Chapter 2: The Man In Solitary Confinement

“Are we really letting this guy out? I heard that Townley was an extremely dangerous guy. One count of murder and three counts of attempted murder. He’s also got a misdemeanor in drug possession. He’s the only person in this whole prison who’s been in solitary confinement for a whole year!.”

A prison guard nervously asked his co-worker as they slowly made it towards a particular cell. He couldn’t believe that they were actually going to let a guy like this out of prison to roam free. 

Understanding how he felt, his co-worker patted him on the shoulder and said with a slight smile.

“Listen here newbie, you just got here so you may not know this but despite his criminal past and him being in solitary confinement, he's actually one of the most well behaved prisoners here, albeit, a little annoying.”

“Then why is he in solitary confinement then? Shouldn’t people on good behavior stay in the general population?”

At his newbie’s sudden question, the veteran guard awkwardly said.

“Well about that… the reason he’s in there now is because he severely injured seven inmates when they were out in the yard. Leaving one of the seven people on life support and another in a wheelchair. The other five needed to get stitches and casts. But in his defense, they started with him first. They thought that since he was a nobody with no backing whatsoever, he would be an easy target to extort.”

As he was saying this, the veteran guard silently thought to himself.

‘He proved them wrong that’s for sure. It turned out that that small nobody was a ferocious wolf in sheep's clothing.The level of brutality he dished out on those inmates that day made even the pod boss become wary of him!’ 

And as a result of this brutalness, the warden deemed it necessary that for the safety of Townley, he should be put into solitary confinement. 

The warden feared that the gang (which is one of the biggest in here) behind the seven inmates would initiate a retaliation against Townley should he continue to stay in the general population. 

“Therefore, he was put into protective custody then?”

“Yeah, but sadly, his efforts went to waste. Despite Townley being in solitary confinement, the gang always found ways to try and attack him. As of now, they tried to kill him twice.”

“And twice they failed?”

The newbie guard asked.

“And twice they failed. Just like those seven, the attackers ended up in the hospital. And as a result of these two failed attempts, Townley earned a reputation of being extremely dangerous.”

The veteran guard confirmed. And at this confirmation, the newbie guard became even more nervous and said, a little afraid.

“And you said he’s a well behaved one. Sounds to me that this guy is one of the most dangerous felons here! And we’re letting him go? Is the warden crazy?”

‘Why would the warden do such a thing?’

Not able to understand why the warden would let such a dangerous person go, the newbie guard was starting to doubt his intelligence. 

Seeing his confusion, the veteran guard thought back as to why Townley was being released and said with a hint of sympathy.

“He’s on a furlough.”

“Eh? A furlough? Is he sick?”

“No. He’s not sick. He’s going to attend a funeral. I think his grandpa died not too long ago. We’re to take him there and bring him back as soon as it’s finished. Sounds easy right?”

“I guess. But what if he tries to escape?”

At this question, the veteran guard gives the newbie an ‘are you dumb’ look and answers smoothly.

“Then catch him.”

“Haha, you make it sound easier than what it is.”

‘Catch him? Are you insane? What makes you think a new guy like me can take on someone who can severely injure seven inmates? I bet he’s huge!’

The newbie then imagines the scene where Townley is pummeling his seven attackers. His imagination combined with the information he just received about Townley causes him to break out in a cold sweat. He doesn’t even want to imagine what would happen to himself if he tried to stop Townley’s escape.

While the newbie guard’s imagination was running wild.

“We’re here.”

Him and the veteran guard arrived at the prison cell containing Townley. The veteran guard looked into the window of Townley's prison cell. And much like any other prison cell, there wasn’t much in there other than the basic necessities. Such as the toilet sink, the bed, a shelf and a desk. 

However, like any prisoner who stays in their cell long enough, it was decorated. 

On the walls were drawings of all kinds. Some were of pin up women, some were realistic drawings of animals and people and some were drawings of popular anime characters. 

Stacked up on the floor beside the bed and on the shelf were books of all kinds. There were books pertaining to science, books pertaining to math and books of the casual kind as well, such as manga and light novels. 

