Workshop

Jalisa Johnson

Prison Blood

Naomi was standing out alone in the prison courtyard, kept away in a small gated area surrounded by ten-foot-tall thick cement walls. This was to separate the regular prisoners from the inmates who were on death row. Naomi was on death row. Within this gated area, each death row inmate was locked away in a single metal box so they couldn’t interact with each other. These cells only had a metal door that could only open from the outside by the guards. The roof of these boxes had a metal gate to prevent any sort of escape. Though despite that, Naomi could feel the warmth of the sun kiss her brown skin; something she hasn’t felt in what felt like forever. She had no idea how long it’s been since she was incarcerated. A few days? Few weeks? Perhaps a month already. The only thing she was sure of was that it was still autumn. The frigid wind chill forced the eighteen-year-old to huddle in the corner and curl herself up in a ball. This was all she was able to do for her recess.

Perhaps a few minutes, or maybe more, flew by and Naomi heard a rough grunt coming from outside the cement walls. She ignored it at first, thinking it was the prison guard standing outside the door until she heard the grunts again. And again. It sounded as if someone was choking in agony. She hopped to her feet and knocked on the metal door to ask if everything was alright, but she received no answer. Curious, she placed her ear on the door to listen out for the guard. Nothing. Not a sound could be heard. Just as she was about to call out for the guard, a red blade pierced through the metal door like paper, striking dangerously close to Naomi’s head.

Naomi fell back in shock and clutched her jumpsuit. Her eyes glued to the door. Her heart jumped to her throat as sweat soaked her hands. She then shielded her ears from the ear-splitting screeches made by the sound of something sharp scratching at the metal door; something similar to metal claws.

Silence. Now there was silence.

In a shaky whisper, Naomi said, “What the fuck?”

The door slowly creaked open to reveal a masked person cloaked in white with a splattered blood stain on the front, and a red blade poking out from their long white sleeve. Behind them, lying on the ground, was the mangled corpse of the prison guard. His head was separated from his body and his chest was clawed open allowing his organs to spill out onto the ground. Naomi’s eyes widen at what she saw and her mind was racing with many thoughts of what was going on. As she sat in silence, frozen by the grotesque scene, the masked person began walking towards her in a calm manner.

“Stay away from me!”, she screamed while backing herself into the corner with her hands thrown up in front of her face. Still, the person continued to walk towards her and snatched at her throat and lifted her above ground.

The person’s grip tightens around her neck, robbing her of precious air. Despite her ability to properly breathe, Naomi managed to whisper, “Please...don’t kill me...”

The masked person said nothing, and instead, tossed the inmate out of the room like a piece of trash. She scrapped herself along the gravel, receiving open cuts on both of her arms. Naomi managed to gasp for air and tried to stand herself up. She quickly caught a glance at the guard’s pistol, grabbed a hold of it, and aimed it at the masked person. Despite her threat, the person walked towards her once more.

“Stay the hell away from me!”, she screamed with her finger on the trigger.

They didn’t stop. Naomi fired a bullet at their chest in hopes of killing them. The masked person deflected the bullet with the red blade.

“What?”, she whispered. She fired another bullet, but it was deflected almost instantly. The person could easily deflect bullets.

Feeling cornered, she began firing aimlessly at the person, but to no success in killing them. “Leave me alone!”, she screamed. Soon, the pistol was out of ammunition. Left with no other choice, she tossed the weapon aside and began running and screaming for the other prison guards, who were stationed on the other side of the wall along with the other prisoners. She waved her hands and screamed on the top of her lungs in hopes of her cries reaching over the wall, but to no success.

Suddenly, she felt something sharp impale her abdomen. Struggling through the immense pain, Naomi managed to look down and saw the red blade pierced through her body. Before she could even process the fact that she was impaled, the blade was ripped from her body, allowing her blood to spill out of the wound. She collapsed to the cold ground while clutching the open gash and managed to look up to see the masked person standing over her. How did they reach her so fast? Who is this person? What did they want? Why her?

Tears spilled from her eyes as she figured she was going to die right there in the courtyard. No one was going to save her. Even if someone heard her screams, they wouldn’t save her. For all they know, she deserved this fate. Just the thought of dying before she could clear her name from the false accusations that lead her into his place terrified her. The days or weeks of trying to survive the prison seemed almost pointless in the end.

“Please...don’t kill me…”, she whimpered. She opened her mouth again to plead, but no words fell out. Why try anymore?

The masked person looked down at her in judgment. “You claim you don’t want to die, and yet, you sit there in the pool of your own blood seemingly ready to accept your fate.”, they said in an odd, almost unrecognizable voice.

What are you talking about? Naomi opened her mouth to say something, but the striking pain from her wound kept her from speaking.

“Is this what you want?”, the person continued. “Do you want to atone for someone else’s sin?”

Naomi shook her head. She knew she was innocent. That day, the day of the school massacre, she was blamed from all of their deaths. Her teachers, the staff, those students, and even her friends. Everyone died and, yet, she was the only one left alive. Just the mere memory of that day filled her up with fear, disgust, rage, and sadness. The mixture of those emotions flooded her mind. Why was she only left alive? Why didn’t she die that day, too? More importantly, why is she here? Why is she the one dressed in a prisoner jumpsuit and dying out somewhere in the dirt?

“Do you wish...for power?” Naomi looked up at the person. Power? The person continued. “I can give you power, and with this power, you can escape this place and find the person who should be held responsible.”

Naomi froze for a bit. Power? The power to escape this place and find the person who was responsible for that day. The power to enact justice. True justice. Not the false justice that accused her of the crime and sentenced her here. The power to fix the wrongs. The person continued. “The only condition is that you must fulfill my wish; I crave the death of someone. If you accept this contract, you can finally be a free individual, Naomi Wright. Do you accept?”

A hungry, vengeful smile grew upon Naomi’s face. “I...accept.” Just as she muttered those words, the open gash on her abdomen began to illuminate a bright red glow before sealing itself up. Then a strange black symbol marked the area where the wound was previously. Naomi stood to her feet with ease and with a strange new sense of overwhelming physical strength. She then noticed that the masked person had vanished. She whispered, “What the hell…?”

Just as she tried to grasp what had just happened, a few prison guards had caught sight of her free from her cell and pointed their guns at her. They shouted, “Hands up”, and “Get on the ground” and other commands. But, one of the guards just yelled, “Just shoot! She’s on death row!”. They fired on command. Just as the bullets whisked through the air, the leaking blood from the open cuts on Naomi’s arms, suddenly formed into large red blades and sliced through each bullet. The red blades were similar to that of the masked stranger from before. The guards were stunned by the phenomenon, which slightly pleased Naomi. With a new sense of confidence, she rushed towards the prison guards and swiftly incapacitated them.

Standing over the fallen guards, Naomi looked down at the red blade that was formed from her own blood. She then returned her attention back to the guards and later felt the black mark on her abdomen. Everything was going so fast for the young teen, and yet, she couldn’t wait to move forward. With a crooked smile, she whispered, “Well then…”