₦airaland Forum

LarrySun:
Thank you, sir. The story has been with me even before I started writing. It has refused to remain bottled up inside me.

LarrySun:
Hahahahaha! What makes you think I'm black-skinned?

aren't you

Update 4


Peter Black’s heart almost jumped out of his chest. He had always prided himself on his ability to remain calm under tense situations; but this time around, he found it tough to keep a calm state of mind. This was prison for crying out loud, anything could happen to anyone at any freaking time. After seeing what had just been done to that poor human rights activist, he knew he was standing on eggshells. Any wrong step and he could be messed up pretty bad. Besides, the fact that the prison governor was calling him out in that harsh tone told him that he might be in some serious trouble. He wondered what he had done wrong within the first hour of arriving in this prison.

“I said who among you is Peter Black?” the governor asked sternly again. He was a stout and tall man, his pot-belly stood out as if he was suffering a generational curse. His bald head shone in the sun and sweat was beginning to trickle down the corner of his face. He looked hideous in his expression. Peter wondered who he was supposed to fear more: the governor or the guards? He guessed the governor was someone he shouldn’t cross. It suddenly occurred to him that to survive in this place, he had to exert an extra level of wisdom. For some reasons still unknown to him, he had drawn an unnecessary attention to himself.

He pondered whether he should refuse to acknowledge himself or not. His mind split on two. One part told him to not signify himself. If the governor could be calling on him in the presence of everyone, that meant the prison didn’t have his information. The man wouldn’t be asking for him this way if he had his information. Another part of his mind also warned him that refusing the man’s call could be detrimental to him. If the man later found out that he was the said Peter Black, it could spell doom for him. Sooner or later, someone was going to realise who he was. If the prison didn’t have his information now, it would surely have it tomorrow or the day after. It would be wise for him to show himself now. Whatever he had done wrong would only be worse if he tried to hide his own identity, especially to the governor, of all people. This was where he might possibly be spending the rest of his life; for how long did he think he was going to keep the ruse going? At this stage, refusing to acknowledge who he was might not be wisdom but utter stupidity. Peter was still contemplating about what to do when the governor spoke again.

“If you refuse to show yourself now, you are only making things worse for yourself. I have your file in my office. You don’t want me to go back there and get it,” said the man.

“He’s bluffing,” some spoke into Peter’s head.

“You must think you’re very smart, Peter Black or whoever you are,” continued the governor, “If you’re as smart as you think, then why are you here? If you were really smart, you wouldn’t have got caught. But you were caught. There have been smarter people who have come and gone out of this prison. You wouldn’t be the first prisoner who thinks himself so smart. If I have to go back to my officer and retrieve your file, I will make your stay here a living hell.”

“You’re digging your own grave, Peter,” another voice told him.

“If you know what is good for you, show yourself right now. You have ten seconds to decide. I want to know if you are really as smart as you think you are. Your time starts now.”

Peter cast his face downward, stepped out of his line and walked towards the governor. “I am Peter Black,” he said to the huge man. He could hear some murmurs among his fellow inmates as he confessed his identity.

“That’s Peter Black?” one inmate asked another.

“I’m shocked,” another said.

“So Peter Black is really in this prison?”

“It’s unbelievable!”

Peter could feel over a thousand eyes drilling holes of inquisition through the back of his skull as he faced the governor.

The man looked down at him with total interest. For a moment, Peter thought the governor might be under a kind of hypnosis as he continued staring down at him without saying anything. Then after what seemed like aeons, he finally broke a broad smile and said:

“So you’re the infamous Peter Black?”

Peter cast his face downward.

The governor’s expression suddenly became serious. “Are you sure you’re Peter Black. You would be putting yourself in serious trouble if I found out that you were an impostor. Like I said, I’m the last person any one of you might want to cross. It’s in your best interest to be on my good side.”

“I am Peter Black, sir,” Peter confessed again.

The man’s smile appeared once again. As he smiled, his full moustache ruffled and spread wider. “Then why did you refuse to show yourself when I was calling your name?”

“I’m sorry. I was scared.”

“Scared about what?” the man snapped.

“I thought I did something wrong, sir?”

“Did you do something wrong?”

“No, sir.”

“Then what makes you think you did something wrong?”

Peter had no answer to that question.

“What is your plan, Peter Black?”

Peter looked up in surprise. “Plan, sir?”

The man carried a smirk on his face as he said the next words: “You’re planning to break out of this prison, aren’t you?”

