A Perfect Plan

The night was cold and dreary when Frank found himself sitting in a cramped cell, after a bank robbery that had gone horribly wrong. His crew of seven others had either been arrested or killed during the chaos that ensued. Frank was alone, except for the man in the cell next to him, some nobody named Derek.

"Hey, what are you reading?"

Derek asked, looking at Frank's book.

"A life inside."

Frank said, still reading.

"Is it good?"

Derek asked.

"I wouldn't be reading it if it wasn't now would I?"

Frank said in a snarky voice. Derek didn't bother saying anything else. It was 11:57 A.M. almost lunch. As Frank read the book he felt the time pass by quickly. Looking up at the clock he sees that it is lunch now. It wouldn't be hard to tell either way because the sound of the guards' shoes were so loud.

"Come on, go eat."

The guard said as he hit the bars of the cells with the baton. Nobody liked him much. They said he was always too loud or too rude.

"Come on hurry!"

The guard kept on saying making sure that everyone heard him. Standing up Frank walks towards the door waiting for it to open. Every door opened electronically.

"Derek, you coming?"

Frank asked since he was still on the bed flat on his back.

"Yeah I will just give me a minute, ok?"

Derek said, rubbing his eyes from being tired. The nights seemed to be longer than the days. It was October so outside was cold. Frank didn't have much experience. He had only been here a few days but knew the place like the back of his hand.

As the cell doors opened the sound of rust was horrible. It scratched the wall like nails on a chalkboard.

"Derek, I will meet you in the cafeteria."

Frank said as he walked out and headed towards the stairs. He could hear yelling from another cell. It was some two prisoners who always found a way to make trouble. They were yelling at each other again but they never seemed to actually fight. All bark no bite.

"Hey stop that!"

The guard yelled as he ran towards their cell. It happened during the night sometimes too. Gave Frank a good idea for his way out. Walking down the spiral stairs Frank gets to the ground floor. The cafeteria was only down the hall and towards the left. The food was horrible and not a soul that Frank knew liked it. Not even the dead ones. As Frank is walking down the hall he sees Joe, a friend of his.

"Hey, how are ya?"

Frank said, his voice sincere and .

"About as good as can be expected."

Joe said his voice was gravelly. He was an inmate longer than anyone Frank was close with.

"That's good."

Frank said as they entered the cafeteria. The place was a mess. There was a food tray on the floor and drinks spilled. Looking over, Frank and Joe see a table they can sit at. Waiting in line they heard some people ahead of them arguing. Something about who was going to get the last soda. Once it was Joe and Frank's turn to get something there was just the disgusting bread and water. They both left the line and walked over to the table and sat down.

"Where do you guys think you're sitting?"

A big strong looking guy said. He put his hands on the table and looked at them mostly at Frank.

"You new here?"

He said it was powerful. He sounded full of anger.

"Woah, calm down Casey."

Joe said as he knew the inmate. He was a guy trying to be on top.

"You're in my spot."

Casey said with a cold gaze now shifted towards Joe.

"Now don't be irrational now we were here first. Goodbye."

Joe said, taking a bite out of the bread.

"You know what, you're lucky I like you."

Casey said, walking away from the table.

"You know that guy?"

Frank asked with a confused look on his face.

"Yeah he's just some guy trying to be better than everybody else."

Joe said, taking another bite of the bread.

"Ok."

Frank said, trying to eat. It all tasted like the tray it came on. Looking over, Joe sees Derek. A strange man full of mysteries.

Derek walks over looking at the table. The terrible food and unsafe environment never made for a terrible time of the day.

"So good of you to join us."

Joe said as he motioned for Derek to take a seat.

"So you guys come up with anything yet."

Derek said as he sat down. Looked like he was ready for anything. Frank was seated down eating the bread. It was plain, no flavor.

"No not yet, we were just about to discuss that though."

Joe said, pointing at Derek with a crooked smile. Looking out the window Frank sees a laundry cart being pushed by one of the other inmates. It gave him an idea.

"Carts, what if we used the laundry carts we could get out. If we snuck into one as an inmate is putting the clothes into the cart we could get out."

Frank suggested to the group that it was the best idea they've had so far.

"Yeah, that could work."

Derek said, scratching at his nose.

"No, that will work."

Joe said before thinking about it. His mind wanders, exploring every option. The laundry carts seemed like a good idea to him.

"So when will we do this?"

Joe asked, looking at everyone at the table.

"Who here at this table works the laundry?"

Frank asked, waiting for an answer. Derek grinned at Frank.

"I do, I work on Wednesday and monday."

Derek said, looking around for the guards. Making sure they arent listening into the conversation. Though they weren't that lucky.

"What are you guys talking about here?"

The prison guard said with a certain swing to his voice. It was horrible, nobody liked him. And his voice was always groggy, as if he just woken up.

"We're discussing our jobs."

