My name is Oso Wiles, and my older brother is in prison.

Okay, so that’s a bit of a morbid beginning. Sorry. But most people already know about us. especially my brother.

Other than that, we’re pretty normal. I go to school, mom is the manager of a popular restaurant, and dad is a police officer. My poodle Maximus greets me happily whenever he sees me, and I fail at track every time I try. See, normal.

We try not to talk about Nathan, and other people usually avoid the topic like the plague, which I’m grateful for. Nothing is more awkward than to retell fifty times a day why my brother is in jail. So I ended up a pretty quiet kid, trying not to be noticed. I did average in all my classes, continued to fail things like track and video games, and tried to get an average job.

The last one didn’t go so well.

I just wanted some pocket money for the movies and stuff, so I applied for a job at a fast food place. The day of my interview I walked in the front door, holding it open for some girls behind me, then walked to the front counter where a woman was checking people out.

“Hi, I’m here to see Bob the manager, is he here?” I asked her. She looked up quickly and smiled.

“You Oso? Yeah, he’s right here kid.” She said, waving a tall but rather wide man over to me. he beamed and shook my hand vigorously when he came up.

“Thank you for coming, young man, why don’t we head back to my office and get started, eh?” He said jovially, leading me behind the counter. I waved goodbye to the lady who was back to checking out customers and then I had to quickly weave between cooks and boxes. Bob lead me to a back room with a desk, two chairs and a fileing cabinet in the corner.

I sat down in the chair at the front of the desk and waited for Bob to speak. He looked nervous, glancing from his watch to me to the door and back again.

“Erm, well, thank you again, young man. Do you-er, have a position you want to take?”
I frowned slightly, but answered quickly.

“I like to count and deal with people,” I lied. “Maybe working at the checkout?”

“Yes! I mean, yes, that would be perfect. Let me get you the paperwork, its just outside…” Bob muttered as he got to his feet and left the room to find the papers. I sat back comfortably in my chair and watched the clock on the wall. After five minutes the door opened behind me.

“Sir, I was also wondering what hours are available, do you happen to know?” I asked without turning around.

“Oh, 24/7 would be nice.” Chuckled a raspy voice behind me, unlike Bobs deep, slightly squeaky one. I whipped around to discover five police officers in the room, guns pointed at me.

“Hands in the air bud, your under arrest.” The older, blocky officer in front demanded. I raised my hands as Bob peeked in from behind them.

“That’s him Officer Gurn, he was trying to hack into our systems and killed two innocent people in the process!” He exclaimed, jumping anxiously from foot to foot. I gapped at him in shock, letting my hands drop.

“I-I didn’t do any of that! I’ve never set foot in this restaurant until just a few minutes ago!”

“We have eye witnesses, Mr. Wile, and your family doesn’t have the cleanest record either. Your to come with us, we’re going to escort you to Aprindor Prison.”
I didn’t fight, I was too in shock. Aprindor Prison. Yup, you guessed it,

That was where my brother was.
They didn’t let me say goodbye or sorry to mom and dad, just immediately started the four hour drive to the prison. It was a dead silent ride until we reached the mountain where I assumed the walls and security would start.
They didn’t.
Absolutely nothing changed as we climbed slowly up the mountain road.

“Wh-where are all the guards? And the walls?” I stammered, looking wildly around out the barred windows of the car. Officer Gurn laughed darkly.

“Don’t need none of those, boy. Everyone who’s stuck there is too scared to try and get out.”

We parked in front of a large stone building built around a courtyard and I spotted a few trees as I was escorted inside. Nobody greeted us. Nothing moved at all. We walked quickly across the courtyard and entered the dark building on the other side. Up two flights of stairs and down a hallway, then we made it to the first row of cells. All I could hear was a slight rustling sound from the cells. I was surrounded on all sides by guards so I couldn’t see inside any of the cells, but as we passed a faint tapping sound started all around us. It was like a creepy Morse message being rapped on stone.

“Welcome home, Oso.” Gurn said quietly as he unlocked the door to a cell in the far back. I looked up at him to see his face was pale and his eyes looked frightened.

“Why are you so scared?” I asked him in a whisper.

“I’m in an unlocked building full of the countries worst criminals, half of which are murderers like you. What else would I be in this situation?”

“I didn’t kill anyone,” I insisted looking around at the other guards frightened faces. In the cells nearest to us I could make out the faces of the prisoners, and I could see they were almost as scared as my escort. They pushed me forwards towards the empty cell quickly. They wanted to get out of there as fast as humanly possible. I pushed away from them desperately trying to get away and I managed to break through and run into the cell across from mine. I tried to recoil as I saw the face of the prisoner.

It was a year older, shaggier and even more tired than I remembered it, but with the same crooked smile that made people think, “What did he do now?”

