“The guy behind me.” He shifted to the side slightly so Rory could take a proper look. Pauly was older, his brown hair had receded, and his wrinkles cut deep into his skin. He stabbed at his eggs, and ripped bites out of his toast.
“Jesus.”
Captain nodded. “Exactly, so I’m proposing a training regime.”
“Training regime?” Rory mumbled.
“There’s a gym, I’ll help you two work out, toughen you up, teach you how to defend yourselves.”
“What do you want in return?” Ollie asked.
“Nothing,” Captain mumbled, he looked down at the table, then lifted his head. “I’ve trained many young men for battle. They come to me like you, and I toughen them up. This time ahead is going to be a war, and I’m only gonna be with you for a few years of it. The quicker I toughen you up, the longer you’ll survive in here.”
“I take it back,” Ollie blurted.
“What?” Rory said.
“I bloody wish he was my cellmate.”
****
They’d spent the day sussing out the prison routine and the inmates. Rory avoided Pauly’s glances, but couldn’t stop seeking out Sebastian. He spent most of his time prowling the top landing, watching the inmates below.
A fight broke out over pool, a small scruff that ended as soon as Sebastian yelled. The two quarrelling men backed away from each other, and calm was temporarily restored.
“Lock up.”
The guards waved them to their feet. Rory exchanged a nervous look with Ollie, then they both went to their respective cells. Ollie on the bottom, Captain on the first, and him on the second.
When he walked inside the cell, Sebastian was scrubbing his teeth by the sink. He didn’t turn to Rory, and he snuck inside before jumping up on the top bunk.
Sebastian paused with his toothbrush in his mouth. A few tense seconds passed. Rory held his breath expecting something to happen, then the scrubbing resumed, followed by him spitting in the sink.
“If you’re worried about me forcing myself on you, that doesn’t interest me.”
Rory was hit by a wave of relief, then his stomach soured, and he picked at the mattress.
“What about Teddy?” he whispered.
Sebastian spun around and snapped, “Speak up!”
His tone and words hit Rory like a whip, and he stopped picking nervous holes into the mattress, and drew his knees to his chest. “I said what about Teddy?”
Sebastian snorted. “You’re worried about your new friend, are you?”
“Yeah.”
“Young, good-looking, how old is he?”
“Eighteen…”
Sebastian tugged off his t-shirt, and Rory raked his eyes over his defined chest, then looked away.
“Only a kid.”
“Teddy’s not gonna hurt him, right?”
“No, Teddy isn’t like that.”
Rory closed his eyes and sighed in relief. “Good.”
“Teddy, he looks hard, and has this crazy side, but he’s a softy. He gets attached to his cellmates, feels responsible, gets protective. Your friend’s lucky to end up in a cell with him, luckier than you…”
Rory swallowed. “What does that mean?”
“Means I’m not gonna hurt you in this cell, but outside of it, I don’t care what happens to you. Some guys wanna use your teeth as dice, not my problem, some guys wanna see how pain affects the pitch of your voice, don’t come crying to me. Some guy wants to see how quickly you bleed out, don’t stain my bed. Understand?”
“I understand.”
Sebastian’s eyes narrowed as he smiled. “Good, now get ready for bed.”
Rory slipped down from the top bunk and reached into the cabinet for his toiletries. He brushed his teeth, then splashed water on his face. He glanced up at his pale complexion, his ruffled brown hair, and wide-open green eyes. Gone was the composed police officer. He’d been stripped back to a person he didn’t recognize.
“How old are you again?” Sebastian asked.
“Twenty-five, and you?”
“Almost double that.”
Rory knew he was forty-nine. He knew he’d been convicted at thirty-three for murder.
Rory hesitantly peeled off his clothing, overly aware of the attention on him. He looked at Sebastian on the bed. On his side, head propped up on his hand as he watched Rory get ready for bed.
“You trying to tease me?”
“What? No!”
“Then get on with it.”
Rory kicked his trousers aside, but a firm finger wag from Sebastian had him reaching for them. He folded them up, along with his T-shirt, and placed them in the cabinet.
“Better. Night, Rory.”
He didn’t say good night in return. He climbed up on the top bunk and lay down. Sebastian Claw was beneath him, staring up at his mattress, burning holes in it with his intense glare. Rory knew he wasn’t going to be sleeping that night. He couldn’t hear Sebastian breathing below him, there was no shifting of the bed, or rustle of a pillow. Sebastian was unnervingly quiet, and Rory knew he was lying awake, staring up, but where Rory stared up with panicked eyes, he imagined Sebastian’s narrowed with cruelty.
