Paintshark Part 13

Aphrodite ruffled through her bag for a cigarette lighter. There was no reply from the Commander who, with his troops, went through the big front door with the unconscious Sabrina and left into the night, leaving it ajar.

Aphrodite watched her go and lit her cigarette, shivering as the draft from the door lifted the skirt up Aphrodite's leg, she took a puff and blew out the smoke out which danced merrily in the winds entering the room, she went to go upstairs, looking back at the exiting troopers.

"Can someone shut that door, please? It's freezing in here."

Elias awoke with a start, jerking his head up too quickly, and rubbing the back of it he looked around at his surroundings in the hope that the last images of his dream were real, but they began to fade, he wasn't at home with his daughter but still in a cold and damp prison underneath the studios of Big Man, waiting for his punishment for the crime of merely trying to keep his school open. Like-minded souls were around him some walking freely in the prison and others chained to the wall or shackles around their ankles. Elias was shackled at the ankles, an older voice confirmed his sleep was over.

"So you're awake now? You've been asleep for a while, as soon as they bought you back from your *Big Man' visit, you just collapsed into a heap, we didn't want to wake you."

Elias looked up; it was Jago stooping down next to him with some water in a bowl. "Here, drink this."

Elias took the bowl and immediately put it to his mouth, water cascading in and around the sides; Elias wiped his mouth dry and handed the bowl back to the old man.

"How did you know I was with Big Man?"

"You're the youngest headmaster of the biggest school in the district, he's not going to kill you right away...it's bad on viewing figures."

"I see the party is still going," Elias said. Jago nodded. Elias noticed the bag Jago carried with him. "Didn't notice that bag before."

"That's because you were blindfolded before."

"What's in the bag then?"

Jago eased it off his shoulder. "Just some odds and sods from home."

Elias cleared his throat. "And they let you keep that stuff?"

"I'm an old man, who am I going to hurt? But unfortunately, Elias, we have a newcomer."

Apollo entered with a younger prisoner in tow; the young man was swung around to the belly of the others by his chains as Apollo started talking about the rules of the prison, the new young prisoner listened intently, Apollo explained it all only a few minutes, as Dandridge was better at explaining things and being the welcoming committee. Apollo walked towards the only door in the room, unlocked it, laughing as he did so and slamming it shut. Faris introduced himself to the new arrival.

"Welcome to the funhouse, mate. Hope you enjoy the ride! My name is Faris, what's your name, squirt?"

"Bevin, my name's Bevin, I was caught stealing apples from a market place for my wife...it's her birthday you see,"

Faris b.u.t.ted in. "Wait, you bought your wife apples for her birthday? I take it she doesn't get out much!"

"No, the apples weren't her gift; I was going to put them in a cake."

"Dude seriously? An apple cake for her birthday...can't wait to see what you do for your anniversary, grape cakes anyone?"

Aubrey, an old rouge of a gent caught the tail end of the banter and joined in, talking to Bevin.

"I say old boy, you say you got some apples for your wife? Good swap eh!"

Faris gave his trademark chuckle and carried on, Aubrey seemed bemused.

"Anyway what could be so bad about stealing some apples from a stall?"

Bevin paused briefly, antic.i.p.ating another sarcastic remark from Faris, but when it didn't come, he carried on. "Well, the stall where I stole the apples from is one of many that belonged to Big Man, it was for one of his games in preparation so I was caught right away and sent here, not sure for how long."

Faris was intrigued. "Does your wife know you're here then?"

Bevin gave a big yawn and clicked his knuckles, looking at the floor when he answered. "It was her idea."

Faris's eyes rolled in astonishment. "Your missus had you locked up for stealing apples?"

Bevin looked at Faris with a sly grin. "She's allergic to apples."

Faris roared with laughter and Bevin's smile grew, Faris reached out a hand and Bevin shook it with restored vigour. Elias held his aching side and was helped to his feet by Jago. The old man spoke softly in his ears.

"What happened with Big Man?"

