At night, in the prison cells of Louisiana, all the inmates forced themselves to sleep except for one particular prisoner who had been sentenced to life in prison at a young age. Her name was Prism.
After almost succeeding in hijacking the U.S.’s nuclear weapon security system, Prism was caught. However, after three years of thinking and earning some kind of trust with the people who worked at the jail, Prism developed a picture-perfect plan.
Pulling out the paper clip Prism had hidden in her hair, she carefully unfolded it. Then, lying down on her stomach, she pushed the paperclip against the area where the floor and wall met, forming a 90-degree angle. Smiling, she reached up into her hair again to take out her second paper clip. Then, like the other paperclip she had used, Prism unfolded it, but this time, she only made a small upward bend at the very tip of the paperclip.
After making sure that the newly formed paperclips were ready for use, Prism inserted the 90-degree paper clip into the lock. Next, Prism inserted the other paper clip into the lock and angled it. Then, in a swift motion, she moved the second paper clip back and forth. Suddenly, the lock fell into her palm, which had quickly let go of the first paper clip to catch the lock.
Quietly, Prism slipped out of her cell, which had served as her home for three years. Before she closed the door and locked it once again, she looked at the lump in her bed that resembled someone fast asleep. Quickly, Prism ran to the Warden’s office. Then, like how she had done with her cell lock, she opened the door and turned on the lights.
After rummaging for a while and realizing there wasn’t anything worthwhile in the room, Prism decided to just take the long black coat that hung behind the door as well as the mittens that were shoved into the coat pocket.
Escaping the prison complex would be a hard task, but after spending three years making a plan, Prism only needed to stick to the plan she had made to be guaranteed a successful escape. Clenching her teeth, Prism pulled open the door yet again and walked out to the courtyard while keeping her head down.
As she opened the doors to the courtyard, Prism turned around to look at the camera behind her. A small metal box with little wheels slowly started towards her. Licking her lips, Prism got into a stance, ready for an attack. Two fingers from both fisted hands stuck out. After spending most of her childhood practicing Chi, she was fairly certain that she could destroy the camera even if it didn’t have the necessary pressure points.
The box started to grow with two long legs, and two holes that were on the box emitted a red light. Prism scoffed, “A base one camera, design forty-four, and a 3.4 rate laser. Come and get me.”
In Prism’s mind, she was envisioning a blueprint of the camera that would attack her in approximately four seconds. Then, it struck.
Prism, ready, grabbed one leg of the camera and ducked her head, avoiding the lasers that could knock her unconscious if they touched any part of her. Using her leg, she swung and kicked the other leg of the camera, punching the bottom of the camera while it was focused on her foot that had kicked its leg. Then, in less than a second, the camera collapsed, and Prism ran out into the courtyard, still gripping the camera.
Ignoring the cold air that bit her cheeks and holding out her hand, ready for any attack, Prism located the electric fence. Quickly, Prism ran under an umbrella that had been placed next to the fence, which the guards had intended to use for shade. Now, all Prism had to do was wait for the electrocuted fence to turn off for just one minute, as it needed to do to cool down despite the cold weather. Looking down at her hand, a small glimmer that seemed to be a snowflake glimmered.
Prism’s only source of light was the coils on the fence next to her. Squinting her eyes at it and holding her hand closer to her face, Prism could have sworn that she heard it say, “Help me.”
At first, Prism was amused and thought that it was just her mind playing tricks on her, but after waiting a little bit more, the voice seemed to get louder and louder. Growling in frustration, Prism tried to crush the snowflake, but the voice kept on getting louder and louder.
With no other options left, Prism threw the snowflake over the fence. At first, a wave of relief washed over Prism, but suddenly, a bright light flashed, and a small girl appeared. Her hair was white, as was her frighteningly pale skin. The girl had been diagnosed with Albinism. Then, she opened her mouth and screamed, “Help me!”
Prism’s eyes widened, and she glanced at the clock on the wall above the entryway to the courtyard. There were still five minutes left before the fence would go off, but at this point, if Prism wanted to escape, she would have to deal with the child over the fence.
Clenching her teeth, Prism climbed the fence and launched herself over the fence. The hot metal touched the end of her coat and caught fire, but it quickly extinguished as she rolled onto the soft snow. The child was about to scream again, so Prism quickly hit the girl’s pressure points, and the girl collapsed onto the snow, allowing Prism to cover her mouth.
