Chapter Five

Journal Entry: Yesterday, I found out about a mysterious giant bird that only a handful of people know about. This is due to keep the other islanders safe from it's very hostile nature if it sees anyone stealing it's eggs. According to Dakota, it's relentless and will not stop until the person who has the egg is dead. Scary if you think about it but wouldn't any animal be pissed if it found it someone kidnapped it's egg? Today, I have a goal to three particular people. Kirk, Percy, and that mysterious hotheaded guy. This all needed to be achieved while avoiding none other than Jacan, the guy who I am freaky for.

Parker is the fourth inmate I came into contact with. Judging by his personality and set of rules, I take it that he's the boss of the cell. Luckily, he isn't an egotistical maniac so I can get along with him just fine. He also doesn't hesitate to stand up for me when Jacan had came out of the blue and pushed Dakota aside.

Parker sported a blonde faux hawk hairstyle with a hint of pink mixed with yellow at the tip. He's got brown eyes, slim brown eyebrows, plump pink lips, and no signs of facial hair. He was a tad bit more muscular then I was and had a drawing of a German Shepherd on his neck.

Chose of color jumpsuit was light purple with black steel toed boots.

"What can I help you with today? Is Jacan harassing you?" Kirk asked as we walked down a quiet hallway.

"No, it's not that. I was just wondering if you could take me to see Percy and possibly find that guy with the dreads?"

It took a while but I did up finding Kirk wandering the halls in the middle of the night when everyone had been sleeping. Remembering what Dakota had said, it wasn't too hard for me to finally adapt to waking up at certain times. "Dreads? Dreads, who the hell has dreads? Oh! I know who your talking about. Couldn't tell you where that guy was he's gone all day. Percy on the other hand? I could take you to him. Any particular reason why?" He asked.

Percy had been the only one who tangled with the warden and has lived obviously. Of course, I didn't want to tell Kirk about that otherwise he may get suspicious. However, I don't think Kirk is a dumb person the way he carries himself suggest he's smart when needed to be. For all I know he could be playing along with me just to see where it goes. He definitely seems the type to sit back.

"Well, I heard he's in isolation. Curious as to see why and what he did that was so heinous the warden had to lock him up."

"Ah, he ripped the warden's ear off with his teeth." Hearing how easily Kirk explained it left me in a state a shock. Made it more worse when that same ole fashion bored expression stayed on his face. "Yeah, Percy is not afraid of anyone even someone like the warden. Ever since he's gotten here he has been absolutely nothing but trouble. Fights, extreme outbursts, destroying his cellmates rooms, and even plotted some plan to destroy the entire cafeteria. Eventually, after thousands of complaints by everyone the warden was fed up. Called him in for one of his discipline sessions one day and that's when Percy just straight up attacked. Ripped his ear clean off probably would have been more then that if it wasn't for me saving him."

The last sentence completely caught me off guard making me stop in my tracks. "Wait, you saved him? But why?" I asked, continuing to walk again. Why save someone who considers us sinners and probably is plotting to kill us off anyway someday?

"I get where your coming from but your missing the main point. Sure, even if I didn't do anything I said he probably would have did more then that never said he'd kill him. Me being around the warden for as long as I been, I know he would have made everyone suffer cause one idiots stupid mistakes. I couldn't let everyone pay for that."

As I much as I hated to admit it, he was right. I completely dodged the whole perspective of what could have happened if Kirk hadn't done anything when he was clearly right there. Even in a situation like that he had put everyone else before himself. It had to have been hard for him to save the guy who's been holding him captive for god knows how long. "You have a great heart Kirk, you help others before yourself and not many people can do that."

A smile grew on his bored face placing his hands in his pockets. "It's just up here around this corner. I must warn you stay away from the bars otherwise you'll lose a few teeth like our last unfortunate soul."

