2 Hope in Despair, Affliction in Salvation

Doctor Jeanne arrived in front of cell 13, where Elliot was. She had always found this place mentally exhausting for her. The smell of this underground prison, the desperate looks of the new prisoners, and the lifeless looks of the older ones, all weighed on her mind. But she had to persevere. There was a reason she was here, and she would not give up until her goal was accomplished.

Doctor Jeanne still tried to open the steel door, but it was too heavy. She had to watch as the bald guard came walking slowly, waving the card that acted as a key.

"I see you are committed to your guard work as always, Brance." Jeanne said, in a tone that oozed sarcasm.

"Gahaha! I'm always doing my best, Doctor Jeanne." Guard Brance replied.

With slow, disinterested movements, guard Brance opened the steel door, only for them to see a purple Elliot, clearly unable to breathe.

"Quick, release him from his cuffs, I need to work fast before he dies!" Doctor Jeanne quickly entered the cell and began rummaging through her briefcase, grabbing medical gloves and her equipment.

Guard Brance, with the same interest as before, slowly unlocked Elliot's cuffs, causing him to fall with a loud thud. Doctor Jeanne quickly began to treat him. After much struggle and several hours spent, she managed to stabilize Elliot's condition.

Lying now on the dirty sheet that was his bed, Elliot looked at Doctor Jeanne with a complex look. He was grateful to Jeanne for trying so hard to save him, but he felt angry that she wouldn't let him die.

Jeanne was the only person in this whole damned prison who didn't step on him or mistreat him. She always tried her best to make him have a less miserable life in this hell of a place. Maybe it's Stockholm syndrome, but Elliot eventually fell in love with Jeanne.

He wanted to know more about her. Why did she work in this place? Did she have a family? Children? Where is she from? What were her hobbies, and what were her favorite pastimes? At the same time that Elliot wished to know all this about the person he liked, Elliot didn't dare to ask. He didn't dream of escaping from this place. Elliot knew that even if he got out of this place alive, his body and mind were so broken that he could no longer recover.

"Thank you for saving me, Doctor Jeanne. I regret to inform you, however, that your work this time was in vain. I feel that my life will soon be over, but still, I feel happy to know that someone cares for me in the least. Thank you very much." Elliot said in a husky voice, with a toothless smile.

Seeing Elliot's pitiful state, Jeanne felt even more sorry for him. He probably knew that she had saved him only because of her function in this prison. But the fact that he could get human contact with someone who at least didn't hurt him, was enough to make him happy. What evil must someone commit to being condemned to such treatment?

A look of hesitation appeared on Jeanne's beautiful face, but soon she covered herself with determination. Looking at Brance, who was sleeping in a chair by the door, she approached Elliot and spoke in a sweet whisper.

"Don't give up yet, Prisoner 13, maybe there is still hope. Even from a heap of garbage, a flower can bloom. If you endure until tonight, I promise you that the day will dawn more beautiful."

Elliot was about to ask what Jeanne meant by that, but she signaled for him to be quiet, at which point he saw Brance rise from her chair.

"Are we done, Doctor Jeanne?" Brance asked with a yawn as she stretched her body.

"Yes, guard Brance, we can go." Doctor Jeanne finished gathering her things into her briefcase, and soon departed the cell with Brance. The cell was now back to its usual, smelly, silent, and dark. But somehow, to Elliot, it seemed brighter and smelled better than ever.

He sniffed once, trying to smell Jeanne. Even though he knew it was only his imagination and the smell of Jeanne's perfume was no longer there, Elliot was lost in his imagination. For someone like Elliot, who had nothing left, each and every little detail, any little joy, is enough to ease all his suffering.

Laughing a little, Elliot soon stopped, as he began to sweat with pain again. He chose to take the opportunity to sleep. At least then the pain and hunger would no longer be in the real world, but only in his nightmares.

******************

Outside Elliot's cell, Jeanne was talking with guard Brance. Both had finished their shift, so they were leaving the prison and going to the staff rest area.

"If you don't mind, guard Brance, I know you are the oldest guard in this prison. What mistakes has Prisoner 13 made to receive such treatment?" Jeanne asked with genuine curiosity.

"His one and biggest mistake was that he was born into the wrong family. He himself committed nothing, but his family did. For that reason, he pays for his mistakes. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have some drinks with the boys." Making a polite gesture, the Brance guard soon disappeared down one of the corridors.

Jeanne once again felt disgusted by this place. But that's okay. After tonight, she will never again have to talk to these guards, be nice to her superiors, or have to see the disgusting head of this whole scheme.