Frank quickly said after the guard asked. He just nodded then walked away.

"That was close."

Derek said towards Frank. As he does the bell goes off letting them know that it's yard time. They all stood up and headed towards the exit. Getting to the door to the yard, a scrawny and strange looking inmate walked up to them.

"Do you guys want to buy something?"

The inmate asked, he was the guy to buy anything from. Frank stood thinking of something that could be useful.

The dealer just stands there growing impatient.

"Are you going to buy something or not?"

He said, his voice irritated.

"No we aren't."

Derek stepped in and saw that Frank was hesitating. The dealer didn't say anything, instead he just turned and walked away. The group continued down the yard to a few benches. Sitting down the wooden benches creaked loudly.

"Joe, after this little meetup or whatever you want to call it, starts looking out for the guards patrols. We need to know if we are going to go through with this plan."

Frank says after looking around for the guards. They are all over by the door not paying attention.

"What if one of us does the laundry and steals the guards' uniforms."

Frank suggested. They nodded their heads with grins and glancing over at each other.

"So, since that is what we are doing, we can just walk out the front door. I assume they don't pay attention to faces so the outfits will be enough. Wednesday we execute the plan."

Joe said taking the role of leadership.

"Yes, that will work."

They all agree on this one. To them it's flawless, mint. A bell rings from the walls.

"Time to go."

Joe said while standing up. Everyone else does the same then starts towards the door. The prison itself was a mess. The concrete walls were all cracked and the musty air smells horrid. Walking up the spiral stairs to his cell Frank steps on the back of someone's shoe. The man quickly turns around staring at Frank. His eyebrows lowered and pulled close together, and his lips tightened and curled inward.

"Hey! Watch where you're going."

The man said, while still staring at Frank with violent intent.

"Sorry, I'll watch where I go next time."

Frank said while slightly raising his hands to his shoulders. Then the man walked away and continued upstairs. And so did Frank. Getting upstairs Frank goes into his cell. As he does the cell door shuts behind him. Sitting down on his bed He just stares at the wall, thinking over the plan. To him it seemed as if it was impossible to fail. The loud screeching of the book cart coming by was terrible. It only came around a few minutes before lights out. It made the nights just a little bit more tiring.

As the cart reached Frank's cell the inmate came close. His breath was horrible, it smelled like he hadn't brushed his teeth in days.

"You want a book tonight?"

His voice was ragged and coarse.

"Nah, not time."

Frank said just waiting for the morning to come. Without anything else said the inmate just scoffed and walked away. The prison became colder the longer the night went on. Yet all Frank could do was wait in anticipation. The stress of escaping was eating away at him; it was a frightening thought. Frank lay on the bed staring at the ceiling, he was comfortable even if the bed was stiff. Falling asleep the whole world seemed to become quieter. The next morning it was Wednesday. And it would be the day they got out, they've been dreaming about this since the day they got in. The guards came by looking into the cells to make sure that no one was gone. As the guard got over to Frank's cell he took his baton and whacked the bars a few times. Lifting his head Frank looks over at the cell door.

"Let me sleep."

Frank said, lifting his arm over his face.

"Get up!"

The guard said in a demanding and harsh voice. Though it was enough to make Frank go quiet and stand up out of bed. Waiting for a moment the cell door slid open in a jagged manner grinding against the floor.

Walking out of his cell he sees Joe chatting with a guard across the. To Frank it looks like they've known each other for a lifetime. It was strange but Frank would ask him later. Walking down past the cells he gets to the spiral stairs. Seeing how decrepit they are he walks down them anyway. In front of him was Gerald, a man who killed over 20 people before getting caught. Nobody liked him, they all thought he was too much of a loose cannon. He was a man who couldn't ever be trusted. Almost all the time throughout the day Gerald would be in the gym or courtyard exercising. Frank thought that the stairs would surely crumble under his weight.

"What are you looking at?"

Gerald said to another inmate. He was much smaller than Gerald. Yet for some reason he stood up against him, his slim body facing Geralds stalwart build.

"Not much."

The inmate says before spitting on the ground still making eye contact with Gerald. He didn't seem scared. Geralds face lit up like red fireworks. Reaching out he grabs onto the arms of the inmate.

"Hey, let go of me!"

The inmate pleaded as he tugged trying to get his arms free. Gerald proved to be stronger and threw the inmate over the side of the stairs. As he hit the ground with a loud thud whistles from guards blew. Before he knew it he had been slammed to the ground and handcuffed. As the guards stand him up Gerald looks at Frank. It was nerve racking. He hadn't been stared down like that before. Especially by someone like Gerald. On the ground near the bottom of the stairs lay the dead inmate. The blood poured from his cracked head like a flood in a canyon. Looking closer, it was Joe. Frank was mortified, his face turned pale. The sight of his friend dead on the ground disgusted him.

A few guards came running from the security room.