Turning the corner, we came up to a single door located in the middle of the room. Kirk had opened the door for me allowing me to walk in first him following shortly after. First thing I saw was black bars from one end all the way to another where no one can be seen. "Like I said, keep away from the bars." Kirk whispered. Going to my right we went down the long seemingly empty corridor until finally I had someone completely curled up in a corner with half of his midnight blue jumpsuit down visibly showing his ribcage. His head had been in his knees all I could see was jet black hair. "Percy, you have a visitor try to be on your best behavior handsome hmmm?"

Percy slowly rose his head I could see a bit of food had been left on his mouth. He looked malnourished which could explain his terrible eating manners. I could see a bit of his cheekbones. And when he stood up, my jaw had slightly dropped from seeing how empty he looked. Groggily, he made his way over to the bars in which I made sure I was out of his arms reach. Placing both his hands on the bar he relaxed his head against them. "Come closer."

Ignoring what he said I looked at the wall behind him noticing a bit of dried up blood in various spots. My attentions turned back to him seeing that his knuckles were completely bruised up along with a bit of his forehead. Seeing from my right I saw Kirk still had a bored expression on his face not even phased by Percy's current condition or showing the least bit of concern.

"Well, seems your not as stupid as I thought you would be. Then again, I suppose Kirk told you to stay away from the bars like I am some lion at the zoo." Insane laughter was his response to his own sentence. "So, what do you want fruity boy? Hmm? There's gotta be a reason why you wanted to see me. You woke me up so.... TELL ME WHAT THE HELL YOU WANT!" His sudden outburst made me jump back slamming my head into the bars on the other side. This caused him to laugh out loud from my little slip up.

Rubbing the back of my head I walked back up by Kirk. "Kirk, can you give us a minute please? I promise I'll stay away from the bars." Kirk had nodded his head before walking out of the room leaving us alone giving me a chance to say what I really wanted to say. "I want to know about the warden when you talked too him."

A simple eyebrow had risen, he fixed himself just so he could face me a bit better. "That bastard, me and him didn't exactly see eye to eye. When I got in there I tore that ugly old prick's ear off right from his head like how you would tear toilet paper from it's roll." Ah, so he is an old guy? Interesting information to save for a later time I suppose. "I never liked that bastard and I couldn't tell you why all these brown-nosers obey a guy who holds thousands by their will. Their all frolicking around like everything is okay when it isn't anyone who doesn't see that is an idiot..." Thank god I wasn't the only one who thought like this, Percy seems to have his wits about himself as well.

"I know what they are plotting. I may seem crazy but I am far from insanity. Think about it, despite how big this island is, it can only hold so much people. When we reach the max capacity chaos will unfold. We don't age cause he wants the pleasure of erasing each and every one of us!"

"And how do you know about this Percy? You have been in isolation for months now if I am correct." I asked.

Percy scoffed at me, "come on kid. Didn't you watch any prison shows back at home? I have personal connections... I am not just limited to here. And just like I have connections I also need something in return to give you more information. It's simple I promise."

"I am listening." I said.

So, Percy's wishlist included a huge abundance of food. Food that consisted of; cupcakes, apple pies, chocolate chip cookies, pepperoni pizza, and peppered boiled eggs which he found out through an anonymous person. How cute. This was all accomplished within thirty minutes thanks to Kirk lending me a hand and showing where every thing was. After everything had been done he helped me bring all of it back all quietly too so no one would wake up.

"There, all the food you requested." I told him. "Hope you enjoy it."

Percy smiled as he took in the sweet aroma of the freshly baked apple pies. "Oh, I will. Thanks by the way." He took a huge bite of the apple pie and already I could see that his body desperately needed the nutritional value. "I take it you want to get out of here correct? There would be no other reason for you to be here right now. Well, we gotta figure out how to get me out of here. Not like the warden will care either, he never cared besides when I attacked him. We have only one way of achieving this goal and that is the key to my cell."

"The warden has keys that are in his drawers. You find them you can get me out of here and we can start gathering our resistance."

I crossed my arms leaning against the other side of the bars. "How can I trust you? You have a bad reputation you know?" I told him.

