REEVES WAS ALONE by the Hispanic fence — he saw the Sunday Mass commotion between the monks and the rotang-armed guards. He realized with all the focus of the guards over there — it would give him the fortuitous opportunity to explore his bugging curiosity of what was beyond the gangling prison high walls...

The outer walls were ten feet higher than their staying cell-blocks' window view — and Reeves wanted a glimpse at the outside purlieus — so that he would gambit his plan of escape someday soon. He had to do it now — because similar windows of opportunity were rare.

He watched the rotang-guards mobilizing to stop the disorder caused by the 'troublemaking' monks earlier, with the rest of the protesters of shouting White and Negro inmates in the yard...

There was no point for Reeves to stay apprehensive any longer — the five years of causeless stalling and the Preacher's empty promises had to stop now. It was also mainly that his self-doubts of his dreading of the arduous life that maybe waiting outside those walls as a lone hunted fugitive...

But now, like the rebel that he once was in Wesleyan, he was willing to take some calculated risk to do whatever to explore into the out of bounds areas. He needed this gen before actually jumping over that high prison wall to escape and search for Laura Jensen — who was still alive out there; in a place, he had never set his foot before — called Washington D.C.

Reeves removed his T-shirt and tied it on his head like a bandanna, similarly as to most Hispanic he saw over the fence. The opportunity of the distraction caused by the monks — left the unnoticed deft Intersexual to quarry the opportunity. He chose a blind-spot and climbed the fence — and jumped inside the compound of the rival Hispanics.

He observed that Ramirez had gathered his small group of Lieutenants at their 'grandma's' — he was discussing with them about the commotion at the White turf. Most of the other Hispanics resumed back playing soccer.

The thought of the Hispanics killing him if he was found out came bugging to Reeves the moment he had jumped the fence — clearly remembering, Capt. Olsen's' first day's 'dirt-nap' warning during the orientation of not jumping over any fences to stay alive from the rival gangbangers. His fear of facing his death before accomplishing his desperate dreams was also pricked him harder.

But today Reeves was defying his death-wish — the rebel had dared himself to ploy a 'hemming up' action since he left the Infirmary — having abscessed by chicken-pox did not mean he was chickenhearted...

He blended in quickly, running loose in anonymity among the fast-paced shirtless players in the soccer pitch, he was now lax while moving undetected so deep in the ball pitch; given the fact that he was half-Mexican in his complexion...

Reeves joined in as he played soccer for the first time in his life. He kicked an oncoming ball and passed it away — until he ran along, and reached the other end of the grass. He quickly drew nearer to F-Block that was the closest to the high prison walls.

A guard who was seated perch on the nearby watchtower top had been enjoying the ball game a moment ago — but now, she was keeping an eye with her binoculars' gamut — looking on at the dispersing defenceless crowd in the Whites' turf — retreating from the incoming rotang goon-squad.

Reeves went closer to the side of F-Block parameter where there was another blind spot from the tower guard's peripherals. He started to scale the gradient side of F-Block building. Reeves cranked his neck towards every passim corner in full alert...

He gauged that the high-powered facility's outer wall was fifty-five feet high with the live electric fencing above it. He kept climbing the F-Block wall — and he spotted the Potter's Field graveyard, with the horizon of the Chihuahuan Desert beyond. He kept scaling higher on the inner wall of the prison — with the watchtower at his rear...

The unwary watchtower guard then stood up, to stretch her back, holding her rifle. Reeves was now alarmed in the quagmire situation. He slipped, and almost dropped down.

He was now dangling on a window ledge and his slipping fingers were edging the surface to an over forty feet fall below. A ductile hand came out through the iron-barred window — and grabbed his wrist — Reeves saw a blond androgynous hauling him up...

Marlin mumbled up-close...

"Quick and be fast, the crow is gonna turn!"

Reeves squeezed his pint-sized physique — between the iron bars window and he got inside — the unwary guard glanced behind her back to see nothing suspicious before she sat back again, continuing to watch the ball game.

