by Ivy Asher
I shove the thought aside and remove my bra and shirt as I stand up, rolling my eyes at the thrill of glee that moves through me at the very wet and sticky situation going on between my thighs. Well, at least I won’t have to worry about getting cleaned up this time. I chuckle and get into the shower as I think about all the different places that Rook and I could christen in this prison.
I wonder if the Warden has a desk in his office?
12
It’s meatloaf day.
The day I’ve been waiting for ever since I got here. The shining jewel of all cafeteria food. Juicy, savory, delicious meatloaf. I can’t wait.
Except some stupid fuck decided to go on a vampiric rampage or some shit, so now our entire block is on lock down. I’m so pissed I can’t even enjoy watching any of my DVDs.
But when I hear a familiar rolling cart heading my way, I perk up and jump over to my cell door just in time to see Selena the siren coming my way. “Please tell me you’re delivering my meatloaf,” I beg, not even caring that it sounded like a dirty innuendo.
Selena cringes and passes me a covered tray through the food slot, and I eagerly take it and open it up. As soon as I do, I cringe at the sight of a rotted apple, moldy bread, and a decayed piece of meat that in no way resembles delicious, juicy meatloaf. And—is that a worm?
“What the fuck?” I say, offended, before tossing the food back out through the slot so it clatters on the floor.
“Sorry,” she says guiltily before she turns and hurries away like her ass is on fire.
I glower at the place she disappeared from. Fucking management is punishing us with rotten food now? That’s just wrong. And that’s pretty fucked up for Selena to do it. Although, she did sneak over and deliver me some Pop Rocks a while ago, so I guess I can’t be too mad at her. I imagine the rest of the prisoners will give her enough shit about this delivery, she doesn’t need me to add to the pile.
But I better get some goddamn meatloaf soon.
No one is allowed out of their cell until the next day, and it’s like there’s an electric charge in the air as I make my way down the hall. At first, I chalk it up to everyone just having a ton of pent-up energy from being stuck in our cells for hours on end, but I realize it’s for a very different reason when I’m cornered in the cafeteria by a crowd of females. I note that everyone who bought one of the pairs of underwear I made is now circling me...plus, like, a shit ton of other females too.
“Uhh...what’s up?” I ask nervously. Am I about to get shanked for customer dissatisfaction? “Look, I told you, no returns or refunds. I included all the proper fine print. If you tried to wash it and your bedazzles fell off or something, that’s not my fault.”
Broken-Eyed Medusa shoves her way forward, and I bring my fists up in front of me in a defensive move, ready to block fists that come flying my way. She might be in my squad, but she barely tolerates me because of Zen’s influence. Ever since I asked to pet her snakes, all she usually does is hiss at me. What is it with gorgons not letting their snake hair get any love? I don’t doubt that she’d knock me on my ass in a second.
But instead of pulling my hair to kick off a cat fight, she grabs me by the shoulders. “We need more Pop Rocks panties.”
Stunned, it takes me a few seconds to gather her words and process them. “Huh?”
“The Pop Rocks panties,” someone else repeats—the other female who purchased a pair.
I look at everyone warily. “Uhh, why?”
A very burly, thickly muscled chick shoves her way forward. “Those Pop Rocks...popped.”
My brow furrows at her earnest expression. “Ookay…”
Broken-Eyed Medusa—who I now will call Bem—gives me a pointed look. “A few of us were getting hot and heavy with some prison buddies, if you know what I mean,” she explains. “And well...what happens when you put Pop Rocks into your wet mouth?”
My mind puts it together and… “Oh—ohhh!” I look around at everyone. “Are you telling me that my Pop Rocks candies got you guys off?”
“Best damn orgasm I’ve had in three years,” Burly says.
I...I don’t know how to feel about this development. I sure hope they washed afterward, or their downstairs ovens could turn into little slices of angry yeast bread.
“Umm. Cool?” I offer, not knowing what else to say.
“Are you taking preorders?” someone else in the crowd asks.
“Uh…”
“When they started going off, it was like little pieces of hail popping down on my clit,” Burly says dreamily.
