Will of Man - Part Four (3 page)

Dad, I will find the perfect trail cut in the greenest forest. It will be lined with smooth fieldstone and beautiful flowers. Birds will sing loudly, deer will bounce around trees, and squirrels will sit silently watching. I will remember the times walking with you, stopping to pick flowers, spotting different birds, and just sitting talking and taking in the view.

And there I will wait…

If I go to Heaven first…

Tanner, I will find friends and family past. We will find a place to barbecue and play. The air will smell of food cooking, suntan lotion, and the freshness only found in the clean air of summer. We will talk and joke and play with the children. I will poor you a cool drink with lots of ice and save you a seat next to me at the picnic table.

And there I will wait…

If I go to Heaven first…

Mom, I will build the perfect home. It will be large enough for the whole family, but small enough so we won’t have to look long to find each other. The beds will be soft like a cloud. I will tuck you in at night and talk about our day. The living room will have a fireplace that will emit a soft, warm glow throughout the house. It will be perched high on a hill with perfect views coming from each window.

And there I will wait…

If I go to Heaven first…

Tanner, I will ask God to allow the seasons to change. In the fall we can make a huge pile of leaves that we can jump in and play. The winter will allow us to make snowmen and go sledding. In the spring, we will plant flowers and start a wonderful garden full of all our favorite crops. And in the summer we will swim at the beach, go hiking, and lay under the stars at night.

And there I will wait…

If I go to Heaven first…

Family, I will watch you from above. I will cry when you cry. I will laugh when you laugh. I will want to comfort you when you are sad or fearful. I will feel comfort when you are happy. A day will not pass that I will not check on you. You will always be in my thoughts, plans, and feelings. My days will end always with me saying goodnight and I love you.

And there I will wait…

…for you.

Tyler's Journal Entry: 416

Date: September 10

Day: Tuesday

Weather: Rainy and cool

Miles to go: 580

There was lightning again today, so I didn’t have to work in the garden. Jeff and I were assigned different jobs today. He had the misfortune of having Fat George decide his fate and had to clean the outhouses. I was assigned to Father Patrick today. Not as an altar boy, Father Patrick won’t make that mistake again, I had to clean Father Patrick’s house. He had me cleaning his windows, scrubbing his holy toilet, sweeping his floor, and everything else he didn’t want to do himself. This assigned duty had me in the presence of Father Patrick almost all day.

He seemed to be taking the day off and never got dressed. Normally, he’s dressed in his priest gear and looks respectable. However today, he wore a t-shirt and pajama bottoms. His t-shirt read “I’M WITH STUPID,” and had an arrow below the words pointing to the left. However, the way he had his shirt bunched, it looked like the arrow was pointing upward and towards his face. I kept chuckling to myself when I noticed it. His pajama bottoms had a STAR WARS theme and read “USE THE FORCE,” scrolling across his behind. He looked ridiculous. Especially for a guy who takes himself so seriously.

Of course being Father Patrick, he had to talk in depth about God and how we all need to be saved. I went along with him again and pretended to be really interested. However, I was thinking mostly about the tunnel.

During our conversation, Father Patrick changed the subject to family. He asked me about mine and told me about his. He said he once had a wife and one child - a boy also named Tyler.

He showed me a picture of Tyler and commented on how we had the same name, and how we even looked alike. I didn’t see the similarity between him and me other than our names and we were close in age.

I was actually kind of put off that he thought I looked like his son. I don’t want to sound insensitive, but the picture Father Patrick showed me was a picture of what seemed to be a chunky mentally challenged boy wearing a protective helmet. The boy had drool and snot running down his face and was apparently picking his butt.

How Father Patrick thought I looked like that boy, baffled me and made me second guess my good looks. I even took a second glance in Father Patrick’s mirror to check myself. I came to the conclusion that I didn’t look anything like that boy and Father Patrick is crazier than I thought.

But I could see it in his eyes that he truly believed I did. Either way, I reminded him of his son and he seemed to want to take me under his wing. After I was done with my work, Father Patrick said he’d make me deal. He said we’d play Yahtzee to see who did his dishes. He said, him and his son would play Yahtzee everyday to see who did dishes. I could see a twinkle in his eye as he spoke of his time with his son.

