IT'S even worse here than I thought.

Rikers Island is huge and lies directly between the New York boroughs of Queens and the Bronx. One of the wardens said that there are a total of ten different prisons here with thousands of inmates. About eighty percent of the prisoners are drug addicts, the rest are actually here for a violent crime. 

Yes, I have really informed myself well. 

But the warden who always stands on the left side of the fence out here seems to like me too. I've been here for two days and haven't been able to integrate, but that's been clear to me from the beginning.

These people are here for a very specific reason and that's how they behave. One of them sees himself as our leader, which is completely stupid if you think about it.

I don't know what his name is, but I call him 'Berry' because he reminds me of a berry with his plump face and countless freckles spread even on his muscular arms. 

Right now, he and his accomplices are lifting weights while eyeing me suspiciously. I don't think they can quite assess me yet, but that's just as well. As long as they have nothing against me, they won't go after me. 

I am quite honest: I feel somehow lost here. I've been trying to swim with the crowd for three days, but it's not easy.

Besides ... I also miss her. 

At the same time, she is my only anchor in this situation. The only person I can completely confide in. I ask myself who told her that I am no longer there and how she is doing right now. If I could, I would use telepathic abilities to tell her that everything is fine and she has nothing to worry about.

I know that she, Bronwyn, and Peter are plotting something, but secretly I don't want them to. I'd a thousand times prefer them to just get over it somehow instead of dealing with the mess that has once again been caused by me. To be honest, I feel like the last idiot.

Why didn't I just contact my parents? I admit I didn't even have a mobile phone at the time, but ─

"Hey! Newcomer!" 

Ever so slowly, I release my fingers from the fence that will forever shield me from the outside world. Officer Redhead didn't say it, but I know I'm stuck here for life. He wanted to tell me, but I no longer cared about Kolin's evidence or anything else. Because I realized quite simply that it was never going to stop. 

I'm not someone who gives up easily ─ really I'm not. But I've been going through all this for almost ten months now, and so slowly I've just given up hope. If I hadn't met her, I might be a little more comfortable with my fate, but this way I have to think about her all the time.

I imagine how I make a completely inappropriate joke and she rolls her eyes laughing. Or how it feels to be with her, to be inside her, and to be with her. I got to experience all that, but it was far too short.

All the time in the world would be too short if I could spend it with her. Even worse, though, is standing helplessly by the fence, looking off into the distance, imagining her, while Berry and his friends stand close behind me. 

"Are you deaf, man?" 

I slowly turn to face them. I can't say or do anything wrong now.

If I show myself too weak, they will see me as an easy victim and if I play the tough guy, they will see me as a challenge that they will accept one hundred percent. After all, they don't have anything else to do all day long. 

"There you go, you do understand me." Berry doesn't speak too loudly, but the other inmates come closer too. They are probably quite happy that something is brewing. 

How am I going to get out of here in one piece? Maybe my warden friend will help me. When I glance in his direction, however, suddenly no one is standing there. 

I swallow. "Shouldn't you be lifting more weights instead of bothering me?" 

That was a bit too much. 

Berry's expression turns predictably angry and his eyes form into narrow slits. "What did you just say?" 

"Nothing, nothing at all." I raise my hands placatingly and try to slow things down. "I don't want any trouble with you, Berry."

"My name is Reece." 

He and his friends approach, along with their muscle-bound arms, as whispers and laughter ring out. Apart from the voices, only one or two birds can be heard chirping, which is so out of keeping with the ominous mood. 

"And you know what, newcomer?" Berry bares his teeth. "I want trouble with you, though." 

Where are the bloody wardens when you ever need them? If I went up against Berry all by myself it would be hard enough, but with Twideldi and Twideldum it becomes almost impossible.

I'm tempted to just run away but to where? The outdoor area is only big enough for playing tag and Berry is hardly in the mood for that.

I roll my shoulders tensely once, then Berry strikes. I duck, but can't avoid the next blow from Twideldi, and shit, that guy has some strength.

I slam into the fence and feel blood on my lip. Lips which I can never kiss her with again anyway, so there's no point in getting vain about it now. 

Determined, I walk up to the guys, dodge a few punches, and then catch Twideldumm right on his nose bone. He lies on the ground and holds his hands in front of his face, groaning.

I ram my fist into Twideldi's stomach, then cut off his oxygen with a punch to his windpipe. For the first time since I've been on Rikers Island, I feel something other than mere longing for my home. True, I feel the pain in my face and on my knuckles, but it's still better than racking my brains over my problems. 

Berry seems surprised that I've knocked off his friends so quickly, but he tries to hide it and glares at me grimly. "What's your name?"

"Does it matter?", I ask as I wipe the blood from my lip. "It wasn't important to you a minute ago, anyway." 

"I want to know your name, newcomer." Berry approaches me menacingly, already raising his fist to lunge, however, he pauses as he inspects my face closely. "Holy shit. You're Dean Walker." 