Percy stood up from his sitting position and walked over to the bars reaching his clean out to me ushering for me to come over. "I won't hurt someone that wants to get out. Please, we both want to get home and two minds that think alike can conquer anything." Still with his bony hand out I decided that I needed to trust Percy just to get to our goals. Slowly but surely I reached my hand taking his but also planted my shoes just so he couldn't slam me face first into the bars.

"You really think planting your feet would have stopped me? Your cute. I have no interest in slamming your face against the bars after you shown me your priorities." Releasing my hand he sat back down in front of his ontray. "Thanks again for this. Been a while since I last ate, really I appreciate this. Come back a little more sometimes gets lonely in here and my only friend is the wall." With a nod of my head I left him alone too pig himself out.

Kirk was waiting outside by the door looking down at his shoes. "Got what you needed? Hope it was worth it kiddo." A smile occurred on my face when he called me a kid knowing that he's much older then me.

"Oh, it was worth it old man. Where you wanna head over to now? Not like I am going to sleep anytime soon. Mind showing me around a bit more?" I asked him. "As much as I hate this place I can't deny that this place is indeed fascinating."

He had pushed himself off the wall starting to walk forward. "Let's go too the bar, might as well show you where all these people go to get their intoxication that should be killing their livers but seems to not be taking any effect. They ever lower the age for drinking or up the age?"

"Nope, same exact age. What kind of drinks you got here. The drink I had left me completely forgetting every single thing that happened. Strong stuff too unless my body is just weaker then I originally thought it was." This made Kirk smile a bit as he stuff his hands in his pocket going looking around the corridors. "Is this what you normally do? Come out at the middle of the night when everyone else sleeps? Get a little peaceful time to yourself? We haven't talked much so I feel this is the opportunity to get to know you a bit more."

"Your right, we don't talk much. But, yeah this is me all day everyday. I like the quietness makes me think about tomorrow a bit easier. And the drink was unknown from earth it's quite stronger than any drink you would think."

At the bar, Kirk and I sat at the bar both with drinks in front of us. I didn't suggest this location yet I felt he had a reason bringing me here. When a person is drunk, they express themselves more openly. Something was bugging him and he wanted me to hear the story. Why? I couldn't give an accurate answer. "Tell me some things about yourself. What was it like back at home? Haven't been there so long I don't know what's normal anymore."

Taking a sip of mine I placed the glass back down on the counter. "Nothing has changed much Kirk, Well, it depends what year you came. You remember the year by any chance?" Taking a sip of his he simply shook his head indicating he doesn't remember. "I kind of figure. Old men do tend to forget a lot of things." He snickered at my comment agreeing with me.

"Yeah, I am an oldie. There's no point in hiding it either I clearly show the signs am I right?" I laughed at his comment taking in another shot. "Last time I kept count I was technically 56 years old. Shit, I may be damn near over 130 years old. Maybe even older I'll never know. I'm guessing your about seventeen right? Possibly eighteen?"

"You hit the nail right on the head there. Man, I remember so many things back at home. Friends, some family members who didn't treat me like shit, and the guy I had a huge crush on. My life back on earth was so peaceful until that night when those two selfish bastards had found out."

He placed a hand on my shoulder shaking me a bit to comfort me. "I couldn't tell you how many times I have heard that same story. How could people turn their own children. They don't realize that they are letting a fucking book rule over their lives. Just shows how fucking weak people are mentally. I know what your thinking, I can't be the one to talk since I am a hypocrite. But you know what's the difference between me and those assholes? I can admit I am a hypocrite, I can admit I am weak in the mind. Other people? They'll never admit to it."

"It shows people who thought they loved their child never did. My parents? I was the lucky one who was fortunate enough to be accepted by them. They were Christians but they didn't believe all that bullshit. It's one of the few things I will never forget, I remember crying because I was terrified I was gonna be disowned. I read about it all over the newspapers, how much it was an abomination to be even caught with another man or woman still they loved me regardless of how I was cause they knew deep down I was the same person. Next thing I know, I am stuck here the day after I outed myself. Because some magical sky wizard who claims he loves everyone makes something to purposefully make you a sinner from birth. They say God is perfect? My ass he is. If it was such a abomination why the hell make it in the first place? Know what that means? Even God's self proclaimed heaven is for the VIPs only. Think of it like if a rat's baby is too weak to carry on she eats that one to keep the perfect ones alive. It is just natural selection at the finest."