Inside Marlin's cell, he glanced around to see, the cell was in a very minimal state than of his...

"Phew! That was crazy-close, thanks man,"

Reeves said to him, walking towards the crib. Marlin started rattling in his introduction before he held out his hand first to the chicken-pox scar-faced, dark-haired youth...

"Are you 'live or are you Memorex'? What was the noise all about at the yard? Are you one of them Hispanics, funny, that's coz you look more kinda White? By the way, I am Marlin Petroff."

"That is just those crazy attention-seeking monks out there, just waiting to get their ass 'duffed-out,' I just ignore them, if I were you — I am Reeves, (half Hispanic though) but I am with the Whites back in C-Block — it seems like those Texas Chicano-spics below, ostracize mixed blood in here in T.C. — but today..."

Reeves stopped to laugh...

"...but, just now, today — I got in here by running around the blind, and I passed through the traffic of those ball-playing Chuntaros — without them fucking beaners jumpin' and 'walk the dog' on me. That was really scandalous, yeah?"

Reeves chuckled out — he was then curious, in seeing the pure blond Caucasian in isolation — segregated from his White-kind, in the different prison blocks.

"How come you are out here — and not with us, Merlin?"

Marlin kicked off his bobos, sat on the floor and Reeves did the same with his back on the opposite wall. He heard his response of demurral as the blond youth was seen shrugging his shoulders at first...

"I don't know, I suppose to be checked in as a P.C. case, I guess as a Protected Custody — and that is why I am separated from the rest of you all. I don't get any privileges like you guys to gate-out in the yard. The guards only take me out from this cell every afternoon for a four-minute job — some days, those lazy bitches don't even do that, and I hate left being funky, in this weather." Marlin smelt into his own armpit as a tongue-in-cheek gesture. Reeves asked again...

"Who are the others in this block?"

"Middle Easterners I think, they are on the tiers below. Never seen them, face-to yet — but I can only hear them below, speaking Arabic."

Reeves was still astounded...

"So you are the only guy on the top floor?"

The blond Adonis nodded to him. Reeves was stupefied — because no one in the yard had ever mentioned before — that there were Arabs too in Tombscradle — and also a blond inmate on Protected Custody in F-block...

'What was his crime?'

"I feel a great blessing today in my isolation years — that you Reeves — you are the first of my fellow-Intersexual breed — whom I have spoken to in 5 years since I am jailed here."

Speechless, Reeves was even more astonished to hear that despondent fact — and also felt sorry for him.

"That is a bummer, sorry about that, bro. But, you have a 'last' name — Pe? Peck...?"

"Petroff — it is actually Russian," the blond clarified his last name — and the eager Reeves further inquired...

"So you were actually a free-male once upon a time ago, out there in the free world?"

"Yes, sort of back then — were you also?"

Marlin chuckled. Reeves shook his head slowly...

"No man, I was raised all my life in an orphanage which was an Intersexual research centre in Delaware, Ohio — but now, I know my mother's last name too — and she has been moved to somewhere in Washington DC. One day, when I get out of this shithole — and I am going over there to find her."

Marlin's eyes lighted up...

"Hey wow, what a coincidental blessing again, cos I am from D.C. too — so Reeves, were you scaling the wall just now, to rabbit out from here?" Reeves laughed out...

"No dude, no fence-parole yet, not today. I just check running the wall's heat. Furthermore, I am not strong yet, I am still recovering from my chicken-pox. But someday soon, I gonna jump over that fucking wall — and be a free-male out there." Reeves was bonding well — and Marlin in return was laughing nervously back.

"This is not my first rodeo, ya know, I had that one-time opportunity once back in Ohio to escape, but I blew it and missed the boat — and I am here now, in our Calaboose big-house in the middle of nowhere desert, in fucking Texas 'on vacation' — for now, the story of my life is that it looks and feels like yours now, Merlin — locked up here alone — and so, I have been a prisoner all my life for the last 17 years of my fucking existence —but, I never yet saw my own freedom since the day I was born..."

