The Condemned // 48. The Final Plan

After the lights go out on you
After your worthless life is through
I will remember how you scream
I can't afford to care
I can't afford to care


Lights Out – Breaking Benjamin


“Sir?”

I looked up from the mess of paper on my desk to see one of the employees standing in the doorway. Shuffling a pile of sheets together in a somewhat neat stack I nodded at him.

“Yes? What’s the matter?”

“It’s acting up again sir, it still refuses the food and water you instructed us to bring.”

“And do any of you know why that is? Has no-one asked her-… it yet why it doesn’t want to drink or eat?”

The guy didn’t seem too fazed by my small stutter, but he did look up at me and stared, without answering my question. I raised an eyebrow, patiently waiting for a response, and he suddenly seemed to snap out of it.

“Oh! Um… I don’t think anyone asked… We have no idea why.”

I groaned loudly, combing a hand through my hair to get it back into a decent state, and stood up from my chair. The employee quickly stepped aside as I paced towards the door and into the hallway, making my way to the exit of the building.

“Well?” I called back at him. “Aren’t you coming along? I need someone to carry the meal and water!”

“Ah! Yes sir, I’ll be right there!” He quickly replied, and ran off towards our storage room in search for something for her to eat.

I leaned against the wall, legs crossed and hands in my pockets. Why was she suddenly acting so weird? Since yesterday I’ve had several of the workers come in and tell me that she doesn’t even touch the food or jars of water they brought her, and sometimes she’d snap at them to scare them away. I’ve been thinking about it on and off, every report on it made me worry even more.

Why was she doing this? Why now, all of a sudden? I was already dealing with enough shit, with the winged one and his friend, and now she decided to act like this! If she keeps ignoring her food and water…

No, I would not let that happen. I needed to find the source of this problem and solve it! This was all just so strange, the timing of it and all… Normally she doesn’t cause any trouble, not anymore at least, not since-

“Alright mister Killjoy, I have some food and water here.”

I immediately stood upright, smoothed my jacket down and shortly nodded at the employee again.

“Excellent. Let’s go then.”

====================

“Okay, so… We got this, right?” Jack spoke, looking at me for confirmation.

“We got this. I think we have prepared as much as we possibly could!” I smiled. We’d been going through the details of our plan all morning up until now, we even rehearsed it a couple of times to make sure we wouldn’t fuck up when the moment actually comes.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right… I’m just kinda nervous.”

“Me too man, me too. But I’m pretty confident as well! This is a great plan, we just have to watch out and… well, not ruin it.”

“Oh wow, that’s all?” He replied sarcastically. “But you’re probably right. I have trust in your acting, and a bit of trust in my stealing abilities. It’s been a long time since I last did it though…”

Jack was clearly more nervous than I was, even though he’s been trying his best to hide it. All morning he’s been fidgeting with either his sleeves or the laces in his boots, and his right iris was a much darker shade of blue, I just pretended that I didn’t notice it.

“Okay.” I clapped my hands together, holding a decisive tone. “Now all we have to do is wait until we hear someone in the hallway, and then we start.”

“Yeah, that’s cool. We got this, I just need to get close enough to him…” The end of his sentence was barely audible, as if it was meant as a reassurance for himself. “We’re still keeping the plan for, you know, after we get the blade, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean! We agreed on the… not-stabby plan, didn’t we? So that’s what we’re gonna do.”

He was dead serious, staring at me while waiting for me to agree with him. I still had some doubts about making him go out there to free us, but despite that it was the more logical plan to go with, I’ll admit. Even if I didn’t agree with his plan, I wouldn’t be able to stop him anyway, being restrained and all that, so…

“Oh! Yeah, of course…” I made an attempt at a smile, but it was kinda awkward-looking in a situation like this. “But that’s for later! We have to get the damn thing first, so for now let’s just lay low and listen for anyone walking around the hall.”

====================

I made my way to the park’s entrance, the employee trailing close behind me, and soon we reached the small open area right by the gates, where her cage stood on one of the sides. I could see her sitting by the wall, her back turned to the metal bars and her legs pulled up as close to her as possible. Light brown scales were running down the back of her neck and her long, dark hair laid over her shoulder, even in the shadow of the roof above her it seemed to gleam in the sunlight.

