Charles opens his eye. He looks around, and he sees his leg, swollen due to the insect's sting.
'You'll be okay.' Li Chang walks and sits close to Charles. 'The poison has been removed. You're a lucky guy; we arrived at my house, just in time, if not, the venom would have killed you.' Li Chang says.
'I really can't understand you. I thought it was a dream, but now I see it isn't a dream. You're really the dreaded Red Viper. I heard you were imprisoned in Russia, then, how come you escaped?' Charles asks, puzzled.
Li Chang was silent, he stared at Charles. Charles was not the only one inquisitive about his escape.
'Ruòxi! Wu!' He calls out to his gang. 'You all really want to know how I escaped? If yes, take a sit, 'cos this is gonna be a long ride.
Flashback…
After the verdict was passed on me. I was sent to Russia to carry out my punishment, to a place where inhumane actions were carried out. I figured out that The senator paid the judge, so that my voice will be muted.
The place is hell on earth. A person is disconnected from the whole world, including his family. I was sent here; the worst place in the world. A person forgets his identity and becomes known only with figures. Mine was 1345.56 – I don't know what that stands for.
I sat in the military transport helicopter, as I was brought to this hell called a prison. I was manacled. I stared at the soldiers that were with me; they were holding assault rifles and equipped with sharp daggers; I could never harbor the thought of escaping.
The helicopter's propellers were whirring loudly. The harsh wind bruising my skin. I saw the prison, a huge tower on an island, surrounded by the ocean. The helicopter lands, and the military personnel dragged me out with no human sympathy. I was injured in the process and no one cared.
"This isn't a fun ride, so don't feel relaxed." One of the soldiers said with a frown, as I came down the helicopter. I knew my life would definitely change. As I crossed the entrance to the hell of a prison, what I saw was disheartening. The prison wardens dragged a man's tongue with a sharp hot hook. He screamed and screamed but they feel anything. They pulled his tongue until it was shredded into two. The man cried, but they threw him into ice with his hands tied.
Is this a prison? I asked myself.
They implanted some microchips into my skin and registered me with my no. To them we were less than humans, so we were figures. The gave me the prison uniform. Then, I was taken to my cell.
My cell was dark and full of… I don't even want to say it. In it were two lifeless people. They were carried out for me to come in. It was a nightmare to stay here.
"Get me out of here!" I screamed and screamed, but it looked like my voice was only heard by me. They fed me scraps of an unknown substance. I had to eat it just to stay alive.
Days rolled into months, and months into years. I had already made my escape plan. I drew a tattoo of the map of the prison, on my thigh with much effort and years familiarity. I knew a guy called T-Tank. He was my only friend. We made a plan to steal the key to our cells. The plan was straight: cause a distraction, then take the key from the guard. We never knew we needed more than that.
We caused a distraction as planned, but the prison warden shot T-Tank, immediately he found out that he was the one behind the nuisance. Our efforts were not totally a waste. I managed to get the key of my and T-Tanks cell.
As T-Tank died, I was getting tired of living like an animal. Late at night, I used my map to get to the laundry room, surreptitiously and quietly. I had to use my brains. I had to think fast; the guards were parading the prison. I used a fork, which I hid on my shorts, to stab my arm so hard that that blood gushed out. I used my blood to stain the clothes that were in the washing machine. After I had done this, the cloths were light pink, which was slightly the same color with the guard's cloths. I had to act quickly, so I ran back to my cell and had to act normal. The next morning, almost every prisoner wore the light pink cloths, which made the guards think the prisoner were trying to rebel. I walked tactically to the alarm switch, I pushed it, alerting the guards, who thought it was an escape. So, they shot everyone wearing the light pink colored cloths, and I lay low. It was a shooting spree so I was soon covered by the mountain of dead people. I know I caused their deaths, but I had to save myself. The prison cells were empty; almost everyone had been killed. The guards jabbed the dead bodies with a dagger to check if they were really dead, as they stacked them. I wasn't too lucky: I was stabbed with the dagger, as well, but I had to bare the pain. They put me with the multitude of dead people, and then poured out the dead into the ocean, heartlessly. They didn't care a bit how their families would feel not seeing them ever again.