Marlin sympathetically replied softly, "yeah, that sucks too."

"I still regret the day I got caught." Reeves sighed out...

"Yeah, me too."

They both paused talking, recalling their own encounter and arrest by the authorities — before being thrown in Tombscradle.

Marlin's bittersweet memories of growing up and spending most of his schooling years in D.C. under his guardian returned to him — but why was he forgotten since the day he was arrested? Had Dr Morris forsaken him for his disobedience — since the day she caught him with Suki?

Marlin kept looking at the Oriental-motif tattoo on his left arm. He spoke again, after the pause...

"Reeves, can you now tell me about that guy — that Preacher monk who was whipped in the yard recently, is he with you all?"

Marlin had heard the chanting of inmates — calling out his name — on the day when he was stretchered out to the Infirmary after the flagellation on the soccer goal post.

Reeves was not contented to answer Marlin — after the argument, he had with Troy and True Bob earlier because of his letdown with Doran — but yet, he filled in some need-to-know background to his newfound acquaintance — who was in isolation from the local information.

"Yeah, that is Doran, and we are in the same block. He goes around preaching his cause about redemption for all — with a possible prison breakout. His so-called Jesus-followers have been told to stand up against the women here — and fight the prison system. No matter how hard they try to break him, he retaliates back — to cause more chaos for Warden Graves and Captain Olsen. That son of a bitch is one nuthouse hog, I guess a little bit of the extremist kind who is a masochist to physical pain — imagine that night, a week ago that I was admitted for the pox, it was the same night he castrated his balls.

"But he sure as hell has built his own fan-club out there with those Tombcradle's sheeple. You saw the chaos sermon a moment ago — that was by his second banana monk at the pop-yard? Spreading the Preacher's firebrand teaching — while that dickhead is jailin' redlock but those monks brothers of his are still going on preaching on his behalf."

"So Reeves, do you believe that it may happen — this prison breakout?"

"Hell no, it's not happening — it is all just idle wolf talk that entertains those silly hopes out at the yard, but I am not going to wait for his empty promise of freedom to be served to me on some golden platter — if I get my own fucking chance, I will jump these fucking walls and go solo over to Washington."

Reeves disappointed Marlin by speaking his mind — after his many long years of listening to the implausible promises made outside at the yard by Doran. But Marlin was pragmatic, he understood that this was the situation in prison — and like Reeves — every Intersexual was for himself alone. Marlin had to devise his own mastermind plan of escape — if he too wanted badly to jump over the wall himself.

Marlin stood up, thwarted, blanked in dashed hopes — he looked outside of the barred window of the secluded F-block.

The five years of isolation had lots of effects on him — especially, the burden of the hidden secret which he would have to take along to his own grave — if he failed in his own escape plan...

But, it was no harm to share it with his visitor. But he didn't know where to begin — Marlin's speech rambled...

"So your mother is there in D.C. Reeves, and similarly I am longing for my freedom too. I need to go to Washington to find someone — because she knows, where my own mother is hiding."

"Hiding? What, is she in trouble?"

"Yes, her problems are far grievous than mine — and I need to find her."

Reeves noticed that Marlin was getting upset, as he spoke with a defeated tone of voice. ..

"Truly, I am thrown here for the wrong damn reason — which is just my dumb ass luck — because I made some wrong fucking choices!"

The maddening problem was that he did not listen to either of his 'mothers'— he refused earlier to heed Sonia Petroff's suggestion of fleeing the country when Cory became president; and also, if only he had taken Dr Morris' advice and had obediently stayed away from trouble — which was all over a girl — that mall-fight would not have happened. He would not be in prison and would have had graduated from school by now — and his destiny in life would have had a different outcome...

Marlin then spoke loudly and tears fell, his tortured body rocked in the grip of varied emotions...

