"Nobody does. That's the whole idea."
Aaron had only spent 3 days in the Eternal Unrest prison, but he already could not stand it anymore. He had been in jail for about 6 years throughout his whole life, but a single day in Eternal Unrest was worse than any amount of time in a regular prison. For the first time ever, he started regretting his crimes. But as the name of the place stated, this was the intention : leaving its occupants with no choice but to regret.
The Eternal Unrest prison was an idea initially presented as a way to scare off the criminals who wanted to get too big. The place would only accomodate a few people, probably a hundred or less, but only 'the worst'. This was actually the decisive point to sell the idea to the people in charge of imprisonment matters.
Eternal Unrest wasn't a place for rehabilitation. It was a giant coffin that held multiple people inside. Legend says, once you're sent to Eternal Unrest, you won't be able to see the light of day anymore. The only people who managed to escape from there were those who went too crazy to notice they were transferred to a mental hospital instead.
After a few years after its inauguration, the prison started to get visits from outsiders. Often, small time criminals would get a free visit of the prison. More often than not, this convinced them to not get in trouble with justice ever again. But some, like Aaron, thought themselves strong enough to endure it. People like Aaron were rare, and all of them were stupid. In the cells, you could see the prisoners. They weren't angry. They weren't rioting. They weren't shouting. They would barely notice the visitors, in fact. Because they were destroyed interally. But what some visitors thought to be depressed small time criminals, were actually all the most bloodthirsty, violent, depraved people imaginable.
But what made this prison so special ? "I'm glad you asked." replied Dave Markenville, the founder of Eternal Unrest, when he was about to explain his idea to an assembly of government officials. Eternal Unrest was out of the ordinary. No violence was used, or permitted. Not from the prisoners, not from the guards, not from anyone involved. At first glance, this would seem like a dream prison to be incarcerated in, but reality was very different. First of all, the punishment for breaking any rules was something absolutely dreadful. They used a specially crafted machine that could emit a special kind of waves on a small area. Those waves didn't actually hurt the prisoners, like making their muscles tense or busting their eardrums, it was much more horrifying. When exposed to the waves, the subject's brain started working independently from the subject's will, making them lose control of their own thoughts. Not only this matter alone could make anyone crazy within minutes, but the process didn't stop there : by doing so, the brain would immediately focus on their most horrifying thoughts, fears and eventually making them relive the absolute worst moments of their past. None of this leaves any secondary effects after the machine stops, and it isn't done through acts of violence or humiliation. Prisoners just end up destroying themselves. This single machine, though one of many, was a perfect representation of how the prison worked.
Aaron was an alcoholic and a drug addict. He had been in prison one time for a rape attempt, then a second time for possession and occasional distribution of several types of illegal drugs. He got mostly bad experiences from prison, but none of this stopped him from doing his criminal deeds. At some point, while under the influence or a huge amount of drugs, he got angry and opened fire in a nightclub. He ended up killing 4 people, injuring 3 others, before he was caught by the police. Younger, he sweared to live a life without any limits, giving to any kind of debauchery if required, as long as he managed to grasp the constant satisfaction he was hunting for. He thought he was a hardened criminal, proud of his huge scar across his left arm that he got in a gang fight. But in a matter of just three days, he just wished that he had chosen the death sentence. Just like the others, he was already deeply broken. He knew he would be stopped anyway, but he didn't have the motivation to attempt suicide either.
Aaron managed to forge a mostly disfunctional, but real, friendship with Anthony, another inmate in a nearby cell. Anthony was part of those that society considered 'the worst of the worst' : child abuse, rape, torture, murder... He was considered beyond saving. But there, at Eternal Unrest, he was just a living corpse who lost his soul. Together with Anthony, they never discussed crime, as they would have in a normal prison. In fact, they never talked about their past. They simply shared experiences at Eternal Unrest, and tips about how to stay sane. After a while, some prisoners were labeled 'clean' if they passed psychological tests indicating how depressed and unwilling to act they were, and those ones were able to have social time with the other 'clean' prisoners. No fight ever broke out. But it was also quite silent.
Dave Markenville, the director and officially 'the Boss', was proud of this. One time, he personally insisted on guiding the Secretary of Defense himself through the prison, to show what he did to the most terrible criminals, that no normal jail could rehabilitate. The Secretary of Defense asked Markenville :
"It looks like you went through with your idea. They are like docile dogs now !"
