Chapter 3
Come morning, Malek was nowhere to be found.
Not in the cafeteria, the common area, or even outside in the yard.
Considering the fact that this guy had been on Caspar like a bad rash the past few days, his sudden disappearance was more than disconcerting.
When Caspar found himself searching for Atticus in the prison walls, he knew he was desperate.
When he couldn’t find Atticus either, he flopped down on one of the empty benches with a sigh.
He wished he hadn’t used his pain pills the night before to get to sleep; the ache in his jaw from grinding his teeth was worse now, and a splitting headache was beginning behind his eyes.
Caspar cracked open his romance novel. The ring fell out.
He balanced the book carefully in his lap, using it as a cover.
If I rub this, the genie comes, right? Or djinn, whatever.
Putting it on his finger probably counted as rubbing it, and he didn’t want to risk anything appearing in this giant foyer full of criminals.
Caspar worked on tying the thread together before casually slipping it around his head like a necklace.
He hid the ring inside his uniform. There. Done.
Malek didn’t appear, even when Caspar touched the ring against his bare torso deliberately.
You’ve been fooled, Caspar. Always, always fooled.
With another sigh, Caspar got up to toss the romance novel in the trash.
It wasn’t useful to him anymore. Just before he reached the trash, the new guard from yesterday appeared by his side.
“Caspar Nassir?”
“Uh, yeah. You know it. The one and only Ghoul of Main Street.”
“You’re being transferred. Come with us.”
Another new guard appeared by his side, this one a woman with dark hair and bangs framing her face.
The guards sandwiched Caspar in as they walked down the hallway.
They passed the search area with little fanfare before they walked into a room he hadn’t seen in almost eight years.
The doors to the outside made his stomach flip. It was real, it was real, it was all—
“Hold out your hands,” the guard said.
Caspar did as he was told and was slapped with handcuffs. A belt was added to his waist that connected to chains wrapped around his legs. He could barely waddle, let alone walk.
“You will get on the bus when we tell you,” the woman guard said. “You will be joined by some of the other finest inmates from this facility. The bus will have other prisoners from other places. You will all follow orders and directions. Is that understood?”
“Yes,” Caspar said. “Can I ask where we’re going?”
“Freedom.”
Caspar turned toward the voice. Malek was there, with another two guards flanking his side.
He no longer wore the bright orange uniform, but the grey one like everyone else.
He grinned widely as he nodded to Caspar—almost knowingly.
His eyes were so much brighter than Caspar remembered; the brown shade glowed like ambergris.
The tattoo on his hand—the mandala—made Caspar really believe what Malek had said. They were going to freedom.
“It’s a prison called Free Haven,” the guard corrected. “It’s just outside the Ottawa Valley. It’s where most non-violent offenders go. So consider yourselves lucky. You’ve been upgraded.”
Caspar smiled and thanked the officers. Malek was shuffled into the same restrictive gear as Caspar and placed in line behind him.
Three more prisoners from this facility were similarly chained and put in line.
Caspar waited on the balls of his feet, bouncing and rattling the chains each time he moved.
He was only 5’10”, so Malek towered over him.
Caspar wondered if Malek could see the notches of his spine and the beginnings of his golden skin under his uniform the way Caspar had seen Malek’s in the shower.
Had Malek looked at him too? What did he think?
There were so many thoughts in Caspar’s mind.
So many wonderings and so much excitement.
It was the first time he’d felt like this in years.
“Be cool,” Malek said.
“Hmm?”
“You’re shakin’, man. It’s all right. I’m not gonna hurt you. Just wanted to be sure you had the ring, so I was probably gettin’ a little close.”
“Oh.” Caspar kicked himself. Of course that was what Malek had been searching for. Caspar tried to quell his excitement that had somehow mixed with his desire. Should have masturbated last night. Everything would have been so much easier if I’d just gotten off.
“I do. Have the ring, I mean. It’s hidden.”
“Good. Make sure it stays that way until it’s time.”
“All right, gentlemen,” the female officer said. “We’re getting on the bus now. You will sit next to the person behind you. From there, you will be shipped to New Haven and searched again. Let’s begin. We can’t be late. Time is of the essence.”
Everyone murmured and tittered as the guards guided them outside.
Ten minutes passed until everyone was organized on the grey bus with a generic logo on the side.
The driver seemed ancient, with white hair and a beard that hung past his chin.
He wore a slate blue uniform with the prison logo for New Haven on it.
When Caspar looked close enough at the driver’s shoulder, he swore the logo looked more like a mandala than the geometric design it was supposed to be.
His heart hammered yet again, the excitement growing.
Caspar was surprised when he was plopped down next to a prisoner who was already on the bus.
He was about to cry out, but Malek plopped down on the seat across from him.
Both seats were on the aisle, so they could see one another and talk.
Malek gave him a small nod. This is how it’s supposed to be.
The guards came onto the bus and did a brief headcount.
The woman said something to the driver in a hushed tone before stepping off.
The guard with cherubic cheeks slotted himself in the seat closest to the driver and the door.
“All accounted for?” the driver asked.
“Yes, let’s go.”
The journey was stop-and-start until the driver went through all the security procedures at the end of the Kingston Penitentiary compound and turned onto the long and winding dirt road leading away from the prison lot.
The bus roared with chatter over the sound of the engine.
Caspar tuned it all out and watched with wide eyes as the green grass and flowers came into view.
It’s spring. It’s spring and I can see it.
“This is the first time you’ve been out here in a while, huh?” Malek said, leaning over. “How’s it all looking?”
“It’s good. Real good. I’m pretty sure these trees were saplings when I was here last. Is that how fast trees grow?
