thing,”

      “I guess,”

      “I mean, we all know Thunder bribed them, no one’s believing their cover story, why not just go out and say it?”

      Isaac shrugged and shook his head. “I dunno. I just hope this war ends soon so we can all go home,”

      “I do to. But the only way we’re getting out of here permanently is if we win the war. Otherwise we’ll be stuck here for the rest of our lives.”

      Isaac shuddered at the thought of spending the remainder of his life in prison. He had barely survived the last few months in this hole; he couldn’t imagine staying there permanently.

      Clawface shrugged. “Guess we just have to jeep holding out for the Alphess,”

      “Yeah, the Alphess . . .” muttered Isaac. Ever since the capture and detainment of the Golden Alpha and the Gold Pack Deputy, leadership of the Wereian Packs fell to the Golden Alpha’s wife, who had taken to calling herself the “Alphess”. Rumor had it that she was massing together a tremendous and powerful army and was plotting out elaborate plans to not only free every wrongly imprisoned Starian, but also to win the war.

      Isaac still wasn’t sure what to make of this “Alphess” character, though. On one hand, he had heard that she was psychotic and aggressive; bloodthirsty and murderous even. And on the other hand he had heard she was kind and merciful and the only trying to protect her family.

      Unfortunately, the Alphess was his only hope of leaving this place. It seemed as if he had no choice but to hold out for her and hope for the best.

      “So word has it you’ve gotten pretty close to Thunder and the other Alpha teens,” commented Clawface.

      Isaac tried to hide his surprise at the unexpected question.

      “We’re friends, yeah,” he only hoped he hadn’t crossed some kind of social line. Crossing a social line in prison meant getting beaten into the ground. And that was the last thing he needed.

      Clawface nodded and smiled. “Good friends,”

      “Yeah, they’re nice enough,”

      “That wasn’t what I was referring to, but sure. Whatever floats your boat.”

      “What do you mean?”

      “I mean they’re good allies to have. You want powerful allies in a time and place like this,”

      “Good allies?”

      “Yeah. They’re rich, they’re Alphas, and they’re related to some of the most powerful people in the world. I gotta say, you have good taste in allies,”

      “I wasn’t interested in good allies. I was just looking for someone to trust,”

      “Well you found exactly what you were looking for. They’re certainly not back-stabbers. So long as you don’t stab them, they won’t stab you,”

      “Good to know,” replied Isaac tiredly. He was just looking for real friends, not powerful allies.

      The pair continued on in silence to the mess hall for breakfast.

*****

      The prisoner slopped a small pile of brown goop on Isaac’s tray.

      “Thanks,” said Isaac and wrinkled his noise at the putrid smell.

      The crocodile grunted and waved him away.

      Isaac picked up his tray and left, staring around at the mess hall. Dozens of teenagers in orange jumpsuits wandered around the cafeteria, picking at their inedible goop with little interest.

      “Hey Isaac! Over here!”

      Isaac turned towards the voice and smiled.

      A scarlet bunny with blond hair wearing a bright and friendly smile was waving him over to one of the tables. Sitting around her were several other Starians; a grey werehog with red markings, two dark blue werehogs, one with purple markings, a golden Firehog with grey hair, and two white werehogs, one even had huge black and crimson wings.

      Isaac sat down in between the winged werehog and the male dark blue werehog. “Hey guys,”

      “Hey Isaac,”

      “What’s up?”

      “Hey, are you gonna eat that?” inquired the dark blue male.

      “Um, no,” he pushed the tray towards the young male. “You can have it,”

      “Ew, Tooth, you actually like that slop?” demanded the red bunny named Cherry, disgusted by his sudden interest in the prison food.

      “It’s not for eating,” defended Tooth and scooped a huge glop into his spoon. “It’s for shooting,”

      “What are you-?” but before Cherry had a chance to finished her question, Tooth had already sling-shot the scoop of prison food at one of the guards. It was a wolverine named Gash with big claws and a bad attitude.

      He whipped around with his teeth bared and his claws unsheathed.

      “Who threw that?!” he snarled and frantically searched the room for the culprit with dark red eyes.

      No one said a word. Tooth ducked his head slightly and smiled, fingering the shiv he kept hidden in his jumpsuit sleeve.

*****

      Thunder clacked down the concrete corridor in silent authority, the only sound echoing from the chains that bound his legs together. He glanced over his shoulder in search of guards or stray inmates wondering around.

      “Thunder!”

      Thunder whipped around in a fighting stance with his fists clenched and ready to strike, but almost immediately lowered them and smiled.

      “Thunder!” gasped the golden female in joy and excitement and wrapped her older brother in a tight embrace. He hugged back and stroked her hair protectively.

      “Oh my goodness, I’ve missed you so much,” she breathed, taking in his smoky scent and warm fur.

