It was my time.
I marched on ahead of the watchman who had come for me. The
morning had been strangely smooth, as though rehearsed. I’d gotten dressed,
eaten breakfast with my family, and gone outside to start work.
And there he was.
“John Barnhill?” He asked, but I knew it was more of a
statement.
“I am he.” I replied.
“I have come for you.” He said simply.
“May I say goodbye to my family?”
“You may. Not everybody is granted that request, but since
you are so close to home, you may.”
I called inside for my family. They rushed out, hearing the
urgency in my voice. They stopped short when they saw the watchman, but then my
father rushed to my side and grasped my hand.
“Son, listen to me. Do you know the way to escape the Dragon?”
“Yes sir, the Rock will save from the Dragon.”
“Do you believe that?” He asked, his face pale, and somehow
fading.
“Yes, of course.” I replied, squinting as he seemed to
become transparent.
“No, no, John, that’s not what I mean. Do you believe that?”
“Yes.” I replied.
My father smiled, and then faded away as if a mist. The rest
of the world remained completely visible, but looking around, the villagers, my
family, and all other living things faded away, except the watchman. I turned
to him, he motioned down the street with his hand, and I began walking.
Nobody knew the way to the prison, but everybody knew it
existed. Nobody exactly knew what it meant, but that didn’t stop stories from
being told. Everybody went to the prison eventually, but nobody had ever come back.
Many people fought the watchmen when they came, but it never
stopped them, and the only result was that the unfortunate prisoner was dragged
away, usually crying miserably. I had purposed long before to not go in such a
way as that.
Some said the prison was really a paradise, which is why
nobody ever came back. Others shuddered and said it was full of torture
chambers, where all of our life crimes were paid for. Others still declared
adamantly that there was nothing at the prison – just blackness where the
prisoners slowly faded into nothing. But in my heart, I knew what the prison
held.