"I am afraid that I don't think anyone out there knows that I am here — if someone did, they would surely come for me — damn, I was so stupid over that girl!"

He recalled the fight in the mall before his arrest — a showdown with his lover's cousin who got into his way; but, with its consequences — thrown into prison. He was also not sure if he was abandoned here as a punishment by Dr Morris because of it. At the same time too, he was also tired of blaming himself for his own past mistakes in those last five years. Many times he concluded that it was just fucking karma of his Buddhist faith that had destined him inside, in the isolated cell — but, the other down-beating thoughts and emotions always seeped in — and clouded his reconciliation thoughts sometimes, when he was alone.

Reeves then placated him. "It is okay Merlin, whatever is bothering you, take a notchback and be easy on yourself, man. But its fine by me too — you don't have to talk if you don't feel like it..."

"I have to, Reeves! It has been 5 fucking long years in this cell. I have to fight hard every single day to stay strong, and sometimes I am so afraid that I cannot trust myself anymore — and now, with you appearing in my cell out of nowhere, it is some sort of a blessed sign to meet my-kind — I feel that I need to share this something with my fellow species — about this dark secret, which I had kept hidden for so long...

"But remember, Reeves — if what I say leaks out of this cell room, and if the women out there knew this — they would come in here and they will kill me — and lots of other people in Washington are going to die too...

Marlin rambled back in effusiveness and was now totally disorientated. It confused Reeves even more as he felt the blond youth was suffering a mental breakdown like Joe once did. He had seen many other inmates in the past who had taken their lives in that similar situation...

"But, I don't know, Reeves, I might be just assuming the worst — I don't know anything at all these days — all of these thoughts, after being caged in here for 5 years — that is a long fucking time being alone..."

Marlin now took a deep breath of fresh air near the window, he felt released. He had calmed down and he wiped his tears — still looking away and at the same time, he felt embarrassed for his sudden cathartic outburst. But he compensated by saying...

"Reeves, since I am also intending to head for Washington and we are now both on the same reason to go there — that is to find our mothers — I will use all my resources, to help you locate your mother once over there."

Reeves did not know what to respond — other than to show his appreciation...

"Thanks Merlin."

The blond Intersexual now laughed...

"It is Marlin — and Merlin is that magician guy." He then continued...

"But I first have to find this person who can do us the same magic out there in Washington. Her name is Dr Jane Morris. If I can get to her — she will know what to do for both of us."

"Jane Morris? Why is that name so familiar? Hey man, she was that scientist from Pan American Health, right?"

The response stumped Marlin, and he then laughed out loud...

"Yeah, you seem to know a bit!" Marlin sat fast on his bunk while Reeves chuckled back.

Reeves was remembering the Marie Curie assignment that he refused to submit back at Wesleyan because he thought that it was senseless — after he deduced that all the great minds in the world were dead in finding any sort of cure for the ailing and dying world — where his own single-specie generation survived among the doomed.

"Not exactly 'in-the-car,' but thanks bro — I did pay little attention back then in school in my Science class with any slideshows and videos — even though the Science teacher was a real annoying ding-case who thought that some female scientist is gonna come up with a cure to the Medusa someday — can you believe how vain some of those women are out there, with their feminist superior bullshit?"

Marlin was baffled for a moment, but he really wanted to know more of Reeves' opinion — maybe there was someone who 'shot the breeze' in the big-yard of any attainments by The 3 Kings during his isolation years in F-Block.

"So Reeves, you think there is no cure at all for fighting the virus?"

"Come on, man, it has been fucking 18 years — which is almost close to 2 dimes. I don't know what the current shitty developments in the free-world by those hot-babe scientists cookin' out a vaccine cure there — but, if there was any progress — some little bird would told have us, inside of these walls about it by now — that, there is such a Marie Curie-like vaccine that was made out there, right Marlin?

"What a life we are led ourselves into, that we just dream on about thing like those here in this big-house of ours for all these years — for those, feel-good lies they preach, which give hope — cos right now, from what I see, this fucking world is just full of empty promises, and shit and all."