Chapter Two
Rory was still alive in the morning, but he’d not had much sleep. For hours he lay awake, waiting for Sebastian’s arms to shoot up from around the bed and clutch him, or a pillow to be pressed to his face. Nothing happened, and eventually he drifted off only to be awoken by Captain’s scream of terror. He called out for twenty minutes before the nightguards roused him.
Rory stayed on his bed while Sebastian got dressed. There was barely enough room for them to stand in front of the bed together, and Rory felt oddly safer off the ground, being as quiet as possible, curled in a ball at the end of his bed. Rory peeled looks at Sebastian’s physique, he was tall, strong, and darker hair grew from his chest. He looked good, but then when he attached his gaze on Rory, any good feeling vanished, and fear rose up in its place.
Sebastian pulled on another tight white t-shirt and smart black trousers. He wetted his hand, then stroked back his hair. He tested the length of his stubble with his fingertips, then nodded.
“How am I looking?”
Rory’s struggled to find words—he didn’t know what was acceptable. He settled for ‘good’, but Sebastian raised an eyebrow.
“Good?”
“Ready to face the day,” Rory tried.
Sebastian snorted. “That’s the kinda rubbish they’d put on a cereal box.”
The door clunked, then swung open. Sebastian strolled out and disappeared around the corner. Rory dropped back down on his bed and pressed his palms to his face. On paper, it sounded simple—go into the prison, strike up conversation with Sebastian, and over the course of a few months, he reveals all his secrets.
Sebastian didn’t want to speak with Rory, and the way his eyes narrowed and his lips twisted into a sinister smile set alarm bells off in Rory’s head.
****
Captain looked worse than the day before, and his prediction had come true. The other inmates looked at him with a mixture of pity and fear. Captain’s cellmate serving breakfast couldn’t look him in the eye when he held out his tray.
It wasn’t burned toast and watery eggs of the day before, but thick bland porridge that stuck Rory’s teeth together. He slapped his lips noisily as he ate, and his taste buds cried out for sugar.
Captain ate his up, then tapped his spoon on his tray. “I woke you?”
Rory nodded. “It’s not your fault—”
“It is my fault, that’s the problem.” He tapped his temple. “I deserve to feel like this.”
“No, you don’t.”
“You don’t know the shit I did, and the shit I didn’t do when I was serving overseas.”
“I know I couldn’t have handled it.”
“Neither could I.”
Captain’s eyes were red and watery, and his huge body slumped forward, seemingly defeated by his dream. Ollie p
oked his head out of his cell, and Rory waved him over. He slipped into the chair beside him, and Rory looked him up and down.
“Okay?”
“Yeah, Teddy didn’t try anything. How about Sebastian?”
“He clearly hates my guts, but left me alone. Says if someone else maims me he won’t give a shit.”
“Nice … well at least we survived the first night on the wing,” Ollie muttered.
Captain laughed. “You’ve only got thousands more to go.”
“Way to piss on my parade,” Ollie mumbled.
“Thought we could go to the gym after breakfast, start training you up.”
Rory nodded. “Sounds good.”
“And you’re looking good, sweetheart!”
Rory dropped his gaze to the table and ignored Pauly’s taunt.
“Don’t pretend you can’t hear me…”.
Captain breathed harshly through his nose, then turned around. “He can hear you, and he’s not interested.”
“How does he know he’s not interested? He’s not given me a chance, hear me out…”
Rory looked up. “What do you want?”
“You.”
“No, thanks.”
“Your body, in exchange for my protection.”
“He doesn’t need your protection.” Captain mumbled.
“You’re a big guy, but you can’t watch your girls all the time…”
Captain snorted. “My girls?”
“Yeah, let me take one off your hands, he’ll be safe, and all he’s got to do is get down on his knees once a day.”
“Not gonna happen.” Rory mumbled.
“If you know what’s good for you, it will.”
Rory spotted Teddy coming towards them. He held a tray of breakfast in each hand and placed one on the table in front of Ollie. Rory widened his eyes at his porridge serving, a mountain in comparison to his, and also something on top that looked like brown sugar.
“You—you didn’t have to do that.”
He grinned, but Teddy didn’t return it, he grunted instead. Rory looked at the tray Teddy held and could see where he’d sacrificed half of his own porridge. He remembered what Sebastian had told him. Teddy felt responsible, he got attached.
Teddy moved towards his empty table and ate his breakfast while staring at one of the many gates. He looked at the bars like they were his enemy, not the justice system or the guards dotted about, but the metal bars of restraint.
“You don’t think he’s done anything to the porridge, do you?
Rory frowned. “Like what?”
“I dunno. It looks like sugar, but what if it’s not.”