The latter two was what the majority of the books consisted of. 

As for what was on the desk, there was an open half pack of cigarettes, a pencil, and an unfinished drawing of what looked to be of a mountainous landscape. On top of that unfinished drawing however, was an opened letter written in beautiful cursive.

Compared to how it was when Townley first moved in here, the cell looked very homy. 

But all of this wasn’t what drew the veteran’s attention though. What amazed him was...

“995...996...997…”

Townley doing handstand push ups! His whole upper torso was naked and sweat poured from his body, leaving a small puddle on the prison cell floor. Watching this spectacle, the veteran prison guard couldn’t help but give Townley silent praise.

‘No matter how many times I see him do workout like this, it never ceases to amaze me. No wonder other prisoners couldn’t beat him, this guy’s work ethic is on a whole other level! What others can do a 100 of, he could do a 1000!’

This wasn’t the first time the veteran guard had seen Townley workout. Due to him patrolling this sector, he saw Townley exercise numerous times, whether it be in the yard in cages or in the prison cell. It’s just the sheer amount he does when exercises never ceases to blow the veteran guard away.

Snapping out of his amazement, the veteran guard pounded on the door and unlocked the metal flap used for serving food.

“Townley, it’s time. Step up to the door and have your hands ready.”

Hearing this, Townley stopped his pushups as he just passed the 1000 mark. Because he didn’t cut his hair a while, Townley’s brown hair was at shoulder length and blocked his eyes, leaving only the bottom part of his face to be seen. In a slightly surprised voice, Townley asked.

“Already?”

“Yep, now put your shirt on. I don’t want to get any more jealous than what I already am.”

“Tch, you're just jealous. I can’t help you’ve got a beer gut. Have you ever tried running?”

As Townley said this, he tauntingly showed off his chiseled body, proudly flexing his arms and showing off his well toned six pack. It was a body many men strived for and dreamed of. 

“You think your daughter would fall for me if I showed up to her house like this?”

“In your dreams”

“I bet your weight scale says ‘to be continued’.”

The moment Townley said this.

“Pfft!”

The muffled laughter of the newbie guard could be heard as he tried his best to keep it under control. Throwing the newbie guard a glare, the veteran guard said in a begrudging tone.

“Haha, very funny. Now, quit the bullshitting and get dressed. You don’t wanna miss the funeral don’t you?”

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When Townley heard this, a sad smile crept up on his face as he remembered who’s funeral he’ll be attending. In a slightly down voice, he said.

“...Nope. I cannot miss this. This will be the last time in two years since I saw him so I wanna burn his image into my head one more time.”

Putting his shirt on, Townley walked up to the door, put his hands through the metal flap and waited for the cuffs to be placed on him.

“Let’s go.”

“Alright.”

Taking his own pair of handcuffs off of his belt, the veteran guard locks them onto Townley’s wrist. After that, he ordered Townley to step back as he talked through his walkie talkie to open the cell door.

“Open B2.”

A short but profound *buzz* later, the cell door slowly opened. Once it was open, the veteran guard looked at Townley and ordered.

“Come out.”

“Gotcha.”

Abiding by the guards orders, Townley slowly stepped out of the prison cell. When the newbie guard finally saw him, he was slightly surprised.

‘I thought he’d be bigger looking than this. I was expecting him to have arms and legs the size of logs and the looming height of a giant. But he’s actually not that very intimidating, standing about five foot nine and normal in size. I’m surprised this guy actually took those inmates down. Does he know some sort of martial art or something?’

This train of thought was what ran through the newbie guard’s head as he observed Townley. The earlier sense of fear was gone and what remained was curiosity. However, despite being curious, the newbie guard didn’t let his guard down. This inmate was imprisoned here for murder after all.

“Follow me.”

The veteran guard said as he started walking. Shrugging his shoulders, Townley follows in behind him, followed by the newbie guard. In this order, they left the prison building they were in and headed towards the main one. Once they was there, they had Townley sign a couple of papers and handed him a bag of clothes.

“Go change in there.”