Peter Black was dumbfounded. How the heavens did he know that? he wondered. Is the man a kind of psychic? The only way he could possibly know this was if the governor was reading his mind, because Peter knew he didn’t tell anyone about his plans. Could it be ordinary suspicion? Even if it was, the suspicion was still a strange one. Out of hundreds of prisoners brought in today, the governor had to call him out – single him out – and then accuse him of trying to break out of jail. If the man knew he really wanted to break out, then Peter knew he was in great trouble.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying, sir,” Peter said. He had to choose his words carefully. Any wrong utterance could land him in a pot of hot soup. At this juncture, Peter suspected that he was not standing on eggshells anymore, he was standing on a blade of grass.

The governor’s expression turned furious. “You don’t understand what I’m saying? What do you think I am? A fool? I have been running this prison for over twenty years. I have dealt with worse scum than you. You’re not going to break out of here, I assure you that. you may think you are smart, but you’re not half as smart as you think you are, and I’m going to prove it to you. If you know the best thing for you, just resign your faith to the fact that you will be spending the rest of your life behind these walls. And if you refuse to do so, there’s only one other solution – you will be shot dead,” he turned to the others, “And that goes for every one of you here today. If you are not awaiting execution or you have not been condemned to life, then you still have hopes. I will advise you to spend your sentence honourably and leave honourably. If you try to cut corners, you will only find yourself six feet under. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, governor,” a few of them responded in unison.

The governor turned back to Peter. “As for you, Mr Black, my eyes are on you. As a matter of fact, the eyes of all the guards are wardens are on you. You may have eluded the police for so long, but you are not going to outsmart anyone here. This is my kingdom and you will have to play by my rules or there will be grave consequences.” The man stopped, took a deep breath, briefly shut his eyes and sighed audibly.

“Last year, a young man broke out of this prison,” he started, “And since then, I have never been the same person. Of course the police are still searching for him, but I doubt if he would ever be found. It has been over a year and the trail has gone cold. The criminal broke my twenty year record and I’m not going to allow another of such incident repeat itself. As it is, my career is on the line. A prisoner broke free under my care, the board is still reviewing my situation. They may decide to terminate my appointment or force me to retire. I’m surprised that I’m still here. Although a year has passed since the incident, I know actions may still be taken against me anytime. Perhaps I’m being given a second chance. So, I’m not going to allow you ruin that chance for me. I have given the guards strict order to shoot anyone they catch trying to escape. So, like I said, if you try t break out of this prison, you will only be digging your own grave. If you cannot accept your faith, then you should be ready to bear the consequence of your own action.” He stopped again and stared at Peter as if he just noticed him standing in front of him. “You are a good-looking young man, Peter Black, and you look responsible. I wonder what has led you to become a notorious thief. You wasted your god-given potential by becoming a thief. It’s such a pity.

“But you have the chance to redeem yourself, Peter Black. You can forget the duration of your sentence and decide to live a better life for yourself. Being in prison is not the end of your life. The only difference between here and life outside there is that your freedom is limited. You can live a comfortable life here if you do all the right things. Prison is never the end. There are various opportunities you can gain while being here, son. First and foremost, we have a programme for anyone who wishes to further in their education. Anyone who is interested you let me know so that I can put you through on what to do. There are other benefits too; if have no interest in that, you can learn some other basic skills, like carpentry, painting, bricklaying, tailoring, plumbing, even farming and some other stuff. No one is here to hurt you; you just have to play by the rules and you will be fine. Like I already said, it is better you’re on my side than for you to go against me.”

Peter was not hearing anything else the man was saying, he was thinking deeply about the words he had just heard. It just occurred to him that this might be his chance to gain the necessary education he was unable to achieve out there. It was ironic that it was being offered him on a platter of gold right here. Although he had no plan to use whatever degree he gained, but it would be satisfying to know he was certified, that he was educated.

“Thank you,” he heard the man speak. “I will take my leave now and each one of you will be assigned your cell.”

“Excuse me, sir?” Peter suddenly said.

The man stopped and turned around. “Yes, what is it, Peter Black?”

Peter walked close to the man so that the other inmates would not hear his words. As he approached, the guards blocked his way.

“It’s okay, let him pass through.”

Peter moved close to the governor and said, “Who told you I wanted to break out, sir?”

He was regarded with a blank stare. “And why should I tell you that?”

“I just want to know, sir.”

The governor regarded him again, shrugged his shoulders and said, “Well, it’s not like you would go and confront the person. It was Officer John Balewa who gave me that information. He telephoned me a few hours ago.”

Osjaay:
@larrysun, there's an ongoing novel writing contest going on, here's the link,
http://www.tapread.com/activity/visioncontest

1st price is 500 dollars

Bukolaberry:
thanks for the update, basket should let him be for once, you sent him to prison and still torment his life with the limited freedom he has, missing boniface already imagine what would have happened to basket if boniface is alive