Up, Up, and Away Chapter 13
Locked Away
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Solitary confinement was the worst.
It was bad the first time, after his fight with Will, but not this bad. Hurting Will had caused Trevor to withdraw into himself, so lost and upset that he barely even noticed the days going by. All he could think about the entire time was that terrible moment when he’d completely lost control of himself, and the terrible consequences of his actions.
This time, though, he retained his lucidity. He felt the minutes passing as slowly as molasses. They seemed to stretch on forever. The only sign of time passing was the tiny sliver of sunlight from the window crawling across the floor as the day went on.
There wasn’t enough room for him to stand up straight. He couldn’t occupy his time by pacing across the length of the cell; he could cross it in two strides. All he could do was sit on the cold hard concrete floor and watch the spot of light from the window slowly shifting along the ground.
By the second day, he’d already started talking to himself. At first, it was only the occasional muttering.
“Idiot,” he would whisper to himself, recalling his most recent fight. “What were you thinking, picking them up like that?”
As time went on he grew more and more agitated. Eventually, he was having one-sided conversations with himself.
“Can’t stand it in here,” he said, eyes darting anxiously around the room. “I don’t know how much longer I can take it.”
His eyes landed on the bars of his cell. The gears in his head turned.
“What if I broke myself out?”
He looked down at his hands, examining them.
“Am I strong enough?”
He got to his feet and shuffled over to the bars. “Only one way to find out.”
He wrapped his hands around the bars and gave them a tug. No dice. Furrowing his brow, he began pulling harder. Maybe he was imagining it, but it felt like the bars had a bit of give.
The cuffs on his wrists began warming up. He ignored them, gritting his teeth and planting his feet firmly on the ground. The metal bars began creaking from the strain he was putting on them.
His cuffs grew hotter, like the circuitry within was overheating. He didn’t want to stop, though. He felt like he was making progress.
“Come on…”
“HEY!” A guard shouted from down the hall. Their footsteps pounded against the ground as they dashed towards him.
With a grunt of frustration he let go, just as the guard arrived. He backed away with his hands up as the guard brandished a can of pepper spray at him.
“Hands off the bars, inmate,” the guard warned.
Then their eyes drifted down to the bars in question and widened in shock. Trevor hadn’t exactly pried the bars from the wall like he’d been trying to do, but he had managed to significantly bend the two bars he’d been pulling on.
“How did you…” they trailed off, eyes flicking down to his cuffs, which were still active. “There’s no way you could…”
The guard never finished that sentence. Instead they eyed him warily as they backed away.
“Don’t do that again,” they warned as they left him alone.
Trevor shook his head, coming back to his senses somewhat.
“Idiot. What were you thinking?” he repeated to himself as he sat against the wall again.
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By the third day he was starting to go numb. His mind was blank from the lack of stimulation. His body was sore from sitting in the same spot for days. He felt like he was losing his mind.
His head was tilted back, and he stared at the ceiling. His eyes were starting to burn because he was blinking so infrequently. From the lack of light in the room, it seemed like it was around sunset. His surroundings were cast in the dull gray of evening, in contrast with the bright fluorescent lights buzzing in the hallway.
Footsteps approached from the end of the hall. Probably someone coming to bring him dinner. The only food they would give him was still those awful nutritional shakes, since it was the only thing they had portioned for him. He was starting to get used to the flavor, at least.
Someone tapped on the bars of his cell. Turning his head, he saw a guard carrying a bucket. This was Officer Morris, the same guard who usually attended to his cell block this time of day.
“Stand back while I open the door,” he ordered, scanning his keycard at the door to his cell.
Getting to his feet as best as he could, he made his way to the back of the cell. The scanner emitted a harsh buzz and the lock clicked. Morris opened the door just wide enough to put the bucket down, slide it inside, and shut the door again.
Trevor slunk back to the front of his cell, grabbing the bucket as he sat back down. He brought it to his lips and began chugging the smoothie-like substance inside. The bitter, chemical taste hardly even made him gag anymore.
“I don’t know how you stomach that stuff,” Morris commented as he stopped for air.
Trevor wiped his mouth with his arm. “What choice do I have?”
Morris shrugged. “Fair enough.”
He kept lingering by the door after that. Trevor watched him warily as he finished his meal.
“Why are you still here?” he asked eventually.
“Letter came for you,” Morris told him. He held an envelope through the bars.
Trevor took it carefully. “Does it say from who?”
