Burnington Gaol

F I F T Y - O N E | Adeline

When Billy stirred, I barely moved.

I instead sat hugging my knees, watching the numbers slowly tick down. Wet tears painted my cheeks. Six more minutes left to live.

"Addie?" Billy groaned, getting to his knees.

He looked down at his hands, where the chains were clasped tightly around his wrists and to the wall. I felt my own biting into my flesh. He looked up at me.

"Addie," he said, inching forward. "Are you alright?"

I choked out a sob, looked at him.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

Billy's eyebrow furrowed.

"Sorry about what?"

I looked back to the ticking red numbers. Billy followed my gaze, shuffled backwards.

"Is that a – "

"Tony did it," he said. "He wanted us all to die so he could start a new life somewhere else."

Billy froze, his eyes darting between me and the bomb. He leapt to his feet.

"No, this is bullshit. I'm not dying today."

He yanked at the chains, throwing them over his shoulder and pulling hard, leaning back and putting all his weight into it.

"I've tried everything," I said, seeing the desperation in his eyes. "It's no use."

"There's got to be a way out. I can't die at fifteen."

"Come here," I said, reaching out to him. "Please."

Billy let the chains go slack, looking at me with terribly sad eyes. He sunk to his knees to sit beside me. I took his hand in mine and leaned against his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "For everything. If I'd just left well enough alone then none of this would've happened."

"Hey, don't do that," he replied. "It's nobody's fault but his."

"But everything I wanted to do, everything I wanted to see. And everything you wanted..."

"I know, Ad." Billy said, leaning his cheek against my head. "I know."

We both sat there in silence, watching the time fade away. Four minutes, three minutes, two minutes...

"I love you, little brother." I whispered.

Billy leaned down and kissed my hair.

"You too, Ad."

I squeezed his hand tightly, and let my eyes close.

Suddenly, the sky opened up and light poured through in waves. I jerked to attention, looking up into the light with squinted eyes.

"Billy?!" Dad cried. "Addie?!"

"Here! We're here!"

A set of heavy feet landed on the ground and I looked up to see Frank standing over us. He leaned down, a key in his hand.

"Frank!" I screamed. "Frank, look!"

I pointed towards the bench. He looked, rocked back on his heels.

"Fuck," he swore, dropping the key.

Dad landed in the pit with us and snatched up the key in his shaking hands.

"Are you two alright?" He asked, looking at us with desperate eyes.

"We're okay," Billy said. "We just – "

"Can you disarm it?" I asked Frank, who was leaning over the bomb.

Dad looked.

"Oh, God."

"I think so," Frank replied.

Dad leaned down and unlocked our chains. He pulled us both in tight, clutching us against his chest. I could feel his body trembling with fear and relief.

"God dammit," Frank said.

The clock had barely a minute left.

"What?" I asked, going to him.

From his pocket, Frank pulled out a makeshift blade. He grabbed one of the wires – a blue one – and examined it thoughtfully. I looked at the other four wires; red, black, yellow, and green.

"Can you do it?" I pressed.

"I don't know which one it is," Frank said.

Forty, thirty-nine, thirty-eight, thirty-seven...

"Can we run?"

"A bomb this big will take out the whole prison. You'll never make it in time. Just like he said." Frank added through gritted teeth.

I felt Billy's arm wrap around me, pulling in me into his chest.

Twenty-two, twenty-one, twenty, nineteen...

"Well, you've got to do something!" Dad roared.

Frank glared at him, but said nothing. Then he stepped forward and held out his hand to Billy.

"It was nice knowing you, kid." He said.

Billy hesitantly shook his hand, as did our father.

"You're not as bad as I thought you were," was the only goodbye he got from the convict.

Then he came to me, and all he did was smile. The smile was filled with so much. Pride, affection, admiration.

"You..." he trailed off. "I'm so sorry this has happened to you."

I opened my mouth, ready to tell him it wasn't his fault, but then his smile turned cheeky, and with a shrug he flung himself around and ripped all five wires out at once. I sucked in a gasp, muscles tense and fear jolting through my veins. The world was still, silent.

The numbers froze on two.

I looked to Billy, my mouth agape, and he returned my look.

"D-did he –?"

Billy grabbed me, holding me tightly against his chest. Through the shock and the fear and the confusion, I clung to him, a weak smile on my trembling lips. Then it was Dad hugging me, the familiar scent of beer and leather clogging up my senses. I looked to Frank, who was smiling broadly – a real smile, not a mocking one or one that said he knew something I didn't. It was genuine. Warming. He looked like Jimmy.

I stepped forward, taking him into my arms.

"Thank you," I whispered.

"Likewise," he replied, pulling away.

I looked up at him, felt a darkness slide over me.

"Did you find Tony?"

His smile faded, and he gulped.

"He told us where you were in exchange for his release," he said bitterly. "I now know why he was so desperate to get away."

"Addie," Billy said. "You told me that he did this so he could get away, start building a life somewhere else, right?"

I nodded.

Billy's brown eyes lit up, and he looked at our father.

"I know where he is."

© A.G. Travers 2018