Seven years?” Caspar gasped when they turned away from the forest area and onto a highway.
A McDonald’s appeared, along with several other familiar and not-so-familiar stores.
“These were never here. This was an empty lot years ago. Someone must have bought it. Built it all up. Wow. Wow. I’ve never seen them before. ”
“But you’ve seen a McDonald’s, right?”
“Oh, come on. Give me more credit than that. The latest iPhone is a mystery to me, but I at least have the golden arches in my mind.”
Malek laughed. Caspar liked the sound of it—low, throaty, and sweet, as if he really did think Caspar was funny. “It’s been a long time since someone laughed at my jokes. I was beginning to think they were all bad.”
“Oh, they’re bad. But I like corny.”
“Pretty sure that’s all they fed us in there.” Caspar smiled. He wanted to keep staring at the new structures and plant life he’d never seen before—or hadn’t seen in such a long time—but he tore his eyes away so he could look at Malek. “So… uh…”
“You want to know what to do next?”
Caspar nodded.
“Well, the plan’s a little complicated. And we’re not alone here.”
“Oh?” Caspar followed Malek’s gaze as he indicated the driver and one of the guards. He said nothing, but gave a small nod.
“Friends,” he added. “Just like djinns, really. So what do you know about djinns? Or genies?”
“Aladdin. That’s about it.”
“Your parents, weren’t they—”
“Muslim, yeah, but they never really talked about the djinns. I only read the Quran when I got to prison, actually, since my parents let me practice whatever I wanted. I picked up small things here and there, though, so I know that djinns are kind of like angels. Right?”
“Some, anyway.” Malek shrugged.
“And wings?”
“Some have them, I suppose,” Malek said. “But I don’t. Definitely not an angel in the traditional sense.”
“Hmm.” Caspar huffed. “Kind of hoping there would be wings.”
“Well, wings aside, I can still help. And since we don’t have time for family history, let me give you the CliffsNotes version of this deal.
You get three wishes. That’s it. You must use them in a thousand and one days, or else they expire.
I’m yours until you use them, and you touch that ring when you need to see me again. ”
“Can I—”
“No, you cannot wish for three more wishes. Everyone asks that. So let me get that bit of information out of the way.” Malek smiled so his voice didn’t sound as harsh. “There’s a reason you can’t wish for three more wishes, but I can’t get into it now.”
The bus went over a bump. Everyone was launched out of their seats a few inches, and chatter started up again, much louder than before.
The new guard rose and made sure everyone was silent.
Malek seemed to glance around the area, his brow furrowed.
When they passed the green sign for Pittsburgh, Ontario, he nodded.
He leaned close again and lowered his voice.
“Still can’t get into everything, so you have to trust me.
Wishes are strange. They need to be as specific as possible, or else you get no results.
A djinn’s magic works through moving matter around.
The thing you want has to exist. And in scenarios like the one we’re in now, it’s a lot more complicated than just saying that you wish to get out of prison. ”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. So I’m going to advise you on this one wish, since I think your first goal right now should be getting free. I strongly encourage you to repeat my wording verbatim.”
“And if I don’t?”
“They’re your wishes. I can’t tell you what to do with them. But I strongly encourage you to realize that I’ve been doing this for a lot longer than you can imagine.”
Caspar surveyed Malek. The grey uniform didn’t make him look washed out like it did to so many other inmates.
He looked rather young, actually, as if he was only barely in his thirties.
The lines around his dark eyes and the amount of tattoos marking his skin were the only things giving Caspar the impression that Malek was much older than he thought.
“Okay. I trust you. I’ll say what you need me to for my first wish.”
“Good. Thank you.” Malek’s gaze darted around the bus. Another green sign passed. He made eye contact with the guard from before. When he nodded this time, it was with more intensity. “In less than ten minutes, when we see the sign for Gananoque, I need you to wish for a traffic jam.”
“What?”
“You heard me. When we get close to Gananoque, I need you to wish for a traffic jam. Say it three times in a row, exactly as I say it now: I wish for a traffic jam on Highway 401, by the exit for Gananoque.”
The two-lane road they were on looked empty and sparse.
There were no more McDonald’s or movie theatres, just endless hills of green and old farmland.
The next green sign they passed said that Gananoque was two kilometres away, so roughly five minutes.
Caspar didn’t understand how a traffic jam, especially in the middle of nowhere, would help them—especially when they still wore chains, and there were so, so many prisons to take into consideration.
But he trusted Malek. He had to, since there was nothing left to lose.
“Okay. I can do that.”
“Soon,” Malek said. They passed the one-kilometre marker. “Rub the ring.”
“Hmm?”
“Rub the ring. You have to activate me. Right now it’s like I’m here under my own free will.” Malek rolled his eyes, as if this was a bad joke in and of itself. “You have to bind me to you.”
“Oh. Um…” Caspar jostled the ring around his neck.
It was hard to rub when he still had on handcuffs.
The ring knocked against his knuckle, tearing the thread as it slipped over his index finger.
Next to him, Malek shuddered. His skin seemed to glow a faint blue before he returned to normal.
His smile got even larger and his eyes were no longer dark, but violet.
“Aha.” Malek held up his hands, and the cuffs shot off his wrists.
The belt unlinked and his legs sprang free.
When the person he sat beside noticed and was about to scream, Malek held up a hand that signalled him to stop.
The prisoner turned his head and looked out the window.
When Caspar’s seatmate did the same, Malek held up his other hand.
“What the fuck?” Caspar asked. “How are you doing that? And why am I still wearing chains?”
“You’ll get out of them soon enough. Besides,” Malek grinned as they passed by the sign for Gananoque, “it’s show time.”