The guard handed the letter off to him. “One Marta Castillo. Someone you know?”
Trevor’s heart surged, but his stomach tightened at the same time. He had complicated feelings about speaking to his mother again. He thought he’d scared her off the last time they’d seen each other.
“My mom,” he murmured.
“Yeah? Well make sure you write back to her. You never know when you’ll get the chance to see her again,” Morris warned him as he walked away.
Trevor turned the envelope over in his hands. The top had already been cut open, as if the prison had felt the need to check the contents themselves. That frustrated him a little, but it also saved him the trouble of opening it himself and possibly ripping the letter inside.
As carefully as possible, he held the envelope open and extracted the letter with his fingertips. He struggled a little to get a good grip on it, but he got it eventually. Then he unfolded the letter and leaned closer to the light in the hallway to read its contents.
The letter read:
Mijo,
I hope this letter finds you well enough. I’ve been desperate to come and see you, but they turn me away every time. Do you not want to see me?
Is it something I did? Last time we saw each other, you seemed so upset. I don’t know what I did to upset you, but I am so, so sorry. Is there any way I can make it up to you?
Hopefully you’ve been doing well, at least. Has it been hard settling in? I hope no one’s been giving you trouble.
I want you to know that no matter what happens, I’m here for you. There is nothing in this world that could make me stop loving you. Never forget that.
Te amo y te extraño,
Mamá
“Oh, mamá,” he whispered to himself. “It’s not your fault.”
His eyes were filling with tears. He’d been so afraid that she’d never want to see him again after what he’d done. Just knowing that she’d been trying to visit him filled him with relief.
It also made him feel incredibly guilty. All of this time she’d wanted to see him, and he’d inadvertently screwed it up by getting into fights. Every time he did, they took away all of his privileges, including his ability to receive visitors. No wonder they wouldn’t let her see him.
What would she think if she found out he’d been in two fights already? Would she be disappointed? Would it scare her off for good this time?
He shook his head, tears rolling down his cheeks. It didn’t matter. He had to let her know what was going on, or she’d never stop worrying. Hopefully, the warden would let him send a letter back.
A small splat drew his attention back to the letter. There was a large wet spot where one of his tears had fallen on the paper.
“Ah,” he chuckled sadly.
He wiped his face with his arm, then tried to blink the rest of his tears away. Then, with great care, he folded the letter up and placed it in one of the zippered chest pockets of his uniform, close to his heart.
He looked out the window one last time. It was getting darker every second. His eyes were sore with exhaustion. But for the first time in a long time, his resolve was strong.
I have to do better, he thought to himself as he lay on the ground. If not for me, then for her.
Then he shut his eyes and let his fatigue carry him into a deep slumber.
First/Last/Next
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20 Main Redeemed Villains in my AU
Note that this is all part of my headcanons.
Stories about their redemptions will be posted on possible upcoming headcanons of each character.
Also note that they are put in order of appearance.
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Row 1 :
Bill Edward ; Another Code (2005-2024)
Prince Nuada ; Hellboy 2 : The Golden Army (2008)
Icicle Storm (OC) ; My Little Pony (2010-2019)
Oni Triumvir ; Inazuma Eleven Movie (2010)
Zair ; Redakai (2011)
Row 2 :
Tokisada ; Saint Seiya Omega (2012)
Reiner Braun ; Shingeki no Kyojin (2013-2023)
Tangle ; FNAF World (2016)
Kaecilius ; Doctor Strange (2016)
Marta ; Outlast 2 (2017)
Row 3 :
Gareth ; Octopath Traveler (2018)
Mercphobia ; Fairy Tail 100 Year Quest (2018)
Otto Kessel ; Criminal Case : The Conspiracy (2019)
(Note that the game came out in 2018, but Otto's first official appearance is literally the very first case released in 2019)
Higgs Monaghan ; Death Stranding (2019)
I almost did his design for Death Stranding 2 but since it didn't came out yet...
Shehroz Peony Rose ; Pokémon Sword & Shield (2019)
Row 4 :
Karl Heisenberg ; Resident Evil Village (2021)
Zellard ; Monster Hunter Stories 2 : Wings of Ruin (2021)
Yan Luo Wang Diyu ; That's Not My Neighbor : Nightmare Mode (2024)
Messmer ; Elden Ring DLC : Shadow of the Erdtree (2024)
Alzbeta (OC) ; Barbarians of Lemuria (2024)
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