Elias shook his head, which was the only part of his body that didn't hurt. "How did you know I saw him?"

"Lucky guess."

Elias grimaced. "It wasn't good. Big Man mentioned something about me being dragged around some arena behind a horse and cart earlier with lions chasing me...nice." Elias then heard a familiar voice.

"h.e.l.lo sir."

"FELCY?" He hugged his stricken student. "My G.o.d what are you doing here?" Elias shook his head and remembered. "Yes, Big Man said some of my students were here, what happened?"

Felcey rubbed his stomach.

"I fancy Kimberley, followed her to a rave, got showered with water and got knocked out, woke up, went to school, gave her a clay and milk head statue, saw a demonstration outside, got home, went for a walk, b.u.mped into Ca.s.sandra and Kimberley, got arrested and put into this dungeon and got infected with Hustle beetles who eventually will tunnel out from my insides and kill me."

Faris chipped in, "Are you sure that's it?"

Felcey thought for a moment. "My stepdad ate my dinner."

Elias stepped in.

"Big Man mentioned something about super powers? I think he showed me Kimberley's use of hers tonight."

Felcey's eyes locked on to his teacher's. "What happened to her?"

"I think she could be dead, I'm not sure ...the Leviathan squid may have killed her, I'm sorry."

Felcey slumped against the prison walls, his stomach twisted and turned, beetles and sorrow struck at once.

Bevin scratched his nose and looked around and nervously tried to make conversation. "That Apollo guy is quite mean, isn't he?"

Faris replied, "Yeah, he was the same years ago, we were at school at the same time."

Jago turned to Faris. "Did I hear right? That you went to school at the same time as Apollo?"

Faris nodded. "Yeah at about eight-thirty."

The prisoners who were in earshot smiled at the gag but Elias, rubbing his side slowly, walked across the room and sat back down with his back to the wall thinking about Kimberley. "They didn't deserve to die, not like this, not in here; they're kids for G.o.d's sake!"

Jago could offer no support; n.o.body could, so Elias continued. "I don't know anything about *super powers' but Kimberley was just a kid and Ca.s.sandra? The girl's come to school every day like everybody else; they may or may not have liked it...who knows? But...I mean, COME ON!"

The raw shout of emotion coming from Elias caught everybody by surprise; Jago was slightly concerned, but didn't interrupt.

"I mean what about their family? Will someone tell them? Somebody must!"

Jago thought the time was right to explain. "Their family will get a sympathy package from the Network and that's about it."

Jago carried on. "Everybody here has been jailed on a jumped up charge by one of the a.s.sociates working for Big Man, I mean look at me a I'm an old man, what could I have possibly done to enrage the mighty Big Man? I'm a headmaster, that's my only crime. I was a teenager when I last was involved in any proper criminal activities."

Faris, quick as a flash, interrupted again. "I'm surprised you could remember that far back, Jago."

Elias rubbed his eyes and gave a big yawn, holding his hand up to Jago, indicating that it wasn't him that was making him so tired, he asked a question to prove his point. "So how did you end up here then? What happened?"

Jago's head remained absolutely still as he carried on, he was looking forward just staring at the wall in front of him, his voice devoid of the warmth that calmed Elias down in his first few hours here.

"They found me, that's what happened, all I had to do was to lay low and everything would have been fine. They get to you; they eventually get to everybody, maybe not right away. It's when you least expect it, some people know it's coming and some carry on blissfully unaware of what's around the corner."

Jago had Elias's full attention.

"Look around this prison room, Elias, and tell me what you see, tell me who you see."

"I don't understand."

"OPEN YOUR EYES, MAN!"

Elias, stunned at his outburst, obeyed quickly. "I see men and a few women locked up, some chained up, some aren't."

"Look again, Elias, look deeper."

Elias stammered, his squinting eyes darting over each and every prisoner locked up with him, trying to work out the old man's words, maybe he would recognise one of them from somewhere a vague recollection from the past, but he had to give up and admit defeat.

