And just like a bridge over troubled waters, he was there for me. If I hadn’t known back then, I surely would have known now, just how much this man really loves me. Any efforts by an individual to supersede him will assuredly be inevitably doomed.

Disheveled and drained, I wearily braced myself up against the walls of my cell, desperately calling out for about an hour, hoping to get a response. To which, I was met with prevalent silence. The tormenting strife of my indefatigable heart pounded away in despair.

“Alex…” I pleaded away.

My despairing attempts soon became nothing more than an evident colossal waste of time. But yet, I could not let up. Something within me forced my hands, forced my lips… forced my heart to implode at the mere thought that he might not be okay. I was in pain because I knew at that moment that he meant more to me that I could possibly comprehend.

Alex…

The altercation in the lunchroom had created a state of civil unrest. Everyone was back in their cells at this point, and we’d been warned of the potential severe punishment that results from any further misbehavior.

Eventually, the banging stopped. My hands slithered down the wall and fell to the floor where I stooped. I hung my head and bolted my eyes. I lost control of the situation and now I’m about to lose everything.

“Nick…”

Huh?

I hear my name being whispered, but I am convinced that this is a manifestation of my mind playing tricks on me. My egoistic desires are now reaping the consequences of their actions. I had lost sight of the mission, the moment I fell for him. I knew it and yet I let it happen. And now, I have failed not only myself but also my country.

“Nick, are you there?”

Wait, that doesn’t sound like my conscience. - I quickly gathered. No, that voice was too sweet. I’ve met my conscience he’s a dick.

“Alex?” I deduced.

“I’m here.” Was all he responded? Yet, my spirit was lifted. I lifted my head and flung myself up against the walls to increase my listening ability. The cold concrete wall felt like an impenetrable structure, but at that moment I felt like we had never been closer.

“Are you okay?” I calmly asked.

“I’m fine, I think.” He responded. “I woke up just now and started piecing everything together.”

“I see.”

“We got caught trying to escape, am I right?”

“Well, not exactly.” I rectified. “Something’s happening. I’m not exactly sure what, none of us are. But we were forced back into our cells early and well, here we are awaiting an answer.”

There was a moment of silence. It was a lot to take in for him. I’m sure. But then he spoke.

“Nick, are we going to die here?” he asked.

And for the first time in over 20 years, I found myself with hopeless leaking eyes. The tears ran down my cheeks, flowing from one orifice to another. Suddenly my nose began to twitch and a burning sensation made breathing uncomfortable. At this point, there was no place left to go but up.

“Alex, I lo…”

“Thank you all for your patience and corporation.”

Huh…

“As order has been restored to the holding facility, we will now play the recorded message that was broadcasted live from Apollo’s Presidential House on January 8th at 8:00 pm.

Mr. Shaw: Good afternoon, citizens of Appollo, Demeter, and Janus, we are pleased to stand here before you and announce that we have great things in store for our nation. Now, I know that you are anxious to get to the good news that we have to share. However, we do have some news to share with you today that is somewhat on a disappointing note. Our engineers have recently discovered a minor flaw in the Prison conversion and are currently working tirelessly to correct it. In this time, we ask for your patience, understanding, and cooperation as we do everything in our power to quickly and smoothly rectify this issue. Fear not, this issue will be resolved and the conversion will be implemented within the upcoming days. As for the U.I chips updating process…

My pupils dilated to distend my slits and a gapped mouth of disbelief and confusion followed.

“Nick...” Alex relentlessly called. But to me, his words were all but fading background noise.

*Bang*

The door vigorously opened.

“Let’s get a move on; you have an emergency phone call from your kid back at home.”

“What… I don’t have a...”

“I said get a move on!” He agitatedly barked.

I got up and my body moved with me, but my mind stayed still. It could not move, could not comprehend, and could not respond to what was happening. I trailed behind him to the communication room and sat down in front of the phone. I picked it up...

“Hello?”

And found the answers that I’d been searching for.

“Did you really think that I wouldn’t find out?”

“Dad!”