Redemption

James stared across the cold, dark room as Iron Vale inmate 33527 materialized from the portal. His leg emerged first from the semi-translucent plasma, his arm and the rest of his body followed. The inmate had only left through the portal seconds before. Time jumps were quick from this perspective but Iron Vale inmate 33527 had spent hours on the other side living in the past. The next minute would determine whether he completed redemption and became a free man or served two more years in the prison before trying again. Redemption was the only way out of Iron Vale.

Redemption had been a staple at Iron Vale since James had arrived a decade before. The idea was explained to inmates as a way to atone for their crimes by taking a more serious criminal off the streets. The criminals were chosen through a secret judicial process called a stealth trial. These criminals were so bad that they weren’t even aware their trial was being held. After they were charged, inmates were able to make up for their poor choices by murdering the guilty party of the stealth trial.

James stood, analyzing the inmate’s reaction, as his fingers on his right hand danced against his thigh, a mechanism to focus left over from when he played piano. James glanced over to the judge’s booth. The judges were hidden, anonymous, on the other side of a row of lights that served as a progress bar to show how much data they had analyzed. The judges needed to scour their sources for any signs the target was alive to know if the inmate had completed his task and found redemption. The task was always murder. The progress bar was slowly lighting up, 20%, 30%. James went over the details of his own task in his head. Three opportunities. The locations that the target would visit, the bar, a quick detour to some nearby alley, a store to get groceries, and finally back to her house. James figured he could complete his task in the alley, possibly on the way to the grocery store, or before she made it to her house. His fingers skipped against his pant leg seemingly at random.

Inmate 33527 still hadn’t moved from where he emerged from the portal. The progress bar had reached 80%. His eyes transfixed on the row of lights, his face already appeared resigned as the guards removed his leash, the technology that would automatically bring him back to through the portal after 12 hours, the maximum time allotted.

The man stared as the final light turned red. He slowly fell to his knees before the guards cuffed him and dragged him by his arms towards the exit.

James stepped forward; it was his first chance at redemption. He stopped underneath a row of spotlights leading to the portal, the rest of the room shrouded in darkness. As the doors closed behind inmate 33527, silence engulfed the cellar until several guards approached him. They lifted his shirt and attached the leash, a device the size of a deck of cards, to his back with an adhesive. He had to be entirely focused, he only had 12 hours. His footsteps echoed on the concrete floor as he stepped toward the rippling plasma screen in front of him. His fingers skittered faster against his leg, reaching a crescendo.

He entered the circular plasma door and was immediately thrown forward, into the past.

He stumbled into a dark alley, catching himself against the side of a dumpster. He composed himself, looking around to be sure no one saw him. He heard music and cheering at the end of the street, no one would have noticed him.

James felt raindrops on his shoulders, a refreshing feeling after being imprisoned for a decade. He took a moment to lean his head back to feel the water land on his face before making his way towards the busy street.

He spotted the target across the street at a bar near the window, a woman in her late 20s, dark hair and short stature. Not the kind of person you would expect could be capable of terrible things. James couldn’t just burst in, casualties were not tolerated and meant immediate failure. James took his chance to go to a bar across the street from the target. If he was outside the prison, he would at least enjoy himself for a minute.

James entered the bar and made his way towards a dark corner booth by the window. He ordered a beer and thought about if being released even mattered, it wasn’t like there was a lot on the outside for him anyway.