14 INSIDE LIFE III

The temperature dropped to zero. Williams stood and left the room, I made my way to the exercise courtyard and it was empty, the weather having driven everyone else away. My breath fogging a path before me. I walked around the courtyard once and noticed Williams leaning against the brick wall.

"Two guys went over that last year." Williams said, nodding toward the high corner where the razor wire met the brick building. "Officer went to close the door to the exercise room, and bam, they were gone."

"Did they get away?"

Williams shook his head. "Caught them two hours later, right on Route Ten"

I smiled. Anyone dumb enough to stay on the main thoroughfare after skipping out of prison deserved to be caught. "Do you ever think of doing that." I asked. "Jumping the fence?"

Williams exhaled through his nose, a white cloud "No."

"No?"

"Why will I be jumping through the fence when we have an underground escape. Am entrusting you on this secret."

"Why are you trusting me with a secret, you don't really know me."

"I was told of the fact that your a hacker and I guess they don't know you are the thief of government secrets."

"How do you know?"

"We happen to know everything."

I smiled. "Why are you here."

"You don't ask me that question!" His eyes turned black.

"Cartel, it's happening again." Paul said.

"What is happening." I asked.

"It happens once a month, the officers would canvass the cells, tossing mattresses and pillows, sticking their hands into spare clothing and discarded shoes in hopes of finding something incriminating." Paul hypothesized.

"Oh I get it." I nodded.

Standing outside the bars now, and watching our small square of privacy being violated.

The officer, a fat man, suddenly stood up, clutching something in his hand. He pointed to the sneakers on the floor. "Whose are these?"

"Mine." I said. "Why?"

The officer unrolled his sausage fingers, one by one. In the middle of his palm was a fat, white cigarette.

"That's not mine." I said, clearly stunned.

The officer looked at me to Williams. "Save it for the DR."

As the guard left, I righted my bed and crawled back into the bunk.

"Hey," Williams said, shaking his shoulder. "I didn't plant it."

"Go away."

"I'm just telling you."

I buried my head beneath my pillow, but not before seeing the flash of Prince Gabriel's smirk as he passed by the cell.

Prince Gabriel the serial killer is here too! I remembered what he told me months ago, "You would have just shutdown your blog when I texted you at first and made it lot easier for me. Now you've made me your enemy." The last words "Now you've made me your enemy" hits me that he planted a cigarette in my sneaker, who knows what more he would do.

In the eighteenth hours that passed between the finding of the cigarette and my official disciplinary review, I thought of how I'll make amend with him.

An officer led me to the small room where the assistant superintendent worked. Inside was the officer who'd wrecked the cell, and the assistant superintendent himself, a beefy man more suitable to coaching football than pushing paper at a prison. I stood very straight while the assistant superintendent was speaking, I was lost in thought and all i could hear was the last words he said. "So, Mr Samuel, Do you have anything to say in your defense?"

"Yes. Ask me to smoke it."

The assistant superintendent raised his brows. "I can't imagine you'd like anything better."

"I don't smoke." I said. "This I'll prove it"

"It will prove that you can fake a cough." The man said. "I don't think so. Now do you have anything to say in your defense?"

If I called Prince Gabriel's name, he may make my life even worse here, so I said quietly, "No."

"No?"

I looked the assistant superintendent in the eye. "No." I repeated.

The officers looked at each other and shrugged. "You're aware that if you feel we're missing part of the story, you can suggest we speak to another inmate." The assistant superintendent said.

"I know, but you don't have to." I said.

The man pursued his lips. "Alright, Mr Samuel. Based on the evidence, you've been found guilty of possession of an illegal substance in your cell, and your sentenced to a five day lockdown. You'll remain in the cell for twenty three hours of the day, with one hour free to shower."

The superintendent nodded at the officers who escorted me from the room. I walked silently through the maximum security pod, collecting my things without speaking a word to anyone.

I was being led to my new cell which light couldn't penetrate into. I am lost in utter darkness. I can only imagine how I will spend my 5 days, I might even run mad without speaking to anyone for 5 days.

I sank down on the floor and turned around bleakly. The small cell had not been cleaned up from its last inhabitant. There were no bunk, it's just like being in a hole, but at least I could see something like a small torch. I picked it up and it was actually a small torch and settled back to my original position, huddled against the door, my knees drawn up to my chest, gagging with every breath. I switch it on, pointing it around the room, I could now see clearly the puddle of vomit in the corner, and feces smeared on one of the walls.

At 12:15 my lunch was shoved through the slot, I could see a smirk plastering on the man's face.

Hours later.

I got to my knees. The floor was freezing beneath the thin cotton of my pants and in the new dark the smell of the shit on the wall seemed suddenly stronger, but I managed to knot my hands together and bow my head. "Now I lay me down to sleep." I whispered. "I pray the lord my soul to keep." I furrowed my brow, trying to remember the rest of it, but couldn't.

"I haven't done this in a while." I said, feeling foolish. "I hope you can hear me. I don't blame you for putting me in here. And I probably don't deserve any favours." I let my voice trail off, thinking of what I most wanted. Surely if I only asked for one thing, I had a fighting chance of getting it. "I can only ask that Nigeria gets better, help our people lord." I said softly. "Nothing else lord, nothing else."

As I drifted off to sleep, still kneeling on the floor like a penitent, I heard God. He came on the sounds of footsteps, of key turns and disembodied whistles. And he murmured, stirring the fine hairs on the back of my neck. "My son, I'm here. I know you cannot see it clear, but I was so near. I was with your people through every tear, please know that my heart is broken like yours, what is happening to your people is not what I had in store. My plan does not include war, but sometimes a battle happens that I am not for, I did not create it, but its true, I did allow it. And my heart was breaking with your people but they were surrounded, they did not die alone. I had angels by the thousand who comforted them in their pain, and escorted them up the mountain. I wish that it wasn't this way, I wish that you didn't feel pain, I wish that you could see the sun through the rain, but one day you will and you will call my name. And I will there in an instant, and you will see my face. I cannot wait to hold you, and tell you that I am so proud. I know your screams are loud, and son I hear every sound, please know that this is not the end and earth is not your home. I might feel distant in this moment, but your pain is always known. One day all the mysteries will be shown, but until that day rest assured, you are never alone, you are never alone, you are never alone, you are never alone."