Alligator man

The story of a man and his inflatable alligator

Dave had been with them his whole life. He had been born into the mafia. But he was seventeen when they got him really involved. He then discovered his love for crime, and business was good until the age of twenty-five when the government began their crackdown on a whole host of corruption scandals. He was tracked down and apprehended. He stayed there for two years before his daring escape.

I am pacing in my cell when I notice a small note on the wall.

"The back of your locker," it says. How did that get there? I guess I'll check, just to see what that's about. Not much better. I head over to the lockers and enter the code to open mine. Nothing. Weird. I look at the very back of the locker, still empty. Not sure what I expected. It's very small, not much of a "back" to it. Whoever sent the note wouldn't have my locker code anyway, not that that's going to stop anyone around here. Whatever, I need to get my jacket out anyway. Somehow my locker seems even smaller than normal... wait. And then I notice it: there is a small pull flap on the back. Ahhh, the back of my locker.

When I pull it I see the somewhat shiny folds of bright green plastic. It’s an inflatable alligator. I smuggle it back under my shirt.

It is 9:45 pm. "heading back for bed?” the guard asks as I walk past; I nod my head. As he locks the cell door, he does not notice the small shim I slide into the lock.

I open the door and close it again barely making a sound. (Something some students at an innovation school in Cambridge could use some help with). I'm not out yet. I still have to get over the fence and avoid detection. The alarm sounds. The gate has been left unlocked. I strip down so that when I land I will not be recognized by my prison jumpsuit.

The cold water numbs my back as I float away. Almost numb enough to mask the burn of the freezing water. I can hear the search party as they scan the island. They see the footprints leading down to the water. I can see the search boats heading north, towards the nearest land.

The most logical place for me to go. The first place that they would search. I am heading east. It’s a longer route, but also a boat free route. It takes hours to reach my destination, but when I get there I’m free. I just need to lay low for a little while and not draw unnecessary attention to myself.