Shinde ita asa ni tomurai no yuki ga furu
Hagure inu no tooboe Geta no oto kishimu
Inga na omosa mitsumete aruku
Yami o dakishimeru Janome no kasa hitotsu
Inochi no michi wo yuku onna namida wa tooni sutemashita

In the dead morning, I see snow of vengeance falling from the sky
Stray dogs howl and the sound of my Geta groaning
I walk on with my eyes focused on the weight of my karma
Embracing darkness, just a wooden umbrella in my hand
I am a woman who treads the road of destiny;
it has been long since I cast away my tears

Shura no Hana (Flower of Carnage), Meiko Kaji

1963, Alcatraz, 2 months before the disappearances

Grace sighed sadly as she watched the prison come closer and closer. Her best friend, blinded by rage, had committed horrible crimes. Grace had forgiven him, though. She did not justify what he had done, but she could not blame him, either. He may not have been the perfect soldier in the government's eyes, but he was a good man.

"Goodmorning, ma'am." An older guard greeted, tipping his hat, as the boat reached the docks and Grace stepped off the boat.

Grace scrunched up her nose and replied, "I wouldn't call it a good morning. It's starting to get quite chilly." She smiled at the guard, "But I do hope the rest of the day is good."

"I agree. Hope your visit goes well."

I hope so, too. She thought to herself. It had been such a long time since she had last seen Paxton. Had he changed much? Did he still tell those stupid jokes? And most important, did he still consider her his friend?

You had to fill out a form before you were allowed to talk to a prisoner. In the form, you had to state what relation you had with the prisoner. Grace wrote down friend. She handed the form to the man at the reception desk who skimmed through it. "He'll be out shortly. You can take a seat in that booth over there." He said and pointed to an empty cubicle.

Grace was beginning to get nervous. She sat anxiously and waited until he finally appeared from around the corner. At first, he looked bored and annoyed, but his expression brightened when he saw Grace. He sat down, waiting patiently for her to pick up the receiver.

She picked it up with a smile and put it to her ear. "Hi, Paxton. It's been a long time."

"Grace... Yeah, it's been what, almost 10 years? I thought you forgot about me." He murmured with a hint of sadness in his voice.

It had been 7 years since they last spoke to each other. "I would never forget about you. You are my friend and nothing can change that." She needed him to know that she didn't resent him for what he had done, that she had never thought of him as a bad person. "Is it bad here?"

"Yeah, it's bad." He didn't hesitate to answer. You could see in his eyes that he hated the place. Grace didn't know what to respond. Both of them sat there silent, looking at each other through the glass. Paxton was the one to break the silence, "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, Paxton." She smiled, "Can I come visit next week? It's good to hear your voice again."

He smiled slyly, "'Course you can."

2012

Grace Jackson no longer existed. She had died in 1963. Though, the very same woman now stood in her new apartment, bearing the name Julia Jennings. At least, that was what her new ID said.

The first time she had entered the apartment a strange feeling had come upon her. It wasn't just that the rooms looked strange, but there was a hint in the air that something was off. She had been right. After nearly dying of fright, she was introduced to Tommy Madsen, a former inmate of Alcatraz. Grace recognized him in an instant when she saw his blue eyes. He was the one who had given her the envelope.

"How many have been caught?" Grace asked.

Tommy had the smuggest smile she had ever seen. "You mean who has been caught? Petty told me all about you. We used to tease him about you when you came to visit. He got all defensive as soon as anyone mentioned your name." He chuckled as he told her. "Last I knew, Ernest Cobb shot the good doctor. She isn't dead, but she's in a coma. Your sweetheart hasn't shown up yet from what I know." He empathized the word sweetheart and that smug smile appeared on his lips again.

They sat silent for a while. It was a comfort to be able to sit in silence with someone from your own time. After some thought, Grace spoke up, "How was it like? In the prison, I mean. Was it as bad as they said?"

Tommy crossed his arms and leaned back, "It was pretty bad. I wouldn't know too much, though. I was stuck in the infirmary all the time."

Grace furrowed her brow in confusion, "Were you ill?" The man definitely did not look ill. In fact, he looked healthier than most.

"Not really, but after all the blood they took I'm surprised I'm still alive."

Grace's eyes widened. "What did they need the blood for?" She urged him to tell the rest.

"Don't know. Never told me."

Grace had a feeling he wasn't telling her all of it but didn't press the matter. Besides, she wasn't sure she wanted to know what happened in the darkest parts of that place. It was bad enough as it was the time she last was there.

The faces of her parents haunted her. The last time she had spoken to them, she had been ungrateful and rude. Now they were probably dead. What had become of her brother, she did not know. But perhaps it would feel better to not know of his fate. She hoped that he had created a good life for himself. He was still so young the last time she saw him. Only 20 years old. He had looked up to her and said that he wanted to become just like her. Grace would chuckle at his enthusiasm and say that he would be best off shaping his own future.

Having been lost in thought, Grace hadn't listened to what Tommy had been saying. He stopped speaking and studied her. The change was always hard. "Thinking about your family?" He asked, words heavy with gloom. It had been both a question and a statement.

"Yes," Grace whispered, her voice almost betraying her. "It feels awful not knowing what has happened to my family. We had an argument a few hours before..." She turned silent, as if the words she was about to speak were toxic to the air, like a name that could frighten even the toughest of men. "I didn't say goodbye to them, only slammed the door behind me." Tears had begun to well up in her eyes as she spoke.

Tommy rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together. This woman didn't deserve to have her whole life change. Not like this. "If you want, I can try to find your relatives. I don't think it will make you feel better about what's happened, but..." He paused to watch her reaction. It had caught her attention and she was listening intently. "It might make it easier to accept."

"Even if my brother is dead, I want to visit his grave. It's the least I could do."

there aren't many fanfics for this short, but great series. I just had to write something for it before my sanity breaks down.

This fanfiction is actually a rewritten piece from something I wrote back in 2012 when the series had just come out and I just want to point out that the original of this was way worse than it is now.

Also, for the anon who asked for a Jack/Rebecca fic; I didn't like his character that much so I will not be writing anyting about him, sorry!