I gripped the sides of the small tunnel with my puny nails that were all bitten into stubs. "Come on, bitch!" I looked up and reached blindly for a lift. I felt skin touch my wrist and yank me as hard as they could out of the tunnel. My shoulder nearly popped out of its socket as I was jerked into the cold night air.

I gasped and gripped the grass under my fingers and toes. We were barefoot, as usual. I had been so long since we had been out in the open. The other prisoners were allowed time in the exercise yard but the five of us weren't. I stood unsteadily and pressed myself against the stone walls of the prison. Finally, all five of us were out of the hole. Lily blinked in the starlight and I pulled her against the wall with me.

She was only ten years old and didn't have that much to lose. The rest of the group was sixteen, like me. I believed that was why she went along with our plan so quickly. However, it was probably because she hadn't been here when we had escaped before. She didn't see the torture we had to endure. She didn't see the boys walk around the prison naked, with only chains on their ankles. She didn't see the girls spend night and day shackled against the wall, legs spread… screams emanating against the wall.

Our group last time had two other girls, making six in all. Amy Read and Regina Lope. Amy had been caught first. She had already gotten on the bad side of the head guards. She was kept in isolation for more than a week. She was claustrophobic and died within a few days. She died in fear and turmoil. Chris hadn't said a word after she died. He simply made his way around the prison, without a thread of clothing on his body.

Regina was alive, but it was only a half life. She was still hanging in the room, never seeing the outside. I knew how she felt but she assured me I didn't. The men liked to have their way with her more…said she was better at it. It still didn't keep the pain and shame from cropping up in my head every night. We all knew Regina was going to leave us soon. Eventually.

Amy's death hit us harder than anything. Our prison was use to death; it was a common occurrence for us. But Amy had been with us from the beginning. We'd tried to escape nearly six times, counting the last time. The prison couldn't kill us directly, but they did anything they could to get us close to the end of our life. We'd all been tortured, we'd all been _, and we'd all spent time in isolation for weeks at a time. But we kept trying to escape. We had to escape.

Chris, Michael and Alex stood beside me and Lily as we gripped the side of the wall. The search light skirted in front of us. Our skinny bodies pushed up against the prison, our bare heels hitting the wall. I looked up, craning my neck to see the light again. It seemed to laugh at us as it swept by, threatening to bathe us in the duplicitous light, betraying our position. Like it had last time.

We had been so close last time. Regina, however, was slower than us (she had trouble walking) and the light caught her left leg. We were thrown back into the fifthly cells, forced to breathe the putrid, disgusting air for months. We peeked out of the small windows, watching the light with our sunken, hungry eyes.

Without anything else to do, save sit in our misery and lick our wounds, we devised another plan. We were turning desperate now and I wasn't sure how much longer Michael and I could take it. We never spoke about why were in the prison and why we were enduring the torture that we were. I didn't want to speak about my past and my mistakes. I didn't think anyone else did either.

"The light…it'll go to the end of the gate…and we'll run." Michael stuttered. He was a timid person, never liked being bothered or talked to. He and I had been good friends though out our lives in Hell. I pulled his callused hand into mine, the fingers out of shape from being broken twice. I pulled it to my lips and kissed it softly. He looked over at me and I blinked at him. We depended on each other and I knew I would remain with him after our escape. I didn't dwell on my past as this thought entered my head…it was the past and I could let it go.

We watched the light with extreme concentration and saw Michael was right. It skittered across the grass, then retreated around the corner. "Now!" Chris hissed. He was a rough boy, looking older then he actually was. The prisoners liked scarring him, probably because he was actually quite nice to look at. At least, he was. Now, he had long and jagged scars running up and down his legs. The girls wore a simple dress, falling to just above our knees. The boys wore short pants, cut roughly above their knees and a shirt falling below their waists. We could see the scars easily with the clothes we wore.

We sprinted with all our might and finally fell against the wall. Our palms hit the wall with a muted *smack* and we stayed there, watching the light. While we made sure it kept its distance, the boys put their hands together. Lily was placed in their grip and they tossed her little light body up to the top. She scrambled for a second, her white blonde hair a beckon the dark night. Finally, she lifted herself up and out of sight. "You next," Alex demanded, grabbing my wrist. I allowed him to yank me over to them and repeat the process they'd just used with Lily, on me. As they levitated me, my face hit the wall, scrapping my cheek and my temple. "Damn," I muttered, biting back the pain. I pulled myself up to the peak and crouched on the top, looking over to see Lily.

I quickly lowered myself down and let myself fall, bracing my ankles for impact. When I was safely on the ground Lily and I pressed ourselves against the wall. As we did, I couldn't help but study her beautiful figure. She was small, with long blonde hair. Her face was heart shaped and her eyes a dark green. Her skin was still peachy and hadn't been paled in result of her time in jail. I wanted to reach over and pull her tight to me but I knew this wasn't the time.

Michael came catapulting over to the top and then Chris joined him. When they began to walk outside the perimeter of the prison wall I followed. It had been the plain from the beginning to leave Alex behind. I hated it, but I forced my head to think about how he'd caused Amy to die. We knew he turned us in to the guards and he hadn't gotten tortured. He thought we didn't know of his betrayal but we did, and now he was paying for it.

I looked back and could only hear a faint, "Guys? Come on! Michael…Chris! Lily, come on!" I bit my lip and held my breath as we continued making our way around the corner. Most people would happy by now. Most people would've thought they were home free. But not us. My heart was swelling against my chest, causing my breath to come in short, rushed gasps. I was more nervous than ever.