Pointed towards what looks to be an area for processing soon to be prisoners, the newbie guard said. Giving the new guy a nod, Townley went in and started to change. A few minutes later he came out with a new pair of clothes on. The clothing consisted of a grey hoodie worn over with a denim jacket, a pair of ripped skinny jeans, and a pair of white sneakers. It was very fashionable. Moving around in the clothes to make them fit more, Townley looked at the two guards and said with a smile.

“Let me find out that prisons are starting to learn fashion trends. However, I was honestly expecting a suit. This is a funeral after all.”

In response to this, the veteran guard was a little irritated.

“Well, do you have ‘suit’ money? If we were to buy you a suit then we’d have to buy everyone a suit. The prison doesn’t have that type of money to spend on convicts.”

 ‘You’re here to serve a sentence, not to be catered to.’

The veteran guard thought angrily to himself. Trying to calm him down, Townley raised his hands in mock surrender.

“Okay, okay. Geez. I was just saying. By the way, where’d you get these clothes from anyway”

‘Usually, inmates who are being released from prison are given clothes that consisted of a black shirt, a pair of boots, and a pair of khakis. Why’d I get these?’

Getting his anger under control, the veteran guard said dismissively

“Those were donated to us. The warden decided that in order to help cut clothing cost and maximize the budget, we'd accept clothes donated to us by good samaritans.”

“Is that so? Well, if you get the chance, tell the person who gave me these ‘thank you’.”

“Pshh, in your dreams. What makes you think I’d know who donated them...Let’s go, we don’t want to be late for the funeral. Newbie!”

At the veteran guard’s sudden call, the newbie jumped in surprise and asked.

“Y-yes?”

“Go get the belly chains.”

“Yes sir!”

The newbie guard then turns around to go fetch the belly chains. But before he could even get a few steps away…

“While you’re at it, can you also get me a hair band for my hair. It’s a little hard to see with all this hair.”

Townely asked him to get a hair band for his hair. He was tired of having to flip his hair a little so he could see. 

When the newbie heard this request, he glanced at the veteran guard, who in return nodded in agreement. About five minutes later, the newbie came back with a long chain connected to a pair of handcuffs. Reaching into his pocket with his free hand, the newbie guard hands Townley a hair band. Giving him a silent thanks, Townley proceeds to tie his hair up into a ponytail.

And when the newbie guard saw his whole face, he couldn’t help but be shocked to the core. What he saw was a slightly handsome looking face accompanied by a pair of deep jade green eyes. It was like looking into the eyes of a wise elder who survived the vicissitudes of life. They were full of vitality.

With his eyes widened, the newbie mumbles out dumbfoundedly.

“...Y-you look like you’re around 16-17 years old.”

Hearing this, Townley could only shrug his shoulders as he said calmly.

“Well, that’s because I am around 16-17 years old. I’m 17.”

"1-17?!"

This revelation was like a bolt of lighting for the newbie. The only thing he could do was stare at Townley with an expression of shock.

H-he’s only 17 years old and he’s already convicted of murder and attmepted murder! I thought he was someone in his thirties!’

Seeing how shocked the newbie guard was, Townely couldn’t help but glance at the veteran guard with a puzzled expression.

“I thought he knew I was 17?”

“What can I say? He’s new here so he’s learning the ropes. He probably forgot to read your profile before coming with me to get you. Come on newbie, get yourself together.”

“S-sorry...Please stretch out your arms and spread your legs.”

The newbie guard ordered to which Townely easily acquiesced. 

Walking up to Townley, the newbie guard starts to fasten on the chained handcuffs. He fastened them onto Townley’s ankles, wrapped the chains around his waist, and finished linking the chain to the handcuffs on his wrists. 

Now, Townley was secured for transport!

************

Author’s Note

Well, here's the first chapter of the series. I bet some of you thought it'd start off in a school-like setting. Quite different than what you were expecting huh?

If so, then that's how I like it. 

I wanted to create a main character that was a little bit different when compared to your typical isekai main character. Therefore I came up with this. Pretty odd right? After all, It's not everyday you'd have a main character who's a prison inmate and a former hero!

Anyways, leave a comment and tell me what you think!

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