Holy shit did he go deep with that. The sad thing was, everything he said actually made sense and I was glad someone could have had the same outlook on the situation as I did. From the beginning, when God had created earth he built it in his very own perfect. Why was a little thing such as liking the same sex such a big deal for the high and mighty when all he had to do is snap his finger to make it go away forever. I didn't ask to like boys and it's not like it purposely happened in one night. Just as Kirk said, it seemed like the forever omnipotent being has tons of contradictions.

"All my life, I lived by the stupid ass book, the Bible. All my life I tried my best to be that perfect kid. Never missed a day of school, never got in trouble, obeyed every single thing my parents said, and look at me now? Just because I find the same sex attractive I gotta go through this misery. Forever knowing my parents died without ever knowing their son was alive and breathing never aging a day in his life." As I continued to listen to him I saw that a tear was beginning to slowly make its way down his cheek. "And even with all that hate towards him in my heart I still live by his book. Cause deep down, I am just hoping there will be a way out of here one day. Just one goodbye to my parents is all I ask. That's my only wish towards God and if he just grants it to me this one time I'll try to change myself for the better good."

"No," I simply told him, "don't ever change yourself Kirk your a great guy." More tears began to roll down his face. "No matter how hard you try you can never change yourself you can potray a fake image of yourself but you deep in your own soul you know that isn't possible."

"It is possible! I know it is.... even if it's for a day I just need to turn off my urges for the male gender."

No, it wasn't possible I don't even think a gay person could turn off their urges for a second. He was still here after all these years yet he kept on trying and for that I have got to give him credit where it is due. The fact he was still going for it showed his remarkable willpower and having someone like that on my side is incredibly useful. He's a great candidate who may become a great potential friend down the road eventually. All I needed was to convince him that he needed to stop attempting as it was not getting him nowhere. Percy is already on board Kirk and that hotheaded guy was the next step.

However, these three weren't the only ones I am after. If it is possible, I needed the entire population to be free of this place. I am aware that there may be a lot of prisoners here and that would result in almost all of us in being completely homeless. But, it is safe to say everyone here most likely would agree being homeless is better then dying a possible horrible prolonging death.

Percy was right, as big as this place was it would eventually run out of space. No one was dying anytime soon either so spots could not even open up. The warden's were ready for that right moment to finally kill us off. Leaving everyone was not an option for me it's why I needed the big names to help out.

"No, it isn't Kirk if it was no one would be here am I right or wrong?"

"Of course your wrong. No one has tried fixing themselves because they have accepted it and rather stay here. No one has greater ambitions then me." No, your wrong Kirk you may have been right about no one even bothering to attempt fix themselves as you call it but that's because why would anyone try to change into something they couldn't. Whether Kirk actually knew how the secret to getting out or he was just spouting nonsense is remaining unknown I am positive that the latter is a major possibility.

However, let's see how easily he can get frustrated with me by me going back and forth with him I will need to keep it a stable level otherwise he'll blow up on me. "Everyone may seem like they don't care but there is some people who have the same ambitions as you Kirk. Come on, you can't really be that selfish now."

This was when the drinks began coming into factor. He started off with it by taking a minor sip of his drink. "I am not selfish, I only said for a day my urges were to be turned off. Only to see my parents again." How did he know if his parents were alive though? An average human life expectancy is 70 years old. Some people get past 80 years old, some 90 years old, and lucky enough to be over 100 years old. Alas, humans are not immortal and eventually do die off. If he is as old as 130 years then it would be safe to say his parents are long dead. Not to sound harsh or anything but reality obviously hasn't kicked in yet for him. What lengths was he going through just for his sake of seeing his parents one more time?

It was my turn for a bit of my drink this time I would take it a bit more slow. What transpired nearly a week ago has taught me a thing or two. "It's selfish of you as a person is what I mean. Your not letting anyone down but yourself Kirk. Don't attempt to give the warden satisfaction."

