All Tangled Up

Chapter 7

Days passed.  I fought crimes.  I ate the prison food.  I curled up in my corner when I wasn't doing anything else.  The routine was agonizing.  The only time I actually felt happy was when I was swinging through the city, feeling somewhat free.

Captain Stacy came in every night to get a daily report, even though he could just look at my tracker data.  Perhaps he wanted to get the greater detail from my perspective.

"It's time," an officer said, cracking open my cell door.  I nodded, then followed him out.  Today they were having a meeting about my fate.  It wasn't exactly a trial; I'm not sure if this was any better.

"He's too young," protested a tall man with brown hair and stick-out ears, slamming his fist onto the table.

"He saved more lives in a week than you could in a year," muttered another man, a little heavyset with piercing blue eyes.

"So?  And you're still going to put the city in the hands of a child?"

"We're not going to put the entire city in his hands, and he's not a child," Marcus Dwyre spoke up.  "Yes, he's young, but as I recall, you were twenty years old when you first began work in the police field.  There's hardly an age gap."

"Two years!  And I was only training!"

Shouting erupted through the entire meeting place.  I buried my face into my hands.  Captain Stacy was sitting to my left.

"How do any of you expect to come to an agreement if all you do is shout at each other?"  Captain Stacy said into the microphone.  The room grew silent, all eyes directed to him.  "All of you have seen the footage from the tracker.  A good number of you have talked to him yourselves.  It's a simple question, but only if you make it simple.  Does Peter Parker deserve freedom?"  His voice echoed throughout the entire room, but no one said a word.  "Perhaps we should take a vote.  It will be anonymous."  Everyone in the room glanced at each other.  "That way you won't make a foolish decision so you'll be part of the majority."

They took a vote, and I sat there anxiously.  Shivers ran up my spine, then down my arms and legs.  My spider senses were triggered as ballots were passed around me.  My knuckles turned white from where I gripped the edge of the table.

Captain Stacy left the room to count the votes.  Five minutes later, he returned with the results.

"The decision has been made.  As I said earlier, it was easy.  The majority vote was rather large."

I sucked in a breath, shifting in my seat.

"Peter Parker," he looked at me, his face showing no emotion.  "Your parole has ended."  I waited for him to say more.  That could mean that I was free, or that I was to be locked up.  "You're free to go."  A smile spread across my face, and a weight was lifted from my shoulders.  "...back to your cell."

The weight returned, and my smile faded abruptly.  "I-"

"You will be escorted back home tomorrow."  The weight went away once again.  I let out a breath I never knew I was holding.

"Th-Thank you," I said.

"Thank you."

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Author's Note:

I am out of ideas.  What if I just wrote an epilogue and ended the story here?