The sight alone made me feel things I didn’t want to feel, things I simply couldn’t afford to feel anymore… She wasn’t the same person as before, I just needed to get that into my head! I’d have to hide these feelings behind stern words and harsh glares, there could be a lot at stake here.

Another employee stood by the enclosure, waiting for us to arrive. He probably got told to keep an eye on her while his colleague went to fetch me, and now he immediately turned to me with an apologetic look on his face.

“No reaction yet, sir. I’ve tried convincing it while you were still on your way here, but it just plainly ignores me.”

“Let me have a word here.” I replied curtly, and stepped closer to the bars while the guy retreated a bit to give me some room.

A sudden wave of nervousness hit me when I opened my mouth to start speaking. What should I say to her? What can I say to her? I bit my lip for a moment, trying to get a hold of myself, and eventually I could block out my sentiment and started talking.

“Care to explain what’s going on here?”

As I feared, she didn’t react at all. This wasn’t going to be easy, but I needed to know what was wrong. I didn’t want to like her, I didn’t want to care for her like this, I just… I didn’t want her to starve herself.

Clearing my throat I hoped to sound serious, and continued my questioning. “Why are you suddenly refusing the food we bring you? There’s far more important matters I should be tending to, but instea-“

“Oh, I bet.”

“Excuse me?” I snapped, taken aback by her subtle interruption of my speech.

“I said…” She replied, turning around to look me in the eye with an ice cold glare. “Oh, I bet. I bet you have more important stuff to do. There’s always more. More signs to make. More shows to be planned. More people to ruin the lives of!” She exclaimed, her sharp teeth glimmering shortly as she yelled at me.

Her outburst made the two employees behind me step back, but I tried my best not to flinch even once. I couldn’t let her get to me.

“Indeed, if you want to describe my job like that, then that’s exactly what I have to do. Still, that doesn’t explain your behaviour.” I said flatly.

“It doesn’t? Well, let me explain it to you then, mister Killjoy.” She bit back, her yellow eyes burning with held-back rage. “I am sick and tired of being here. But I’m even more sick of seeing new people getting dragged into this hell. Men, women, children, it doesn’t matter to you as long as they get you more income, right?”

The poison in her words hurt, the way she emphasized them and looked at me while she said them, I felt worse and worse with every syllable. Normally I hardly ever care about what people say to me, but she could really get to me, make me feel bad about anything and everything with words only. She didn’t give me a break though, she just stood up from the floor and slowly stepped closer, still continuing her angry monologue.

“But two days ago, I decided it was enough. I had to watch your henchmen tackle an innocent man to the ground, expose him to every single person close enough to see and knock him out of consciousness to then drag him away to where you hide your filthy business! I could see the fear in his eyes, how your employees nearly broke his arms trying to keep him down… I have had more than I can take, Oliver, and if death is the only way out of here, then I’d rather die than spend another month in this cage.”

My eyes widened when she said my name, and I could hear one of the guys behind me gasp in surprise. Panicking slightly I decided I had to say something, to at least try to change the subject.

“T-That man wasn’t innocent. It was a demon trying to get into the pa-“

“Jack is not a demon! He’s the nicest person I’ve spoken to in years!!” She exploded, making me jump back in genuine fear with her volume and bared teeth. Hissing loudly she clenched and unclenched her fists besides her, keeping her heated gaze on me at all times.

“How do you know his name?” I spat back, refusing to let her intimidate me in front of my employees. My control was slipping away from me, I had to end this talk as fast as possible. “How is it possible that you know that freak?”

“Oh, you didn’t know?” She smiled, a venomous smirk on her lips. “He’s been in your park before, you just didn’t notice. This ‘freak’ is smarter than you, apparently, when he can just sneak through your fingers like that!”

My blood started boiling. He did? Did that green-haired rat break into my park? Biting on my teeth I was going to cut this conversation off, but she kept going.

