The author was right, but I couldn’t go then. It’s to close to count time and I would be missed during count and had the entire institution looking for me. The correctional officials count the inmate population eight times a day to ensure everyone is where they should be, but I could leave during the evening meal. This would give me two hours until the next count and hopefully I would be long gone by then.

When the evening meals started I was nervous as hell, but I knew it was now or never. After entering the mess hall for the evening meal. I acted as normally as possible, still cleaning the stove from the morning shift. With no one in sight I crawled under the old stove and slid through the hatch. I finally found the diagram engraved on the wall by the builders of this tunnel to show its routes. It was old and dusty, but It could still read it.

The tunnel was small, but still in good shape. I bet there had not been anyone down here since 1952. Spiders were everywhere and while crawling on my hands and knees my hand landed on something hard. Since I had no light I began to examine the item using just my hands and fingers. It was round and hard with three holes in the same area. It must have been the skull of one of the old men that built the thing. I was only in the tunnel for about 20 minutes, but felt like a lifetime. I could feel the dirt and dust all around me as I started to loose my breath. My heart was pounding like a freight train.

Strange thoughts started going through my head.

“What the hell am I doing here?” I thought.

I only have two and a half years left then I can go home. If I were to go back now it would be straight to lock up with me. For how long I could never guess. So going back was not the answer.

I kept moving. Then I saw a glimpse of light ahead. I was sure it was light, at least almost sure. It’s gone now, but it gave me the motivation to keep going. I had to know what that light was. Was it my freedom or just my mind-playing tricks on me?

Soaked in my on sweat that turned to mud I continued on. Through a dusty face and mud Caped eyes I finally saw the light again. This time it was much closer. I crawled faster and faster until exhaustion finally set in while reaching the light. And it was not what I had expected.

It appeared to be a round cave with a single candle for light. In a corner was what I thought was a dead man lying under a blanket. The man was apparently not dead and rose from under the blanket.
“What took you so long?” Said the man.
After catching my breath and pulling myself together I finally started to relax.
“My name is Iron claw”. Stated the man as he rose to his feet.
“I’ve been waiting here for you a very long time.” He said while mixing some kind of powder in his bowl.
“Here drink this,” “ It will make you feel better.” As he handed me the cup of liquid.

I brought the cup to my lips and drank. I felt a warm feeling rush over my body and fell into a deep dream state. In this dream I was sitting on the edge of a cliff with my father, the only problem was, My father has been dead for some time now.

I never got a chance to tell him how much I loved him and how much I miss him. I never even got a chance to say good-bye. My father sat on the edge of the mountain, looked at me and smiled at the desert floor. He began to speak to me in a low dreamy tone.

“Son this could be all yours, but you’re going to need to get out of here to take care of your mother. She is sick you know. Give her a call and you will see, but right now you’re going the wrong way son. Go back, you don’t need to run no more. I’ve been waiting for you since you went to prison. I’ve been waiting in the grave I had the prisoners build. I told the old man to leave the book for you because you are smart enough to figure it out. So do the right think and go back my son.”

I placed my head on my knees while sitting beside my father on the mountain, but when I looked up he was gone. At this time the mixture the old man made me started to wear off.

I woke up in the cave to see the old man and the blanket was gone as well. All that was left was the candle burning the light through the tunnel. I took the candle with me as I crawled back through the tunnel, but the light from the candle burned out as well. Leaving me in total darkness. I knew what I had to do. I crawled back to the old stove and stayed there until the coast was clear. I noticed that everyone had finished feeding and the only ones around were the after meal cleaning crew.

As I was crawling from under the stove the kitchen supervisors was standing over me. Sweat started streaming down my forehead because I new I had been caught.