"Go on, get out of here! What you like to watch, you sick bastard."

The guard said with a stern face.

"Ok, ok I'm going."

Frank said, turning away and heading towards Derek's cell. It seems that's all Frank can bring now, since Joe died. Derek was sitting in his cell reading a book.

"D-Derek. Joe died."

Frank struggled to say. Derek jumped up with shock in his eye.

"What! What do you mean he's dead!"

Derek exclaimed as he started to pace around the cell

"Gerald pushed him over the edge of the stairs, cracked his skull open."

Frank said slowly and softly. He was still shocked it felt as if he was stiff.

"We have to get those uniforms now!"

Derek ordered. Leaving the cell they could both see the blanket they covered his dead body with. Averting their eyes they make it to the cafeteria.

"So where is the laundry room?"

Frank asks with raised eyebrows and a smirk. Derek just looked at him. A glimmer in his eye for just a moment.

"Down that hall and to the right. The door shouldnt be locked since its working hours."

Frank nodded and they started to walk down the hallway. Getting to the door Derek turned the handle and it swung open. The smell of industrial detergent and sweat was unpleasant.

"Ok let's do this."

Derek said as he walked in and grabbed a uniform of his size and started to put it on. After they put it on, Frank and Derek leave the room and head down the hall back towards the cafeteria. Some inmates started yelling and fighting. The place was in chaos. A small fire broke out in the middle of the room.

Riot control started to enter the room.

"What are you guys still doing here!"

One of them yelled towards Frank and Derek. They weren't looking at the faces, just focused on the outfits. There was too much going on to even focus on one thing at a time. There was some gunfire coming from further down in the prison.

"What about Gerald? We are just going to leave him."

Frank asked in distress. His hands shaking from the adrenaline shooting through his body.

"If you want to go get him you can, but I'll wait for you."

Derek yelled trying to get over the sound of yelling and gunfire. He felt that Frank was too altruistic. Too caring for others. Frank stood there silent as he watched Derek turn around and walk to a spot in the hall.

"Fine, I'll go get him myself then."

Frank looked at the back of Derek as he spoke. It's like he couldn't hear anything. Heading back Frank could see solitary. An office next to the hallway had a button inside. Rushing towards the room nobody would suspect a thing. Everything was so chaotic, bullets flying and bodies dropping. Reaching the room the door was open. Guards were rushing out with weapons. Waiting for the people to leave Frank slams his hand onto the button opening the doors. A few moments go by and a few big guys come running out. Behind them Gerald was following. Riot control tried to stop him but Gerald grabbed his shield and threw it. Frank ran out of the office looking out for any stray rounds. Getting to the cafeteria Frank saw Derek lay dead on the floor. He was stabbed in the stomach. Blood seeped from the wound, leaking onto the floor staining it in blood.

"Oh god, Derek what happened."

Frank was distressed, it was sickening. His friend was gone, dead. Looking up he saw the inmate who did that to him. It was Gerald, standing there holding the shiv covered in blood still dripping.

"I-I helped you!"

Frank said angry, pointing at Gerald. Yet he didn't speak a word, just stared at him. Stared at Frank, piercing his soul.

Walking away outside of the prison Gerald left him, just standing there over Derek. Frank felt disgusted and depressed.

A bullet whizzed past Frank's ear. Coming back from dissociation he looked around realizing how bad it's become. Starting to run to the exit Franks legs feel as if they had turned to jello or spaghetti. As Frank turned the corner he crashed into a guard just leaving one of the rooms. Falling down they are both surprised.

"What the hell!"

The officer yelled as he hit the floor.

"Christ!"

Frank screamed as he watched the officer reach for his gun. But Frank was faster punching his face. After a few blows Frank knocked him out. Getting up he saw through the window a bunch of the guards sitting around. It was a lounge. Thankfully they didn't notice him. It was terrifying not being able to move, Frank tried to get the motivation to but it was hard. Finally he was able to look towards the door and Frank made a run for it. His shoes clacking down on the ground loudly but all the other noise canceled it out. Getting there he realized that the door was off its hinges. Gerald must have ripped it off to get out. But Frank thought that would be impossible considering how strong steel doors are. Before he could step out a whistle blew.

"Hey! Stop!"

A guard said after coming out of the lounge. Frank wasn't going back but the moment he turned around he got shot. It hit his shoulder.

"No, I'm not going back!"

Frank yelled as he kept running out of the prison onto the street. The damp air from the fog was a relief from the sweaty and musky smell of inside. His shoulder was feeling horrible.

"Someone stop that man!"

Frank could still hear the guards yelling but he was sure that he was far enough away that he would be safe. But the blood loss made him feel cold. Taking off the overshirt he wrapped it around his shoulder to stop the bleeding. Once he got far enough away he sat down by a tree, leaning on it. Looking up he saw the sun rays through the clouds. And muffled barking from dogs not far away.