“The guy was maybe 5 foot 10, he could only see with one eye, and still he just waltzed into the park without any of your little minions knowing he was here. In broad daylight! How embarrassing, right? It was honestly one of the best days I’ve had in this place, he was such a nice person too! You’re losing your touch, dear Oliver, maybe you should ju-“

“SHUT UP MYRNA! JUST SHUT UP!”

The world stood still for a split second, as my voice seemed to keep echoing around me. The realisation of what I just said quickly came crashing down on me and my anger disappeared like snow on a hot summer's day.

Myrna was staring at me in shock, I could feel the two men's gaze burn onto my back, and I knew I screwed up. Badly.

The silence remained for what felt like at least half an hour, until one of the employees hesitantly broke it.

"Sir?" He questioned silently. "Who... Who's Myrna?"

"You remembered?" She added, her words even quieter and without the harsh undertone she'd used earlier.

"What is going on here?" The second employee asked loudly, clearly wanting to know the truth right here and now.

I hadn't moved, my brain didn't seem capable of doing anything else than panic, and I just didn't know how I would ever get away with this while still being the Killjoy everyone in the park knew and respected. This slip of the tongue, this outburst... News of it would spread to every single employee, maybe even to some of the attractions, and that would forever ruin my carefully built reputation, my career, my life...

"Sir? Sir! Why aren't you-"

"Leave the water and food in the cage." I interrupted him flatly, and walked away without making eye contact. I needed to get away from them, from her... My arm started to hurt again, and I clenched it to my chest with my other arm to try and keep it under control. Who knew she could be this venomous, both with her teeth and her words?

Yearning for the safety of my office I quickened my pace until I was practically running along the paths towards the building at the back of my park. I threw open the large doors and immediately shut them behind me, leaning heavily against the wood while catching my breath.

I scolded myself for not watching my mouth, but I tried to stay positive as well. If I can get this under control before the rumour spreads and completely destroys my image, things could turn out relatively fine. Only three people have seen me, one of them can’t go anywhere or tell anyone, and the other two work for me. I could probably talk myself out of it with them, or persuade them not to tattle on me if everything else fails…

Just then, when I’d finally calmed down a bit, I heard yelling from down the hallway. I could only hear unintelligible shouts from this distance, but it definitely sounded urgent. With a deep, loud sigh I jogged further into the building and through the hall, now recognising the green-haired figure's voice. I felt my heartrate pick up again at the sound of him panicking. What was it now? Why was everything going haywire today?

As I came closer I could properly hear what he was shouting, and it didn't comfort me at all.

"Help! Is someone there? Please come and help, I don't know what to do! Anyone, please!"

I slid up to the door of the cell and nearly dropped the keys as I shakily snatched them out of my pocket. The guy's distress sounded even louder now that I stood right outside of the room, and yet I still couldn't tell what was going on in there. If this was a trick, I would singlehandedly strangle them both, but the biggest part of me was really damn scared that something bad had happened.

At last I got the fitting key into the lock and flung the door open, scanning the room in one glance to see what this big problem actually was. I saw the green dude sitting on his knees, hunched over his friend with his hands on his shoulders, shaking the winged man lightly. He was calling out his name, almost straight up begging him to say something. The redhead was unresponsive.

Before I could say anything the demon-eyed guy turned to me, fear showing on his features and his hands still tightly clutching the flannel shirt the other was wearing. "Something's w-wrong with him..."

I paced up to the two, still somewhat careful, but I could feel my heart beating faster again from the stress. The green one didn't look like he was lying...

As I came even closer my eyes widened, and I quickly abandoned the possibility that they were joking. The redhead's eyes were rolled back as he laid slumped against the wall, but his wings looked cramped up and they were twitching violently, just like his fingers. He didn’t make a sound, the only noise came from the chains connected to his wrists and neck, clattering on the stone floor. His hair stuck to his forehead, several strands of it flinging about every time his whole torso flinched.

"I don't know w-what happened, he suddenly started twitching and now he doesn't respond a-anymore!"

I knelt down on the other side of the restrained figure, my hands hovering over him since I had no idea what to do. Beads of sweat began to form my face as the winged man continued to shake, as if he was possessed by the devil himself. I carefully put a hand down on his chest and felt his racing heartbeat, he really needed to be calmed down.

