“Wow…” I breathed. “That’s… a lot.”
He waltzed up to the window overlooking the ocean. “Did you know that thirty-six men attempted to escape from Alcatraz?”
I frowned, beginning to feel like I was being a big baby. “I didn’t know the exact number… But I saw that movie.”
“Thirty-six attempts,” he went on. “And yet none of them actually made it. Sure, there were suspicions, but never confirmed. Over thirty attempts and no one made it, despite being onlya mile and a halffrom land.”
He spun to face me. “The will to live is a powerful thing, Jonathan. You know that as well as I do. Survival instinct is a bitch and a half to break, but I mustinsistthat you break it, Officer.”
I gaped at him, at the severity in his features. It freaked me out how effortlessly he could flip fromShakespearetoScarface.
“The reasonwhymen continued to attempt escaping from Alcatraz was one thing and one thing alone… A pesky four-letter word.” He paused, seemingly for dramatic effect. “Hope. With each attempted escape, hope grew among the remaining prisoners. They didn’t know that their friends had died at the hands of that foolish word.”
I was just gaping at him, mind processing what it seemed like he was getting at.
The Ivory nodded out his large window, at the ocean that surrounded us. “They were a mile and a half from land on Alcatraz. Hell, they couldseeit. If that’s not hope, then I don’t know what is. You say five miles sounds doable… How about ten?”
I blinked at him.
“There were sharks in the waters surrounding Alcatraz as well…” He grinned wickedly. “What about ten miles of bottomless ocean full of sharks? Would you try then?”
My lips hung open for a moment before I coughed up the words, “Are there really sharks?”
His smirk grew in deviance as he lifted a shoulder in a bored shrug. “Perceptioniskey, in everything we do here, Jonathan.These prisoners will perceive what you make them perceive.” He sauntered back over to me, dropping a large hand onto my shoulder and giving it a firm squeeze. “Youcontrol the narrative of this island, Officer. The perception is yours to mold… Let’s squeeze the breath outta that hope, shall we?”
There were so many things swirling around my brain… The fear, and admiration for theevil geniusof this man. The overwhelming notion of deceit, versus the intoxication of power…
But more than any of that, I’ve just never been able to deny how satisfying it’s always felt to be in his good graces, and to remain there.
I know that I’m being manipulated. I canfeelit happening, but like with most dopamine-releasing sensations, the high is too good to stop.
So I nodded.
Constant unwavering dedication.
The Ivory smiled and winked. “Now… what do you say we have some lunch?”
And with that, theprisoner propagandawas born.
Five and a halfmiles off the coast of New York becameten.
We started referring to the waters surrounding the island asShark Bay, despite never having actuallyseena single shark. I don’t doubt that they’re out there somewhere, but the point is these exaggerations are part of the game. Thisrolewe’re made to play, as guards.
With each new inmate who comes in, the space between us and them grows farther and morevast. And with every new treachery in this expanse, a different four-letter word takes over…
Lost.
Getting the hang of this place hasotherdrawbacks too, monotony being the one that makes me the twitchiest.
In the beginning, I never had a moment to breathe, running around like a chicken with my head cut off more often than not, wishing someone would just pop my ass in a deep fryer and get it over with.
And that’s not to say I’ve got it all figured out now, because that’s not entirely accurate, nor would I invite disaster with such a flagrant jinx. But I feel like I’ve slipped into something of arhythm.
From the mansion to the Pen and back, there’s a groove I’m settling into, and it’s a good thing. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t tedious as shit.
And yet lately, there’s been one shiny new addition to our world of concrete; some sugary sweet cherry flavoring to elevate the bland vanilla…
And her name is Joy Jameson.
