The Clockwork Falcon - part 15: Weeks 1 through 4
#16 of The Clockwork Falcon
Week 1
Jim couldn't remember how exactly they had reached the prison; fragmented images flicked through his mind in a loose interpretation of the events.
A surgeon stitching his wound and saying that his eye would be sewn shut and I hope you go blind in the eye, damn traitor.
A farce of a trial where the barrister just screamed fire and damnation as he pounded the package of evidence with his paw.
The image of a Lowtack flier with engines spouting flames and twin sets of bat-like wings.
The roar of approval from the crowd as he was sentenced to life locked away in the Black Prison...
Jim was hurled into his cell and left without a word. He screamed against his cage for an hour before he realized that nobody was going to listen. That nobody was there to listen. Even if he dropped dead right then, they wouldn't know for days until they tossed him his meals and noticed the smell as they passed.
But Jim didn't lose hope. He anxiously searched around his cell for a weakpoint, any mark on the stone-grey walls that would give him a way to start tunneling an escape. His isolation would be an ally; they wouldn't see his work. If anyone could get out of these famed cells from the inside, it was him, and he set eagerly to inspecting every inch of his prison.
It didn't take long to examine the walls with nothing else to do, but it at least kept him busy when he wasn't thinking about Jenny or how to get back at Pyrosteam. He decided to inspect every millimeter, every seam.
The dripping wouldn't stop. No matter how he twisted the faucet spout, he couldn't gain enough leverage to make it stop. But it was a minor inconvenience, the sound quickly fell into a background noise. The gentle plit...plit...plit was like a clock spurring him on, encouraging him forward, beating with his heart.
He still couldn't find any weakpoints in the walls, and the hard wooden shelf that served as his bed was making him sore. His fur and simple clothing was enough to dull the cold of the cell, except when he bathed from the sink. But the thin blanket was sufficient to keep him from chilling too much at night.
Creature comforts, that's all. Just one more look around the walls and the bars to see if there's a way to get at the light. If he could turn it off when he slept, it would be like gaining back the night and the day. It would be a victory, he could do it. He starts doing exercises to keep his body strong. Strong body, strong mind, after all.
Week 2
It's a no-go on the bars, Jim, they're rock solid and there's no tools to try to gain purchase. The faucet is getting to him, he thinks he's ignoring it, but it just comes even stronger when he least expects it. He yells at the guards to fix the tap as they walk passed, he makes fun of them for wasting water.
The food isn't great, two meals a day of stale bread with some vegetable shoved in it. Different vegetable on tuesdays, he thinks its on tuesdays.
Determined to find out, he saves some of the tomatoes to make a crude ink. Tomato tuesday, that's funny. Keep it together, Jim, keep it together. Just think about Jenny...Jenny my love.
The calendar is useless. I just realized it's impossible to know if those guards are coming at the same time each day. They could be intentionally spacing out the meals to confuse me. I'm trying to count the drips to make sure, how many seconds between drips? One...two...plit. Two seconds I think. I'll make the calendar better. I'll know what day the tomatoes come. I came here on Thursday and it's been...20 meals I think...that'll make it Sunday. How many days ago did I make the ink? I don't remember...I don't remember. I've been spending too much time thinking about how to bring down Pyrosteam, it's interfering with the important details. If only that damn faucet would stop. They know it's getting to me. They want it to get to me.
Week 3
What am I doing here? I've been here my whole life. Just keep thinking about Jenny. Just keep thinking about her. I'll tell the guards about her as they walk past. I'll tell them a little bit every meal until they hear the whole story. They'll have to let me out. They'll have to once they know how important she is.
This was all set in stone the day my parent's died. It's impossible to avoid destiny. Impossible to avoid the circle of fire, and I flew too close to the sun. Was it my fault all along? No. Don't forget. It was that damnable Rheis. His greed and his bloodlust will get to him and those who helped him. Maybe he's already been arrested for something else. Maybe he's already screaming in a cell like this. I should start screaming. It'll at least pass the time. Don't go insane, Jenny's still there. How could she love a madman? How could she love someone who's gone...
I not going to get out...Jenny...will I see you again? Sweetheart...I'll kill everyone who did this to me. I'll kill them all until I can't hear the dripping anymore. He's dead, but she's still alive...I'm still alive...
Week 4
I'm a cipher, nonexistent. I'm the voice in my own head. My love...could you ever hear me? Stop it, they're waiting for me to break. I'm going to get out of here, I'll wait until they come close and I'll grab a guard. Maybe I already have. Just remember the plan. Escape, get the documents, clear your name. The Professor's going to be proud of you. The Professor's going to be proud...
I have to make sure I don't accidentally bite my tongue out or try to drown in the sink. plit...plit...try not to die
plit...plit...plit...teeheehee...plit...plit. Just go mad for a day, just to do something else.
I can't believe what I was thinking, but maybe the fugue was good for me. I can breathe better now. I stopped thinking about killing myself. I can talk towards the guards again in sentences.
They still won't listen to me...
Just lay down for a while. Just go to sleep and dream of her...the love I'll never see again...