Superstar

Hugo sat quietly in the gray-black pickup truck, leaning on the back of his chair, and staring at the scene outside the window motionless.

The dust-covered pine forest undulates in sight, and the messy weeds under the bushes are flaring their teeth and claws. The hot sun outlines a halo on the grayish green, but it does not have the gentleness and poison of the West Coast. The golden light seems to be strangling the remaining life in the air. The dust particles floating in the air are like the devil in the nightmare, lurking in the gloomy forest, ready to attack passers-by who relax their vigilance at any time.

Occasionally, you can see a mottled dark red billboard standing on the side of the road. It is pasted with an advertisement for a real estate agent in the city not far behind, but the bright smile is changed by a large piece of rotting moss on the cheek. It's ugly. Sweeping the line of sight, you can see a mess of electric wires and a pile of abandoned railway tracks around the billboard, and a few rotten woods beside it.

The distance of the woods is not long, but for tens of seconds, the obstacles on both sides of the car were thrown behind him instantly, and the entire field of vision was widened. The large areas of fields filled the line of sight, but at this time the fields were barren. There is no rice field, no crops, only scattered weeds spreading unyieldingly on the dry land. A gust of wind blew up and raised a piece of sand, making people unable to open their eyes, and even the woods a little further away were not very real.

Hugo stretched out his arm, and the gust of wind completely wrapped his arm in an instant, and the boiling air pierced through his fingertips, but he didn't have the comfort he had imagined, because the dry air was mixed with sand and dust. Constantly rubbing on the skin, the hot sun danced unscrupulously on the skin, as if trying to tear the skin into wounds, and then melt the flesh and blood until the bones were exposed.

Joseph, who was focused on driving, looked at Hugo a little nervously, then looked at the road ahead of Mapingchuan. This road is completely deserted, not even a living animal can be seen, let alone a human being. Now, there is no traffic on the highway, as if traveling in the desert. But the slightly changed scenery on both sides reminds the driver: This is not a desert. But for Joseph, he would rather drive in the desert, because the surrounding scenery reveals an indescribable rundown, which makes people feel uncontrollably depressed.

"It's less than a mile away." Joseph tried to break the silence in the car, but after speaking, it was as if he had been directly evaporated by the surrounding hot sun, and vanished into the air.

Hugo didn't look back, but just responded with an "en", and then didn't say anything more, the sound that came out of the car was calm again, and only the sound of the wind outside the window can be heard vaguely under the blazing sun. The faint sound of the hula la extinguished all the surrounding vitality bit by bit.

After a long silence, a trace of life finally appeared on the horizon. From a distance, a wooden tower with a white background and a red stroke could be seen. There seemed to be people moving on the tower.

If you get closer, you can see that there are layers of barbed wire on the right side of the tower to make a fence extending, just like the barbed wire fence built by the nobles to keep their prey in captivity in the past.

On the left side of the tower is a toll booth-like passage, right in and left out, on both sides there are people standing straight on guard, a closer look can also see the machine guns hanging around their necks, they don't look like toy guns at all.

The whole building was wrapped in yellow sand and heat waves all over the sky, like the mouth of a sleeping behemoth, slightly open, waiting for the food to be delivered automatically, but after entering it, it couldn't get out. The giant beast lay horizontally on the barren yellow ground, consuming all the nearby vitality bit by bit, even the air became viscous, and the gesture of raising a hand was full of heaviness and irritability.

Joseph slowed down and drove toward the entrance on the right. There were no people around at all. There was only Joseph and Hugo in the front and back, just like the only survivors in the end of the world. The font above the toll booth gradually became clear as it approached, "Louisiana State Prison", the dilapidated blood-red font became decadent because it was stained with a layer of yellow sand.

The car stopped at the entrance of the toll gate. Three staff in uniform stood in the middle pavilion. Two staff with guns came up next to him. A young man in the pavilion looked over and saw the driver. Joseph in the seat turned around and said to the two armed guards, "It's okay, it's Hugo and Joe."

The two armed guards stopped, waved to the car with a smile, and then backed away.

Joseph got out of the car window, took out a stack of documents in his hand and handed it in. The young man took it and showed an apologetic smile, "The program still has to go, I'm sorry." Joseph waved his hand gently, saying that it didn't matter. Then the young man laughed and said, "Hey, Clark, good morning. Why are you on duty again today? Where's George?"

