EVERMORE (COLBY BROCK)

13. THE DEAL

Unlike many young countries, Liberdon began as a country that knew only peace. There were no wars, no crime. Everyone treated each other kindly. Treated their neighbors how they wanted to be treated. Then, it all changed when a militia arose in the Eastern part of the country. They had grown dissatisfied with the Crown, blaming those in power for the lack of fertile land or government assistance for their people. Their loved ones were dying, and they had felt like the Crown didn't care for them because they didn't bring in riches like the other parts of the country.

They were forgotten. They were pained. They were hungry. They were desperate. And they wanted the Crown to pay for their crimes.

They attempted to overthrow the Crown. It hadn't ended well. It rarely does, when you're going up against a foe that has thousands at their disposal. The rebellion was squashed, and the history of it was quickly buried. It was a smear in the country's history. It wasn't something anyone needed to know about out of fear that someone may attempt to recreate it. And, even worse, they might even be successful.

Still, those who survived the rebellion needed to be punished. You cannot let someone who attempts to incite an insurrection get off scot-free. A prison was erected, a prison that no criminal would ever be allowed to leave. It quickly gained a reputation for the harsh punishments, the tortures, that occurred within its walls. Rumor had it, some who lived on the coast of Ironmere could even hear the screams echoing back at the country.

The prisoners didn't survive long. They were too weak to handle the torture. Perhaps there was some truth to their suffering. Regardless, they didn't last long. But, when a prison is erected, there seems to be an increase in arrests, so the guards saw a never-ending cycle of prisoners coming in, and subsequently leaving in body bags.

Today, the royal penitentiary housed the worst criminals in all of Liberdon. Those who plotted against the Crown, those who killed and pillaged and stole, those who attempted coups and insurrections. The lesser criminals went to lesser prisons. But the royal penitentiary saw the worst of the worst. No criminal who had ever entered the walls of the royal penitentiary ever came out alive. The penitentiary resided on an island just off the coast of Ironmere. The island itself was surrounded by jagged rocks, so that if any prisoner thought that they escape, their sentence would be ended rather early. The waters were notoriously rough, even in good weather. It was almost as if God themselves had decided that they would dole out any means necessary to ensure the prisoners paid their dues to society, either with torturous punishments or with their lives.

Still, there were better places to be in the penitentiary than others. Some of the lesser of the worst criminals got off with easier punishments. They were sentenced to horrible, backbreaking manual labor, but were still given some time to socialize with their fellow prisoners. Their meals weren't as putrid as the others. The guards didn't assault them on a daily basis (only a weekly basis). Yeah, there were some places that were better to be.

But for him? He was in the worst of the worst. He had been given solitary confinement, locked away far away from the other prisoners so no one could hear him scream. The only people he was allowed to see were whatever guards had been assigned to torture him for the day.

Heh, see.

That was funny, in a sick sort of way now.

Oh, what he'd give to strangle that stupid bitch who clawed his eyes out. He'd hurt her like he was hurting now, strangle her pretty little neck, carve out her own eyes. Make her pay for what she did.

A harsh knock on the steel door of his cell door pulled him out of his revenge plans. He turned his head toward the sound, hearing the window in the middle of the door slide open.