Miles Tenham had spent four years as a convict inside Arkansas Penitentiary and Re-Education. The world around him consisted of concrete-walls and constant shouting of his inmates. This was the only world Miles would care for, as it was the only world he was going to have. Tenham had a past as a violent member of a criminal organization. He had a reputation for doing terrible things to people who crossed him. Lucky for him, nobody had seen any potential threat in him, as the years in this prison was moving on. 

Miles saw nothing to it. He kept to himself in his cell most of the times. Spent time with as few inmates as possible. Like a caged lonewolf. Knowing the outside was not his world anymore.

Recently, rumors had flied by. Stories of some kind of assault in Washington came just as he arrived the first time four years ago. Miles didn’t care too much about the life outside his cell. But whispers could be heard. The guards was going more and more silent as for what was happening. And the mails from outside the prison was getting fewer and fewer. Some even claimed that the guards refused to give the prisoners full access to what was happening to the world outside. 

One day, two years ago, the guards started to arm themselves with heavier gear. This really got the rumors going. One of the prisoners was Jacobs. Just like Miles, he was spending the rest of his life here. For similar crimes. He knew that something was going on. That the president was involved with Avalon. 

Miles had heard of Avalon. The religious group of fanatics that recently grew into powerful numbers. All over the globe, they posed as a threat. Nobody really knew what they wanted.

And then, all went silent! Not a single word was uttered to the inmates. All news in the prison was selected and edited to their own benefits. Jacobs had his theory that the outside was so bad by now. So bad they didn’t want the inmates to know. Miles started to think. Maybe it was the best world for him, safe in these concrete walls. Protected by armed guards from whatever madness was out there.

The fateful night had come. Through the small cracks of the barred windows, the sky lied dark and gloomy. Not a single cloud, not a single star on the skyline. All was very silent. 

Miles lied restless in his bunk bed. His mind was at unease. This silence got to him, as it never was this quiet. But the silence was broken by someone slowly walking over the floor, with the faint echoes of his hardened shoes. The door slid open and it was an older guard, Wally. He looked at Miles Tenham with a pale face. Hushing him as he slowly walked up to the inmate.

Miles was told by Wally that the others was outside on the courtyard, waiting for a transportation. The prison was been evacuated. Miles had no idea how the guards could act in such a silent maneuver, but Jacobs and Miles was the only one left.

Wally walked with Miles down the corridor in haste. The silence got Miles worried. Nothing was as it seemed. The fact that Miles hands and legs was free was a sign that everything outside had gone beyond bad. Wally refused to answer Miles questions. Maybe because he did not know the answer. It was clear that Wally was just doing his job. Following his orders.

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They came to a crossing heading through a security gate on the back of the facility. Wally came to a halt and Miles could see the three figures up ahead. Wally dragged Miles to cover behind a pillar. The three figures were well-built and armed with assault rifles. It was a gut feeling in Miles, telling him that these were not ordinary guards.

In the cover of the shadows, Wally pulled out his trustworthy handgun. An old and simple piece that would never stand a chance against whoever was luring in the dark. He pulled Miles down to the floor and they both started to crawl to the exit. 

All signs in the building was black. Miles understood now, why the darkness was so odd. It was a total blackout. Even the security scanner by the gate was dead. As they crawled closer to the exit, a yelling could be heard. One of the shadowed character had spotted Miles and aimed at him with the rifle.

“In the name of AVALON!” the character yelled and was just about to open fire. Yelling could be heard from the outside and gunfire got the armed guards attention. He turned his weapon at the gate and a buss, made for prison extraction, crashed through the gate in a mist of dust and dirt. All three shadowed Avalon guards opened fire at the buss, shredding it with bullets. 

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Wally pulled Miles up to his feet and both sprinted far away from the scene as armed prisoners entered through the gate, shooting at the Avalon guards with all types of weapons. Miles could not believe his eyes of this warfare.

Wally told Miles that the guards of the prison had heard radio-communications on an upcoming attack on the prison. The whole area was evacuating. But they had miscalculated the assault from Avalon.

