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This is a short, short story written for Monday Morning Writing Prompt. I based it on a short news account of a prisoner in Florida who attempted to break out by beating a brick wall with his bare fists. The name and details are all fictional. https://liv2write2day.wordpress.com/2011/05/08/monday-morning-writing-prompt-headliners/
Attempted Prison Break
Bad boy!
His mother’s voice echoed in the hollows of his memory as they slammed him against a wall and wrestled his hands behind his back.
Bad boy! You’ll never amount to anything. Howie guessed she was right.
They hauled him down a narrow hallway, lit only by a faltering fluorescent bulb, shoved him in an empty cell, removed the cuffs and slammed the door shut.
All he wanted was to be free. Free to run. To run away from his memories. To run away from his life. He didn’t even know why he’d assaulted that old lady, except that she limped just like his mother.
Bad boy! Bad boy! Bad boy! Over and over the words sounded in his brain.
It wasn’t until the next day that he felt the throbbing pain beneath bulky bandages on both his hands.
“What the hell did you do to me?” he asked the guard who brought him a mug of tepid, bitter coffee.
“You don’t remember, you stupid kid? Look.”
Howie turned his head to see what the guard was pointing at.
The older man snorted. “Did you really think you could beat your way out of here with your bare fists? The wall’s solid brick, you moron.”
The kid looked at the bandages again, at the wall, at the guard.
“Your mother’s on her way, but I wouldn’t count on her to make your bail. She wasn’t happy.”
Bad boy! Howie heard the mantra over and over yet again. He smiled. At least, this time, he’d lived up to her expectations.
Victoria C. Slotto, Author 