Down: The Fall

Chapter Fourteen: The Penitentiary

Location: Bledsoe County Correctional Complex

   Timothy Fitz sat in the basement of the large prison he had come to call home these last five years. " Com'er Morty " he called into the darkness of the basement. The dark didn't bother him much anymore, with his new eyes he could see just as good as in the daylight. " Morty get over here, you stupid rat" he called again to his large pet. He heard a scuffle in the dark and peered through the shadowy veil. His vision focused in on were the movement came from. The darkness pealed away to reveal a very large rat coming from a hole in the cracked concrete wall. It came cautiously up to the small gangly man sniffing the air as it went. It could feel the hold he had on its mind but did not resist his beckoning. Most of the rats in the prison would react in two ways to a human. They would run away on site or now because of humanities current state viciously attack.

  Many of the inmates had relished in their new freedom only to loose it quickly becoming a quike meal for the scavengers. Many attacks had takin place since humnanites down fall two weeks prior. Most of the inmates now feared the rats banding together for safety. Even though many of the gangs issues with each other still existed that took back seat to survival.

  Timothy was the only one who didn't seam to fear the ferocious rodents. Infact he seemed to identify more with these vial creatures than his fellow human inmates.

  True he was an outcast frequently harrassed by the prison gangs higherarchy. They looked at him as their doormat and treated him so. He had known nothing but misery since he'd been here. Secretly he hated every single one of the inmates he was forced to reside with. He had no friends except Morty the rat he was now urging towards him with his mind.

  He'd found the rat as a baby a year ago. It had fallen from a nest in the rafters in the hallway beside his cell. Somehow it had survived the fall unscathed yet had no way if gettig back to its mother. Timothy had taken the baby rats pink squirming body and hidden it in a crack in the wall under his bed.

  He'd used the little money his mother sent him to buy extra milk at the prisons store. Used the milk to feed the baby rat until it was big enough to eat solid food. He'd raised the little rat in his cell till the guards had done a shake down thinking he was hiding weapons. They had disturbed Mortys nest scaring him away. He'd came back though night after night and Timothy had always had a treat waiting for him. Morty really was Timothys only friend. Timothys current condition hadn't stopped that. Morty still visited Timothy every night.

  This hadn't been a problem till last night. Some of Timothys fellow inmates had decided to pay him a visit. Many were starting to run out of food and were stealing from one another. These ' friends ' of Tim's as they called themselves suspected he had a secret stash somewhere. They were tired of him holding out on them.

  Morty had arrived just as these inmates had begun to beat Timothy. All the hatred he had for the men seemed to transfer from his mind to the rats mind. Morty attacked them. He ripped their little bodies to shreds. He had left a bloody mess of bones, intrals, and skin on the floor as he scurried away.

  It took a moment for Timothy to realize what had happened. He could have dismissed it as the animals love for him having motivated it. But he had felt the animals mind in his and his in its. He had felt the control he'd had and strangely it had felt good. He'd endured many unpleasantries at these men's hands. It felt good ti finally have the power and strength nessicary to exact his revenge.

  He had quickly fled the scene of the attack knowing that the men's friends would soon come looking fir them. When they found them blood would be required in payment fir their lives. This was how a prison worked the gang members watched each others backs. They would be searching for him to kill him now.

  He wasn't ready to let them take him just yet. He planned on finding his own kind of protection once he located Morty. No one would mess with Timothy Fitz again he'd see to that.

  The rat came up and licked his face as it had on many other occasions. It nuzzeled it's snout against his stomach. He wrapped his arms around its neck. He began to infuse the rats mind with all the thoughts he had towards the inmates. All of the fear, anger, and hatred in Timothys mind filled the rats. It squeezed inraged by his thoughts. The growls and squeeks grew loader the longer Timothys mind was locked onto Mortys. This went on until he realized that Morty wasn't the only one making these noises. Hundreds of rats had joined them slowly emerging from the darkness of the basement. The echoes from their growling became a symphony of terror ringing off of the basement walls.

  The amount of power that Timothy felt right now over the rats was stagering. A very large grin etched up his face as he slowly realized no one would ever mess with him again.
                             . . . .
  A large group of men headed towards the entrance to the basement of the prison. " Leroy seen him heading down here" a tall man named Frank said. " When we're done with him he'll wish he'd sicked his rat on himself" Franks lackey Bill said.

  They made their way down the stairs climbing down little by little. Somehow they all finally reached the bottom in one piece. One of the men had brought a small flash light. He shined it around in the darkness" come on out and see us Timmy boy. We want to play" Frank shouted.

  An ominous silence hung in the basement.

  Suddenly out of the darkness like a wraith Timothy appeared in front of Frank." Wwwhhatt ... you little ... scared tha... where'd you come from!"

  " You ready to have some fun boy?" Frank asked. Timothy didn't answer, he just stood there grinning.

  " What are you smilling about stooped, your about to wish you were dead" Frank said. Timothy stepped to the side as a flash from the darkness crossed the flashlights beam. Something had Frank on the ground and was killing him.

  All around the group rats emerged from the darkness surrounding the men. Timothy may have wanted to kill all of the men. One thing he knew from being at the bottom of the prisons food chain was that he only had to kill one. He only had to kill one to take the control he so desperately wanted, maybe even needed.

  Morty came forward as Timothy beckoned him. He swung up onto the rats back riding astride like it was a horse. " Things are about to change around here boys" he said ad he strode off in the darkness.