Run: Break free
Run
Chapter Two
This is the story of a man and his daughter, on the run from the law. This is the story of the sentencing of Joseph Cartwright, and the public humiliation he suffered. This is the story of how they ran.
In the speeding holder van, Joseph and Cat sat uncomfortably close to the stern bluebird Sergeant. Her wings were tucked into the side of her sleeveless uniform, and she stared daggers at Joseph.
"You monster. How could anyone do that to their own daughter!? People like you should be killed on sight."
She nibbled at her feathers for a brief second, and turned to Catherine. Her grating voice rose to a calming pitch, but Cat couldn't help but quiver under the gimlet eyes.
"Don't worry, honey. We'll keep you safe; it'll be alright."
"I'm telling you, I haven't done anything! HEY! Get your wings off of her! You have no righ-Aargh!"
Prescott drew her bloodied talons away from Joseph's torn shirt. Cat screamed, and clutched him protectively. Blood spattered onto the metal bench, and Joseph cried out. He raised one scaled hand, seeing his normally green-yellow mitt run red. Cat turned to Prescott, pleading with her.
"I swear, he hasn't done anything! Just let us go, please!"
Prescott peered closely at her, unnerving the gecko girl, and reached for her hat-mounted radio. Her long pinion feathers twiddled with the buttons, and static began to buzz through the cabin-like interior.
"Matt, you there? Over."
"This is Dufresne, and yes ma'am? Over."
"When we get to the station I'll need you to get Rudy's psych team out. I think this one's been trained to resist questioning."
Cat and Joseph looked at each other. This was not going to end well. As the van pulled into the station, Joseph was hauled off to a holding cell, protesting and bleeding all the way. Cat was escorted, by armed guards no less, to the station clinic.
The room was a sterile white, the only sound the squeaking of rubber soles across the linoleum halls. Machines hummed softly as they went about their commands, unquestioning servants to the doctor. The doctor himself was a charismatic raccoon, practically sashaying through the corridors as he eagerly checked on patient after groaning patient. This doctor had long been known for his sunny demeanor. And not in a good way. Cat shrieked when a man of dark fur slid into the room on both knees, with outstretched syringes held like revolvers. These were being flicked Cagney-style, as though the doctor were in a gunfight.
"Holy crap! Wh-who are you?"
The raccoon scratched his ears and stood up from his dramatic pose. He was nervous about someone actually seeing him do this, and his speech mimicked him.
"Oh, uh, you saw that? I didn't mean to scare you. My apologies."
Without warning, he slapped his paws together, once again eliciting a whimper from Cat.
"Well, let's get to it. Name's Rudy, but call me Doc. I take it you're here because of that rape case they were talking about? It's a shame. Look, we have a certain... procedure that we need to follow, and I'll need you to sign these forms."
"A rape case? But- but I'm fine! All I've got is a headache from my dad's guitar. Oh no! Dad!"
Thoughts of Joseph and the aggressive Sergeant flooded into Catherine's mind, and she couldn't help but hunch over and shed a tear. Rudy took off his coat, and offered it to the reptile.
"Here, you look cold. I promise that the officers are doing everything to keep him away from you."
"But you don't understand, he hasn't done anything!"
Rudy ignored her, and began prepping his instruments for her examination. He grabbed a cotton swab from a jar, and turned to Catherine.
"Here. In order to see if you're safe, I'll need to... examine you."
"Examine me?"
"Yes. I need you to spread your legs."
Cat flinched as she realized what he meant. She'd only ever let her boyfriend get down there, and wasn't really anxious to let anyone else take a peek.
"If you don't want to, I'll respect that. But, I do need this for the trial, so I have to ask again. Please, let me get on with it. I don't like it any more than you do, but it's my job, and if that Prescott woman finds out I'm skimping on my job, I'm toast. I'll try to take as little time as possible."
"Trial!? Dad's innocent! Why won't you listen to me?"
The raccoon sighed, and turned away from her, fumbling in his lab coat's pocket. Without warning, he spun around, slapping two tablets into Cat's open mouth. He gently massaged the terrified gecko's neck, forcing her to swallow the drug. Before she fell unconscious, Catherine heard Rudy one last time.
"Don't worry, I'm a doctor. Sorry I had..."
Darkness overtook her.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Get in there, you bitch!"
