Chapter 8
“It’s been a long shift, huh?” Adam asked.
“You’re telling me,” Sarah grumbled. “I’ve never seen anything like it. Everything fried, even the cars.”
He gave a low whistle and shook his head. “I guess that means no morning news. That’s a shame. I’m sure the media is going to have a field day with this.”
“A prison without power? You better believe it,” Sarah said.
She knew she had to tell him about his case.
It was ridiculous that she was still procrastinating.
With everything going on at the prison, could anyone really blame her for not making it a priority?
He wouldn’t care about their daily conversations when he had his freedom knocking at the door.
It wasn’t like her to hold on to things so tightly.
The way Adam was looking at her, she didn’t want to tell him anything.
He had the ability to know what was in her soul without her saying a single word.
It was both infuriating and confusing. No matter what happened after he got out of prison, he still had a reputation that she couldn’t risk tangling herself in with a former convict, no matter how innocent he might be.
“What’s on your mind, Sarah? I can tell you’re thinking hard about something,” Adam said. “Is the captain getting on your case about the power outage?”
“No, nothing like that. So, far, she’s been pretty good about everything we’re dealing with.”
“Well, that’s good. At least she’s not jumping down your throat. Tell me, what is going on?”
“It’s an email that I received a little bit ago that the prosecutor sent over.”
“What do you mean?” Adam asked. “Is everything okay with the family?”
Sarah sighed. “It’s got nothing to do with me or my family. I’m actually friends with the prosecutor. We’ve known each other for quite some time, and he keeps me posted on several ongoing cases.”
“Sounds like we’re going to be getting some new people here soon.”
“Well, crime doesn’t stop, and this is the place they send them.” Sarah chuckled nervously. “I’m sure we’ll have new inmates soon, but that’s not what he was emailing me about.”
“Whatever it is, it seems to have you knotted up. So, tell me what this email was about.”
Sarah was still struggling to tell the man he was finally going to get to go home.
She couldn’t help but think that things were going to be different as soon as he left.
Adam had become more than just a routine and a good part of her day.
There was something more to what she was feeling, but none of that mattered.
It was his life, and he deserved to live it how he saw fit.
“The prosecutor has been keeping in touch with me about your case,” Sarah said.
“What did he say about it?”
“The judge signed off on everything. You’re going to be cleared of all charges, and come Monday morning, you’re going to be a free man. We just have to wait for them to send the paperwork over before we can release you.”
She could see he was blown away by the revelation.
He stumbled backward and sat down on his bunk, a dazed look in his eyes.
Sarah was overwhelmed with happiness for her friend.
Still, she couldn’t shake the sadness deep inside of her.
It was one thing to be happy for him but another altogether to stand there and try to fake enjoyment.
“I can’t believe it,” he stammered.
Sarah smiled at him. “You deserve your freedom, Adam. It’s long overdue. What they did to you wasn’t right.”
“Thanks. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and my case. I know you’ve gone above and beyond what your job called for.”
“I have a problem with people being wrongfully imprisoned. I would do the same for anyone else.”
“So, I’m not special, huh?” he asked playfully.
Instantly, a flush jumped to her cheeks as she turned away from him. Sarah didn’t want Adam to see just how much his words affected her. He was incredibly special to her, far more than he should have been.
The sun was slowly starting to rise in the sky, but it did nothing to fix the eerie silence that still filled the halls. Something in her gut told her there was more going on outside, but she couldn’t leave her job until the relief team came.
Though as more time passed, she was less sure that she was going to stay on after her shift ended.
The prison was only a few miles away from town.
If the power outage had affected the surrounding area, she wanted to make sure her apartment was safe and secure.
It wasn't that she lived in a bad neighborhood, but Sarah knew how desperate people could become in trying times.
There was no reason to risk her home being broken into.
Turning her attention back to Adam, Sarah smiled at him.
She was still his friend no matter what.
“So, I guess asking you what you’re going to do when you’re free hits a little different now, huh?” Sarah said.
He chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, I guess so. I honestly have no idea what I'm going to do with myself. It's been so long since I was on the outside. I can't imagine how much things have changed.”
“Something tells me you are going to adjust just fine,” Sarah said.
“Yeah, as long as I steer clear from anything involving the police or government.”
“Unfortunately, I think you’re right about that. Just remember that not all law enforcement is bad,” Sarah said. “You mentioned earlier that you had family in Argentina. You still think you’ll head down there and be with them?”
“Well, maybe eventually,” Adam replied.
“What do you mean?” Sarah asked. “I thought you’d want to get out of this place as soon as possible.”
“I do want to leave here, but for now, I think I’m just going to stick around here for a while.”
“After everything this place did to you, why would you want to stick around here?”
“Even if this place royally screwed me over, I didn’t really get the chance to see much of Florida. I figure this will give me a chance to see what she has to offer. Maybe make some new friends along the way.”
Sarah blushed. “There’s not really much of Florida to see. What you can find here is already in the brochure, and they make sure they get every inch of beauty in those things.”
Adam chuckled. “Yeah, you’re probably right. I really don’t know what I’m going to do, but hanging around here and seeing how great Florida can be sounds like my best-case scenario right now.”
“Well, the one thing I can tell you for sure is that there isn’t anything great about Florida. I’ve been here long enough to tell you that much.”
“If you can be that sure about something, then I can be sure there’s at least one pretty good thing about sticking around.”
Sarah didn't know what to say to him as she turned away once again. The next shift of workers would be in soon, and her night was coming to a close. After wishing her friend farewell, Sarah headed for the steps that led to the crow’s nest. There was nothing else she could do for him until power was restored.
It was strange to be isolated in the facility, not knowing how far the EMP had reached or the amount of damage it had done.
All she wanted was to get out of there and hit the open road for a little bit. Driving always made her feel better.
In that instant, she remembered what the guard from B block had told them earlier.
None of the cars were starting. They would be stranded there until the others arrived.
Sarah was starting to feel the fatigue of the shift as she sat down.
There wasn't much to do without the power on.
All of her paperwork required the internet or, at the very least, some light to complete.
She hated having idle time to kill. There had to be something she could do.
The facility was massive, after all. Sarah hated being paid for sitting on her rear.
A quick glance at the clock on the wall told her it wasn't working.
It was the strangest thing that everything around them had died.
The EMP must have been more powerful than they were anticipating.
It drove her nuts, but the backup generators hadn't kicked in yet.
How were they supposed to do their jobs and keep the inmates safe when they couldn't even use the restrooms?
It was those questions, along with the onslaught of others, that kept her mind buzzing as she waited.