Escape
By J.M. Snyder
The last thing Trace remembered clearly was
standing with the other inmates in line for breakfast. Then the
transport lurched, throwing the men into each other. As they
elbowed and shouldered themselves back into formation, the alarms
went off. Steel bars slid down over portals that showed nothing but
deep space. More bars locked over the doorways. Trace’s heart
pounded in his chest as he watched the exits being sealed off so
effectively. Around him, the other prisoners stared wide-eyed at
the doors and portals, thoughts of escape shining like sweat upon
their faces.
The ship rocked again as the power went out,
and the men tumbled together in the dark. Somewhere close by, a gun
went off, the report deafening in Trace’s ear. He threw himself
down to the
