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The entire vicinity of the island smelled burnt. Half of the prison facility remained intact while the other half was charred almost black. The windows were smashed, the doors were destroyed and the electrical fence was severely damaged. More than a handful of the prison guards were either injured or dead, as well as several of the watchdogs that patrolled with them.

“So tell me again, exactly WHAT happened here?”

The man could barely keep eye contact with me. Every time he tried he looked away nervously. “W-well Officer Ganem, the…the prisoners escaped last night.”

“Yes, I can see that,” My hands wrung together behind my back. “How many to be precise?”

“Well, we haven’t taken count yet but some of them are missing, or they were killed or- well, some of the BOATS are gone too as a matter of fact, I really don’t-”

“You really don’t know anything, do you? Let’s find out then. Where do you keep your ship records?”

The warden pursed his lips and glanced down the path behind me. “They’re usually in that little office down that way, but-”

“Mardling, you heard the man. Go and fetch the ship logs.”

“Wait- I meant to say that it was broken into last night, someone must have gotten down there and thrown a rock in the window-”

I paused. “And what does this change?”

“…Well I suppose nothing…sir,”

“That’s right, nothing.” I nodded. “Not a single prisoner here has use for your records, that much I can assure you whole heartedly.”

We both turned to watch Mardling walk down the hill and towards the tiny record room. He kicked the door down and disappeared inside. Once he found what he’d been asked to bring, he came back out and returned to us, handing over a single file.

As I went down the list within it, I counted the boats I could see. Three were missing, but they had been scheduled to return from a supply run to the nearby town Stranburg at the end of the week, so that explained that. The only ones that remained officially unaccounted for were the three rowboats.

“Most of your other ships are out for a supply run, the only ones that have been stolen are the rowboats. Three to be precise.”

“Really? I mean- yes sir, whatever it says there…though that’s hard to believe…unless all those prisoners JUMPED off the cliff side. There are way too many of them to pack into only three boats, unless they SWAM, which... I don’t see HOW…The water’s frigid this time of year! There’d be no WAY they could swim across the channel and back to the mainland-”

“Don’t underestimate these fools. You and the rest of the staff here have grown FAR too complacent in the recent years. Just because this prison is located on an isolated ROCK several miles from the shoreline doesn’t mean that the rats held within it cannot SWIM.” I sighed heavily as I shut the folder closed, holding it out to him. Just as the warden attempted to take it from me, I grabbed his hand, curling his fingers into a fist and gave it a hard squeeze.

“OW- sir-”

“This is the easiest possible set up FOR a prison: a lone building on an island with a few towers and lights. And SOMEHOW you lot STILL manage to muck even THAT up, and spectacularly too I might add.” I squeezed harder.

“Sir, PLEASE let go-”

“And now that the place is up in FLAMES, you don’t seem the least bit concerned about it, do you? After all it’s not YOUR fault this happened, right?” I could feel his fingers starting to crunch. All the man responded with was some pathetic, weak whimper.

Mardling stepped forward gripping his rifle tightly. “Shall I?”

“Leave him be.” Just as I was about to let go, I forced my hand closed, another series of pops and crackles following. The warden yowled like a strangled cat, yanking his now broken hand and fingers back as he turned away from me. “Now then, I wonder just who’s left…”

There was one prisoner in particular that stood in the back of my mind. Was he still here? Or had he been killed?

Nearby was a lineup of escapees, all of them sitting against one of the still-intact walls of the building with several of the wardens training their guns on them.

“Is this all?”

One of the other wardens turned to me and nodded. “Yes sir. These’r all the ones we could round up. Don’t know where the rest’ve gone.”

I walked down the line slowly, eyeing each one of them very critically. Naturally I received glares and sneers here and there, one even tried to spit in my direction.

When I reached the end, I glanced over them all one more time, unsatisfied.

“Where’s Evans?”

“Huh? Which’un sir? We have several.”

“The northerner from Alteris, Wyatt Evans. He’s not here. Is he dead?” Suddenly I felt tense, anxious almost. It was unlikely a simple riot could kill HIM off. “Are you keeping the recovered bodies elsewhere?”

One of the other men pointed inside the building. “Just on the other side of the wall sir, they’re all lined up, well the ones we could FIND anyway. You can take a look if you’d like. Maybe you’ll find’m. Haven’t ID’d them yet m’ afraid.”

Quickly I made my way towards the designated area for corpses and began pulling up the tarps, searching for anything recognizable. He had to be here SOMEWHERE.

Once I had examined all of them, it only confirmed what I didn’t want happening. Wyatt Evans had escaped.

For a moment I stood there completely still. That man knew far too much for me to simply let him go. Even if he had no home to return to, he could still very well go to Stranburg and tell someone of what he’d discovered about Alteris and operation Blackwolf all those years ago. Not that anyone would believe him but… there still remained a chance that SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE would. There was no way he had drowned. Not him.

I stepped back out onto the snow again, greeted by salutes from my soldiers. “First things first, I want these remaining prisoners taken care of.”

Immediately they marched over towards the few that sat against the wall, aiming their guns at them. Some of the escapees grew panicked, but before they could do anything about it, the rifles fired. For a few individuals it took several bullets, for others it only took one. Some of the bodies twitched as others cried out in agony and died soon after. Once they all lay still, my men saluted me again, stamping their boots in unison with their weapons at their shoulders.

The wardens looked on in what I could only assume to be was terror.

“And,” I looked to one of them right in the eyes. He looked like a scared rabbit. “I want all these men fired. Effective immediately.”

“W-What-”

Again my soldiers dispersed, moving and standing beside every single prison guard and drawing a pistol from the holster on their belts.

Mardling stood by my side, overseeing the entire display. “Shall I fetch the dogs for you sir?”

I nodded. “Yes, please.” The pistols went off just as they were about to protest. Blood splattered on the ice, and the island grew deadly silent. “We’re heading to the mainland to look for… an old acquaintance.”

“Yes sir.”

As we made our way back towards the path leading down the hill, I stepped over a few bodies here and there. “What a shame, all of it. And we’re so close to the holidays too.”