Wally reached for his radio for contact. But nobody was there to answer. Just static, broken up with a few selected words. They arrived at the diner of the prison. Wally managed to find his keys for the emergency exit and unlocked the door. Miles saw the sprinkled tears in Wally’s eyes. The old man was terrified, but for some reason he refused to leave Miles alone. The door opened with ease and they stepped outside.

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The giant headlights over the courtyard turned on like the flip of a switch just as Wally and Miles came running outside the walls of the prison. The air was cold, shivering. But the sound consisted of something more than just the endless gunfire. A helicopter was hovering above them with a terrible presence. 

Miles was worried, just before he understood that it was there to assist them just about to land. Wally looked around and screamed in panic. Miles turned to see it, hiding in the shadow beyond the headlights.

A metallic hulking beast. A mechanic creation on two legs, shaped like a humanoid. Instead of hands it held blades and it had only one eye, glowing red. This thing looked as if it had been standing guard outside the prison. Waiting for a chance to show it’s might. And now it had the time to shine. This giant was just about as big as the helicopter.

The chopper had seen the beast and opened fire with automatic machine guns. But the metallic monster leaped up in the sky with ease, landing with a simple chop of it’s blade. Cutting the chopper down in one take. The chopper crashed into the ground, knocking one of the headlights down and causing a fire to smolder around it. Dust and dirt flew like a cloud over the ground as Jacobs came running over the ground from the shadows. Both Miles and Wally were stunned, frozen by fear, but Jacobs grasped hold of Miles arm and managed to drag him. Miles came to his senses and started to run along his former inmate.

Miles fumbled above his own feet and fell. The metallic beast ran after him, ignoring Wally, still stunned by the look of the death machine. Miles rolled over the ground, avoiding a heavy thump of the machines blade that hit the ground in massive force. 

As it struggled to pull out the blade from the ground, Wally ran up to it from behind, holding his trusty handgun. He fired two shots into the back of the robots protective panels.

Miles saw his chance and started to run towards Jacobs, escaping the monsters might. But the giant robot made another jump and landed in front of them. Blocking their path.

It swings it’s blade at Jacobs, who manages to skip to the side, avoiding impact from the giant blade.

Miles stared into the red eye of the robot and let unfiltered rage fill up his mind. Years of hate boiled up as he took charge, running towards the beast made of mechanic metal. In one solid push, he manages of all his might, to knock the beast of it’s balance. Straight into the wall of a small hut made out of bricks. 

Exposed wires started to fly up from the bend metal. And the eye had a huge crack in it, flickering as it tried to sustain energy. The robot was a stubborn beast. But not immortal. Miles muscles was burning of the pain after the massive body ram. 

Wally ran up, gun blasting at the giant, now fighting to get up. It swings it’s blade against Wally, in a desperate attempt to injure. But Wally was out of reach from the heavy tank. Jacobs rush up to pull in one of the exposed wires, but the beast sees the upcoming threat and kicks Jacobs so he flies back into another wall. Jacobs falls flat on the ground, not moving.

The giant robot get back in it’s feet, not knowing that Miles has climbed up it’s back. Miles is trying to pull out the wires of the things back, but the robot shakes him off. In the shake he swings his arm around, knocking the gun out of Wallys hand.

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The twin-bladed menace was over. In pure exhaustion, Miles Tenham kneeled on the ground. His mind was like a furious volcano. He was, somehow…despite all of this. Alive. Miles turned his head to the prison. What path should he take? What life should he live? His mind got clearer once he heard the moaning. Wally rolled over on his back, wiggling like a worm in pain. The dark stains of blood told Miles that the old prison guard was injured. 

Miles walked over to the friendly man who had helped him. Wally wanted Miles to go. To save himself and leave. That the world inside the cell was not his anymore. But Miles knew otherwise. He could not leave Wally to his own fate. Not like this. 

Miles wrapped a piece of cloth from his own arm around the bloody hand of Wally. Helped the man up on his feet. 

They both walked over to the crushed body of Jacobs. There was nothing anyone could do to him. And if they stayed at the prison, they would have zero chance of survival. All the both of them could do, was to walk. Into the night and the unknown.

So Miles and Wally took their steps away from the yard. Into the freedom of the night. Not knowing what life would come next....