• Birth of Insanity

    The long drive was boring. Mostly the people, or at least the ones who (I’m sure) were framed, were crying or hurling onto the seat in front of them. I thought of all of the friends I’ve had in the past. I thought of my predicament. All of a sudden, a song came in my head. I played the Music aloud, letting it ring softly around the bus. If anyone didn’t know better, they would’ve thought they were imagining it. I sang softly to it.

    “A lonely road, cross’d another cold state line. Miles away from those I love, purpose hard to find. While I recall, all the words you spoke to me, can help them wish that I was there, where I’d love to be. Dear God, the only thing I ask of you is to hold them when I’m not around, when I’m much too far away. We all need the person who can be true to you, but I left them when I found them, and now I wish that instead…”

    As I sang, my voice and the Music rose so that the others could hear it clearly. The boy who called me crazy and gave me the inspiration for my new name perked up. He started singing with me.

    “’Cause I’m lonely, and I’m tired, I’m missing You again, oh no. Once again… There’s nothing here for me on this barren road. There’s no one here while the city sleeps, if all the shops are closed.”

    Just as we sang that line, we passed through a small, sleepy town, more of a village really. The other prisoners joined us.

    “Can’t help but think of the times I’ve had with You. Pictures and some memories will have to help me through. Dear God, the only thing I ask of you is to hold them when I’m not around, when I’m much too far away. We all need the person who can be true to you, but I left them when I found them, and now I wish that instead…’Cause I’m lonely, and I’m tired, I’m missing You again, oh no. Once again…”

    Everyone was now singing, even the hard-core killers.

    “With some search, everybody to weigh. They follow and waste away. I found You; something told me to stay. I gave in to selfish ways. And how I miss someone to hold, when Hope begins to fade. A lonely road, cross’d another cold state line. Miles away from those I love, purpose hard to find. God, the only thing I ask of you is to hold them when I’m not around, when I’m much too far away. We all need the person who can be true to you, but I left them when I found them, and now I wish that instead…’Cause I’m lonely, and I’m tired, I’m missing You again, oh no. Once again…”

    I continued playing the haunting Music until it slowly faded away. When the song ended, everyone was in better spirits. You’d be surprised how much a little Avenged Sevenfold can help a doomed person’s morale.

    “What are you?” The boy asked me.
    “I’m a Wild Card. You?” I replied.

    “Multiplier. I got bored, so I tried to rob a bank. Somehow the Hunters got the real me. They killed several of the bank people and blamed me for it. What’re you in for?”

    “Murder. They killed some of my friends. I did kill one of them, though, so it’s not entirely a false trial.”

    He nodded. Then he thought. “Can’t you just Jump out of here? Seriously. All ya gotta do is Jump, and bam, you’re safe from here.”

    “I tried it, breh. They’re using silver-laced titanium cuffs. The cells at the jail were also silver-laced. Can’t Jump through silver.”

    He nodded. “What about using the Elements? Couldn’t you just melt the bars with Fyre?”

    I shook my head. “There’s jade in the stones of the jail walls and molten jade in all the cuffs.
    Sucks away power like a leech. That’s why you can’t Multiply yourself and jump the guards. It’s probably the same at Greyman’s.”

    “How can you-? Oh, yeah, right. Wild Card. Jewel Hound abilities. Duh.” He smirked. “Oh, and the name’s Lylmen.”

    “Used to be Jynx. Now I’m Insanity.” We arrived at our final destination. “Good luck, breh. Try not to die too quickly.”

    Lylmen grimaced. “At least I’m not you. I get to die and leave this place. You’re stuck here forever. Sorry.”

    I smiled. We waited as the guards unlinked us from the bus and linked all of us together onto a single chain. This sparked a memory in me. “Well, well, well… Just like medieval times…” I muttered under my breath. I still got a knock upside the head that left me dizzy. I frowned.

    I looked at my new home. It looked like any other prison. Barbed wire, electric fence, and jade- and silver-infused stone walls. The works. The guards led us single-file to the doors. I was last in line. Then I thought: ‘I don’t want to be here’. I decided to take the name ‘Insanity’ from immature gestures at policeman to a whole new level.

    I waited until a guard was marching right beside me, and then pretended to stumble and fall. He kicked me back to me feet without a word. I pretended I was filled with rage. I punched the guard as hard as I could. Another guard shot his M16 at me. I ducked and lifted my hands. The bullets sliced neatly through the metal chain links. My arms were now free, but I had to get myself off of the others and free my legs. I grabbed the chain holding me to everyone else and put it in the path of another bullet. It separated easily.

    Now came the hard part. I dodged the bullets, letting them nick the cuffs bound to my wrists. After a couple hits to each cuff, they broke and fell away. I immediately did a somersault and landed behind a guard. I punched him in the neck. He fell, and I swiftly placed both hands on the ground, swung my body around, and used the chains linking my legs together to reach up and drag another guard down by the neck. If not for the chains and guards, it would look like I was doing a street-dancing move. That’s exactly how I made up the attack, from a flash-mob in L.A.

    Still on my hands, I swung the chains off of the now-unconscious guard. I turned my body expertly, getting the bullets to hit the cuffs chaining my ankles. When they fell off, I twisted and sprung off my hands and landed neatly off my feet. That entire attack took exactly 37 seconds. I laughed.

    Now free of the jade that was leeching away my abilities, I Shifted. I talons stretched from the tips of my fingers. I used them to tear the cloth covering my back, leaving two neat slices in my shirt. Through it, I spread a pair of black dragon Wings. I jumped up and started to fly.

    I had absolutely no intention of escaping at all, really. I just wanted a bit of fun. I was Insanity, after all. I allowed my self to get shot. Just once. I got hit in the upper arm. I was a good 50 feet up in the air, but I just Shifted back to normal human form and fell, holding my arm. I was laughing the whole way. When I hit the ground, I was greeted by several gun muzzles in my face. I was still laughing, even when I was hit by the butt of a gun and knocked unconscious.