A year had passed since the events of the Trinity test. The sun shone over the city on a January morning as great and terrible events began. In Waller's prison, the warden, Alfred, a dark-skinned man in his early fifties, walked to a cell with weary eyes. In the cell, he saw his least favorite inmate in a limp mess of arms and legs in his bed. He saw Daniel, twenty-four, Caucasian, with short raven hair and muscular.

  "Get up," Alfred groaned.

  Daniel clutched his forehead, nursing a migraine. "Warden, not today. I had the worst night. I couldn’t sleep a wink."

  "And I’m having a bad morning thanks to a certain idiot inmate of mine."

  "You mean me?” Daniel rose from his bed. “Why?"

  "That guard you...people nearly killed changed his statement. Since it was dark and in the heat of the moment, he made a mistake identifying you."

  "Are you serious, man?"

  "I wish I weren't," Alfred shouted.

  ***

  Daniel and Alfred walked down a corridor together. It was a long, narrow, gunmetal grey hallway with no light except for the faint hints of illumination from the line of bulbs above their heads. As they went, they passed by some guards playing cards in the break room as a radio played soothing jazz music. However, the melody was interrupted as a voice came through the radio.

  "Special news bulletin from Star News Network. A new funding bill has been verified to aid in repairing the damage from recent gang activity. Officials say that fighting the green flames has been especially difficult," a reporter said over the radio.

  "Green fire?" Daniel asked.

  Alfred angrily hit Daniel, shoving him forward.

  "Okay. I'm going, I'm going."

  As the two continued walking, they passed by more prison cells. The prisoners within let out loud noises like wild animals, spitting their hatred of the warden with all manner of swears and cussing, but one remained deafly silent. Cloaked in the shadows of his cell, he gazed at Daniel with bloodshot eyes. Still, Daniel was oblivious to his malevolent gaze, his mind captured by the thought of being a free man.

  "Man, I can't believe I'm getting out," Daniel said with a triumphant laugh.

  "Jones, your kind getting to walk out of here makes my stomach turn, so how about you don't make a bad morning worse and shut up?"

  Daniel shot Alfred a scowl. “Warden, when I get out of here—“

  A chill ran down Daniel's spine, and he dropped to his knees in a nervous frenzy. The joy he felt mere moments prior was gone. And in its place was fear, a fear of leaving the prison. The thought of rejoining civilized society and all its trials terrified Daniel more than staying incarcerated with killers and thieves. But try as he might, he couldn’t tell why.

  Alfred looked at Daniel, grinding his teeth. “What is it?”

  “I don't know. Talking about me leaving here sent shivers down my spine, and they weren't the exciting kind."

  Alfred smiled. "Well, if you’re so scared to leave, I can call a few friends in the judicial system. And get you a very extended stay."

  Daniel stood up. "All of a sudden, my courage has returned, but nice try, Warden."

  As Alfred heard Daniel, he folded his fists, grinding his teeth more.

  Daniel and Alfred reached the exit. But as Daniel prepared to leave, he stopped and looked Alfred in the eye.

  "Alfred, before I go, I have to say something.” Daniel grew a smug grin. “I’ll miss you least of all."

  Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

  "Though I doubt you’ll be a free man for long, I’ll miss you even less. Now get out."

  Alfred shoved open the doors, giving Daniel a final glare before leaving. But as Daniel began, he flinched from the bright sunlight. His fear from earlier had returned, binding his legs. Mere inches from freedom, he wondered why he had grown so accustomed to confinement. He pondered if his subconscious thought that he should stay in prison for the rest of his days. Still, Daniel finally marshaled his courage, forcing himself to walk, battling the binding with each step.

  ***

  Daniel had assumed he would quickly acclimate to the outer world, but he was gravely wrong. Having been cut off from society for six years, missing the countless changes that occurred, it was like stepping into an alien world. His brain struggled to process the many experiences, enduring painful sensory overload. He saw unfamiliar buildings and architecture. Every manner of sound bombarded his ears. Even the innocent birds chirping became debilitating. And quickly, the world became a fuzzy mess.

  However, soon, two people came, calming the storm of his thoughts with their familiar love. Sandra, Daniel’s plump and Caucasian mother, kissed him on the cheek repeatedly. And Benjamin, twenty-two and skinny, hugged his brother tightly.

  "Ma, can you stop that? We're in public," Daniel said, blushing.