"Not exactly", replied Markenville. "They are in a state of depression, they won't respond to orders. It's a different method."
"Tell me, why did you insist on bringing in people who could have been sentenced to death instead ? You should have spared yourself the trouble."
Markenville smirked at this remark. "Don't you feel that it's more enjoyable to see them like this ? Fearful and afraid of the world they tried to terrorize ? Some criminals seek the sweet release of death, but I'm not as merciful."
The Secretary tried to avoid the realization of his own morbid curiosity. "Yes… it's a comfortable idea that they can see what was wrong with them before they die, I suppose…"
In the cells, no one knew what Markenville's ambitions were. He rarely appeared in front of the inmates, but all were aware who was calling the shots here. During social time, he was reguarly brought up in the discussions. One time, Aaron asked Anthony :
"Hey 'Tony, whaddya think of the Boss ?"
"Mr.Markenville ? This guy's more crazy than any of us." replied Anthony, barely hiding his disgust.
"Huh ? Why you'd say that ?"
Anthony checked on his left and right, then came a bit closer to Aaron and said : "This guy gets off by watching us suffer, I'm telling you. He personally watches us, even at night, to make sure no one ever leaves this place. And they say you can't leave unless you're in a body bag or a straitjacket."
Aaron shivered. He didn't remember for how long he had been sentenced, but if what Anthony said was true, then… No, he didn't want to think about it. He just had to follow orders and focus on surviving. This was easy… right ?
Two months passed. Aaron couldn't think straight anymore, and this wasn't only because of drug withdrawal. He felt like his own soul was leaving his body. After a while, the 'mad machine' as they called it barely had any effect on him, as he felt constantly under its effect after a while. When he spent time with Anthony, he was feeling like his humanity came back to him. But over the course of those two months, Anthony changed as well.
"What's up ?" asked Aaron.
"…alright…" muttered Anthony, forcefully.
"You okay here ?"
"…yeah…"
Aaron liked to focus on his own problems, but Anthony's condition worried him. One thing for sure, Anthony wasn't okay by any stretch of imagination. Then, halfway through the 'discussion', Anthony, without making any prior notice, fell from his chair, straight to the ground. Aaron wanted to check on him, but… he couldn't do it. His strength only allowed him to extend a helping hand to Anthony, but the effort was futile considering Anthony had completely passed out. Without raising his voice or even saying anything other that "It's alright" to the other prisoners, one of the guards came in the social room, brought Anthony out and put him on his bed, in his cell. Coincidentally, this incident happened during a visit. Four teenagers watched the scene, and they could not believe their eyes. Compared to all they've been told about prisons, this one scene seemed so out of this world, so surreal. Aaron noticed the glares of the intrigued teenagers, but he didn't give much thought, and simply resumed his relaxation time to enjoy it as much as he could, without his jail comrade.
That incident was, unfortunately for Anthony, the beginning of the end. Two days later, in the middle of the night, many inmates were woken up by a horrifying yell. Aaron looked outside, but saw nothing. However, he could recognize that voice anywhere : it was Anthony, screaming and crying. The words he shouted made no sense. "I'M NOT HUMAN !" "I'M NOTHING !". Aaron thought at first that Anthony was asking for mercy, reflecting on his actions as a criminal, but something felt off. He wasn't pleading guilty, it was like he simply made a statement. But then, three people in labcoats that Aaron never saw before came where Anthony was, wrapped him in some sort of vest, then brought him outside the cells on a stretcher. None of them said a word. Aaron was intrigued, but went to sleep anyway as there was nothing else to do.
The next morning, an announcement was made before breakfast. "We are sorry to announce that prisoner Anthony Summer has left the premises permanently to be brought to the mental hospital." Aaron knew it was about to happen, but he couldn't do anything to save Anthony. He was too broken to feel his own sadness, but he did feel one tear run down his cheek.
During breakfast, there was a bit of discussion, which was quite unusual. Aaron went to sit at a table with three other prisoners. Two of them had joined not long before him, the other had been here for more than a year. This one said "Already two have left us this month… that's almost fifteen this year."
"What do you mean two this month ?" asked Aaron, a bit confused.
