Minutes. Hours. Time slipped by as Everleigh dozed on the old dusty couch, her neck bent to one side and her posture slumped. She never planned on falling asleep, so when a window, small enough to slide things through, opened at the bottom of the door, her eyes flicked wide.

Why had she not seen it before?

Scrambling from the couch, she raced for the opening right as a tray of food slid across the floor, bumping her steel-toe boots on the way. She dropped to her knees and pressed her head to the cement floor, attempting to see what was beyond that window. A pair of scuffed boots and a hand were in the way as whoever was on the other side began closing the window.

"Wait! Please," she begged. Suddenly a set of eyes met. "Please, can you tell me where I am?" Everleigh reached her hand through, causing the eyes to back away. "Oh no, please don't be scared, please help me."

"They attached explosives to your wrist. Are you dangerous?" said a thick, accented voice.

"No. At least I don't think so..."

His dark hand began running its way up her arm and then back down again as if examining it. Then a laugh escaped from deep within his chest. "No, you're too slender to do any harm. How long have you been locked in there?"

"I'm not sure. A few hours? A day?"

"But you feel so skinny." His eyes appeared in the window again. "Are they starving you?"

"No. I've just been on the road a long time and we had to ration our food, so I've lost a lot of weight."

"We?" his voice went up. "Is there another person in there with you?"

"No, no. Just me. I have a brother, but they took me away from him."

"What do you mean?"

"I was arrested by government people and when I woke up, I was here."

"You must eat, ma'am. Build your strength." He smiled through the small window, showing bright white teeth. "I'm leaving now."

"No, please wait!" She shoved her arm through the window again and grasped his ankle. "Please talk to me. That accent, where are you from? Do you have a family?"

"I'm from Ethiopia," he sighed and crouched again.

"Ethiopia? My father showed me it on a map once! That's on the other side of the world. What brings you here?"

"There was war in my country and I was a doctor there, but accidentally got involved with dirty politicians and it put my family in danger. We escaped and sought refuge in Italy, but then we got sent to Canada. And then..."

"Then what?" She flexed her palm, so he reached through the crevice to give it a quick squeeze with his. His deep brown flesh looked smooth in the daylight of the room, but judging by the more rugged appearance of his hand, she guessed him to be in his forties?

"But I was separated from my family when we arrived at the airport. The security guard said they needed to question me, and then next thing I know, I'm waking up here."

"In Boise?"

"Boise? No, ma'am. We are in San Francisco."

A sharp gasp caught on Everleigh's throat and as she tried to swallow the shock, it felt like sand scratching her esophagus. "S-S-San Francisco?"

"Yes. We're on an island called, Alcatraz."

"Alcatraz..." she whispered. Long ago she read about the island and saw a few pictures too, but she never imagined being on it. Her breaths came quick and a cry released with them. How was Armis or anyone supposed to get to her now?

"Miss, please don't be sad. You are not alone. There are others here. People who are trapped too and we're helping one another. We're planning an escape."

"How?"

"We're still figuring it out. But the mainland isn't far, so we can swim. Do you know how?"

"No." Everleigh wiped her eyes. "That was one thing my father didn't get a chance to teach me."

"I must go now, or the leader will get suspicious."

"Wait. What's your name?"

"Tesfaye, but friends call me Tes." He smiled through the window.

"I'm Everleigh."

"Good to meet you Miss Everleigh. I'll tell others about you."

The small window closed and for a moment she lay on the cold cement floor, with her head resting against it as she hoped to speak with him again. Stuck there in the quiet, she repeated his name like a mantra, Tesfaye, Tesfaye, Tesfaye, and committed it to memory. He was a doctor in his country, but was stolen, and brought to the island.

Why?

As she thought about it, she drew circles on the slab with her finger. When tears rolled down the bridge of her nose and onto the cement, she smashed them out with her finger.

"That's enough crying!" she reprimanded herself.

Because Tes was right. She needed her strength and as a doctor, he would know best. Sitting up, she scooped the mashed potatoes with her fingers from the food tray and licked them clean. The creamy texture, although bland, provoked her stomach with gurgles of hunger that were ignored earlier.

Then, she reached for the chicken thigh and bit into it like a feral animal, chewing with a mouth so full potato oozed out. Swallowing it down, she shoved more food into her mouth between deep breaths. She repeated this until all that was left was the chicken bones to suck dry. Desperate for more, she ran her tongue over the tray until it was polished of any food particles.

By the time she was done, her chest rose and fell rapidly like a wolf after gorging on a carcass. As she sucked back meat from her teeth, she wondered, was this what her life had been reduced to? A beast in a cage?

The door rattled and her attention shot toward it as the deadbolts turned. Fumbling to her feet, she kicked the tray under the couch and plopped herself down onto the stiff cushions. No one needed to see the evidence of her desperate, feral moment. If they knew just how hungry she was, they could very well use it against her.

It was the same method her father used right before their home burned to the ground with him in it.

As she sat there wiping chicken grease on her pants, she recalled the nomad who came searching for work and asked for food as payment. Her father didn't completely trust him, but they needed extra help around the farm. However, once her father discovered the nomad was sneaking out at night and disappearing for hours, he decided it was time to play a game.

So, he locked the man in a room and began depriving him of food. Then, he would taunt him by eating things in front of him. The nomad only lasted a day before he broke down and revealed all of his secrets. That's when her father learned he was gathering intel for a group of people who wanted to rob them, take over the house, and kill them. According to the nomad, the group had a map of the property which was marked for having water access, and it was why they wanted it.

When the door finally opened, it was the tall, bronze man who entered the room again. However, Everleigh's thoughts were still on the nomad and the people who wanted to rob them. They had a map almost identical to the one found in Chuck's bunker.

