RED JUNGLE

The sun kept its steady sunshine over the farther distant mountains including a smooth asphalted road surrounded by tall evergreen trees whose resplendent leaves withstood the savory intensity of the bright afternoon sun as well as the black roof of four black vehicles with a black bus conveying condemned prisoners accelerating slowly along with the other vans, towards the southward direction of the remote areas, on the smooth tarmac below the dense shade of the tall spruces far away from civilization, heading to a distant prison located several miles near the coast that was presently way beyo

nd their reach as the racers relentlessly continue their way through the thick vegetation without a moment to rest its hefty tyres from being worn out by the smooth road. Inside the enormous bus, sat ten prisoners clad in orange tunic and baggy pants whose hands and feet were completely chained to their seats with nowhere to run to and they were partially left unprotected since they were unable to move freely due the fact that the reckless cops confided on the hefty taut metal chains which constrained the ten criminals from snapping the neck of a sleepy black officer who lay fast asleep with his head resting on a metal barricade beside two angry prisoners on the left row. Two police van with an emblematic design on its alloy body, driving behind the colossal bus, gently kept trailing the bus while two other police cars situated in front of the gigantic bus led the procession down a valley, towards the next route which directed them to a far jungle. Unknown to the cops inside the four cars as well as four cops within the bus including the driver, a shrewd white prisoner had surreptitiously succeeded in stealing one of the keys from the sleeping black cop but felt reluctant to go ahead with his risky endeavor of freeing himself from the chains when his sharp eyes fell on the blunt faces of his fellow inmates especially the haggard visage of a huge baldheaded black man whose robust biceps and muscular abdomen fitted tightly to his tunic, who kept watching him with contempt along with five others except for three chained onlookers who were eagerly awaiting him to free themselves after gaining liberty from the coarse chains. He wanted to unlock the keypad but a second look at a guard heading their way from the front of the bus prevented him from carrying out his plans and quickly adjust himself upright against the unsteady bus, near the exposed window. He instantly straighten his body into his former position on the steel bench and hid the keys inside his right palm, wet with sweat behind his back as soon as the police approaches the incompetent cop from the front seat of the accelerating vehicle until he emerged from within and stood near his sleeping comrade while peering at the blunt faces of the prisoners.

"Hey, George!", He shouted prodding the shoulder of the sleeping cop on the thighs with his baton but the cop didn't react to his call and simply held tenaciously to his dream in a funny way that made the black prisoner alongside the other chained men, to stifle a laughter evoked by the sleeping black man.

"Damn it, George. Wake up and Keep a close watch on the prisoners", The white cop ordered with a kick on George's foot and this time, it woke up the negro from deep slumber which left him as soon as he felt the stimulative pain inflicted on his foot and giddily rose his gigantic body upright to face the white cop in spite of the heavy sleep that had descended upon him ever since they began the journey from the city jailhouse transfer ten notorious criminals renowned for their hazardous crimes which had endangered the innocent lives of many people especially business owners and few other corrupt political office holders. Each of the prisoners were securely guarded in their respective jailhouse than other inmates whose crimes were actually of low significance compared to the notable crimes committed by the temporary coalition of imprisoned serial killers taken from different jailhouses to be transferred to an isolated island off the coast where the latest dungeons for confinement of harden criminals are kept under close bars and under tight watch inside the building fortified with a fairly large number guards and a systematic alarm security on each of the gates as well as the inner chambers that was laced with security cameras erected at strategic point within and outside the secured perimeter including the iron barbed wired fences of the building.

"Yes..officer James. I'll... Try to stay awake and none of...them will... not be out of my sight",

George replied fighting hard to keep his eyelids from enclosing his white eyeball and almost hit his head on against the moving vehicle when the bus bumped slightly on the the rough deserted road which ran far into the distant horizon of scarce forest trees in the farther distance where the desert drivers were still a long way off from the partly green zone.

"You better keep yourself awake for the next mile and don't let this crafty fellows out of your sight, you got that?",

"Roger that, sir",

"Good. Take care not to fall asleep again. You really don't want McDonnell's face to get ugly if he catches you sleeping on duty",

George chuckled as he scratched his dizzy eyes with his fingers which enabled part of him to be fully awake while the prisoners listened quietly to their conversation without making any sound at all.

"Of course, James",

"Gosh, this irksome journey is really making me feel bored sitting down at the front seat",

"Yep. Quite a torn in the flesh",

"I wonder what it really feels like sitting down there without saying a word like these guys", James muttered to himself before returning his gaze from the black man to the silent prisoners who were paying attention to nothing except for the loud sound of the accelerating engine that was inbuilt within the skeleton of the gigantic bus as the bus kept its steady speed and position amidst the two other police cars, on the long track which seems too far for the fast cars to overcome.

"They seems not to feel sleepy like me",

"But they have slept, haven't they?",

"Nope",

"How can you tell when I caught you sleeping the whole time after we left the city a while ago?",

"I ain't sure but I perceive that none of them had fallen asleep since we began the journey. Look at their bloodshot eyes",

The two cops stared at the faces of the prisoners whose glare at the two cops undeniably expressed their ferociousness to the two policemen except for a lanky chained prisoner sitting close to the thief and examined the haggard facial looks of the criminals especially a Mexican whose blunt face had two scars inflicted on his left cheek with a jackknife which he painfully received in a gang fight against a rival triad trying to encroach power into their territory without permission before he was apprehended by the police and another hefty black prisioner whose gigantic body size greatly astounded the cops but they were actually frightened by his misshapen looks at them, even his eyes instill sheer fear into the feeble mind of both officers.

The entourage had long passed the dense forests at the outskirts of the city and were now heading towards the desert plain where little scanty trees and shrubs dwelt under the intense heat of the sun with sufficient amount of used up gas to spare before they will arrive at their journey but the immense heat emanating from the sun, combined with the stagnant wind which had cease to refresh the nerves of the cops and the prisoners, made them fully uncomfortable in their seats even though they unrelentingly pressed on without any further delay under the poor condition and humidity around them despite the hot weather.