      “I’ve missed you too, sis,” he hugged her tighter and slipped something into her pocket.

      She gasped softly and felt inside her pocket for a clue as to what the object was. Her eyes widened and Thunder shushed her quietly and placed a steady hand on her hand as an indication to keep it a secret. She nodded and embraced him again.

      “I heard you were getting out today. So what’s all this about you getting out for good behavior?” she teased.

      He chuckled. “Please. I just bribed the guards. I needed to get out today, so I’ll be going back in tomorrow morning,”

      “What? Why?”

      “I couldn’t waste my money for a whole week. I just needed to get out today,” he smiled. “But don’t worry; I’ll be back out again next week,” he reassured.

      She had to resist the urge to giggle. “Yeah, until you make more trouble,”

      He chuckled. “Yeah, I suppose so,”

      “So, where do you want everyone to meet?”

      “In the second room across from the Laundromat,”

      “We’re not supposed to go there, you know. It’s against the rules for inmates to be in that area,”

      “That’s the reason why it’s so perfect; we won’t be bothered by anyone. Besides,” he smiled charmingly and had a dangerous look in his blue and red eyes. “Since when is breaking the rules a problem for me?”

*****

      “Thunder!”

      “Hey man, what’s up?”

      “How’re ya doing?”

      “OK guys, we can catch later. We have some business to take care of,”

      “Thank you Cherry,” Thunder cleared his throat and paused, staring around at the group.

      “What is it?” inquired Gale, Thunder’s younger twin sister.

      “Where’s Kalastro? She should be here,”

      “You mean Isaac’s girlfriend?” teased Tooth with a chortle.

      Isaac’s face turned beat red. “She’s not my girlfriend!”

      “Right,” Taros teased, elbowing Isaac.

      “She’s not! S-She’s just a f-f-friend, that’s all,”

      “Well it doesn’t matter, regardless. Taros, could you go find her?” requested Thunder to the winged werehog.

      Taros nodded enthusiastically. “Sure thing, Thunder! Be right back!” he ran off in the direction of the yard in search of the female werehog.

      “Anyway, I’ve called this meeting because we can’t stay here,” announced Thunder seriously.

      Tooth rolled his eyes and smiled. “Duh. That’s why we’re waiting for my aunt,”

      “We can’t wait any longer. We have to make a break for it,” everyone gasped and began to murmur among themselves. Even Ryan and Clawface blinked in surprise.

      “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let me get this straight; we’re busting out? Before the Alphess gets here?”

      “We can’t afford to wait for her. If we don’t get out of here soon, we’re as good as dead,”

      “Come ‘on, Thunder, I know we’re not exactly liked, but it can’t really be that bad,” reassured Cherry calmly.

      He locked eyes with her. “Yes, it is. It’s been almost a year, and they still haven’t been able to locate the Alphess. They know they’re running out of time before she strikes. They’re getting more and more desperate. Who do you think they’ll torture first to draw her out?”

      Amber, Tooth’s younger sister, scooted closer to her older brother and clutched his jumpsuit tightly with her little hands in fear. He wrapped his arm over her shoulder in vain comfort. Even Tooth had fallen silent at Thunder’s words.

      “Hey guys! What did I miss?” Taros’ friendly voice broke the silence. Behind him was a ruby red werehog with black hair and solemn orange eyes.

      “So, what’d we miss?” inquired Taros and smiled.

      Ryan was the first to speak up. “Um, apparently we’re breaking out,”

      Taros’ smile faded and he turned to Thunder in surprise. His face was expressionless, but his eyes burned with a determined fire.

      “So that’s why you asked us to get those materials for you? So you could make your little run for it?” demanded Kalastro. Isaac almost blushed. Even when she was upset she sent his heart soaring.

      “Us. Not just me,”

      “This is crazy, Thunder! Of all the dumb things you could have come up with, this is your master plan? Gee, I wonder how this is going to end. Let me guess; with all of us in solitary!”

      “Whoa, whoa, hey. No need to get all worked up,” interjected Clawface and stepped in between Kalastro and Thunder in an attempt to make peace. He turned to Thunder. “Thunder, are you sure this is such a good idea? I mean, busting out?”

      “We’re running out of options. If we don’t leave now, things are only going to get worse,”

      “I’m with Thunder on this one,” Ryan spoke up, a grey werehog with red markings. “The longer we wait, the worse things will become. The worse things become, the harder it will be for us to survive. They’ve already cut down our rations immensely,”

      As if on cue, Isaac’s stomach growled in protest to the lack of proper nutrients. The food rations, as disgusting as they were, had been shrinking into even smaller portions over the last few weeks.

      “If we don’t leave soon, we may not still be alive to do so later,”

      Kalastro sighed and fell silent. Ryan was right; if they didn’t leave soon they could all die before they could be rescued.

