Four hundred years ago in the small town of Slateville, Connecticut, four people were hung for being witches. There were not witches they were in fact vampires. Not powerful ones, as they could be killed by being hung, but vampires nonetheless. Before the floor dropped out from the gallows, they laid a curse upon all that would listen. They said that whenever the ground that they were buried in was separated from the main land by water, the dead would rise again. The townspeople, believing that that would never happen, ignored them and the curse was forgotten. Moments later the ropes tightened and they were no more. They were buried in a field outside town near the ocean and the world went on.

Four hundred years later a lot had changed. In place of the old town, a maximum-security prison was built. It is considered one of the best prisons in the country. Its called Slateville Federal Maximum-Security Correctional Institute, but most people just know it as Slateville Max. Slateville Max houses some of the worst criminals this country has ever seen. On the north side of the prison are three cell blocks in a line each having two levels and a basement and connected by a small pathway.

Block A contains the relatively minor offenders that have had the sheer misfortune to be sent to Slateville. In there is mainly the white collar criminals and first time offenders of nonviolent crimes. The basement of Block A is the in house factory were various products were built to help fund the prison. It used to be a metals shop, but it was converted into a factory after many of the inmates were caught making weapons. But some of the stuff for metal work is still there.

Block B houses you average run of the mill murderers and thieves. There were the ones stupid enough to be caught. There were a few famous faces in the crowd. A former actor that murdered his wife resides there, as does a Mafia informant that got a reduced sentence for ratting out his friends. The top floor of this block is a church for those prisoners that want to find God and a library for those that want to get smarter. In the basement of Block B is the room that every prisoner prays that he will never see. It is the execution chamber, or as it is more often called 'The Killin' Room'.

Block C is the one you want to avoid if you get guard duty at night. The men that live here are the really bad ones. These guys are the 'without possibility of parole' guys. The minimum sentence for someone in this block is 25 years. Most are lifers but there are a few on death row. The basement is the only place in the prison not accessible by normal means. To get there one needs a security pass that allows them to take an elevator down to the bottom. There are only six cells that can only be opened by an electronic key card and a four-digit password changed weekly.

The reason for all the security is because of the type of convicts that generally live there. Right now only four dwell there, two were only convicted of minor charges but have sense escaped from three other prisons, recaptured, and sent to Slateville Max. One is and international spy that had stolen and hidden important documents and is being held at Slateville Max until he talks. The last is another celebrity that lives in the prison, not in the actor way, or in the informant way, but in the nation wide manhunt way. His name is Scott Arian, but the media has dubbed him "The Pickax Murderer" that being his weapon of choice. At the time of his capture he had killed around 24 people. Nobody knows the reason why he killed those people, most believe that he just lost it. Whatever the reason, he is not a nice person.

Each of the blocks has a door and a long hallway one their south side that leads to the cafeteria. The cafeteria is a large room with tables set up and bolted down. There is a kitchen set off to the east side, but it really only reheats food that is shipped in. There are some emergency supplies though. A stairway on the wall leads up to the warden's office. The warden's office is another room that is under heavy lock and key as it is in that room that the back up generator and emergency weapons is. Except for in extreme situations, the guards never carry guns. The most they have on them at any time is pepper spray and a cattle prod.

The warden's office has two large glass windows that take up most of two walls. One looks down into the cafeteria, the other looks out into the yard. They yard is a large 100X100yd field. There is a weight area and a small basketball court and nothing much else. The warden is a man that believes that prison should not be fun, but he does believe that physical activity is good for a person no matter what position of society they are in. The only way out of the prison is by a large double gate on the west end of the yard.

The day started out like any other day. Prisoners woke up, ate breakfast, and then went to work doing their various activities. Then lunchtime rolled around. Block A ate first then went out into the yard for exercise time, as was the warden's policy. Block B was to eat next. Frank Dimecheck, the warden of Slateville, watched the prisoners of Block A file back through the cafeteria from his office. They made it a policy never to have two doors open at the same time, so once all the prisoners were in the cafeteria one of the guards shut the door to the yard. Just as another guard was about to open the door to Block A is when it happened.

At first it started as a soft rumble. Frank thought nothing of it thinking it was just the rumble of the prisoners moving around below him. Then everything started to shake violently. Frank's awards and books started to fall off the shelf, his pictures seemingly jumped off his desk, and his bookshelf fell over on top of him knocking him out.