Inside the cell directly across from mine was my older brother Nathan.

“Please, don’t put me in that cell,” I begged as they dragged me back and shoved me past the barred door. “Anywhere but here, please!” I screamed, pushing uselessly against the now shut door as they walked swiftly away. As the last footstep sounded I noticed the tapping stopped with it, returning the hallway to the previous near silence.

I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them and looked across at Nathan. He was still grinning.

“I told them you’d end up here.” He said, shaking hair out of his face. I glared, letting myself get mad. All the pent up anger and frustration and shame I had lived with after his imprisonment started to boil and crack out of my mental dam.

“Don’t talk to me.” I glowered, turning to face the wall.

“Haven’t you missed me?”

“No.”
I heard him sigh, then a grating and squeaking sound. Then a knock on my door. I looked up to see Nathan leaning against the bars of my cell, his own standing wide open.

“Hello. So, you haven’t missed me. Oh well. How come your in here?”

“I was framed.”

“Right…” he nods slowly.

“How did you get out?” I ask to change the topic. He holds up a small, sharp rock roughly in the shape of a key.

“We call them Key Rocks, pretty much one in every cell.”

“Then why haven’t you all left?” I shiver, realizing how many cells we past that must have been unlocked and waiting.

“She wont let us.” He whispers, backing up and going back to his cell. “She wants us all where she can keep an eye on us.”

“Who’s she?” confused, I looked up and down the row of cells. All guys from what I could tell.

“Doesn’t matter, don’t ask again.” Nathan says gruffly, turning his back to me. I quickly scan the cell floor and bed, trying to find a key. I eventually found it under the cot along with a watch and a ring, both covered in diamonds and silver.

“Nathan, was anyone else in this cell?” I call over my shoulder as I examine the objects.

“Two people, they both tried to escape. Neither of them got very far before She found them.”

“Who is She? Why are you so afraid-” I was silenced by a loud hush from all around me.

“No! I can talk if I want! Who is this lady and where is she?” I demanded, shoving the key rock in the keyhole and after hearing a click I pushed out and started down the hall.

“Wait, Oso please she’ll kill you, get back here!” Nathan calls desperately down the hall after me. I whirl around to face him. He is hanging on the bars of his cell looking terrified.

“Come and stop me,” I challenged him.

And just like he had my entire life, he turned around with a sneer and ignored- walked out of his cell and stood in front of me.

“Oso, I know you won’t listen to me.” He says quietly. “So I won’t stop you. But you can’t stop me from coming with you.”

“But-you never in my life helped or cared about me, wh-why now?” I spluttered, my brave face gone in an instant.

“I don’t want to live the rest of my life in fear and guilt. Fear of Her and guilt for using the bomb and never taking care of you like I should have. So, just let me try and redeem myself, okay? Ive had a lot of time to think about this.” Nathan pleads, tears glinting in his eyes. I feel my throat constricting slightly as I resist the urge to cry. Holding out my hand to my older brother I say,

“Okay, lets do this.”
And we start running.

We make it to the gate leading outside before we see anything. As Nathan struggles with the rusty entrance I see a flash of white darting through the trees on the other side of the courtyard.

“Nathan, what color is “She”?” I asked as hr gets one hinge freed.

“Uh, white, now come-”

A thunderous roar ripped the air as a boulder shaped object bowled out from the trees aimed towards us.

It was a massive polar bear, with paws the size if trashcan lids and a foaming mouth full of canines. Its white fur was laced with red scars and its black eyes had a venomous red tinge to them. Nathan started to babble.

“She found us! We gotta run, or hide, back to a cell or-”

“On three, jump to the side.” I commanded as the hulking bear pounded forwards with another equally as loud roar.

“One…” I said, bracing myself.

“Two…” She was almost on us, her muscles bulging as She leapt a few yards closer.

“Three!” I screamed, leaping to the right while Nathan jumped to the left. I slid off of the cement and onto the grass, tearing my palms and knees in the process. Scrambling to my feet I saw the bear had rammed into the door and broken it off its hinges. Nathan got swiftly to his feet and grabbed my hand, dragging me through the broken doorway. We made it around the corner of the prison and made for the trees like deer.

That was the wrong way to go.
She came rearing on her back legs out of the tree line where she had been waiting for us. I stood frozen in the realization that I was going to die, bracing myself for her clawed paws to descend on me…

And felt myself fall to the ground as something un-bearlike pushed me out of the way. I looked up in time to see Nathan mouth four words that would be scared in my mind forever.

“Forgive me, little brother.” And then I saw She’s paws fall forwards right on top of him, her mouth and claws descending as one.

I started to run. Run away from the bear, the prison and my brothers remains, thinking I could out run She, hoping and praying I could get help.
I stumbled on a rock and fell. I rolled onto my back so see She charging up to me, red teeth bared and then-




END.