I think it's quite great that my reputation has preceded me, but I really don't feel like bragging or talking right now. So I swing out before Berry can, and something cracks in his jaw as my fist hits him. The sound isn't deafeningly loud, but it's unpleasant enough to make me grimace slightly. 

Berry holds his chin with a groan. "I've already heard that your right hook is not to be trifled with." 

He suddenly grabs my hair, pressing me against the fence and using his knee to ram it into my stomach. I groan in pain, to which he just laughs. I quickly use my free hands and give him another punch on the same spot where it cracked before. Berry roars and spits blood as he staggers back, holding his jaw. 

"You know what else I heard?" Groaning, he wipes the blood from his chin and grins slightly. "I heard you killed that girl. What was her name again?" 

"None of your business, Berry." I walk towards him, ignoring the painful throbbing in my chest caused by more than just his blows. It's an inner pain that I can only forget if I distract myself.

Before I can get hold of Berry, however, he actually rams his fist into the throbbing spot and I stumble backward, my face contorted in pain. Again he wants to hit me and I make no attempt to fight back as he slowly raises his fist and shouts ─

"Keep your hands off of Dean, Reece." 

Confused, I look to the side, then suddenly remember Officer Redhead's words again. 

Xander Reed was arrested two hours ago. 

He's standing just a few feet away from me. And he looks like shit. His dark hair hangs straggly in his face, while his green eyes look pale and lifeless. Only his maniacal grin is still there. 

He will be transferred to Rikers Island as soon as he has finished his therapy sessions.

I'm pretty sure it will take Xander far more than a month to stop his therapy sessions. No one can tell me he's cured now and won't hurt a girl again. He disgusts me so much that I stumble back a few steps and screw up my face. 

"What, I don't get a greeting?" asks Xander in mock surprise. "And I just saved your ass." 

I walk past the confused Berry, ignoring Xander, who of course follows me. 

"Come on, tell me what's been going on with you, Dean." When I don't answer, Xander's voice becomes razor sharp. "How's Sydney doing, anyway?" 

I whirl around angrily and punch Xander twice in the face. He staggers around groaning, spitting blood, then grins that maniacal grin again. I grab him by the shoulders, forcing him to stand still.

"You ... you did horrible things to Hollyn. And you would have done those to Sydney, too, if I hadn't intervened that day." 

"At least I didn't kill anyone," is his reply. He looks messed up and is also acting completely out of line. This is definitely not the Xander I used to be friends with. He may never be like that again. 

I let go of him and his bloodied face. For some reason, his words do the rest of me in. I just can't take it anymore. I can't be accused of murder every chance I get, and I can't keep running into my former friends who do nothing but betray me. 

Breathing heavily, I run my hand over my angry face. "Why do I keep listening to this when you all know full well THAT I HAVE NEVER MURDERED ANYONE." I'm only now realizing that now I'm the one of the two of us acting a little crazy, but I can't stop myself either. 

"Go on," Xander prompts me, grinning. "Hit me again if it makes you feel so much better." 

"I won't hit you again," I barely get out. I barely have the strength to talk anymore, after all. "You and I," I point alternately at him and myself, "are done with each other. You can rot here for all I care because I'm getting out of here. Unlike you, I haven't done anything wrong, so I can't be locked up forever either." 

Xander actually looks a little surprised by my words, but I don't take my time waiting for his retorts. Surprisingly, none come as I leave the outside area and sit down on the floor inside for a moment, stretching my legs in exhaustion. I'm not well, I realize.

But at least a tiny bit of my hope has returned, making me feel not completely alone and abandoned. 

I'm getting out of here. 

I repeat this sentence like a mantra until I believe it strongly enough to get up again. In a moment someone would come and send me to my cell anyway, so I might as well wait here, even if the bare grey walls of the building disgust me more than anything else. Why can't they paint the walls pink? Even that would be preferable to me. 

I wait for what feels like an eternity until someone comes, but I use the time to think. This has become my favorite pastime. 

At some point, an official approaches me. He looks neither like a warden nor an officer and instantly arouses my curiosity as he nods for me to follow him.

We enter a part of the prison that I have never entered before. It's the phone boxes that we can use to communicate with people outside Rikers Island, yet there hasn't been anyone I've had to come here for in the last few days. Maybe the official in front of me thinks I'm someone else and that's why he's leading me here?

It's not that far-fetched, after all, he didn't even ask for my name and I've never seen him here before. 

A thick pane of glass, probably meant to protect the visitor, separates the small room, and next to it are two telephones that look a little old and worn.

Curious, I look around, then my eyes suddenly fall on the person waiting for me behind the glass. My heart literally slips into my pants as I pause, stiff and perplexed. 

"Sydney," I whisper, knowing she can't hear me.

Not yet.

-

The parallels....