One Way Out – Chapter 21

Hey guys, Poké here again! Hope you all had a great Christmas and happy new year. Or if you don't celebrate Christmas, then I hope you had a happy holiday! For the millionth time, I apologise for the sluggish progress in the fic, it's simply to do with the fact that I'm having to study a lot harder this term, as I'm hoping to get into university. I'm sure you all understand, and for all who have commented, favourited and followed me, I'm extremely grateful. It's always great to see people are still interested in what Vito and Co get up to.

Anyways, no more delays, on with the chapter!

"Move... MOVE!" Barked a voice behind me. Then, came a rough blow to the lower part of my back.

The sheer force of the blow was enough for me to be swayed forward, and were it not for the two guards holding me in place, I would've been on the floor, no questions asked. One of the guards in particular didn't approve of my reaction.

"Hey, QUIT STALLIN', SNAKE BOY!" scolded the guard to my right, a Skarmory. Pulling me up from the blow, He continued to force me forward into what was presumably the Hole.

Trying to regain my bearings, I just stared forward, and only saw the back of Marcel, now being held in place by three guards, with one being a psychic type and constantly having to use Immobilise to stop the Gabite from struggling.

But to be honest, I wasn't too worried about Marcel. I knew he could look after himself, and to be honest, he was probably no stranger to the hole. I was more concerned about Nico, as I could not find him anywhere. I was hoping the guards had noticed the stab wound, but there was always the chance that they either didn't, or they didn't care, and saw it as punishment for joining in the fight.

And guess what? That wasn't the only thought on my mind. The main thing on my mind, was how I was going to put up with a new threat on my tail. I am of course, talking about Krood. I'm pretty sure he was sore over what I started with him, and evidently, he wasn't one to let things go.

He was probably gonna wait until the end of time, if it meant he could get his hands on me. I don't think sleeping with one eye open could cut it. I'd need to develop a new way to sleep, in which I was able to get rest, yet remain alert at the same time.

Sadly, it seems as if no such thing exists. Too bad. Could've really done with it. If I'd have known exactly what I was going to be in for, for the week we were inside...

Suddenly, we were led down into a cramped corridor, and when I turned my head to look, I saw several small doors slowly lining up against the walls, signalling that we had arrived in the isolation hall of Nacrene Prison. These doors were painted in the same colour as the walls, and looked firmly bolted up.

Eventually, on command, we all came to a stop, as we were standing in the middle of the rather small corridor. The only audible sound was the faint rattling of our shackles.

"Turn to your right!" Came a voice from the front of the line. We all did as instructed, and in silence, we turned almost in sync. The sound of the shackles intensified briefly, before coming to a faint whimper again.

We were now facing a blood red wall, with gunmetal steel doors in front of us. These ones were larger than the ones I saw on the way in. On close examination, they had flaps in which I presumed was for guards to open and communicate with prisoners, in addition to bringing food and the like in.

"Now..." Began that same voice which directed us to turn. Soon after we heard some footsteps, we were able to see the source of the voice.

Donned in bright blue uniform, was a muscular Chesnaught. With a baton in hand, he wasted no time in establishing why we were here.

"I have no idea what the FUCK possessed you fucking parasites into throwin' that scrap out in the mess hall, but rest assured... You guys WON'T be able to brawl in here! Hell, you wouldn't even BREATHE in the wrong way without us knowing! If you ever say ONE GODDAMN WORD without me asking you to, you're in for a world of hurt!" Seemed like the typical tough guy act.

"Yeah, right." Scoffed Marcel. And the Chesnaught froze in place, giving Marcel one of the most cold looks one could conjure up. And guess what? Marcel returned the favour. Told you he was no stranger to this.

"LaMonde, you must either be fucking retarded, or you must have a fucking death wish. You're ALREADY on report for speaking out of-"

"I know," Marcel cut him off. By now, I was certain Marcel must've been pushing the envelope a bit. "It's just that this speech sort of gets redundant when you say it to me for the umpteenth time."

The Chesnaught didn't respond with words, but instead let out a large roar, as he drove his wooden cudgel into the abdomen of Marcel. It struck with a lot of force, and when Marcel grunted and doubled over out of instinct, he was met with another blow, this time to the head. He then quickly fell to his knees, having been caught off by it.

I cringed, and cringed hard. Even just looking at it, it seems very painful. But sadly, there was nothing I could do about it.