Reeves was still pissed deep at the Preacher — and also with both of his buddies in C-Block, for being his positive-believers.

Marlin too was stumped again with his visitor's stance. But, he felt he should stay astute without being judgmental, even-though his mind was 'copping deuces' — by turning into a pessimist like Reeves. Maybe all hopes for a cure were lost since the day he had been locked up alone. It was either Professor Boris Yankoff failed in creating it or was probably dead along with the rest of the male species on earth.

Their Fucking-Karma...

Two decades was a long time to count on any hope for a cure — just as long as the five lonely miserable years in his jail cell, hoping for Dr Morris to come over and take him away.

"Anyway, how are you connected to this Dr Morris?"

Reeves asked candidly. Marlin snapped out from his bearish thoughts, to speak out again...

"She was in the President's Board of Medical advisors during Rosewood's days in office."

Reeves was impressed that Marlin was politically connected before coming to Tombscradle. Marlin then corrected Reeves that Dr Morris was the one connected — and not him.

Marlin thought briefly of Suki — the only politically connected person whom he knew — she was the niece to the Ambassador of Japan back then...

The second episode after his own life story which was that he was just the son of an accused fugitive terrorist who was left hidden off the grid in the free-world by his guardian Dr Jane Morris who boarded him in a Japanese private school since; it was until he messed up with the wrong authoritative class — by falling in love with a girl with political connections...

But, that was another story that he wished to disclose to Reeves on a different day.

He could not resist the secretive life story that he himself was leading all his life — and had to reveal it. because Marlin also knew, that once Reeves left to return for his head-count in C-Block later — he was not sure when it would be the next time that he would get to speak to another Intersexual again...

'Another five years in the cage?'

He looked sternly at the dark-haired proponent whom he had just met fifteen minutes ago. Marlin moved up and sat in front of Reeves on the floor — and he then revealed the skeleton in his closet.

"Reeves, now I am going to let out the secret which I want you to guard it with your life — just in case if I die here tomorrow — I want you to still go there, and find Dr Morris in Washington."

It confused Reeves a bit when he heard him, yet he played along...

"Yeah sure, man — but can you be more specific?"

Marlin did not know where to begin...

"Since you seem to know a bit — does the name Prof Dr Boris Yankoff rings any bell?"

"Yeah, he is that traitor terrorist who created the Medusa Virus that wiped out the male mankind — Okay I learned about him while in school — now, what about him?"

Reeves replied bluntly, based on his post-Medusa textbook understanding, of his education at Wesleyan. He saw Marlin's face lighted up in elation — and he started to ramble again...

"My mother, Sonia Petrof works for him. Yes, Reeves, I said works — because the 3 Kings are still alive out there! Yes, believe me — when I said that Boris Yankoff with two other male scientists were still alive in New York — and the last time I saw him secretly, was five years ago in the summer of 2026 — that was 12 years after the Medusa outbreak!"

Reeves was lost of words at first, he presumed that Marlin too had lost his mind too after many years in isolation — harbouring such a far-fetched fantasy — but, he sat passively again, and listened without demurring any objections nor arguing — it was like he once did, as a back-bencher student from Wesleyan, watching the video slides of the C.D.C. in his Science class on that subject.

Reeves heard Marlin giving more details about the works done in clandestine of the efforts in finding the cure to battle the Medusa Virus by the three surviving scientists.

That was maybe the reason why this blond youth was spending time in isolation in F-bock — segregated from the rest of the gen-pop as a witness protection case. But, Reeves now needed the resourceful Marlin as his newfound 'ace-deuce' along on his side — once he set off to Washington D.C.

If what this non-textbook information that he heard was true — then, Reeves too now believed there was hope in the world for the single-generation Intersexual specie like him out there in the free-world — rather than being a captive Research-Monkey-boy subject that he once was — and today, as a prisoner-semen-donor...