Wasted Time

By: RebekahWSD


Some people have a knack for finding strange things. Strange things always seem to find Zane Legends. Perhaps he shouldn't have drunk quite so much liquor at the bar when he had finally rolled into town, late into the day as the sun set. Maybe then this situation wouldn't have found him. Both him and his horse had been through hell and back crossing the desert, and they had both gotten a little wild when they had finally found a town in this god forsaken hellhole of a country.

So it really came as no surprise when he woke up with a pounding headache in what appeared to be the county jail. Well, he assumed it was the county jail since it had two jail cells rather than the one most towns would have. Groaning, he stretched out, sitting up on the small, hard bed.

“Well howdy there, glad to see them tossing you in here didn't leave you too busted up,” a voice drawled slowly. Blinking, he looked over to see what appeared to a rather old, slightly disheveled gentleman sitting in the other cell. The guy seemed quite amused at Zane, and Zane couldn't remember why.

Then again, all of last night was a blur of drinking, shouting, and more drinking...

“You seem to be a bit more busted up than I thought...” the guy said slowly, eyes widening as he saw the scar on Zane's head. Zane shook his head, touching the scar.

“No this isn't new it...”

As he started to speak, the heavy sound of boots came down the hall towards the cell, causing both guys to look up.

His fellow prisoner rolled his eyes, shaking his head, muttering quietly. “It's just Jacob. Since it's a Sunday, the warden took the day off I guess. Fucking hell,” he muttered, spitting on the floor.

The guy who he had called Jacob came into view, a massive mountain of a man. His face was twisted into a snarl as he unlocked both cells, dropping the trays of food he was carrying before turning to close and lock them.

Zane coughed, causing Jacob to grimace, turning to stare at him. “What do you want, fucker?”

Zane sighed, rubbing his head. “Well, I'd like to know where I am. And when I get to stop being where I am, and get to be somewhere less...barred.”

Jacob rolled his eyes, spitting on the ground. “You'll have to ask the warden. I'm guessing yer here because you were throwing a fit in the bar when they told you the only rooms open were upstairs, I don't fucking know. So yer going to be here for another day or so. Have fun,” he said, trying to smirk, although on his features it appeared to be more of a grimace.

He left, slamming the door shut behind him, leaving the two of them alone.

“Jacob is a fucking asshole. Sorry mate,” his fellow prisoner said.

Zane sighed, leaning against the wall of the cell. He had to get out of here today, otherwise he'd never make it to the ocean far across the desert that surrounded this horrible little town.

He ate the tray of food before dropping the empty platter. As far as food went, he wasn't sure it really qualified as food anymore.

“So what are you in here for? And...who are you?” he said as he tried to figure out some way to get out, chewing his fingernails, trying to remove the taste of the not food from his mouth.

The prisoner laughed, amused. “I'm in here because I'm a homeless drunk. Better than being on the streets, in my opinion. They feed you at least. And you can call me hm...what name haven't I used yet...” he said, trailing off. “You can call me Ike, I guess.”

“Well Ike. Know any way to get out of here?” Zane said, frowning as he stared around the cell. Despite it being a shitty jail, the bars and cells themselves seemed to be solidly constructed.

Ike stretched out on the bed, grin scraggly from missing teeth. “Not if you want to stay in town. Now, if you just needed to get out and leave town, never to return, I'm sure I could figure something out,” he said, chuckling as he pulled a key from his pocket, tossing it to Zane. Zane's eyes went wide, tilting his head curiously at Ike.

“How did you get this?” Zane said as he fumbled with the lock, unlocking the cell before tossing the key back to Ike.

“The warden is a nice guy. I pretty much live here. And well, why not give me the key in case he can't get into keep an eye on me?” he said as he put the key away. “You're going to want to go around the back and just book it. Jacob is likely asleep, but you never know. He's a fucking asshole.”

Zane nodded, waving goodbye at Ike as he ducked out, running towards the stables.

Mounting his horse, he shook his head at the shitty town he left behind, not bothering to even see if it had a name.


Genre: Western
Setting: In prison
Character: Homeless person