We also knew that this yard was only a placebo, causing escapees to run and laugh and be merry, believing they escaped. They found out soon, however, that they had another gate and fence to climb under. Another hole to go through. We all crouched to the ground and began to army crawl, elbow our fist. It took us what seemed like forever, our faces scratched and bloody from the rough grass. Lily grabbed my ankle from time to time. I realized she didn't want to be left behind. She was slower.

We finally reached the end of the yard, daring the sickly light to unmask us. Lily continued grasping my foot or ankle. I gritted my teeth and resisted the urge to kick her. Why is she always following me around? Why is she being such a pest? I thought, rolling my eyes.

Because she's ten and is in a federal prison for life, or as long as she lasts. She knows she'll be raped in a year or less and she wants nothing more than to escape.

I sighed and continued crawling, gripping the grass and dirt, still damp from last night's rain. We finally found the hole. It sat under the fence, resembling something a dog would've dug to get out of his yard. It was small, not noticeable to those who would've just glanced at the area. I knew all of us, even little Lily, would have a hard time getting through.

Chris went first. We were silent as we watched his bulky form force its way through the small opening. I bit my lip as the broken, jagged pieces of the fence tear his shirt and rip his skin. Michael followed, his back getting cut up as well.

Finally, it was my turn. I gritted my teeth and clawed my way under the fence. I wanted to scream and cry at the pain but remained silent. The dirt pushed up against my face, forcing its way into my mouth and eyes. I finally felt someone grab my wrist and pull my through. The end of the fence dug into my back like knives. I sucked in a tortured breath and my arms finally connected with the grass. Michael wiped the dirt from my face and held me close to him.

My eyes widened as he held me to his chest. He had never shown any outward affection to me. Not that I didn't like it. We all stood and began walking down the side of the street. We were home free. But I had been this far before. We were at this point last time. The prison was outside a community. We walked down the sidewalk, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. I held Michaels hand and rubbed his finger with mine.

The streets around us were quiet, save the random hiss of wind. It didn't have any hint of time but I suspected it was around one or two in the morning. The certain time at night when you saw no hint of light anywhere. Where everything was quiet and no one spoke or walked around or did anything.

I looked up at the cloudy sky. Little bits of stars were peeking through the crevices between the clouds, creating a somewhat patch work appearance. We were almost to the end of a street. The end of the street where we were free. The town had an ongoing bus route.

Suddenly, we hear something. Something awful, causing our hearts to melt and jump into our throats at the same time. I shook and gripped Michaels hand tighter than ever. We turned on our heels and saw guards running toward us. "God, why?" Lily hissed.

"RUN!" Chris screamed. He was limping but began to barrel down the street. I gripped Michael and ran with all my might toward the bus. I didn't know how it had shown up, I hadn't heard it but it was there, thank God.

I sprinted, running a few yards in front of Michael, who was still gripping my fingertips. Chris was running beside him now, his leg bleeding profusely now. He was gasping for air, clutching his side.

Lily was the first to go. I heard her scream. "NO, Please, God NO!" I looked behind me to see a guard clutching her by her waist. Her little fists were flying and her feet were kicking. "LET ME GO! Please!" She was balling and finally fell limp, crying her heart out.

The lump in my throat was turning painful and I choked back my own tears. "I'm sorry Lily. I'm so sorry." I whispered.

Chris was next. He fell onto the ground beside me, coughing and choking. Blood fell onto the asphalt next to his mouth. The guards would get him, I knew. Or he would die. I didn't know what to think.

Finally, we reached the bus. But the guards had caught up with us as well. They ripped Michael from my arms. "NO!" I gasped and began to run for him.

"No! Don't!" He cried. "Just run! Run!"

I nodded through my tears and jumped onto the bus.

"Go!" I demanded, sobbing. "Just go!" The bus pulled away and skidded down the street.

I sat down in the back and stared out of the window. All three of them were now being forced down, handcuffs being snapped on their wrists. Two other guards were looking after the bus. But they didn't follow or call for back up. They simply watch me escape. I had achieved what I'd wanted…and was wishing I could die.

1 year later

I didn't think about anything for a year except trying to cover my tracks. I cut my hair until it resembled a boy's. I dyed it so it was a dark black. I got a job in a grocery store and bought an apartment. If any asked me where my parents were I'd make up a lie. I didn't think or talk unless it was necessary. For a whole year, my life was nothing.

It was roughly thirteen months after my escape, I saw something. I saw something that made me want to crawl into a hole and kill myself. I had gotten back to my apartment and was putting clothes away.

I had just gotten a small T.V and had turned it on. The news came on immediately. I became to change it but stopped when I saw it. They were running a story on our escape. A whole year later. At first I was confused. Horrible confused. Then I found it. I found it out. "A year after the initial escape, and other few escapes attempts, the group of teenagers were finally put to death. Torture was in unofficial cause but the guards are saying they died off neglect after not disclosing information about the girl who escaped on their first attempt. Her name was not disclosed by the prison. Michael, Regina, Christopher, Alexander and Lily were put to death yesterday. The police are looking in to the case-" I cut off the woman, mid-speech.

I let the remote fall from my hands, clattering onto the floor. The batteries skittered under the small sofa but I made no effort of pick them up. I stood in my small apartment, doubled offer in pain and fear. They were dead…all of them. Even Lily, little Lily. And Michael. Poor innocent Michael.

I sat down and stared out the window at the setting sun. I thought of my friends, my past and my family who I hadn't even contacted. I thought of what I'd experienced in my life and what I would never be able to have again. I thought about what I wanted and would never have. I just sat there and thought. At one point my thinking turned to tears and I didn't do anything except sit there and cry, and think. For a long, long time.