The young man named Clark shrugged helplessly. "George saw his father-in-law last night and was so drunk that he couldn't go to work. But he frightened Allie. She called me temporarily in the morning and asked me to come and replace him. ."

"Poor George." Joseph showed a look of regret, took his ID from Clark, and then looked back at Hugo. Hugo handed a long roll of paper and rolled it over. Joseph stepped aside. , So that Clark can see Hugo, "This is for you."

Clark bent down and waved to Hugo with a big smile. Hugo also gave a small smile, "Hey, Clark, good morning, how are you guys?"

Clark turned his head and shouted to the companion behind him, "Hey, buddy, Hugo greets you." Then the whistle rang everywhere, accompanied by a roar of laughter, echoing in this space.

Clark took the paper tube and Hugo explained, "This is the poster you mentioned last time. I hope you like it."

Clark immediately opened the paper tube with joy, and said excitedly, "Is this the poster for'before sunrise'? Is there the one signed by you and Charlize?" Hugo chuckled lightly, "Charlie Let me say hello to you on her behalf, and of course, Jenny."

"Oh, God, Jenny will definitely be happy, Hugo, I swear to Jesus, I love you." Clark said with joy, and then triumphantly turned his head to show off to his companions, but took a step. It occurred to me that there was still work that was not done, and he stopped and turned back to the car and said, "You can get in now. I hope everything goes well today."

Joseph and Hugo thought about the surrounding guards and said hello, and then drove slowly into the prison.

When the media reporters joined forces to block "Death Row", Hugo, as an important party, left Los Angeles early, away from the place full of numerous concerns, and began to prepare for the filming of "Death Row".

For the past three weeks, Hugo has stayed in the Angola prison in Louisiana. He not only wanted to understand the state of Matthew’s mentality and emotions after nearly six years in prison; at the same time, he also Want to understand their views on the death penalty as criminals; including the mental state of the criminals in the process of being sentenced and the criminal process.

Although Miami has always been the highest crime place in the United States, and New York is no different, the Louisiana prison is the most burdened place in the United States. On this piece of land-not far from Mexico, it is poisoned. On the land eroded by goods and violence, and the land that was once ravaged by slavery, on average, one out of fifty-five residents is in prison, and many have been sentenced to life imprisonment.

In Louisiana, the most secure prison is Angola, which is also the most famous prison in the United States. Because in history, here is a witness to the persecution of African Americans, this barren land is deeply immersed in the blood of African Americans.

In the 19th century, the Angolan prison was a plantation that drove black slaves to cultivate, and was a piece of land under the rule of slavery. After the end of the Civil War, slavery was abolished and the botanical garden was transformed into a private prison. However, because it is a private prison, it has been operating and renting out "prisoners" to provide labor, and the slave system has been changed. After the U.S. government took over in 1901, they not only failed to reform the cruel private prison system, but also maintained the original system and intensified their efforts to make huge profits.

In the cruel and inferior environment of this prison, prisoners must endure a worse living environment than slaves, because all the prisoners sent to this prison are "criminal criminals." In the 1960s, the Angolan prison was known as the bloodiest prison in the United States because of its violent environment. Rights and interests are at least treated fairly in law, and the situation in Angolan prisons has improved. But even so, three-quarters of more than 5,000 inmates in Angolan prisons are black, and only two hundred of them are likely to be released. Most of the rest are either sentenced to death or are in prison.

The prototype of "Death Row" Matthew Elmer Patrick Sonnell was imprisoned in Angolan prison. Hugo has always been curious. After six years in prison, Elmer began to turn to nuns for help. Does this have anything to do with the prison environment? There are relationships. You know, Elmer was imprisoned in the late 70s and early 80s, and the environment at that time was still not good.

In the past three weeks, Hugo has been talking to prisoners who are willing to become volunteers in Angolan prisons. He even stayed in the prison as long as possible within the scope of the prison's permission. He felt that this was enough to make people crazy. Depressive environment. As time progresses, Hugo’s words are diminishing and his mood is depressed. He has inevitably been affected by this prison. This place is like an abandoned place of despair, bit by bit eroding hope and life.

Today, once again, Hugo and Joseph entered the prison slowly, with heavy feet as if walking forward in a swamp.