“Hey! Listen to me, I need you to breathe, everything will go easier if you just breathe.” I urged him, as calm as I could manage.

“Mark, listen to us!” The other added, easing his grip on his friend’s left shoulder to give me some room. I instantly leaned forward more and held the winged man down, forcing him to keep still.

With clenched teeth I turned to the green-haired man right beside me. “Can you hold his legs? If we immobilise him we might have a better shot at getting through to him.”

He hastily nodded and shuffled closer so we were practically sitting shoulder to shoulder, getting a hold on the twitching man’s legs and keeping them on the floor. I focused back on the redhead, patting his face sharply to get his attention without really hurting him.

“M-Mark? Come on, just listen. Take a deep breath, it’s gonna be alright.” I had no idea if this would work, I didn’t even know whether he could hear me or not, but this was all I could think of. “Slowly now, you can do it. In and out, in and out…”

Miraculously, it seemed like he was listening and actually trying to steady his breathing, as the twitching of his wings diminished slowly. Soon enough he was breathing somewhat evenly, and his wings only shook sporadically anymore. His eyes fell closed for just a second, after which he weakly looked up at me.

“Killjoy? Wh… What…” He uttered, but he lost consciousness before he could finish his sentence, and let his head lean back against the wall.

“Is he…” His friend whispered. “Is he okay now?”

“I think so, it seems like he’s breathing fine.” I replied, letting go of the guy’s shirt and sitting back some more. “He’s probably just exhausted, let him be for now and we’ll see what happens.”

“A-Alright… Thank you, for helping us.” The green-haired man said, a grateful smile on his face, and I suddenly realised what I was doing.

I was helping them! Genuinely caring for them! It had only taken me a couple of seconds to forget the whole reason why I can’t show this… this weakness of mine!

As fast as I could without tripping I stood up, straightened my clothes and paced towards the door, panic reigning over my other thoughts once again. I quickly went into the hallway, I hadn’t even closed the door earlier, and turned to look at the confused man sitting by his unconscious friend.

“Don’t ever cause such a hassle again, or I’ll make sure you regret it!”

I threw the door shut and locked it, but stayed right where I was. What… What was going on with me? Why was all this happening at the same time? First I almost break in front of those two colourful freaks, then I say her name out loud, and now this… I’ve held everything together for years, why can’t I just keep that up?!

Slowly I turned away from the cell door and walked to my office, locking the door behind me. I needed some time to think, and to rest. Things had to go back to the way they were.

====================

I didn’t move until I heard footsteps in the hallway moving away from our door, only then I turned to Mark and gave him a nudge.

“Hey, he’s gone. You can move again.”

With a groan he sat up, stretching his wings to their full extent before folding them closer to his back. He carelessly swooped his hair to one side and smiled, giving me a thumbs up.

“Nice acting, dude.”

“I should say that to you! I almost believed you were actually in pain!” I replied. “Killjoy definitely believed it, he looked like he was gonna faint!”

“Really? Was I that convincing?” He grinned. “Didn’t think I had it in me!”

“Yeah man, it looked like you’d been horrifically poisoned or something… Maybe next time you should tone down the realism a bit, though.”

“What? Why?”

“Because…” I shoved my wrist in his face. “You drooled all over my sleeve, you gross bastard.”

He slapped my hand away and started laughing. “You can’t contain all of this acting talent! This is how I express myself!”

“What, by spitting all over people?” I chuckled.

“Yes of course!”

All of the stress I had for this plan fell off of me, and I just couldn’t help but laugh along now that it was over. Hopefully I’d never have to do something like that again.

“Heh… Phew! I’m glad that’s done…” I breathed, after recovering from that small laughing fit.

“Yeah, it was stressful, but we did it!” Mark agreed. “Or… Wait! Do you have the dagger? Did you get a chance to take it from him?”

I nearly forgot! Getting that weapon was the only reason for this whole act, after all. With a smirk on my face I reached down my right leg and pulled the silvery blade out of my boot, showing it to Mark.

“You bet I did.”