Females start shouting out offers to me, and I quickly hold up my hands to try to regain control before they all go berserk and hold me hostage until I give them more orgasm-inducing candy panties.
“Okay, okay!” I shout. “I’ll take orders, just...be cool and back up a little. Give a girl some room to breathe.”
The next twenty minutes is basically me corralling and appeasing a cluster of females all vying for me to give them panties with Pop Rocks glued all over them. They’re all offering me the moon on a platter. Bem even let me finally pet her hair snakes. Finally! It’s awesome, too. They’re super soft, and one of them even licks me.
But damn, it’s exhausting being a star. So much attention is making me a little twitchy.
By the time I see Joe’s tall ass walk into the room, I want to jump up and down in relief. I quickly wave to get his attention. The females are still chatting away about how popping orgasms are the new thing, but seriously, there’s only so much I can say on the subject other than you’re welcome, so I’m hoping Zen sent Joe here to rescue me.
Joe spots me and makes a noise, and even though I can’t hear it over the clamor, I can see from the rise and fall of his chest that it’s definitely a grunt like, there you are. He waves me over, and I hold up my hand to say one minute and start trying to extract myself.
“Sorry, my friend is here. He needs me, but I’ll get to work on more orders,” I shout over the din, and then I have no choice but to throw some elbows and start hip checking people so I can get the fuck out of here.
Damn, these Pop Rocks panties really caught on fast. And I gotta say, I’m very curious. I’ve always loved how the candy feels in my mouth...I just might have to try them out myself.
I’m breathless and tousled by the time I maneuver my way over to Joe’s side.
“Thanks for the assist there, big guy,” I snark, but Joe just does what he always does. He grunts.
Dipping his head, he heads out of the doorway, and I follow him. I keep checking over my shoulder for the first couple of minutes or so, worried inmates will follow me. When we round several corners and there’s still no one on our tail, I let out a relieved breath. “That was crazy, Joe! I mean, I just used the Pop Rocks so I could get the colors I wanted, but if I had known...I would’ve charged way more,” I say.
We pass a guard standing at a corner, and he nods at us. I give him a wave.
“I wonder if they feel good for guys too? You wanna try some on?” I ask, and then I shake my head. “Hmm, they’ll be way too small. Don’t worry, Joe, I’ll make some that are troll-size and a couple others for some of the guys to test out.”
He grunts again as I follow him down another hallway, around a bend, and then through another empty corridor, and a weird little hallway that seems to be half as wide as the others before widening out again.
“It might take a little while, because I need to meet the female demand first, but don’t worry, I’ll hook you up.”
The lighting in these tunnels looks dimmer, and I realize suddenly that I have no idea where I am. I’ve just been following my giant prison bestie and jabbering away.
“Are we going to meet up with Zen and the others?” I ask, recalling how I didn’t see them earlier.
Joe grunts again, and I relax. “These hallways are very echoey. You grunt, and then I suddenly feel like I’m surrounded by a ton of Joes instead of just one,” I observe, but Joe doesn’t grunt to that.
“Speaking of, I’m excited for Sloppy Joes later—did you see it on the menu? Those things are good. When I was a kid, I always wanted them, but no one in my lounge was allowed to make them for me. I had to get incarcerated to finally be able to try one, but fuck, I’ve been missing out! Like, I don’t even know what they put in that sauce, but I’m telling you, if I could bathe in it, I would.”
A scoffing sort of grunt echoes all around me, and I laugh. “Don’t judge me Joe, I’ve noticed the way you put down the beef stroganoff in this place. I bet if there was a pool of beef stroganoff, your big ass would be in there swimming around too,” I tease.
The long hallway that we’re in winds around to the right, and I suddenly feel like we’re walking uphill, or maybe I’m just out of shape and that’s why I’m suddenly winded.
“Damn, where are Zen and the crew hiding?” I ask, a little breathless and completely lost. “I know Nightmare Penitentiary is big and has a shit ton of different levels and buildings, but I feel like we’re walking a long way. Is there some secret room back here where all the cool kids hang out in or something?” I ask. “Or, ooh, are they throwing me a secret surprise party in honor of my Pop Rocks panties?”
