Chapter Three

"So you met that woman on the first day of your job, and you already felt some interest in her?" The girl asked. "You're too young to understand" Josh grumbled, "No, I understand exactly what you mean...you felt a sort of connection to her didn't you? An attraction? A magnetic pull drawing you towards her?" The girl asked. "Exactly, and I could tell she felt the same way about me..."

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"Do you like this job so far?" Stephanie asked, "Eh...a job's a job, I was never a fan of work...but it's certainly better than I expected, I thought I'd be guarding someone more violent" Josh explained. "I guess you're lucky then, I don't tend to cause trouble" Stephanie told him, "Unlike the others here...Y'know they once threw a milk carton full of piss at a guard?" Stephanie told Josh, who shuddered at the thought of that happening to him.

"...There's one prisoner in particular who gives me unease" Josh told her, "I know exactly who you're talking about, he's topless, balding, constantly crawling around his cell like an animal?" Stephanie asked, Josh nodded in response. "That guy is Dakota Volken, or at least that's the name given to him by the guards, he was arrested several days before me, he ate around 18 people...men, women, children, even a baby" Stephanie explained. "Christ...guy's a monster" Josh shook his head, "No, I don't think he is...I don't think people do bad things without a reason...most people here are just individuals in need of help and guidance...but instead they're left in a cage, ready to be executed and dumped away somewhere" Stephanie muttered.

Josh immediately had a look of sympathy as he was reminded of her circumstances. "...You said you were innocent...can't you do something about it? You have an alibi!!" Josh told her, "Yes, but I only had one other person with me at the time, my friend Oliver, and he was a convicted drug abuser so he wasn't very testimony in the eyes of the court"

"...It doesn't feel right for me to stand by while a possibly innocent person is locked behind bars, ready to be executed" Josh tightly grasped the cell bars, "...I did everything I can...There's nothing you can do" Stephanie shrugged, "I've been trying to accept the inevitable...my grandma used to tell me that after death, we all go to heaven regardless of what we've done in the past...she told us we all enter Heaven as children, because that's when we were the purest" Stephanie told him.

"...I like that outlook...but still, I'm not standing by" Josh stated, he reached through the bars and placed his hand on Stephanie's shoulder, looking into her eyes, "...I promise I'm going to find the real culprit, and I'm going to get you out of here...I promise" Josh stated, Stephanie still seemed skeptical, but she smiled and placed her hand on his shoulder as well, "...Thank you..." she smiled, suddenly Josh felt a tap on his shoulder, "My turn to guard now, you've got other duties to attend to" the guard told him. "I'll see you tomorrow, Steph" Josh waved as he walked away, "I'll see you tomorrow!!" Stephanie smiled...

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"Looking back at it now...I should have kept my mouth shut instead of making that promise...all it did was give her false hope" Josh sighed, he had a look of guilt on his face. The girl gently placed her hand on Josh's shoulder, "...I would've done the same thing...you wanted to help her, in the end it's better than having done nothing about it" she told him, "I'm sure if you had kept your mouth shut, you'd be regretting it now" she mentioned. "...Y'know kid, you're pretty wise for such a youngling" Josh chuckled...