40. I Know this Man

Letters, multiple papers inked with the memories of a broken soul with a shattered heart. They were piled, one on top of the other, cradled in the arms of a man, who felt remorse and pity for the hand, that painstakingly bent and curved its fingers, just to have its master's woes and love, forever marked on an innocent white sheet, which may never find its way to the heart where it should lay.

Sheldon's tears were far from ashamed, no... why would it be? Those liquids that fell from his tired globes were far from enough to pacify the guilt, housed and nurtured inside his heart by the previous decades. Sheldon closed his eyes and for the millionth time, reminisced on that one memory that had haunted his dreams.
***

(July 1969 Locality of Marreta district)

He loved soccer, he loved basketball, he adored school, and most of all, he loved his family. A young boy, aged seven, lost his way amidst the hundreds of young students scurrying towards the Botanical garden that their school wanted them to see. He felt like crying, but he couldn't. According to his father, only a sissy would cry in public. He never wanted to be called one, so despite the fear of standing in a middle of a crowd, filled with people he couldn't recognize, the young boy straightened his back and casually walked towards a bench.

He wanted to be strong like his daddy, but his tears were stubborn, they fell on their own. He failed to will them away. He wiped his face using the sleeve of his shirt, and just as he looked up, a good-looking man was standing in front of him. The man smiled and handed him a handkerchief. The boy felt hesitant at first, but when his stupid and stubborn tears fell again, he yanked the piece of cloth from the man's arm and said, "Don't you dare tell anyone I cried."

The man bobbed his head, still with a smile plastered on his face. The boy felt curious, so he asked, "Who are you? What are you doing here? Are you a teacher?"

The man in front of him shook his head from side to side and answered, "No I'm not a teacher, I'm here to guard you."

The boy was skeptical, he stood from the bench and walked a foot away from the man. "Are you a kidnapper? If you are, don't even think about taking me, my mom will kick your ass!"

The man laughed when the boy delivered his threat without a single shake in his voice or his body.

The young boy, taken aback by the laughter that came from the man frowned and asked, "Are you a crazy person? My dad is a doctor, he could help you."

The man shook his head and answered, "As I said, I mean no harm. I only approached you because you were crying."

"Hey! I told you not to say that. I wasn't crying!" the young one screamed. His puffy cheeks turned red as his brown eyes stared at the man with so much determination.

He gazed with eyes that the man knew so well.

"Alright, alright, I never saw you cry," the man answered.

The boy immediately smiled, his face lost its redness as his gaze turned mellow.

The man assisted the young boy back to his team. Then he waved goodbye.

A few weeks later, that same man stood in front of the kid's house, he saw him of course, but the man immediately turned in another direction when the young boy tried to approach him. Another week had passed, and the kid found the same man standing in front of his school.

The boy who felt curious about the mysterious man finally got the opportunity to speak to him, on that same day. Their school was holding a party along with a school play.

The young boy's father failed to attend, but his mother was there. Upon approaching the man, the young boy noticed the hesitant look in his eyes, but the kid, being young and unaware still walked up to the man and asked, "Why do you keep following me?"

"I only wanted to assure myself that you were safe," the man answered, then, just like before, the man turned and walked away.

The same incident continued to happen with the boy and the man, and it developed into a silent friendship until an unfortunate event changed the boy's life.

An incident that left the boy questioning, why did he do it. Was it because he promised the young boy that he would watch over him? Why did he?

He begged his mother, he asked and groveled. He couldn't watch the man imprisoned. The young boy reasoned that it was his fault. The man said he wanted to protect him. Maybe that's why he did it.

But his words fell on deaf ears. No one listened, not even his mother.

Why?

The man was his guardian, he was only guarding him.

Why?

The young boy grew up hating everyone. He hated himself, his mother, and every other soul on earth. It was his doing. He made the man sacrifice. But why? Why did he? Who was he to him anyway?
***

(West Wing San Fernando Correctional)

"Sheldon, Sheldon are you okay?" Mark asked worriedly. Sheldon looked up at the young guard. He wiped the tears that were blurring his vision and answered, "I thought it was about me, but now I know, it never was."

Mark shook his head while thinking, "Sheldon must have hit his head during the fight."

After a few minutes of silence. Sheldon stood from the floor he was seated on, walked towards the office door, and reached for the knob. Before he could turn it though, Mark and Raffy were already behind him, prying his hand away from the door's handle.

"What the hell are you doing?" Raffy questioned.

Sheldon did not give a reply, he instead, pushed both men away and grabbed the knob again. Once more, Mark and Raffy tried to pull his arm away from the door, but both men failed. They watched in horror as Sheldon stormed out of the office.

Muted by the recent events, Johnny decided to reach for the radio and tried to find a signal again.
***

(North Wing)

He gasped for breath as another foot landed on his chest. He couldn't tell whether the next hit will crush his chest cavity or instantly kill him.