The three guards around Marcel quickly forced him onto his feet, holding him in place. However, despite his rather rough condition, he didn't moan or grimace in pain. In fact, he kept his look of steel.

...Shame it didn't stop one of Krood's lackies from letting his opinion of him be heard.

"Heh... Serves you right..." Whilst it was initially a whisper, thanks to the design of the hall, it resonated very clearly, and very quickly. The voice came from all the way to the front, and I believe it came from the Primeape. Either him or the Abomasnow. Nonetheless, what was intended as a witty remark, didn't reflect all that well on the Chesnaught.

"Who said that?" He immediately turned away from the Gabite, picking up on it instantaneously. "WHO THE FUCK SAID THAT?!" He then immediately stormed over to the source of the snide, out-of-turn comment.

"Who's the slimy little cocksucker who just signed his own death warrant?!" He then came to a stop in front of both the Abomasnow and the Primeape. Then, he suddenly went over to the Abomasnow and grabbed him by the throat.

"You slimy little fuck! I bet it was YOU, WEREN'T IT?!"

The Abomasnow was caught off guard by this, and in the vice-like grip of the Chesnaught, was barely able to choke out: "N-No, Sir! I didn't s-say anything..!"

This comment only resulted in a huge smack across the face. "BULLSHIT! I bet it was you! You look like the cowardly bastard who laughs when other people get their asses kicked, but when you get yours kicked, you WHINE and CRY like the little BITCH YOU ARE!"

No verbal response came from the Abomasnow. This only drove the Chesnaught to further assault him. His Primeape friend however... He looked terrified.

"You little fuck..." Then, he ordered the guards to let him go, and in an instant, he immediately grabbed the Grass/Ice type by the throat, and swung him down, so that his body splattered against the concrete. With one hand around his throat effectively holding him down, his other hand raised his baton, ready to strike...

"Wait! Stop!" Shouted the Primeape, no longer being able to take seeing his friend being assaulted in such a vicious manner by the Chesnaught guard. Sounded like they had an Achilles heel...

The Chesnaught froze, albeit very briefly. And then instead of the Abomasnow, it was the Primeape he had now grabbed by the throat. "Did YOU say it?!" he demanded in a baleful tone.

"Ack...! Y-Yes, sir...!" The fighter monkey choked out.

The Chesnaught then smirked sadistically, before hissing right in his face: "...People who talk out of turn..." Then, he suddenly drove the baton into the Primeape's abdomen. They get my BOOT in their face!"

The Primeape immediately doubled over in pain, but was forcibly held up by the two guards holding him in place. The Chesnaught didn't appreciate this gesture by the guards however, and he soon gesticulated to them.

"Let this skinny little fuck go," They obeyed without question, and as he was let go, the Primeape began hyperventilating, the sudden and strong blow to the abdomen taking its effect no doubt. "I've got something special in mind for this little runt..."

His attention then focused to the rest of us. "As for THESE miscreants... Cut them loose and put them in the cells. I don't think they need any reason why... In fact... I'll throw the monkey bastard in his cell as well... I'll take my time with this one..." The guards assigned to every inmate got to work, even the ones on the Primeape. However, the Chesnaught was quick to stop this.

"Not him. Just throw him in as he is..." he growled.

I gave a rather unsure look at Marcel, who returned my look with his usual gaze of steel. However, we were both smacked back into place by the guards, who were busy unshackling us. A great amount of metal suddenly fell to the floor, unbinding my hands. This was shortly followed by my feet.

As I looked down at my feet, the Chesnaught guard suddenly barked to his right. "OPEN DOORS 21 TO 29!" And then, a great deal of activity unfolded. Several doors were simultaneously unlocked with a harsh clashing of steel, and one by one, each cell door opened.

And before I could turn around to see, the two guards handling me once again grabbed my sides, and dragged me into the cell behind me. As they pulled me into the cell, in order to make sure I didn't try to make a slip for the exit, they roughly shoved me against the farthest wall in the cell. My back met cold cinder bricks.

I was too shocked to react, and just stood in a near catatonic state as the guards quickly pulled away, and closed the door. After the door was closed, the locks were bolted in. Judging by the duration and variety of different sounds, these doors had multiple locks.

Then, as the shock subsided, I slowly got up from the wall I was seemingly stuck to. I began to slowly examine what was to be my home for the week.

The only source of illumination came from a tiny, barred window to the very top of the wall I was formerly leaning on. As it was a cloudy day, the room was much dimmer than it would be in the next few days. I could barely see what was around me.

