Life is Stranger

A Prison Without Walls

Anderson unlocked the door to the cell. "On your feet boy. Follow me."

"I'm not going anywhere with you – not without my attorney."

"Yes you are. You are still in custody and you will do exactly as you are told. Now are you going to come with me or shall we do it the hard way? I would prefer the easy way. But either way, you are vacating this cell. Which is it to be?"

"You're not placing your hands on me - I have rights. Where are you taking me?"

"Just follow me. You will see when we get there."

"This better not be some sort of trick. I'll have you all busted if it is."

"Over there please. Stand in front of the desk. Turn around and face the desk. Thank you." Anderson unlocked the boy's handcuffs. "Please check and sign for your belongings."

"What? What the hell's going on?"

"You are being released. Now stop wasting our time. Do as I ask and leave this building as soon as possible."

"My gun is missing. I do have the right to bear arms. What if that blue-haired fucker comes after me again? You can't just leave me without any protection."

"Your firearm has been confiscated and will be destroyed. I am not having you carrying a lethal weapon around my town. If I ever see you with such a weapon again, I will immediately detain you. If you threaten me or anyone else with a firearm, or any other potentially lethal weapon, Arcadia Bay Police Department will have no hesitation in shooting you. We do not shoot to wound. Do I make myself perfectly clear, Mr Prescott?"

"Clear as ice. I want protective custody. I'm not going anywhere."

"We are not your private security guards. Nor is this a motel. You are leaving. Vacate the premises immediately – you no longer have any business here."

"As a matter of fact I do. I want her arrested and charged."

"Who?"

"The dyke that attacked me. Who do you think?"

"Mr Prescott, you are making quite a serious accusation. Do you have anything to back it up? Any witnesses for example?"

"Yes. Three of them."

"Would those witnesses happen to be Miss Chase, Miss Wagner and Miss Christensen?"

"Yep. I want a statement taken from all of them."

"I already have those statements. I also have numerous statements stating that you perpetrated a vicious and unprovoked assault on a defenceless young girl, bordering on attempted homicide. These statements also say that another individual intervened and pushed you away from your victim, unfortunately causing you to fall and sustain substantial injuries to your face and head. These statements are from well-respected and upstanding citizens of Arcadia Bay. I'm sure any court of law would take that into account when making a decision."

"I can see which way the wind is blowing. This is a fix-up. Fine. Just let me out of here."

"No one is stopping you – there is the door. Please feel free to make use of it."

"I will. You haven't heard the end of this."

"I rather think that I have, Mr Prescott. Goodbye. Remember what I said about firearms. Or weapons of any sort."

"Yeah. Whatever." said Nathan as he left. After a few seconds Anderson Berry followed and watched him walk away.

'Well, this is just fucking great!' thought Nathan as he walked along the sidewalk. 'My shitty excuse for a father gets me out of trouble again. Man he is going to give me a major hard time now. Pah! Like he doesn't anyway. His solution to my problems – medication from a charlatan 'doctor', beratement after beratement and the occasional 'therapeutic' beating. Never once has it occurred to him to actually show me any real love and affection. The closest he ever comes to genuine caring is a 'Best Son in the World' certificate. As if that's all he has to do to show he cares. That's his idea of good parenting. I've never had a mother. Just him. Well screw you asshole. You can kiss my bony ass. I want out. I don't want to end up like you.' Nathan pulled out his phone and considered calling Victoria, but then replaced it back into his pocket without dialling.

'And why the hell do I listen to Victoria? Her stupid, petty and immature girly teen-drama arguments have nothing to do with me, yet I let her drag me into them all the fucking time. It actually frightened me how much I lost it with that girl. I have to figure out some way to get myself under control. Sooner or later I'm going to kill someone. Or get killed myself. I'm actually relieved that they took that gun from me. Why the fuck did I even buy it in the first place? Maybe I should dump Victoria, get the fuck out of Arcadia Bay and go join Kristine in Brazil. Perhaps the Peace Corps can do far more for me than my so-called 'father' ever has. And Kristine is always great fun – my BFF as well as my sister. Damn I miss her so much. But my fabulous father will never let me leave. He wants me to take over his precious empire. Pan Estates this, Pan Estates that. I'm sick of hearing about it. I hope that the whole fucking lot gets ripped to pieces by a goddamn tornado or earthquake on the very first fucking day. He's nothing but a jackass. Kristine is far better suited to all that corporate ass-kissing than I am, but he still lives in an out-dated world where only the men are good enough to pass his legacy on to. Chauvinistic, sexist, arrogant douchebag. She wouldn't have taken over anyway – she's not a total idiot like I am. Kristine saw the storm looming on the horizon and got away from him the first chance she got. And she's far too nice a person for the world he lives in - the world he is forcing me into. He has never asked me what I want to do with my life. Not once. All he's done is tell me what he wants me to be - he wants me to be him. Well screw that! I need a way out, but there isn't one. I may be out of that cell, but I'm still in a prison. And it's a life sentence. Fuck you Sean Prescott. I hate you.' He caught sight of the sign marking the edge of town. "Another Great Day in Arcadia Bay". He almost laughed at that. 'Yeah. Sure. This day couldn't get much worse.'

Nathan heard the screeching tyres of a vehicle braking suddenly behind him. Just as he was about to turn around something was swiftly and roughly placed over his head. His legs were expertly kicked out from under him. Three figures in white hockey masks bundled him into the waiting vehicle and drove out of town at speed. The doe turned around and melted back into the tree line at the edge of the road.