He paced his cell to burn the surge of energy coursing through his body. He was agitated and antsy and knew he would go mad if he didn’t do something to channel all that energy. So, back and forth he went.
He didn’t mind the darkness, he’d spent time in solitary confinement before and his eyes quickly adapted to the absence of light. He didn’t mind the solitude either. People, on the whole, tended to irritate him. That’s how he had ended up in his cell in the first place.
But, the walls, the cage, the bars, he minded a great deal. He suffered from claustrophobia and the feeling of being trapped weighed heavily upon him. It got his adrenaline pumping. It got his blood surging. Hence, the pacing.
After what had seemed like weeks, days spent doing nothing but walking, not sleeping, not resting, just moving around his cell to unleash his energy, his jailor came to check on him. The door cracked open and a sliver of light poured into his cell, casting a shadow on the floor to match the silhouette at the cage’s opening.
“Honey, it’s been 30 minutes. Have you calmed down? Have you thought about what you did wrong?”
He stuck his tongue out at her. He knew that would mean more time in the hole, but he couldn’t help it. No, he hadn’t calmed down. No, he hadn’t thought about what he had done wrong. And, no, he wasn’t ready to do either of those things.l
The jailor shook her head and sighed as she shut the door to his room, leaving him alone in the darkness once again. His time in solitary would be extended by at least another 30 minutes. Hard time, and easy time. The pacing would continue and so would his fight against the creeping madness.
In the end he would be released, but before he had apologized for pulling his sister’s hair and promised to behave, he would once again relish her scream of pain. He smiled in the darkness. His little feet carried him in circles around his room.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Hooray for another silly Inspiration Monday prompt and post:
The Rules
There are none. Read the prompts, get inspired, write something. No word count minimum or maximum. You don’t have to include the exact prompt in your piece, and you can interpret the prompt(s) any way you like.
OR
No really; I need rules!
Okay; write 200-500 words on the prompt of your choice. You may either use the prompt as the title of your piece or work it into the body of your piece. You must complete it before 6 pm CST on the Monday following this post.
The Prompts:
FUTURE RELIC
SOLITARY CONFINEMENT
LAST WISH
UNATTENDED CHILDREN
MIDWIFE
The Matticus Kingdom 
Serial killer in the making there.
Perhaps. Or, just regular bratty little brother not sure what to do with himself cooped up inside all winter.
That too 😀
I had Solitary Confinement as a child for doing something mean to a nephew. It was bliss until my Mom figured out the “solitary” was a reward not a punishment. Then I had to “play nice” with him the rest of the day. That was punishment! Very good story and portrayal of the acceptance of consequences for actions.
Yeah, I never had a problem spending time in my room alone either. I may not have been happy to be in trouble, but being alone was never an issue.
Ah, partners in crime so to speak. Imagine the pigtail pulling or tripping we could wreck today. hehehe
Hah!
We’d be a real havoc wrecking duo.
time out
grounded
ooh i’ve been there. many a time.
Me too. 😀
But, it’s been a long time.
This reminds me of the critters. Wonderful imagery; I could feel the ‘cell’.
Do the critters often find themselves in solitary confinement?
Lately, yes.
Poor critters. They’ll find their freedom soon enough.
Perhaps they should stop hitting and biting each other first. Will work better in the long run.
Yes. I think they outgrow that eventually. At least my brother and I did… Well, okay, not really, but now they are punches and bites of friendship, brotherly love, rather than animosity… that makes them okay, right?
As long as you don’t run along howling “he bit me!”
Nope, don’t do that.
Though, it kind of sounds like fun…
Let me know ahead of time so that I can put in ear plugs, Okay?
Yes, I’ll warn you.
Much appriciated.
Who let you out of your room to write this?
Me. I let myself out. And when I’m good and ready I’ll put myself back in.
i think someone is copping a tude…
Oh dear..that’s a monster in the making isn’t it? 😉
Maybe. Or just a normal big brother?
It’s hard to say.
Were you a mean brother who pulled your sister’s hair?
No. No sisters here. Just an older brother. I plead the fifth on anything that may have transpired in our youth.
I give my kids time out in their rooms. One minute for every year they are old. I swore the other day and my kids said I had to do time out. I got 34 blissful minutes in my room all by myself. I think I need to swear more often!
Hah!!
That’s fantastic. I wonder how long before they realize that it isn’t a punishment for you?
hehehehe. I swore again today, and took a book with me!
Smart, very smart. I should be taking notes. I’m going to need to remember this in a couple years.
Charming. Adorable.. And just a little bit sinister – relishing her scream of pain. Oooo.
Has to be a bit sinister, right? When siblings are invovled. 😉 Or… was that just my family?
That’s a kid with a powerful imagination – confinement’s not much of a prison when the mind can take flight.
Excellent point!
I think that was one of the reasons I never really minded being sent to my room when I was younger. Sure, I couldn’t play with any of my toys, or read any of my books, but I could sit there and build worlds spinning around me.