Joseph's body hit the cool concrete walls of his cell, and the door slammed shut. Prescott and Dufresne glared at him through the bars, and satisfied that he was locked in, went to file this case's paperwork. Once he was sure they were gone, he crawled onto his knees, and then into a sitting position. He began calming his breathing and clutched his chest. The slashes were long, but shallow. The bleeding would stop, but God it would hurt. He took off the black punk shirt, and tore a strip from the bottom. After bandaging himself up, he lay on the ratty prison bed, introspecting. From a happy family to a dank prison cell in a single hour.
"Just amazing... Hey, you there."
The thin hare, his cellmate, looked back at him. His eyes looked glazed, and he seemed mistreated. He clearly didn't belong here either.
"Uhh... yes?"
"I need to talk to the guards, when can I do that?"
"I-I don't know. I've only been in here a few hours."
"But you look like crap. What happened to you?"
The hare laughed, a bitter laugh born of misery.
"What happened? What happened!? I still don't know what happened! I was out on the street and looked towards a playground. Five minutes later, Tweety-Bird and that mastiff bung me in here, calling me a child molester. And don't expect an apology any time soon; those two are machines for their work. Ahh, screw it. Screw them too. Name's Mick. You need some help with those bandages? Give 'em here."
Joseph tore another strip off of his shirt, and let the skilled hare do his work. The black cotton grew tighter and chafed, but the bleeding was halted.
"Thanks Mick. Call me Joseph."
"Too formal. Does Joe work for you?"
"It'll do. Where'd you learn to be a nurse?"
"Nurse? Ha! I can't even peel a Band-Aid! I'm a stockboy, basically. Learned the bandage knot a few years back in college when I was hiding weed under my sleeve. What do you do?"
The brash hare had an infectious personality, and Joseph temporarily forgot his problems. He spent the night talking away with his newfound friend, a single torch in the dark of night. His mind went back to his daughter and the cops, but his worry was soon drowned out by Mick's laughter. At the very least, he had a friend.
The next day, Joseph woke up to the sound of steel bars slamming shut. The fire-eyed bluebird Sergeant was leading Mick out of the cell. His friend would be leaving. She grinned at the desolation on his scaled face.
"All alone, just as your daughter felt? How fitting. Pryzlbewski, you're free. Someone's got your bail up at the reception desk. Why anyone would pay for you, I will never understand. Wait, wh- Hey! You get your ass back here!"
Drawing her nightstick, Prescott ran after the delinquent who had been vandalizing the jail windows, leaving Mick and Joseph on their own. The hare had a panicked expression on his face, and his previous night's cavalier demeanor had all but vanished.
"Listen close. Joe, I'm clean, I'm sure you are too. You and your daughter need to escape somehow. I heard the cops talking last night, your trial is rigged! I'll do whatever I can to help you two, but that's not much. If I can't get a plan cobbled together, you've got to run. She doesn't deserve all this. Trust me, I'll think of something."
Prescott walked back into the jail, wiping the nightstick on her immaculate uniform. Her feathers had been messed about, but the teen had fared worse. Spitting blood, she turned towards Mick.
"Oh, don't give me that look. C'mon, we haven't got all day."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"Joseph Davide Cartwright, you are held here accused of rape, statutory rape, incest, and child molestation. How do you plead?"
"Not guilty."
"Then let this trial begin."
The judge was an imposing bear of a man, and his seat creaked ominously as he put his full weight on it. Every one of the Cartwright's friends had turned out to see the trial, and separated themselves into two distinct camps. Those on the left could be recognized as Fiona and Catherine's friends, based on the hate laden glances that they threw. Those on the right, who were correct, sympathized with Joseph. The audience began clamoring until the judge banged his gavel down twice. Order restored, he glanced at Prescott.
"Emma, you may begin your argument."
"Thank you, Your Honor. Ladies and gentlemen of the court, this vile man should be behind bars. How low would one have to sink to even consider breeding with their own children? How-"
"I never did that!"
As the gavel fell again, Joseph stared daggers at the cold-hearted bluebird, who merely shrugged and returned to her case.
"This man is a rapist. Short and sweet are how such sentences are, and how his sentencing should be. There is evidence and witnesses to support this."
"Your first instance of evidence?"
"This!"
Prescott's lieutenant ran up, holding a small plastic jar in his paws. A few ounces of what looked like dried dishwasher detergent shook inside. The lieutenant set the jar near Prescott and timidly ran back to his seat. Prescott wheeled about dramatically and pointed a feather at Joseph.