"This Dennis guy had a heart attack and died a week ago. You forgot ?" replied one of the other prisoners.
Aaron had never heard of that, and it was certainly not in the announcements, he never missed those. The only time where he felt awake and conscious was at breakfast time, around the time of announcements.
Then one prisoner interrupted : "Oh yeah, they never make announcements when prisoners die.". This confused Aaron even more.
After the meal, Aaron had many questions to ask. How did Anthony come to this ? Why did they try to hide the death of prisoners ? And most of all, what the hell was this prison for, anyway ? But shortly after, he fell in his usual half-comatose stage for the rest of the day, and this time without the social time with Anthony to help with his mental health.
After some more months of psychological torture, Aaron barely felt like a person anymore. He was completely empty. He barely ever felt anything anymore, he could barely distinguish between his other emotions. Throughout the day, he noticed some guards looking at him more than usual. But he just didn't care. He had to survive.
Survive. Survive… Survive ? Survive. But why. Why just survive. Why just wait until death. Why not just ending it. Surviving was a chore. He didn't want to do anything at all. He was a corpse moving on its own at this point.
As he was standing there in front of the door, he fell to his knees and cried. Aaron didn't even remember why he was here for. He begged the guards in front of the door, but he didn't specify what he begged for. The guards asked "What do you want ?". Aaron just said, as he started to cry, barely audible "I want… to be a person…"
Hearing this, the guard reached to his transmitter and said "He's done." Five minutes later, Aaron saw the same labcoat people who took in the prisoners. He was just excited to move, do something. Maybe he could be human again, having a life, being a person. He was wrapped in a vest, put in a stretcher, and they left. Aaron didn't know why, but he was happy. Slowly, as they stopped in a strange room, he started to feel asleep. He didn't try to do anything to fight it. He just… slept, almost happily. Then he started dreaming. He dreamed of nothing, in fact. He didn't even know his name was Aaron anymore. Maybe it was John ? Or James ? Or even Anthony ? Whatever. He felt himself slip into a black hole. Then… nothing.
...
"Mister McAintley ? Are you there ?"
"…huh ?" replied the person who had been referred to as Mister McAintley.
"Mister Henry McAintley ? Were you sleeping ?" asked the man in front of Henry.
Henry woke up. Henry ? Strange name. But Henry liked it. However, Henry was confused, because he didn't know where he was.
"Where am I ?" Henry said.
The man laughed heartily. "Next time you come for an interview in my company, make sure to sleep properly the night before !"
Henry felt like he remembered something. The interview ? Yes… the interview… Of course ! The interview at the company… ? For the job he wanted to get, right ? Yeah ! The interview !
Henry then said, a bit embarassed "Uh, yes ! I'm sorry ! Where were we ?"
"No need to be so hasty. You seem a bit disoriented, Mr.McAintley. You can use the restroom to wash your face a little, if you want."
Henry went to the restroom, and started to do as adviced. As he watched his reflection in the mirror, he did recognize his own face, but somehow his clean hair and glasses seemed out of place. He was probably hallucinating, though. After all, he was a respectable man who came to have an interview at a big company. He could do this. Before going back, he felt a strange itch on his left arm. He pulled back his suit a bit, a saw a big scar across it. It also felt familiar, but he forgot where he got it from. Bah, maybe he just forgot because of stress related to the interview.
As he got back into the office for the, he was greeted by the interviewer.
"Are you ready now ?" he asked.
"Yes, I am." Henry said, proudly, while adjusting his suit.
A few years before, in a conference room in a governmental institution, an important presentation about prison was taking place. The man giving a speech, a certain Dave Markenville, was about to end his conference in front of many government officials. As a closing statement, he declared proudly : "And this is why my special prison project will make sure that the worst of criminal scum in our country will get the punishment they deserve !". The majority of the audience stood up and clapped in approval, for quite a long time. As everyone started to leave, one government official stayed behind and went to see Markenville, who was putting back his documents in a suitcase. The official came up to him and said :
"I am glad we both agree on the subject. Death is too easy for them ! Those criminal pieces of shit never deserve a second chance for what they did, they should just suffer until they die from even worse horrors than they did… am I right ?"
Markenville smirked and couldn't stop a small chuckle. "Yes, you are."
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