I agreed, and we played Yahtzee sitting next to his crackling fireplace.

If you can get pass the pirating of steamboats, killing people who try to escape or break into his prison, putting the PULLED in dungeons, being totally insane,  imprisoning everyone he meets, and having a poor sense of fashion - Father Patrick isn’t that bad of a guy.

He seemed to enjoy my company and even seemed to let me win at Yahtzee (I’m guessing he had to let his son win also). So when the game was over, Father Patrick placed his hand on my shoulder and thanked me for the game. He said he’d take care of the dishes since I won the game. He had a glow about him. I think us playing Yahtzee reminded him of better times. He gave me some cookies he made and said I could share them with Jeff. I thanked him and walked back to my cell.

Jeff looked worried that I spent so much time with Father Patrick and came back with cookies. Jeff refused to eat any. I told him we’d save them for when we escape, that we will need the extra food for our trip. I mostly said that to reassure Jeff that I wasn’t falling under Father Patrick’s spell.

Tyler's

Journal Entry: 421

Date: September 15

Day: Sunday

Weather: Windy and cool

Miles to go: 580

SInce our first game, Father Patrick has had me over every day to play Yahtzee and to see who would do his dishes. A couple times he beat me, but ended up helping me with the dishes anyways. I think Father Patrick misses his son very much and having me around reminds him of his times with his son. Part of me feels guilty, because I have bad feeling towards him, but he seems to be very fond of me. Mom always said to find the good in people. But what if they do so much that is bad? Where do I draw the line? Even though Father Patrick is bad by all definition, a part of me feels sorry for him.

I’ve become fairly relaxed with Father Patrick and have started conversations about what he’s doing with the prisoners. I haven’t taken the chance yet to challenge him about the prison. I feel he likes me enough that I can give my opinion that what he is doing is wrong. But I don’t want to take that chance. He is crazy and crazy people don’t think like the rest of us.

What if I challenge what he is doing and he turns on me? Right now he sees me as a lost child, who reminds him of his son. With a few careless words on my part, I could become the enemy to him and be cast into the dungeons with the PULLED. I will just focus on buying my time until I escape.

Jeff’s been experimenting with our cell lock. We want to make our attempt during the night, so that means we will have to find a way out of our cell without a key.

Jeff’s been putting little pebbles mixed with clay inside where the lock clicks shut. The locks are dated back to the Civil War Era and are pretty basic when it comes to locks. The guards have to manually lock each one with a skeleton key each night before bedtime. The lock works by an arm rotating down (with the turn of a skeleton key), and then locking into place. Jeff thinks if he can block the rotation of the locking arm, he can fool the guard into thinking the lock is locked.

Every night, Jeff gradually plugs the lock, and every night the guard works the lock enough till it locks. Jeff’s tinkering has gone unnoticed and the guard just thinks the lock is getting corroded. Jeff waits every night till the guard leaves to see if his tinkering worked. Tonight it worked.

The guard thought he locked the lock, but he didn’t. Jeff was able to wiggle the locking arm back to open position and open the door. However the tunnel is not finished and we cannot leave tonight. But at least we have another piece of the puzzle and are one step closer to getting out of here.

Tyler's

Journal Entry: 423

Date: September 17

Day: Tuesday

Weather: Sunny and warm

Miles to go: 580

The tunnel is complete! We had to spend a couple days digging under the wall but we made it. The wall went deeper than expected and there was heavy clay mixed with rocks at its base. But with Jeff and I’s strong wills’ , we were able to get past it and find sunlight on the other side of the wall. The opening peeked out in a clump of bushes. This is good, since the opening will be hidden from plain view. We joking said that our tunnel will end at the feet of a guard and all our hard work would have been for nothing. But we found ourselves in a perfect spot and out of view of any guards. The water is only a few meters away and there are cattails blanketing our passage to the water. We are very motivated and excited. It’s hard to hide our excitement, and both Jeff and I can sense freedom is within a day or two.