"This is semen that was found inside the daughter. It's no longer fertile. We've had it checked and lab results indicate that it's gecko semen."
The entire crowd gasped audibly as the jar was raised into the air, Prescott smirking at their surprise. Between the judge's gavel, Joseph's protests, and the crowd's disputes, one sound was not heard. Cat's voice. She sat, dumb-struck, and thought of that day's events. Her boyfriend, Brian, had finished without even telling her. She made him promise, shortly after breaking the condom he brought, that he would pull out. She wasn't on the pill. And he had betrayed her, jumping out the window and leaving her a present for her troubles. She grew angry and balled up her fist, her long claws piercing her scales. If she got out of this situation, he'd be the first on the warpath.
"Any more evidence, Sergeant?"
"Yes, Your Honor. Dufresne, bring in the slides please."
The strong mastiff wheeled in an old projector and loaded the slides into it. Joseph squirmed in his chair as the first photo came into view. He did a double take, and slammed his eyes shut, leaving his imagination susceptible to Prescott's words.
"As you can see, the daughter's vaginal walls have seen a lot of friction, and some bruising. Next slide. Her general crotch area's scales have been rubbed vigorously, indicating a slamming motion. Next slide. These scans show that this was indeed a violent encounter, and gecko semen indicates the father."
This was Joseph's chance. He opened his eyes, stood up, and yelled out, "Do a gene test! That's not mine!"
Prescott smiled at this, as though she anticipated it.
"The semen's dried out and unsuitable for genetic testing. If we could have saved your daughter earlier, then we could have done a test. But sadly, we were too late. Now, Your Honor, I'd like to call a witness. Fiona Cartwright, approach the stand."
Fiona stood up, dressed in a dark dress, and walked slowly to the stand. The crowd could tell that she'd been weeping, and murmurs ran through the audience.
"Name, ma'am?"
"F-Fiona Cartwright."
"Relationship with victim?"
"I'm her mother."
"Fascinating, truly. What happened on the day of the rape?"
Joseph stood up again, more furious than before.
"I'm telling you, I didn't touch her!"
The judge stirred awake from his doze, and pointed his gavel at Joseph.
"One more outburst, just one more, and you shall be found in contempt of court. Understood? Good. Continue, ma'am."
Fiona nodded her thanks, and resumed her narrative in a shaky voice.
"I-I was outside at the time, sunning myself in the backyard. I heard Catherine talking to her father, and he started saying some creepy things."
Prescott began pacing the courtroom, just as she'd seen and done on many cases. She was a skilled manipulator, and as she questioned and probed the distraught mother, a few of the audience members began tearing up and Joseph could tell the case was going against him. After long, the judge spoke plainly, though he was clearly touched by Fiona's words.
"I've heard enough. Joseph Cartwright, I hereby find you guilty of three of your four counts. Your sentence is set at thirty-five years, no possibility of parole."
Bang! Bang!
Joseph and his daughter sunk low in their seats. They had lost. They met up, and said their goodbyes. Tearfully, Joseph told her not to blame her mother. She sniffled, and couldn't help turning away from him. She had gotten her father imprisoned, and she certainly felt regretful. The two stayed that way for sometime, until the bailiff was forced to the separate them. Lanky white paws wrapped around Cat, walking her over by the window. He spoke calmly next to her, to all appearances.
"Relax, girly, you and your dad'll be alright. Trust me; I know what I'm doing."
The guard couldn't help but laugh as he suddenly grabbed Catherine by the waist, flinging her bodily out the window. He turned towards Joseph, and grinned wildly. It was Mick in disguise, a stolen uniform. He drew his gun as the panic hit the courtroom, and forced the officers to set theirs down.
"Joe! You got one shot to get away; I'll hold them back, you and the girl run!"
Wasting no time, Joseph ran and leapt from the window, leaving the grizzled hare to face the music. He coked his gun as the officers retrieved theirs.
"Alright you bastards, see what happens when you screw with innocents!"
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Despite the sounds they heard, the gunshots and pained screams, Joseph and Cat ran.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
So, what do y'all think? Pretty good, no? I realize that the ending was really sped up, but there was no other way to do this. I made sure to make this one a bit longer than the first one. Any thoughts? Any comments? And, more importantly, any criticisms? If you'd like an emotionally touching sneak-peek of the ending, I'd be glad to send you one. But I warn you; it seriously is intense. Nearly got a tear out of me just plotting it.