I was among those that were thrown into the ocean. I almost gave up, because I was bleeding badly. The sharks in the ocean had their stomachs filled with dead prisoners. They gorged them bit by bit. I was giving up slowly. My eyes twitching, and my mouth shaking, I couldn't bare the pain. I could only smell death coming close to me. Suddenly, one of the guards, a woman, noticed that I was moving. She almost alerted the other guards; I don't know what changed her mind. She secretly brought me out of the water. She saw I was wounded badly. She looked at my dying self with pity.
'Help me, please.' I muttered this few words with the little strength I had.
She looked at me, then she spoke Russian. I didn't understand it, I just gasped for breath, waiting for my death. Surprisingly she carried me to a secret place, I was too hurt to be amazed at the strength. She extracted the microchip that was installed in my body. She bandaged around my stomach. She treated me for 5 days. On the 6th, she almost got into trouble, so I left. I had no idea this was just a beginning of my long journey. I didn't know where to start from. I was in an island; no way home – I didn't even know my location. I only knew that I was in Russia.
I walked and walked, but I was going nowhere. The next day, I saw a helicopter bringing another inmate. It was now or never, I had to use my brain. I thought hard, but my brain was blank of ideas. Soon enough, I got a very dangerous idea. One mistake would cause my life, but I had to do it anyway, if I really wanted to escape from this place.
My first step was to get noticed by the helicopter. Am I mad? You would ask, I would ask myself the same question. It was a risky move, but it hard to be perfect. I hurled stones at the chopper, hoping it will hit it, and it did. The soldiers inspected the ground.
'What was that?' They asked curiously. Then another stone hits the chopper. Now, they were seriously inquisitive. I hid behind a boulder. They landed the chopper and inspected the surrounding.
Now, for my second step. Easy-peasy, just get to the chopper unnoticed, and ride it back home. Oh no! I didn't know anything about helicopters. I didn't need to: Thank God, the pilot was in the chopper, so I made my way to the helicopter, carefully and inconspicuously. I grabbed the gun from the pilot's holster, and pointed it to his head as I entered the chopper.
'Get me out of here!' I yelled as loud as I could. 'I will pull the trigger, if you move. Just get me out of here!' I yelled again. The pilot turned on the chopper, which gave a loud whirring of blades as the propellers kick off, which alerts the soldiers.
'Where are you going to?!' They screamed at the pilot. Soon afterward, they saw me with the gun to the pilot's head. They shot at the chopper. I was unfortunately hit by a bullet – I was shot on my arm. 'Damn it!' I Groaned in pains, but I used my other hand to hold the pistol, because I would never throw the gun.
'Let's get out of here!' I yelled. So, the pilot piloted the chopper through the air, back to the US. I was thankful I made it out alive. It was a threatening experience. We moved for 3 days in the air. I landed at a secluded place, very, very far from the island. As we landed, my eyes were bloodshot due to lack of sleep. I left the pilot there, and ran as fast as I could. I ran for some couple of miles, then, I noticed that my wounds were opening up, and I was bleeding. I ambulated to a cloth store, I entered and pointed the gun at the salesman. I stole a couple of cloths, and changed my dressing. I was still bleeding: I was losing a lot of blood. I was feeling dizzy. I bumped into a person, which turned out to be Charles. I walked for some time then I lost consciousness. I woke up under the old bridge. I knew this place. I was really excited to be back.
…Flashback end.
'Wow, you survived everything.' Charles exclaims, astounded by his story.
'I don't even know how I scaled through, but I did it. Maybe God wanted me to expose the corrupt senator.' Li Chang says. 'Now, I'm back. Senator Theodore won't know what hit him. It's going to be huge.' Li Chang says.
Charles was really surprised on how Li Chang escaped. He was mostly shocked how Li Chang sacrificed the life of the other prisoners, just to get himself out.
'We need to be more careful this time; The senator has double-crossed me once. This time we'll destroy him and his entire family.' Li Chang says with aversion, as he cocks his gun. 'I'll see you soon, Senator.'