This time, Joe snorts, and I find myself suddenly squealing. “That’s it, isn’t it? Holy shit, I just got so excited, Joe! Is there cake? Oh, please tell me there’s going to be cake!” I start clapping, and there’s a distinct spring in my step.
“Will you shut the fuck up? You’re going to give us away if you keep doing that.” A male voice snips, and I freeze and look all around me for the source.
What the hell?
I do a complete circle of the still empty, unfamiliar hallway, before my eyes land back on Joe. I move closer to him. “Did you hear that, Joe?” I whisper as I stare at the shadows all around us, suddenly feeling very uneasy.
“I not only heard it, I fucking said it,” Joe announces as he looks down at me, his gaze filled with irritation.
My eyes nearly pop out of my head as I stare up at him, completely dumbfounded. My brain can’t process what it means for Joe’s lips to be moving and forming words. He’s never spoken. Not once. Not to anyone.
“I thought you couldn’t talk!” I say, totally flabbergasted.
“Well, you obviously thought wrong,” he replies, his voice much higher pitched than I would’ve imagined.
I frown at him as he starts walking again. “But...you never speak. All the times I’ve talked to you…” My mind drifts off to all our little chats, and my cheeks immediately turn cherry red. “Goddammit, Joe! I told you super embarrassing things!”
He gives me a pointed look, his granite-speckled face looking darker in this shadowed part of the prison. It somewhat resembles the dim corridors that lead to solitary, except I can tell this part of the prison is older. Much older.
“Yeah. I really wished you wouldn’t have told me about the time in high school when you got your period and it bled through your pants on Shine Bright Like a Diamond Day when everyone was wearing white pants.”
My lips pinch together before I let out a groan. “Yeah, hindsight, I shouldn’t have told you that. But really, you only have yourself to blame. If I had known you could repeat my deepest darkest secrets, I wouldn’t have told you any of them.” I pause and run my fingers through my hair with exasperation. “Shit, Joe, what am I going to do now? You were so easy to talk to!”
“Because you’re the only one talking,” he replies dryly.
“I don’t see your point.”
He shakes his head. “Come on. We’re almost there.”
“Almost where?” I ask, looking around much more warily. Two minutes ago, I thought I was following my prison bestie to a celebration. Now, I don’t know who this dude is and where he might be taking me.
In answer, Joe stops in front of an iron door that’s being propped open with a brick. He pushes it open, and I see an eerie set of stairs leading up. “This way.”
“Damn, our prison squad needs to find a less creepy hang out place,” I announce in an attempt to calm my sudden nerves.
I’m somewhat fishing for a reaction from Joe so I can gauge if I need to panic or just chill the fuck out. This is Joe, my buddy. So what if he’s chattier than I originally thought? He’s still my big, lovable teddy bear. I hope.
My thighs burn as I follow him up the steep steps, my shoes clapping over the uneven stone. “I don’t think this staircase is to code, Joe,” I pant, as the steepness of the steps never ends. The lighting is terrible too, and there’s no railing, so I have to steady myself on the cold stone wall beside us. “Fuck, how much farther?”
“You should exercise more,” he tosses over his shoulder, his breath not at all ragged. I don’t know how a dude that’s nine feet tall and looks like he’s made of solid rock doesn’t get winded from this.
I’m about ready to ask him to carry me when we finally reach the top, where yet another door is being propped open. Joe goes out first and then holds it for me as I follow, my eyes squinting at the windy night air. It’s just past dusk, the first of the stars starting to blink to life.
Frowning, I look around. We’re on some part of the prison’s roof. I can see the backs of gargoyles and spires peeking at the edge, and gravel crunches beneath my shoes as I come to a stop.
“Uh, Joe? Where’s everyone else?”
“They’re coming.”
More prickles of unease begin to creep down my neck, and alarm bells start ringing in my head. I should’ve made a run for it when he spoke his first word, but I have no idea where I am. I try to talk myself down. This dude mostly grunts and eats rocks. He’s in Zen’s squad, and Zen wants me for her own plans. There’s no way he’d hurt me and risk her wrath.
