Christian Guzmn

INGL 3104-020

Pursuit of
Freedom

The day has finally arrived. It is time to put the plan in action. If all goes well, I
should be free from this hellhole three hours from now but again, this is only if all goes
according to the plan. Ive always preferred working alone but, this particular job requires
teamwork. When planning such an event one must be careful who one choses to include. It is
important to include only the necessary amount of people. I managed to include only two: Joel
and myself.
I must admit, he wasnt my first choice. That would be Franklyn. He has proven to be
stealthy: being able to maintain a drug smuggling business in prison requires stealth and intellect.
He has also proven to be able to defend himself: being the weekly wrestling competition
champion for five consecutive weeks. I never approached him about the plan since his release is
scheduled a month from now and I doubt hed want to risk added time to his sentence. Joel has
proven to have both of these traits. However, he has the delusion that outside the prison most of
the population has become infected by a virus that makes them crave human flesh; that we
havent seen the effect on the prison because the faculty had been instructed to keep the convicts
in the dark. I find this hard to believe since he is the only one of the hundreds of prisoners in this
prison island who has this idea. To defend his position, he holds on to the fact that he has been
the last prisoner to be transferred to this facility. In a normal prison, not receiving new convicts
in a couple of months might be odd but, this is not your average jail. The facility usually receives
around six prisoners a year. This is where the worst of the worst are sent. It is located on a small
island. The nearest land is days away by boat so that is not the best option out of here. Even if
one were to get access to one, the prison has tracking guns and would destroy it before you even
get twenty feet away. Also, there are guards stationed along the coast of the other land and in the
event that one manages to survive the attack from the guns, they would be informed and be

prepared long before the destination is reached. The only possible way to make a successful
escape would be by getting hold of an aircraft and finding a way to disable or destroy the guns.
How do we get an aircraft? Twice a year, a ship containing enough supplies to last for six months
makes its way to the facility. Supplies are left at the prison and all the waste is taken. The next
shipment arrives today, thats why its so important to execute the plan today. Otherwise we
would have to wait six more months. The objective is simple find a way to reach the waste
containment and hide among the trash. Once inside the ship, fight for its control. This should be
simple since the ship is not heavily guarded. Afterwards, fly home.
The twelve oclock bell sounds, it is time to put the plan in action. I head straight to one
of the guards and punch him in the face, Joel has done the same. This lands us in solitary
confinement. This part is essential for our success because the convicts in solitary do not have to
go through the count that is made before the ship takes off because it is believed to be extremely
secure. However, it is not as secure as they think. With Joels amazing stealth skills he managed
to steal the keys from one of the guards before landing ourselves in solitary. This secure place,
has only one guard sitting by the entrance. Using the key, Joel frees himself, takes out the guard
and proceeds to free me.
By the time we free ourselves from solitary, the ship has arrived and the staff has begun
to unload the supplies. Joel and I, both being experienced in stealth, manage to sneak past the
guards toward the waste containment. We hide under one of the old beds found among the trash.
This provides enough cover to remain unseen while the containment is loaded. So far the plan
has gone well. As I hear the engine roar and feel movement I cant help but feel excited. It is
almost done. My freedom is so close, all thats left is gaining control of the ship. A message
plays through the intercom of the ship. The message makes my heart raise. It is a message from

the captain: To all guards aboard: We have been informed that two of the prisoners have
managed to free themselves from their cells, and it is highly suspected that they are aboard the
ship. Find them as soon as possible. To all staff: We will be returning to the prison to sort this
problem. Please do not be alarmed. How could they have possibly found out? Could the guard
Joel knocked out have woken up already or, did the guard we steal the keys from find out they
were missing and investigated, found the knocked out guard and the two empty cells? So many
possible explanations were going through my mind
This discovery has forced us to speed up the process. We were planning on waiting for
the ship to be a good distance away to commandeer it but, recent events have complicated our
situation and it has to be done now. We cannot allow the ship to land. We jump from the
containment and encounter, instead of unsuspecting, easy to take out guards, four guards that
were near the container, aware of our presence and ready to fight. Even though this is more
challenging, it is not impossible. After all, one of the reasons I chose Joel to accompany me is
because of his fighting skills. Being skilled fighters, we manage to take out all four guards. We
continued our way to the cabin. We manage to take out a total of eighteen guards along the way.
We would find them in groups of two or four and would successfully finish them off. We make it
to the captains cabin. The captain didnt put much of a fight, we successfully took over the ship.
If we had made it to the cabin a few minutes later it would have been too late, the prison
was already in site. We quickly turn the ship around and make for our escape. A message plays
through the communications radio: Captain, captain, are you there? Why have you turned
around? Captain!? the speaker pauses, waiting for a reply. Then continues: Captain if you are
there, or whoever is piloting the ship, this is a warning. If you do not turn the ship around within
fifteen seconds, you will be shot down. I had forgotten about the guns. They werent supposed

to be a problem because by the time they found out we had taken control of the ship we were
supposed to be out of reach from the missiles. It is time to make a decision: Live the rest of my
life confined or die now, at least die bravely, fighting for my freedom. I glance at Joel, looking
for approval for what I was going to do, keep moving away from the prison. He nods in
approval. There was no need for words, we had both chosen our fate. The missile is fired and hits
the ship directly. As we spiral into the ocean, I cant help but think, what if Joel wasnt crazy?
What if the world was filled with infected man-eating humans? Is dying this way really that bad?