What if the entire ordeal of being tracked by government officials started way back then? Why else would they have a map with the property marked on it?

"You're awake."

"And?" Everleigh replied.

"Get up. I'd like to show you something."

"Show me what?"

"GET UP," he snarled. "It's not a request."

"FINE," she growled back and straightened herself, making sure to hold her posture strong. Slumpy shoulders appear weak, she heard her father's voice rumble through her ear. Always fool your foe, he would say.

"Good girl." He smirked and strapped a long chain around her waist. "Also, you will refer to me as, Boss."

"Cute. Is that what your mother calls you?"

"It's what insignificant scum like you call me. Now walk." His heavy paw-like fist nudged her shoulder, causing her to lose her footing, so he caught her by the arms. "Watch your step. Would hate to see you break your ugly face."

"And you would hate for me to break yours."

"Hah!" he barked. "You are funny. I'll give you that."

They walked through a long dim corridor where sun rays bled through grimy windows, before reaching a spiraling stairway. It winded down to an area with various levels of jail cells, where sunlight cut through the skylights along the perimeter of the ceiling. The contrast of light was blinding compared to the gloominess of the office they came from, so Everleigh shielded her eyes.

"Scared of a little sun?" Boss teased.

"I'm not scared of anything."

"Right. But soon you will be."

The bright rays cast onto men with sunken cheekbones, dark bags under their eyes, and greasy hair. They stared at her, some curious as they pressed their faces to the rust jail cell bars, but others didn't care to look. She could hear them whispering, some with questions of who she was, while others cat-called and blew kisses.

"Settle down!" Boss whacked a baton against their cages, shushing them, as he shoved Everleigh along. "Do you know why these men are here?"

"No."

"I'm not sure if you know much about this place, but it used to be a prison years and years ago. See, the beauty of it was that it was completely isolated from the mainland. Which in my opinion is how all prisons should be. Criminals do not deserve to be part of our society. These men are the garbage of our world and you are just like them. But I can't kill you because I've run into a predicament. Care to guess what it is?"

"You realized I can be of use to you?"

"Hah! No. Not at all. I don't need you, but I do need your friend the Water Witcher."

"Corbin." Everleigh spun to face him. "He's here?"

"Did I tell you it's ok to stop!" He whirled her back around in one rough movement and hissed in her ear with warm breath misting her lobe. "Keep walking."

Big men didn't necessarily scare Everleigh, as long as she could spot their weak points, but so far, she couldn't detect them, and he was giving as good as he was getting. For that, she gave him credit. However, she couldn't deny the tiny part of her which shivered as she pictured him lifting her body over his head, and snapping her spine with his knee.

"Cold?" he chuckled.

"Yes, someone should really turn up the thermostat in this dump."

"Well, you'll have to get used to it. Plus, we're heading outside and the Pacific winds are chilly this time of day." He nudged her toward the daylight seeping through an open door ahead. "It's too bad you don't have a jacket. What a pity. Now, watch your step."

"I wish you would stop that."

"Doing what?"

"Nudging me,"

"And if I don't?" He did it again.

"There doesn't need to be a repercussion. I simply wish you would stop."

"Hah! That's funny coming from you. Especially considering you killed my men in cold blood."

Despite his warning not to, Everleigh stopped and peeked over her shoulder at him. "You say you watched the surveillance video from the bunker. So you know what they wanted to do to me. And like you said, criminals don't belong in our society. I did you a favor getting rid of them."

"Touché. Watch your step." This time he said it without jabbing her in the back and they walked through the threshold together.

The sky, although overcast with grey, was blinding as Everleigh stepped outside. She brought her cuffed hands up, shielding her eyes as her pupils shrunk back like frightened little mice. The sound of seagulls squawking, fused with the crash of ocean waves breaking against the island bank. Her eyes darted everywhere and nowhere, finally landing on the birds clustered on the rocks that edged the perimeter. Their beaks opened and closed with eardrums rupturing melodies, while others dug for chow between the rocks.

Aside from nature's orchestra, there was a distinct humming in the air, like a washing machine churning.

"What is that noise?"

"Desalination plant." He pulled her along by the elbow. "This was supposed to be the HQ for our Northern California Water Division, but it seemed more appropriate to bring prisoners here, considering its history. So we use them to run the machine and produce clean water."

"So this island produces water for all of Northern California? Is it even enough?"

"Is any amount of water ever enough?" he answered, as he continued to pull her toward a helicopter with its propellers whooping in the air.

"If this is the prison, where is the HQ?"

"You ask a lot of questions Everleigh. I'd say it's a first for someone in my custody."

"I suppose I'm not your average captive." She eyed him and could see a tiny smile twitching at the corner of his mouth again.

"The Transamerica Pyramid," he exhaled as if he were tired of her. "It seemed better suited considering it's an iconic building and already designed for a business setting."

"And who oversees that?"

"No more questions." He came to a stop at the helicopter and pointed. "See across the water there? That's good old San Fran, and everything the sunset touches is mine. Which means you belong to me too."

As Everleigh took in the expanse of sea between her and the mainland, she remembered reading about the risks prisoners used to take when trying to escape. Great White sharks lurked in the water, and the aggressive waves could easily wash a body back toward the island, slamming them against the sharp rocks.

Yet, somehow her new friend Tesfaye planned to swim to shore? Was he aware of the sharks or dangerous current?

"What's the matter?" Boss asked with a mock frown. "Has the little girl finally realized how doomed she is? Better pray your daddy can rescue you because there's no way you're escaping this place alive without him."

With a hard shove, he forced her into the helicopter and suddenly Everleigh's beacon of hope in the form of an Ethiopian doctor seemed so foolish now.