MYSTober 2024

31 vignettes based on single-word prompts. One story.

20. Sustenance

The Warden was seated in his wooden chair, observing the Prisoner. The room wasn't really equipped to be a jail. He had quickly fashioned a cell from the skeleton of the Old Ship two full seasons ago, specifically to hold this man. Aside from Madeline, nobody else knew he was here.

A hand landed on his shoulder. He craned his neck up to see the young woman herself, her long black hair cascading over her shoulders. "How is he, Wilson?"

The Prisoner threw himself against the cage. "I shouldn't be in here! I never did anything wrong!"

Madeline took a startled step backwards towards the door. "I see."

Wilson stood up to face her, ignoring the Prisoner. "He does that from time to time."

"You need to let me out of here! Please! I have family!"

Madeline fixed her gaze on the Prisoner, past Wilson's shoulder. "I can't wait for the next election. Keeping this secret as Mayor will be so much easier than keeping it from the Mayor."

"At least give me more food! These scraps are barely enough to survive on!"

Wilson shouted back, "If you hadn't vanished, you'd be able to eat full portions. Do you know how hard it is to sneak food out of the town stores for you?"

"I didn't vanish, you stole me!" He pointed a bony finger at Madeline. "And you want to be Mayor? There's no one worse for it!"

"You should be grateful you're getting what you're getting. We could have just thrown you into the gorge."

"That would have been a mercy!" The Prisoner crumpled to the ground next to the bars, his thin, pale body becoming a pathetic heap of skin and bones. "It would have been a mercy..."

Wilson turned to Madeline. "How long are we going to keep him here? Coming down every day to check on him is getting tedious. What if I forget a day?"

She lowered her head and slowly turned it from side to side disapprovingly. "At this point, what else can we do? We're committed."

"It feels cruel."

"It is cruel. But I fear it's necessary. This is the cost of our community."

Wilson heaved a sigh and nodded. She was right – she always was. That's why she was going to be a great Mayor. He gestured towards the steel door, and the stairs beyond. "Well, I guess we'd better get back then." They both stepped through the doorway, and Wilson turned the large metal wheel to seal it shut behind them.

MYSTober 2024

Table of Contents

20. Sustenance