We stored extra food in the tunnel so we can grab it on our way out. Jeff grabbed a bag of corn seed and said he would use that to keep him afloat (remember he can’t swim). I grabbed a length of rope that I will use to connect myself to Jeff and pull him with. I’ll tie it around my waste and loop it around Jeff’s shoulders. He can float on his back holding the corn seed while I pull him. I am a good swimmer, and with proper technique, I can swim without splashing or making any noise. Good swimmers stab the water and pull themselves through the water. I can swim a few miles without making a sound or splashing a drop. Inexperienced swimmers slap the water and make a lot of noise. All Jeff will have to do is hold on tight and relax till we reach the shore.

Jeff has mastered unlocking our cell door and is confident he can do it anytime we are ready. We decided we will leave tomorrow night. The moon is three-quarters dark and will shine little light. The temperature is warm for this time of the year and will keep the lake water moderately warm. I will be stealthy, but fast in my swim. I will keep warm, because I will be doing all the swimming. But Jeff will be relaxed and not moving, meaning his body temp will fall fast. I will have to get him across the lake as fast as possible.

Back in our cell, Jeff and I talked about where we were going after we escape. Jeff’s family is a couple days to the west. Mine is a couple months to the north. We reluctantly agreed that we would have to separate when the time was right.

Jeff talked about his family and how much he missed them. He described his wife and how beautiful she is to him. He said he misses playing with his kids and having family night playing board games. Jeff stared at the candle in our cell and seemed to be lost in thought. He just kept talking with a warm glow in his face. I can tell he misses his family as much as I miss mine. I let him keep talking without interrupting. It was nice to see the joy in his face and I didn’t mind that he kept talking about them.

Jeff rubbed his wedding ring and said that if it weren’t for his family, he would have no reason to keep living. He said they are his “reason for everything.”

Jeff fell asleep after some time. I could not sleep, for I was far too excited to start our escape. I remind myself that not too long ago I was an innocent kid who liked collecting STAR WARS toys and playing with my little brother. Now here I am, a prisoner in an old Civil War prison, hundreds of miles away from my family, contemplating escape at the risk of losing my life. This would seem exciting to watch in a movie, but to live it, is not. I just want things to go back to the way they used to be.

Tyler's

Journal Entry: 424

Date: September 18

Day: Wednesday

Weather: Sunny and warm

Miles to go: 580

I have found Balow!

Today Jeff and I were working in the garden when a bunch of the PULLED came running out from a door of the east wing barracks. They looked like they overtook a guard and was able to get past him. They ran out the door and were heading to the perimeter wall. They didn’t get far though. They cornered themselves against the wall and were quickly captured. Jeff and I were the only prisoners to witness this since the garden is off and away from the main barracks. Jeff pointed them and as I looked closer I saw him. It was Balow!

Balow was fighting, but looked weak and lethargic. It didn’t take much to bring him down, re-collar him, and drag him back to the dungeons. He didn’t see me, but I saw him. For some reason, I didn’t let Jeff know that I knew Balow. But I knew then my plans had changed. Once I get Jeff to safety, I will come back for Balow. I know he would do it for me.

Jeff and I returned to the garden. I chose to work on the other side of field away from Jeff. I needed time to myself to formulate a plan. A plan to come back and rescue Balow.

I will have to do it all in one night. There will be no hanging around once they realize Jeff is gone. They will scour the area until they find our tunnel. I will need to get Jeff across the lake, then make my way back to the cabin to fetch my wetsuit. The wetsuit is too small for Balow, but I can wear it and keep both of us afloat as I back stroke holding Balow in my arms. He looks way too weak to swim on his own, and who knows if he can swim in the first place. But how will I get Balow past the guards? I can’t overtake an adult guard and I’m not going to kill anyone with a sneak attack.

In the movies you always see the bad guy get hit over the head with something and get knocked out. But in reality, one of two things would probably happen, I would really make the guard mad after hitting him, or I could kill him. Either way, striking someone over the head is a bad idea. So I guess I will have to figure it out as I go.