"I'm sorry; I don't understand what you're talking about, Jago, I don't know any of these people." It was all too clear for Jago and it was time Elias and a few of the other new prisoners knew the score for their imprisonment.

"I didn't say you knew your fellow inmates, but you are all connected, some call it fate, others call it bad luck or the Will of G.o.d...I just call it a stupid life we lead." Elias and Faris raised their eyebrows in unison. Jago pointed to a young man further down the wall.

"This young man was locked up for being an artist, he drew a cartoon of Big Man, a caricature, it got printed in a national paper and they arrested him and put him in prison, saying he was a thief.

Faris wasn't impressed. "So? He got caught and put in here, big deal!"

The other prisoner spoke up. "That's what they want you to believe, I'm not a thief! I've never stolen anything in my life."

"Is that the truth, lad?" Jago asked, his comforting voice had returned.

"YOU KNOW IT IS, JAGO, I'M AN ARTIST, YOU KNOW THAT."

"And is this going anywhere?" Faris sighed, "Because I've got one or two things to do before this decade ends."

Another prisoner spoke up. "I went out for a few drinks with some friends from work earlier tonight. I was talking to this girl and she was rude and walked out with her friend, my friends and I left soon after to go to a nightclub but we got separated and the next thing I knew this man mountain in a long black coat attacked me and knocked me out and the next thing I know I've been placed in prison on the charges of attempted robbery."

The hatred for Big Man was building up again within Jago. "Tell them your name, lad."

"Linus, my name is Linus."

"What is your job?"

"I'm a primary school teacher."

Jago was far from finished. He pointed to a fit-looking man in the corner. "Dex, what happened to you?"

The dark, handsome man rose to his feet. "My name is Dex and I used to be a footballer on the game show *Soccer Skills'. It was on the Big Man Network."

The name sounded familiar to Elias.

"Well I wanted to quit to try my hand at teaching sport in schools, a P.E teacher?"

Elias nodded.

"Well I handed in my notice, got struck from behind and next thing I knew I was in here."

The two men shook hands and Jago carried on, wearily watched by a growing number of prisoners, next was a pretty girl in her mid-twenties with braided brown hair.

"This is Reede, she was a shop a.s.sistant who also writes poetry." The girl continued for herself.

"I was locking up for the night when someone hit me from behind and I wind up here."

Next on the tour were a man and woman chained together at the wrist with a fifteen foot-long chain. Introductions were again made by Jago.

"Here is Hoult and his wife, Joanna; they were street entertainers who regularly performed outside Big Man's Complex, they pulled in large crowds but obviously these same crowds weren't at home voting for his game shows so Hoult and Joanna were hauled in here soon afterwards."

Jago continued to introduce every prisoner to each other, and he knew them all, even the ones who kept to themselves he knew all about them and why they were bought here, each and every one, sometime in the past and present had some connection with the arts, they were teachers, writers, poets, dancers, musicians; they were kidnapped and bundled into a car and imprisoned under the name of Big Man.

However, Faris and the prisoner known as Dex weren't convinced and Dex was the first to show his disapproval.

"Please! Jago you don't half talk some rubbish, bodyguards coming after us because we can think for ourselves? Get a grip man, must have forgot to pay him something or was caught stealing from him and that's the only reason we're here."

A number of prisoners in the room agreed, the rest stayed silent either not sure on how to react to the words of Dex. Elias was one of the silent, Faris was with Dex in agreement.

"He's got a point, Jago, I mean I'm not a teacher or headmaster, my school wasn't taken from me, why am I here?"

Jago was beginning to lose the fight a and his patience. "Because you can all THINK! Writers, teachers...you're not at home watching his pathetic game shows, you're not queuing up to take part... you're reading, writing, designers, you're the people who *Big Man' fears the most, he's taking away the nation's minds and putting them in to fight his monsters."

Dex huffed. "Yeah whatever."

Jago lost his temper again. "YOU IDIOTS! I'm not making this up!"

That outburst would have made it harder to convince them now, but Jago wasn't finished and took off his shirt to reveal a huge scar running down his back and on to his side.