      “But what about everybody else? We can’t just leave the other Starians here to fend for themselves,” protested Cherry.

      “We won’t. At least not for long. That’s why as soon as we get out we need to find Feather as soon as possible,”

      “Mom?” inquired Taros, tears welling up at the base of his amethyst eyes.

      “Yeah, the Alphess,” replied Thunder. “We leave on the Tuesday of next week. We’ll meet at the garbage disposal at 8:00 sharp. Don’t be late or you’ll get left behind,”

*****

      Thunder strode up to his regular cell in D Block to turn in for the night. Before he could step into his cell a guard roughly placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back.

      “Hey! What’s the big ide-“

      “Come ‘on, freak. That’s not your cell,”

      “What do you mean, it’s not my cell? Of course that’s my cell!”

      “No, your cell is in solitary confinement,” he stated coldly and locked a pair of heavy handcuffs on his wrists.

      “What? No it’s not! I-I’m sleeping in my regular cell tonight! I don’t go back into solitary until tomorrow morning!” he protested and tugged on the guard’s iron grip as he was dragged away from his regular cell and towards the solitary confinement cells.

      “Sorry Firetail, Warden’s orders,” he sneered and clutched Thunder’s electric collar, forcing him forward. Thunder struggled in vain against the man’s iron grip. He was half carried, half dragged down the long corridor and to the solitary confinement cells.

      Another guard opened one of the cell doors while the other guard leading Thunder pulled him forward. Thunder kicked at the concrete ground in a vain attempt at stopping himself from entering the cell, his ankle chains rattling furiously.

      “Wait! I have until morning! You have to believe me!” he pleaded to the guards before he was thrown into the cell and the second barred door on the inside was shut with a metallic slam and locked tightly.

      Thunder spit at the ground and glared at the guards and gripped the bars so hard his knuckles turned white under his black fur. “What am I paying you guys for anyway?” he demanded.

      “Prices just went up. Besides, Warden’s orders,” sneered the first guard.

      Thunder just stared at them unbelieving. He thought he had more time. Apparently not.

      “What’s wrong, Firetail? Cat got your tongue?”

      Thunder’s eyes narrowed. He knew that voice. The Warden.

      “What is the meaning of this, Hajer?” demanded Thunder and quickly stood up clutching the bars and his eyes narrowed in a dangerous glare.

      The thin russet-haired man came into view and stared at Thunder mockingly. “I heard about your little escape plan. You didn’t think you could hide it from me, did you?” his voice was venomous, like a snake announcing he was about to eat you whole.

      Thunder’s face paled and he fell silent. Tiny glints of fear swam through his red and blue eyes.

      “How? The security cameras don’t capture sound,”

      “No, but people’s ears do,”

      “What are you talking about?”

      He chuckled. “Just because you’re The Fire Chieftain’s son, doesn’t mean everybody’s on your side, you know,”

      His eyes narrowed. “Who told you?”

      A thin jet-black werehog with piercing red eyes and a permanent sneer stepped up next to the Warden and stared down mockingly at Thunder. His orange jumpsuit was too big for him and his collar seemed a little too tight for his neck.

      “Zehka? But . . . why?” Thunder asked in confusion. Zehka was a werehog - a Starian �" just like the rest of them. Why would he rat them out?

      “I don’t like you, Firetail. And let’s face it; we’re not going to win the war, so why even bother with the Alphess?”

      “She can help us! She’s going to get us out of here!”

      “Really? Don’t you think if she really gave a crap about us she would have come already?” he sneered and stepped up to the barred door of Thunder’s cell and bent down closer to the Firehog’s height.

      “You’re so naïve, you know that? Holding out for someone who isn’t coming, who might not even still alive? Someone who may not have cared at all in the first place,”

      “You’re wrong!”

      “Well it doesn’t matter. You must be punished for your unrulely behavior, along with the rest of your friends. Enjoy the moonlight now, Firetail, because you won’t see it for another three weeks. And neither will your friends,” forebode the Warden and ushered for Zehka to exit. The Bloodstone werehog obeyed and left the cell and Thunder in it.

      “Good night, Firetail,” mocked Zehka right before the titanium door was shut and locked.

      “NO!” screamed Thunder just as the door was locked shut.

      He fell to his knees, shaking his head in bitter denial. Was there no way to escape from this place? He had screwed up. Again. And this time he had dragged his friends down with him. Tears formed at the bases of his eyes.

      Lord, if you’re there, please, help us. I . . . I just don’t know what to do anymore. He pleaded in a silent prayer to a God e wasn’t even sure existed. He hoped he did though, because if they didn’t leave soon, there was little hope of any of them leaving alive.

      This is all your fault, Zehka. Thunder glared intensely at black ground in vengeful anger. You will pay for this. You. Will. Pay.

Author's Note

I post these practice writings every two weeks. Let me know if you have any requests.