I slowly turn to face him and mask all of the panic that’s surging through my veins. “Where’s Zen?”
Joe ignores me, his heavy steps making the roof creak ominously as he walks to the edge and kneels down at the back of the dormer-looking stone wall. Slipping his finger through what I thought was just an eye-hook stuck into the wall, he twists and pulls, and my eyes widen when the small dormer wall swings open.
“About fuckin’ time,” a deep voice says from the shadows.
My feet back up instinctively as I watch three figures emerge, crawling out of the space before they step onto the roof and straighten up.
All three of them are males I don’t recognize, but I do recognize their scent. They’re sigbins. Like vampires, they drink blood, but sigbins only do it out of vengeance, not a biological need. Their legs are slightly bowed, and when they’re hunting, they walk with their head between their legs. Backward.
It’s fucking weird.
They have big, floppy ears on the sides of their heads and each has a tail like a leather whip. They also smell like ass.
Sigbins only live in small groups, mostly because they have petty fights where they kill each other a lot. They can be vicious, but they’re also dumber than doornails. There’s no reasoning with them.
“Fuck,” I curse, my back hitting the closed door. My hand closes around on the handle, and my body tenses, getting ready to run for it.
At the sound of my voice, all three of the sigbins look over at me. The one in the front with greasy black hair cocks his head. “This the one Alpha Bowen wants?” he asks, his grotesque fangs hanging out past his bottom lip. He looks like the offspring of zombie Dobby and a wild boar.
My eyes fly to Joe, and betrayal douses me like I just got hit with a bucket of ice water. So Joe is the one that took up Alpha Asshole’s bounty offer to steal me? Motherfucker.
While I’m distracted, the door at my back suddenly swings open on me, sending me pitching forward. I nearly eat shit, but I catch myself just in time and turn to look at who just joined us on the roof.
“Zen?”
Anger rises in me. Zen was in on this too? Goddammit, prison squads are supposed to be sacred! I expected much better loyalty than this from my co-criminals. Yeah…okay
. In hindsight, that was probably not so smart on my end.
She starts to walk by me, but right as she passes me, she turns her head and speaks so quietly that I almost don’t hear her. “Nice night to swap, don’t you think?”
What the hell does that mean?
If she’s trying to threaten me, it needs work. Frowning, I watch as Zen’s dark eyes sweep over the scene, her body relaxed as she walks forward toward Joe.
“Who’re you?” the same sigbin asks, this time looking at Zen.
She ignores him and walks right up to the troll. I watch her lotus tattoo beside her eye begin to glimmer. It’s subtle, but it casts a greenish glow over her smooth dark skin, and Joe’s charcoal eyes latch onto it.
“Ut oh,” he grunts, and then his mouth goes slack, and his eyes become glassy.
“Hey, Joe,” she says.
His face grooves into a deep frown, he blinks. Once, twice, and then his eyes grow heavy, and the big troll walks over to the edge of the roof and slumps down, crossing his huge arms in front of him as he immediately closes his eyes and falls asleep.
My brow deepens into its furrow as I watch him start to snore.
The sigbins fidget on their feet. “What’s he doing?” the one with the beard asks.
“I think he’s...thinking?” Sigbin number three guesses.
“Wait...Nah, he ain’t thinking. He’s fuckin’ sleepin’,” Greasy Hair says, like this was super difficult logic to work through. “Oy, wake up, you lazy ass!”
Joe just starts snoring even louder.
“Maybe we’ll get paid more since he’s sleepin’ on the job,” Three muses.
Mind whirring, my eyes lock onto Zen. When she tosses me a wink, I understand what she just did, knocking Joe out using her ultra-calming zen power, but it takes me another breath to sort through why. Swap, she said. She wants to swap.
My mouth opens in an O as I realize that she’s here to take my place and help me. I have no idea how she found out what Joe was up to, but I shouldn’t be surprised. Zen seems to know everything that goes on in this prison.
Seeing that I’ve caught up, she gives me a nod, and I give one back to her.