Kirk had looked down at his drink nodding his head slowly. Some of my advice had to have gotten through the thick head of his I just wished I knew what he was thinking. As I mentioned earlier, Kirk seems to be the type of person to see where things go. That bored expression implied he doesn't somewhat care what I told him when coming to his own ambitions. Then out of the blue he grabbed his drink and downed the entire glass in one go.

What the hell?!

Is there anything in his documents that says he's mentally insane?! He just downed a whole glass of god knows what! With such ease at that! Why would he do that to himself! There was no doubt in a few brief moments he'd be completely intoxicated and how was he planning on getting back to his room? He was a lightly built guy but I don't think I could carry all that weight around for a distance.

He had softly placed his forehead on the table closing his eyes. "I ain't going nowhere don't worry about me." He rose his head to the left opening on his eyes to meet with mine. "I appreciate the time we spent this night. Even if it was your personal needs but nonetheless I do enjoy company every now and then. I'll see you tomorrow."

"NIGHT KIRK!" I heard a few people say in a unison including the barkeeper who was wiping down glasses. I had pushed my glass forward not wanting more then a simple buzz. Before I knew it he was already softly snoring away. Softly patting him on the back I got off the stool leaving him be.

Thirty minutes later, I went back to the isolation room to check up on Percy. I wanted to ask him a few things about what he remember about the home world. I recalled him saying, 'didn't you watch any prison shoes back home?' He knew about tv shows. That was a clear sign of memory. Opening the door, I could hear Percy still smacking on some food I had brought for him.

Now in front of his cell I was amazed at how much his body had completely changed just from an hour of none stop eating. He had looked up at me with clear excitement in his eyes that were now full of color. "You got the key that quickly! I'm impressed!"

"No, I didn't get the key. I don't even know where the warden's office is, you left that part out you know? Anyway, I came to ask you what you remember about earth. It may not seem important to you but it is more important than you think. When we get out of here we're looking at hundreds of thousands without homes. It is imperative we know about how things have changed so these people can adjust once more."

He nodded his head in agreement, "You are right. I must admit never really thought of any of that. I believe it is important we achieve common knowledge about one another in other to reach top successful rates. Percy Aeros, currently 40 years old, came here when I was 16 years old.

"Zach Birds, currently 17 years old and judging from what I have observed I am the newest inmate here who has the potential to be the new queen of this island couldn't tell you why I everyone expects so much from me."

Percy had chuckled at me, "don't you see Zach? Everyone is growing tired of Charley and his fantasy ways of living. They need someone with potential, someone with brains which is what you have. I mean, look at you dude! You are just the most gorgeous fruitcake I have seen in a while to be honest. Blonde hair, amazing facial structure especially that jawline, great physique for someone of your size, plus you have perfect cakes that just completes the entire package. Genes from a God is as lucky as you can get."

My face had gone completely red from all the compliments he had thrown at me. The god genes were a little too much but still it made me feel great about myself. After my blushing face simmered down I sat in front of the bars eye level with Percy. "Charley has been a guy who never took no for an answer. Say no and it's the end of the world for him. Unfortunately, it really is just for us. Everyone is terrified of him when you utter the word no. I know you heard this a lot because I remembered when I first came here all I heard was don't upset Charley or else something bad would happen. Of course, I didn't give a shit about anything. Almost no one was safe from me back at my first few days. There was only a few selected safe from me due to their good natured manners Kirk was one of them."

For nearly an hour, after learning common knowledge about ourselves Percy had told me what he remembered on earth. Luckily, he remembered that currency was important to human life. Which was all he needed to know about as long as we established that we would be fine.

"Oh, and before we finish I feel something needs to be known and to be honest I want answers. To be secretive as possible, remember these numbers. 3210, 587, 216, and 121. 4134 is all those numbers put together. Your a smart guy I'm sure you'll figure them out."

"4134? What the hell was that suppose to mean? And just exactly who has it?"

"One of the four original prisoners."