[ WP ] So , it ends here , after all this time .

Thorn sat atop his new bed - if the roughly man-sized wooden crate could be called such a generous word - trying desperately to ignore the stench of the previous owner's corpse rotting from within it. 
 
 Riverside Prison was a fine place, as far as prisons went. The guards tended to leave inmates alone and that was a good thing for some, a bad thing for others. For Thorn, it was a *great* thing. Killing Rex was done more for the statement that the action would make than for the bed. Still, as fearful eyes watched him stuff Rex's fresh corpse into the crate and force the lid closed, Thorn felt he needed to do something memorable. 
 
 So he climbed atop the bed and slept. 
 
 In Riverside, sleep was the enemy. An inmate had to make allies in the prison, *had* to, lest he get stabbed in his dreams. Going to sleep in front of every man in the cell was a statement bolder then killing Rex. *I'm not scared of you*. 
 
 Truthfully, Thorn had a nightmare after that. He'd killed so often before, but Rex's last moments stuck with him. He went over it again and again in his sleep. 
 
 `` So'', the large man sounded resigned, not at all as if a knife were in his gut. `` It ends here, after all this time.'' 
 
 He looked young, possibly 20 years or so, before Thorn stuck him. The man had managed to create a name for himself in the short time he was at Riverside. In killing him, Thorn essentially took all of that power and bestowed it upon himself. Years of work taken in one day. 
 
 Thorn let out a deep breath as he drummed the heels of his feet on the crate. This was who he was. A parasite. A leech. 
 
 He reached into the pocket on his cloth pants and grabbed the brass key within it. Killing Rex was done for the statement, yes, but also because he had a key. 
 
 Thorn forced a smile on his face, aware that some of the inmates were looking at him. He was a parasite. It was n't a matter of shame to him anymore. It was just who he was. 
 
 Thorn held the key tightly in his left hand and waited for nightfall. It was n't for the cell door. Thorn had tried unlocking it soon after he woke. It could only be for the outer door. The ceiling had small holes for fresh air to come in and the last traces of daylight could be seen through them. Soon, the guards would come for dinner. He'd kill them. He'd go to the outer door. He'd use Rex's key. *It has to work*. 
 
 It was his compassion that ultimately let Thorn be captured by the guard. 
 
 He would n't make the same mistake twice.