This was a prison used and managed by the criminal underworld all over the country. The federal or state government didn't know about it, and even if they did, before they could do anything about it, the whole place would be gone, leaving no trace behind.

Arriving at her room, Jeanne changed into more comfortable clothes. Now with her hair tied up in a bun, she wore loose lavender-colored pants, with a baggy sweatshirt and flip-flops.

Her room was not very large, but there was a bed, closet, a small corner table, and a small area that served as a kitchen. Bending down and looking under the bed, Jeanne dragged out a wooden box that looked quite heavy.

Opening the box with a password, she soon pulled out a large telephone, which looked old-fashioned at best. She dialed a long number, and waited for the call to complete. Soon, a female voice was heard on the other end.

"So that tomorrow's day may be beautiful and radiant..." The voice waited for Jeanne to complete the sentence.

"The sky must be clear of the cloudy, laden clouds. Code 0579." Jeanne replied in a serious voice.

"Good to know you are still alive and well, 079. What news do you have for us?" The female voice on the phone said.

"The operation should take place tonight. I am absolutely certain that they already suspect something, and are preparing to depart from the current location. So that the operation is not compromised, tonight is the time limit to save the operation." Jeanne replied with as much seriousness in her voice as possible.

The voice from the other side did not come quickly this time, but took a few seconds. Those seconds felt like hours to Jeanne, because every second that passed was a greater chance that they would find out about her call.

"Are you sure about this, 079? I hope you remember the consequences of giving us false information." The voice that answered this time was not the pleasant, feminine voice from before, but an aging male voice.

"Yes sir. That information has been collected throughout the week. And as a complement, I can state that this evening, half of the guards in the entire prison will be drinking somewhere in the staff building complex." Jeanne played her final card.

"Very well. Get ready 079. That will be the night we take action. If all goes well, your future will be bright with us." The voice said and soon disconnected the call.

Putting the phone back in its wooden case, Jeanne breathed a sigh of relief to see that no one was knocking on her door, or she was shot dead. This means that her cover is up, at least for now. Jeanne soon began to organize everything she would need for the evening, making a point of checking several times so that she didn't forget anything.

******************

Elliot had a strange dream. He was in a completely white room. He did not know where the room began or ended, it seemed infinite. In this room, there was a being, who looked very much like a human being, but he had no face. He had long silver hair, and he spoke something in a language Elliot had never heard of.

BOOOM

While struggling to understand his dream, Elliot was awakened by an earthquake. He got up as quickly as he could, which wasn't much. He began to think about what to do and how to escape. He was in an underground prison that looked more like a cave, he would be the first to die. He had to be smart at this moment, otherwise, his death would be in vain.

As much as he thought of possible ways to survive, Elliot could not think clearly. All the pain he felt in his body, along with the hunger, clouded his thoughts. He quickly made a decision.

Clap

Like a slap in the face, he tried to use the burning sensation in his cheek to focus his thoughts on this alone. After he succeeded, he began to slowly direct his thoughts to a solution on how to get out of this situation alive.

The floor was still shaking at this point, and because there were no windows in his cell, Elliot didn't know whether it was day or night outside. Standing up with great difficulty, Elliot walked with crawling steps, while one of his hands was resting on the wall, while the other was resting on his chest, which was burning so hot that it felt like it would explode.

Elliot had never experienced an earthquake before, so he had no idea how to react. The tremors became stronger, and with a loud sound, the steel bars that separated Elliot from the steel door fell to the ground. Seeing this situation, Elliot had an idea.

He dragged his dying body towards the fallen grating and started to look for any steel bars that had come loose. Finding two, he picked them up and carried them toward the steel gate, the only thing separating him from freedom.

Placing both bars at 90 degrees, with one part on the gate and the other on the ground, Elliot waited for the next tremor under the steel gate, while gasping for air due to the effort he made.

Now that he was close to the gate, Elliot could hear the voices of the guards.

"Hurry! We have to get out of here! They're crazy, they won't accept our surrender. We have to get to the weapons warehouse quickly!"

"What about the prisoners?"

"Fuck them all! My life is more important!"

"Have any orders been heard from higher up?"

"Do you think they care if some guards die?! Try saving your ass yourself, or-"

Before the guard could finish his sentence, another tremor came, and this one was stronger than before. The whole earth shook and the prison walls threatened to collapse.

BOOOM

The steel gate collapsed, and the ceiling of the corridor outside Elliot's cell also collapsed, burying the guards alive. Barely, Elliot was still alive. He honestly didn't know whether to be thankful for surviving or not.

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