Lynda Plante - The Escape

The prison gates opened as the patrol car was signalled to enter. Four prison officers were waiting as the car stopped. Colin was dragged out, his head throbbing and the swollen red mark turning into a bruise. He felt dizzy and sick to his stomach. The police officers handed him over to the prison guards, explaining that the bruises and bloody nose were down to him trying to avoid arrest and escape again. One policeman even laughed and said, ‘They don’t run or get away from us once we nick ’em.’

The prison officers didn’t think it was funny, but Colin was so angry he stepped forward and kicked out, calling the policemen liars.

It was the worst thing he could have done, because his move made it look as if he had become violent. One of the prison guards punched him hard in the chest, knocking him backwards to the floor. The next second, he was turned over with his face to the ground while the police handcuffs were taken off and replaced with a prison set. The police left as the guards pulled Colin up hard by his arms, which felt as if they were being jerked out of their sockets. They then pushed him through the gate into reception.

The officer who had given him final clearance that morning was waiting angrily as they dragged him in. He was in a foul mood, because he had been called before the Governor to explain exactly how he had allowed Colin to escape, and had been given a severe roasting. He knew he might be sacked or forced into early retirement, and he was furious. He walked over to Colin and took hold of his face in his big lumpy hands and squeezed tightly.

‘You are going to be very sorry, Burrows. Your life in here won’t be worth living when we’re done with you.’

Colin was in a great deal of pain and made yet another big mistake, one he would regret for the rest of his life. Unable to use his hands, he brought his knee up and kicked with all his might into the officer’s crotch. The guard let out a howl of pain. The two officers behind Colin swept his legs from beneath him, so that he crashed yet again face forward onto the concrete floor. He tried to get up, but one of them used a baton to hit him over the head. He wasn’t sure how many times he was hit as the blows were so painful and hard that he passed out.

Colin woke up the next morning in the hospital wing. His bandaged head was throbbing and his left hand was cuffed to the iron bed post. His mouth felt dry, and he had a horrible bitter taste in his mouth from the dried blood. His face was aching terribly and he had lost two teeth.

The prison doctor examined him a few hours later. Colin was feeling dreadful. His head still throbbed and his jaw ached. In fact, his whole body felt like lead. The doctor unbuttoned Colin’s shirt but said nothing as he looked at the awful bruises. He felt his ribs, then his stomach, pressing it with his fingers and causing Colin to flinch in pain. He shone a torch into Colin’s eyes and ears, then asked him to open his mouth. Clicking off the torch, he picked up the clipboard from the end of the bed and made notes. Colin moaned with the pain.

‘Well, that’s what happens when you run off and accidentally fall down stairs, Mr Burrows,’ the doctor said without sympathy.

Colin tried to answer him, but he was in such agony that he couldn’t find the energy. He wanted to explain just how he got the injuries, but the words would not come out. They felt trapped inside his mouth.

‘Just stay calm. You’ll remain here for a while, and I’ll check on you again tomorrow.’

A week later, Colin was still in the hospital wing, but the handcuffs had been removed. The bruises were healing and turning banana yellow. He still had headaches, but, thankfully, they had not been too bad, and he slept for most of the time during his recovery.

The Governor had visited him on his second day in the hospital wing. The interview had been short and disturbing. As soon as Colin’s condition improved, he was to be placed in a high-security wing with loss of privileges for two months and solitary confinement. He was told he was very lucky that his sentence had not been extended but, if any other incidents arose, he would be given more time inside. Colin knew that the truth was the Governor was embarrassed by the whole affair and just wanted it to be forgotten as soon as possible. Taking more action, such as holding a hearing to increase Colin’s sentence, would just drag it out.

Colin learned that Barry Marsden claimed that he had been threatened into aiding the escape. The Governor believed that, because the man had learning difficulties, it had been easy for Colin to force him to help with the plan. Colin wanted to defend himself, to say that it had been Barry’s idea in the first place and that he had in no way threatened him, but he said nothing.

The Governor was aware that Colin had been injured during his arrest, but warned him that it would not be wise to make a complaint. If he chose to ignore the Governor’s warning and did complain, the rest of his time at Barfield would be very uncomfortable.

‘Do you have anything you wish to say?’

The Governor waited for him to reply. Colin still said nothing. It was partly that he didn’t want to get Barry, or himself, into further trouble. But it was also because he was finding it difficult to form the words. It was as if his brain was not working properly. He knew what he wanted to say, but he just could not get the words out.

‘I know, Burrows, that you wanted to be with your wife for the birth of your child. I also know that permission was refused and that you simply decided to ignore the ruling and escape. But rules are there to be obeyed, not broken. You are serving a prison sentence for your crimes. You must now face the punishment of remaining here for your entire sentence without any hope of an early release.’

So that was it, and there was nothing Colin could do about it. He closed his eyes, not wanting to show that he was close to tears, as the Governor turned and walked off with a smile on his face.

Colin stayed in the hospital wing until his injuries were healed and the doctor said he could return to the main prison. They had given him painkillers and were concerned that he was again suffering from depression. The doctor suggested that he be watched with regular visits to his cell. Colin had not spoken to anyone the entire time he had been in the hospital wing, and had answered queries only with grunts and nods. They assumed he was just being difficult and that he still had anger issues.

Colin was deeply angry. He felt that no one understood. He had never been allowed to explain what it meant to be refused permission to be at the hospital for his child’s birth. He had never even been able to say that he had always intended to return to the prison.

It felt as if the world was against him, and worse still was having no contact with Karen. He had no phone card as he had left it with Barry when he had escaped. He had no money to buy another one, and he wasn’t sure they’d allow him to make calls even if he did have one. Besides, he wasn’t certain he would be able to speak to her, as he had not been able to form a single word since his so-called ‘accident’. It seemed that all he could do was grunt, and he was getting more and more frustrated. He thought about writing a note to the doctor, but decided not to bother as he thought that, after his escape, the man would just ignore it.

The strain was getting worse and he felt that the only thing that could make him better would be seeing Karen. Only she understood him, and only she could help pull him out of this awful mess and depression. He just hoped that he hadn’t upset her too much. He wanted so badly to talk to her face to face, to explain himself, and hoped that she would forgive his stupid mistake.