Hicks’s spooky tales 2: Final edition
Hicks’s spooky tales 2: Final edition
By Todd Hicks
Copyright by Todd Hicks in February 2022, January 2024
About the book
You will read spooky tales of characters encountering dread.
The characters in this book are fictional.
Any similarity between them and actual people is purely coincidental. This book is for people of all ages.
The perilous alert
He wasn’t typical by any means. The opposite of the rest of the unwanted population who spent most of their time sleeping or merely sitting down in their personal quarters, the truly repentant forger (William Banister) used his time in the clink to become penitent – walking the halls allowed him to do so, all while clearing his head and staying fit. As he surveyed his fellow inmates while passing their cells, he felt a little disgust.
Look at these guys. Most of them spend much of the day in their cells doing nothing constructive and not repenting for their crimes.
“William, my main man, how are things going for you this morning?” asked fellow inmate Dorian “Dory” Lemons in a minimum-security prison hall.
“It’s never a picnic residing in this place of corrections, but I always try to keep myself upbeat, and talking with you always makes my day because you’re my best friend and someone who wants to atone,” connected William Banister.
“That’s the spirit! Being optimistic helps you feel better, and is the right way to go, brother,” preached Dory.
“You couldn’t have said it any better,” received Bill.
“I’m going back to my cell to catch up on reading my industry magazines. Catch you later,” signed off Dory.
Sticking out his right hand for a hand slap, Will reciprocated, “Later.”
The close friends slapped one another’s hand then put his left arm around the other’s back. As Dorian returned to his cell, William resumed walking the halls to get some exercise and to have some time alone.
Days later…
The warden, the guards and many of the prisoners are in the kitchen at 5:35 PM. While peeling potatoes and chopping vegetables to form a cover for the plot they’re cooking up, they begin talking out what they intended to pull off.
Jeff Stew (the warden) commenced, “I have an idea for bringing in a lot of money and splitting the pot, with me getting the largest share. What we will do is release a lot of you inmates so you can sell the narcotics we supply to you; you send us some of the profits and you get to remain free.”
“It sounds good and all, but how will you pull off our release without raising alarms?” wondered Dorian.
“We will release about 15 percent of the inmate population under the premise that the prison is overcrowded and thus we must make preemptive paroles and releases. No convicted killers will be set free but some of the rapists and other sex offenders will be. Are you cool with selling controlled substances as part of your conditional release agreement?” replied Jeff.
“You know it,” affirmed Dorian.
After looking at Dory then shifting his gaze toward the other inmates in the room Jeff said, “That’s great. I take it the rest of you are in too?”
They all spoke or nodded their agreement. This made Jeff realize he was in business.
He continued, “That’s what I thought. In eight days, you guys will be released. The guards will give you the drugs, and your job from that point on will be to sell the contraband; report how much you make for each sale by phone, email or in person; send back 25 % of what you earn or bring it in; and come back for more contraband once your supply runs out.”
The warden then began presenting a few more details. Digesting the content of this conversation upon secretly pausing his walk to hear what was going on, William became concerned and was disappointed.
How could Dory be in on this? I thought he was better than this. I can take more time to reflect on my disappointment in him later. The bottom line is that I must find a way to safely get the word out about this diabolical scheme so that dangerous inmates aren’t put back on the street too soon.
He then walked away from the room and into an adjoining hall. Seconds later he crossed the path of his friend, Michelle Say (an early hall walker herself).
Discerning the worry on William’s face, she asked, “Will, what’s wrong?”
Will responded, “Shelly, the warden and many of the guards are scheming to prematurely release the inmates who were in the room I just came from so that they can they sell the drugs they’re provisioned for a profit. Some of the felons to be freed are rapists. I have to somehow warn authorities who are outside this prison.”
“I want to assist you,” offered Michelle.
“Okay, but if we’re to work together we must do it discreetly. I’m afraid we may raise suspicion by walking around together. I deem it best we split up,” accepted William.