On the floor, was a old, spongy bedroll, with a torn part in the middle to pose as makeshift bedsheets. Directly below the window was a tiny sink, with an equally tiny mirror on top of it. The sink was seemingly made out of Cold War-era metal, and the window looked just as old, if not older, with several cracks and water residue distorting my vision. Still, I could decipher my reflection staring back at me.

Aside from this, the only other thing was a toilet, and something like that is far too mundane to go into specific details. The whole place was dank and dismal. The walls cold and grey, the floor as hard as concrete.

Half an hour had passed. Only took me half that time to fully examine the cell and its surroundings. Thanks to a mark on the door, I was able to find out what cell I was in. Cell 21. Probably the same shithole as all the other isolation cells.

I was at that point, sitting on the bedroll, desperately trying to occupy myself with time. As my eyes stared ahead, they noticed something. At the bottom of the wall adjacent to me, there were several holes in the bottom. They could easily lead into the next cell.

Surprised the screws don't know. Such holes are a perfect place for drugs, weapons and the like to be traded. Plus... As long as they kept quiet, they could easily talk to one another without the guards knowing.

Isolation? My ass.

The only real thing I could hear in this dark place was the resonating of footsteps – presumably the warden's – occasionally patrolling around the array of isolation cells. However, just as I began to take notice of them, the footsteps suddenly picked up: both in volume, and in rhythm.

"Open up Cell 29!" Ordered the voice which I recognised as the Chesnaught's. After some fumbling around, the guards followed through, unlocking the cell, and the steel clashed against the wall with a dull thud.

"...No..!" I heard the Primeape cry out faintly. Well, guess the Chesnaught's making up for lost time...

"On your feet!" ordered the Chesnaught, whose footsteps faded, and presumably went into the cell of the monkey.

"L-LOOK! I-I'm sorry...! Please don't-" He didn't have time to finish his sentence. A blow struck him so hard, I could hear it from the other side of the cell hall.

He predictably let out a large yelp of pain, but this only spurred the Chesnaught further. More blows followed, each as intense as the predecessor. All I could do was listen.

The Primeape next shouted out something I really could not decipher, but it was truly reflective of the pain he was going through. The mixture of gargling and moaning was like something out of a torture flick.

But did the Chesnaught guard care? Absolutely not.

The gurgling of the Primeape intensified, and by this point, I assumed he was being held in some of some chokehold. I then heard several more thuds, though these were lacking in volume, compared to the previous ones. Then, a pause...

...BANG.

Follwed by that. That time, I cringed. The sound of skull and sinew hitting concrete was never a pleasing scenario. The Chesnaught was a strong bastard, I now knew that.

"...Cut this skinny bastard loose." He said to the guards, his voice now faint. Then, I heard some footsteps, from both sides of the room.

"Not interruptin', are we?" enquired a new voice, which I distinctly remembered as that of Dirty Scissors.

"None of your business, Junior. Just dealing with an unruly prisoner." Never knew one snide comment made one 'unruly'.

"Yeah... Right..." Scoffed Dirty Scissors. "Just take this creep off my hands."

Creep?

"Yeah, alright," Responded the Chesnaught, who then barked, "Open up Cell 20!"

"Now..." The Chesnaught began, obviously focusing his attention on this 'creep'. "Not one fucking sound out of you, or you'll be on all fours trying to look for your teeth! GOT IT?!" Silence. Followed by some clattering of metal. Presumably his binds and cuffs being cut loose.

"...You're a fast learner. Get in your cell." commented Chesnaught.

The unknown prisoner did so without question, his footsteps resounding through the gaps in the wall to my right. Then, the door was closed, and bolted up.

Then the footsteps faded.

Come to think of it, who WAS the person in that cell?

A sharp inhale resounded to my right, followed by a hideous sigh, and at that moment, I was thinking the worst.

"Nmmm..."

Then, I heard something rasp out at my wall, as if the speaker was literally pressing his lips against it.

"I can smell you, snake..."

Oh, FUCK.

Another chapter, another cliffhanger! Because I know you guys just love them! I'm sorry if the chapter's a little shorter than the other ones, but I can only really stretch such a scenario like this so far. I felt this chapter needed to get to the point, so that we could get to the good stuff.

Be sure to tell me what you think of this chapter or perhaps the fic as a whole, whether it be fan service, or constructive criticism. If you flame, give a good reason. Nobody likes a flamer who doesn't cite their sources.

Until next time, this is PokeCJG, signing off!