The Poe Predicament by Phil Thomas

Author:Phil Thomas
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: thriller, suspense, action, paranormal, time travel
Publisher: Foundations Book Publishing Company

Twenty

Richard and Eddie were booked at the station, and each put in a separate solitary cell. Thankfully, they were side by side, so they at least had company. The rats didn’t count, nor did the cockroaches or spiders that seemed to appear without warning. The place was a lot bigger than Richard had thought. For some reason, he imagined an old Wild West type of prison with approximately two or three cells per jail. This was nothing like that. The sheer size of the prison had overwhelmed him when they entered the general population area. It reminded him of a wagon wheel, with a central hub, and each row of cells spoked out in multiple directions.

Prison guards stood along the rafters, desensitized to the echoing screams and moans of inmates in the distance. The howls tore through the rafters as Richard listened to their agony, locked away behind a cage of crazy.

Both men cringed at the crippling odor that reminded them of rancid meat simmering on a hot summer day. It caused Richard’s stomach to turn the instant he entered. Because a phone call was out of the question, his first request was a tall glass of water and something to eat, hoping it would cure the nausea, to which he was promptly informed he would get something when they felt like giving it to him. At least they remained in their street clothes for the time being, and neither man had to hand over any possessions. He was grateful for that because his book of poems was something he refused to part with.

It was still the most important thing he had in the world, and he’d be damned to let any of these prison guards get their grimy hands on it. He clutched it tightly in the cell, wishing for home more than ever.

They were imprisoned on level two, row six. When the bars clanged shut behind Richard, and the sound of the key locking the cell rang out, he stood entirely still for well over ten minutes, recoiling from the hollowed screams that surrounded him. And for a moment, he considered the possibility that this was all just a very vivid nightmare.

Richard and Eddie were separated when they’d first arrived, and neither one thought they’d see the other anytime soon, except maybe in the mess hall, or the courtyard. Richard wondered if they even had courtyards in 1831 prisons. He’d been in his cell for well over an hour when the sound of bars clanging rung out. Eddie then appeared, shuffling into the vacant cell next to his. Richard was glad to see him. Through all the disruption that had occurred, he’d almost forgotten who Eddie really was. But as he felt the book’s solid binding beneath his coat, it came rushing back. All of the animosity he’d felt towards Eddie in the mansion and in the presence of the painting dissolved, and he was thankful because it went against his nature.

He was grateful to see Eddie, but

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