“Understood,” agreed Michelle.
She and Bill then departed in opposite directions, looking for a way to send out an alert on the untoward plot underway. Unfortunately for them, the warden had things thought out to help ensure the success of his scheme.
Jeff told his co-conspirators, “We have to make sure nobody outside this room finds out about our scheme. None of you is to say anything about this outside this room.”
Looking at Mills Landon (a guard) sitting by the door, he directed, “Mills, I need you to conduct a head count to verify all the other inmates are in their cells. The rest of you are to stay in this room for now.”
Mills walked around the building on both floors. 28 minutes later he returned to the kitchen with sobering news.
He relayed, “Jeff, the two prisoners I didn’t find in their cells are William Banister and Michelle Say.”
“We can’t risk them finding us in here then becoming suspicious,” said Jeff.
Taking out his walkie-talkie, he radioed the guard overseeing the prison dogs, “Release the hounds.”
The two dozen Doberman Pinchers confined to a room at the west end of the first floor were set free. Walking the halls and looking over their shoulders to make sure they weren’t seen before turning corners or entering spaces where they could find a way to send alerts, Will and Michelle had no idea the immediate danger they were in.
Upon entering the center of the first floor in the main hall William heard dogs barking a short distance away. Turning around, he saw half the dogs on the loose round the nearest corner and straight into his line of sight.
Before they could reach his spot, the 6-foot William leaped to grab the bottom of a railing stretching across the second-floor platform above him as quick as a lightning bolt. He climbed over the railing before the dogs could bite his ankles and drag him down; the dogs barked at him momentarily then moved along. A scream emanated from Michelle as the other dogs attacked her elsewhere on the bottom floor; it dawned on William that some of the dogs turned loose must have gotten her.
Knowing he had to vacate his area and resume looking for a way to make a telephoned warning, he lacked the luxury to spend even a few seconds mourning Michelle’s fate. He resumed looking for telephones and computers on the top floor.
Not finding any of these, he knew he would have to go back downstairs to carry out his mission; however, he would have to get the dogs out of the way first. Detecting the dogs were getting closer, he had to act fast.
The dogs are probably on their way up. I don’t have much time to find a way to lock myself in safety, or to find a way to distract the hounds.
Finding a break room, he entered searching for food that could be of interest to the canine killers on the prowl. Opening the first cabinet on his left above the sink led him to a box of dog biscuits.
His next move was to grab the box then empty the contents onto the floor. He then backed himself into the corner with the break room door pressed on to him as he held the knob.
Three seconds later all the dogs entered the room, not paying William any mind. He then closed the door behind him.
Knowing guards would likely come upstairs within minutes he wasted no time going downstairs. While running he saw the body of Michelle.
“This is too bad,” he told himself.
91 seconds later he came upon the front room of the prison. Getting the guard manning the desk out of the room was top priority.
As he opened the door he urged the guard, “There’s a big fight in cell block E. Hurry!”
The guard rushed out, not giving William a second thought. William then picked up the phone on the desk. After he told the 9-1-1 dispatcher the address of the prison and what was going on there, the police arrived with a small team of animal control officers. Arrests were made and the dogs were taken away.
The special protector
Robert Redford was a hunted man. He had enemies in pursuit of him for something they wanted from him: knowledge of the stock market. A stock market analyst and investor, he knew all the market investing techniques and when it was the best time to bet. Stepping out of the building containing his office, he had no idea the immediate danger he was in.
While he opened the main door of his beige car, someone several feet behind him beckoned, “Tell us your trading secrets, Rob, and we’ll let you live.”
Before stepping into the car, the defiant Redford stated, “Never. I’m not allowed to divulge my insider knowledge.”
He quickly turned on the ignition then drove away under the dark afternoon sky that
Impressum
Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 27.02.2022
ISBN: 978-3-7554-0860-4
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