Chapter 1--The Prison

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"O hateful spell of Sin! when friends are nigh,
To make stern Memory tell her tale unsought,
And raise accusing shades of hours gone by,
To come between us and all kindly thought!"2

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"Look; the ONLY way you can get out of this cell is if you believe that I can set you free."4

Jackson looked into the face of the young person that he had thought was his friend; "The soldiers came--and you could have rescued my family from them but you didn't! When I ran from them soldiers, you did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to stop them from capturing me! NOW, you expect me to JUST BELIEVE that you can set me free! That's totally irrational and absurd; besides, the owner of this dungeon, says that in a matter of a few years, I will have worked hard enough to EARN my own freedom! I don't NEED your help at ALL--you failed me!"5

Without saying a word, Michael took out a golden key; "This key fits the lock to this cell and the doors leading to the main entrance of this castle. I can unlock it at anytime; until you call out for help, you will stay in this dungeon, and you will...die!" With that, Michael held his breath and waited for Jackson's response; Jackson didn't know what to say. Here he was--wanting to earn his way out of the dungeon but at the same time, wanting to immediately be freed from the hell-hole that he'd been in for so long. He was also feeling quite angry about Mike's unwillingness to set him free unless he was asked for help. Deep down, Jack stubbornly refused the proposal, glaring angrily at Michael the whole time.6

Michael slowly made his way to the door, hoping that Jackson would ask for help--but to no avail. Sadly, Michael closed the jail cell door and walked down the dimly lit hallway; but before descending the staircase, he shouted "I'LL BE BACK!". Jackson ran over to the cell door and yelled, "GET OUT AND DON'T COME BACK! I DON'T NEED YOUR FLIPPIN' HELP! FLIP YOU!" Clip, clop, clip, clock--his footsteps echoed back into Jackson ears and throwing himself onto the floor of the cell, Jackson groaned as he struggled between wanting so desperately to call for help and being freed by his own merit. The footsteps faded out...and in their place, the groanings of prisoners and screams of terror that had been muffled for a time, now RESOUNDED through the halls and off the walls, filling his cell; Jackson raced over to his prison bed and try to cover his head with a pillow to drown out those terrifying sounds-- but those sounds seemed to be trapped inside the pillow with him.7

Jackson began to scream with torment and ever so slowly he became aware that soon, something was going to happen to him...8

...And it WASN'T going to be good.