Ten minutes ago, Farlow waltzed inside the North wing, unaware that the prisoners have returned to their cells. He was seen earlier killing his comrade and an inmate, so when he was spotted by the convicts, he was immediately grabbed and pushed inside a cell where he was simultaneously beaten by the same bunch of prisoners who screamed for help the night before.

"You're not so tough now huh!" a prisoner yelled as he gave Farlow another kick on the stomach. The guard screamed, he must have gotten a broken rib by the force of that hit.

Another convict suddenly joined the three that were beating the guard. Farlow prepared for his death when he saw that the new convict who was about to beat him had a big stature. He closed his eyes and prayed that he made the right choice. His family was safe, Rudolf's man confirmed it. His family was safe, they were unharmed, he mused, over and over. He waited, but his body did not receive additional pain. Despite his intuition, Farlow opened his eyes.

What greeted him, was the warden and a man with a wide grin on his face, whom he knew to be named Sebastian. The humongous man whom he thought was about to beat him, stood behind them, staring at him with eyes full of curiosity.

"If you're waiting for a slow-motion, movie-like reunion with a song playing in the background before rising from that floor, then you're mistaken, that ain't gonna happen," Sebastian muttered.

The convict's comment immediately gained him a smack on the head by the warden.

"Why?" Farlow questioned.

"Oh, he told us everything," Sebastian answered whilst pointing a finger behind him. Farlow squinted his eyes and slowly, Demitri emerged from the background.

Farlow chuckled and said, "Thought you've made a decision."

Demitri walked towards him, held out his hand, and answered, "Well, I figured we're as close as being married as I am to my wife."

"Aww, that's so sweet. Don't worry, a sword fight happens in prison more often than you think." Sebastian teased.

The prisoner could only wish he had kept his mouth shut when both Farlow and Demitri walked up to him and landed a punch on either side of his face.

"Enough with your banter Sebastian," the warden commanded after both guards turned away from the convict

Sebastian rubbed both cheeks and whispered, "This is what I get for choosing their side."

Ernest, the big man whom Farlow thought to have been the end of him, remained silent, but his gaze was fixed upon the renegade guards.
***

Twenty minutes earlier, when the warden and Sebastian failed to arrive, Ernest decided to tread back to the East Wing. On his way, he met two of Rudolf's men, busy hitting a guard. He never saw himself as a sinner, so instead of walking away, he gave the guard a hand and beat the shit out of both men, who never stood a chance against his big and muscular body.

When he pulled the guard up, he was surprised to see the same man who assisted Rudolf the night before. Ernest didn't know whether to hit him or continue helping him.

It was when the guard whispered, "Thank you," that the big man made a decision. Perhaps the guard wasn't as evil as he portrayed himself to be. Besides, why was he beaten by Rudolf's man, if they were on the same team? Ernest thought to himself.

He didn't ask the guard anything though, he just went past him and continued to walk towards the East Wing. The guard then grabbed his arm and said, "You don't want to go there, Rudolf's men are all over the second and third floor of the East wing, some might even be accompanying Rudolf now."

"That means I have to get to the warden sooner," the big man answered.

Demitri frowned and gazed at him suspiciously but the big man didn't take the guard's action to heart.
Ernest was tired of talking. All he did was talk since the assault began, so he just walked away from the guard.

Ernest failed to understand it, but the guard began to follow his wake. After five minutes of walking, they both reached the storage room and found the warden, with Sebastian trapped in a headlock under his arms.

"Glad you're back, the warden doesn't seem to get my jokes!" Sebastian said pleadingly to Ernest. The big man didn't respond. He turned to the warden and said, "We have to leave now." The warden released Sebastian, and that's when Demitri appeared from behind the big guy.

His sudden appearance startled both Sebastian and the warden, and without warning, Sebastian ran towards the guard with a fisted hand. He was about to deliver a punch, but Ernest took hold of his arm, thus preventing him from hitting the other man.

"What's your problem? He killed one of us and his own too." Sebastian said angrily.

Demitri raised both his hands and immediately explained what happened.

"So where is Farlow?" the warden asked.

"Devil wing," Demitri answered.

The warden mused for a minute, he needed to take the blood reserve to the infirmary, but confident that Harold was under the care of someone knowledgeable, he deduced, that Farlow was more in a dire situation, and that's when the group made their way towards the North wing.
***

"You're lucky we got here on time," Demitri whispered to his companion.

Farlow, grateful and happy smiled at his partner and answered, "Yeah, I thought I was a goner."

The team was almost out of the North wing, intent on reaching the infirmary on time when a shot was fired at them. Immediately, each man docked and ran in different directions.

"I guess I found everyone I need." Rudolf yelled menacingly," as his men rained bullets inside the North wing.

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