The sun burned my eyes, and it even felt odd on my skin. After 20 years inside, with only minutes allowed out each day, I wasn’t prepared for this. I tried to spend more time in the rec yard to ready myself, but it had a roof, so we never got direct sunlight. Now, I was burning.

When my eyes adjusted, I saw the empty road before me, the closed gate behind me. I held in my hands two bags: one filled with clothes I no longer fit into, and one filled with snacks that my friends inside gave me as a going away present. They were so sentimental.

I looked around. The world seemed…hazy. Quiet. Too quiet for my liking. I looked back at the gate.

I needed to find a way back in. Luckily, I knew just the thing.

It had put me in here 20 years ago.