  "Well, sorry, tough guy. But after six years, these kisses kept piling up." Sandra kissed him one more time.

  Daniel turned his gaze to Benjamin and quickly put him in a headlock, vigorously rubbing his scalp with his fist.

  “Speaking of things that were piling up. I believe these belong to you."

  "Brother, please stop," Benjamin screamed.

  Daniel stopped as he saw the emblem on Benjamin's jacket. "Hey, man, what's that on your jacket?"

  "Oh, this is the coat of arms for the Mar-Jam Academy."

  "Mar-jam? Isn't that the fancy law school you always talked about?"

  Benjamin nodded to his question, and Daniel smiled, punching his brother in the shoulder.

  "Well, aces, man. I knew you would do it."

  Benjamin rubbed his shoulder, red-faced. "It's nothing, brother."

  "Nothing? Angel, can you b—“

  As Daniel looked around, his face lost color, noticing a special someone wasn't there.

  "What is it?" Benjamin asked.

  "I figured she would—"

  Swiftly, Daniel spotted more familiar faces, his elder sister and her lover standing by a limo. He walked over to them with Benjamin and Sandra following. Charity, twenty-seven, Caucasian with a slender, curvy body, stood by her husband. Charles, Caucasian, towered over his wife, regal and dignified. But as Daniel approached them, Charity grew a smile while Charles fought back a scowl.

  "Hey, sis.” Daniel shot a glare toward Charles. “Rich boy."

  "Daniel," Charles said as neutrally as he could.

  "It's good to see you, little brother." Charity giggled.

  Quickly, Charity looked at a young child hiding behind her. Hope was a six-year-old girl, appearing like her mother but with her father's brown hair.

  Charity pushed her in front of Daniel. "Don’t be shy now. You came all this way to meet him."

  "Sis, who is this kid?" Daniel pointed at Hope.

  "This kid is your niece, Hope."

  "You're pulling my leg?"

  Daniel quickly turned his gaze onto Benjamin, wondering if he was the father and, if so, who the mother could be. But Benjamin’s face glowed bright red. "Don’t look at me." Making Daniel turn back to Charity as she showed him her wedding ring around her finger, giving him a definitive answer.

  "Charles and I are married now."

  Daniel covered his mouth with his hand. "I don't know what to say."

  "Excuse me, Uncle Daniel. I can't wait to spend time with you," Hope said nervously.

  Daniel glanced at Hope before looking toward Charles, disgusted at the thought of sharing a family with him.

  "Look, kid, I outgrew the family thing a long time ago. And now that your old man is a part of it, I know I made the right choice. So I'm gone."

  As she heard Daniel, Hope cried, prompting Charles to console his daughter with a hug.

  "Daniel, how can you say that to her? And where are you g—“ A frown grew across Charity’s face. “Oh, little brother, when will you learn?"

  "Never." Charles boomed, and hugged Hope tighter. "Sweetie, he's a gangster. I can't believe you thought prison would change him or that I let him anywhere near our child."

  As Daniel heard Charles, he recalled the incident that got him sent to prison. He wasn’t like his brother and sister, who excelled in civilized society. Outside of writing and fighting, Daniel was countless leagues behind. He could still hear the cruel mockery, saying it was his fate to be a loser. Eventually, his chance came to repay the hurt. If he had just gone through with one act of cruelty, killing the guard, he would have had everything. However, for reasons Daniel couldn’t fathom, he didn’t. But he would never make that mistake again.

  "You can talk all you want, rich boy. But I’m going to be a winner no matter what.” Daniel began walking away from his family but stopped looking back at them. “One thing, make sure Pop stays out of my business. I am so over his nagging."

  As Daniel mentioned his father, Jack, a quiet washed over the group as they exchanged glances. And Daniel gazed at them, perplexed, knowing they were concealing something.

  "What is it?"

  "Sweetie, he...died," Sandra said.

  Daniel broke a nervous sweat. "Who did?"

  "Y—your father."

  As Daniel heard Sandra, the first hint of tears began to form, reflecting the sunlight in the corner of his eyes. He became pale white like a corpse as his quivering mouth turned into a frown.

  Silence.

  "You see, his heart—"

  Daniel dropped to his knees, loudly crying and screaming. And Charity, Benjamin, and Sandra ran to console him, hugging him tightly.