Captain reached across the table with his spoon and tried some.
“It’s sugar.”
The whole prison went deadly silent, and Rory darted looks around for the source. Their table had attracted everyone’s attention, even Sebastian’s who looked over with amusement clear to see on his face.
Rory heard growling, it sounded like a revving engine, getting louder and louder. Teddy was making the sound, and his furious expression was targeting Captain. He remembered what else Sebastian had said—Teddy got protective over his cellmates.
“Guess I shouldn’t have tried your sugar,” Captain muttered.
He got to his feet and puffed out his chest. He no longer looked defeated, but stood like a gladiator ready for a fight, proud, and certain of his ability. The guards got twitchy, waiting for the atmosphere to explode. Rory saw one remove his baton from his belt, and another clutch his radio. Something was about to go down—
“Teddy,” Sebastian hissed. “Ease up, yeah?”
The growling died off. Teddy looked at Sebastian, then huffed, and went back to eating his porridge as if nothing had happened. The prison resumed breakfast, and the guards sagged in relief.
Captain sat back down, but straighter than before, alert to danger. Ollie hesitated, then started on his porridge. He hummed in pleasure, and Rory looked over to Teddy. He was stealing secret glances at Ollie, and his lips twitched—not a smile, but closer to a smile than a grimace or a snarl.
“That was interesting,” Rory mumbled.
He could smell the sweetness, and his gut whined with jealousy. It was worse trying to eat his when Ollie’s smelled so good beside him. Ollie offered him a spoonful, then snorted when Rory narrowed his eyes.
“You want me to get pummeled?”
“Not yet, but after a thousand days, I might change my mind.”
“Screw you.”
Ollie laughed and licked at his spoon like he was enjoying it too much. He was doing it to annoy Rory, but it got the attention of a few other inmates. They looked at him with hunger, and as soon as Ollie noticed, he ducked his head, and dropped his spoon on the tray.
“I think that’s enough,” Ollie murmured.
Rory shook his head in disbelief. “No kidding, that guy across from us is masturbating under the table.”
“No, he’s not.”
The man in question’s body was shaking, and his right hand was hidden beneath the table. His body shook more violently, and his eyelashes fluttered. The guards didn’t intervene, they pretended they hadn’t noticed, but Teddy revved back to life.
He launched from his seat, near enough flew over the table, and smashed the guy onto the floor. He’d definitely been enjoying Ollie’s display, and Teddy punished him for it.
He struck the man’s face, and the floor speckled with red. Teddy was an unchained beast, snarling, and snorting.
“Jesus,” Ollie whispered, then he covered his mouth.
“That’ll teach you for teasing the guys in here,” Captain muttered.
An ear-splitting siren started, and guards rushed into the room. They demanded the inmates return to their cells, and tried to break Teddy and Masturbation Man apart.
“We’ll have to put our gym plans on hold.” Captain sighed.
Rory followed Captain up the first set of steps. Captain’s cellmate quivered like a leaf and darted help-me glances to his group of friends. Sebastian hung his arms over the top landing, watching everyone scurry back to the cell. His gaze lingered on Rory, then he rubbed his chin and smirked.
One of the guards pointed to him. “Even you, Sebastian.”
“I’m going, I’m going.”
The door shut on Rory and Sebastian, and he immediately bolted to his bed. Sebastian moved to the mirror and re-wetted his hair. A stray strand at the back stuck straight up, and Sebastian cursed, cupping more water to flatten it down
“You think he finished?”
Rory blinked. “What?”
“That your favorite word, huh? Anything actually going on between your ears? I said do you think he finished, it was a joke.”
Rory forced a laugh, and Sebastian flung his hands up in the air. “Forget it. I’m disappointed, I thought there’d be more to you.”
“More to me?”
Sebastian stopped pacing and pressed his chest to the bunk. He stared up at Rory, and although he was higher, the intensity of the glare shrunk him, and pinned him to the wall behind. Sebastian took a long time to reply, and Rory resisted the urge to tug his knees up to his chest.
“Eight years, right?”
“Right.”
“Thought there would be more to you. No one will start on that Captain—he’d surely finish it. That Ollie kid has won the instant affections of Teddy, so he’ll be well protected, but you, there’s nothing, you’re in trouble. You have victim written all over you.”
“I’m not a victim.”
“Give it a week.”
“This is my first time inside. I’m—I’m trying to get a grip of things.”
“A grip of things? Don’t go saying that in front of Pauly, he’ll see that as a solid invitation.”
“I wanna keep my head down, do my time.”
Sebastian tipped his head back and barked a laugh. “Don’t go saying that outside this cell either. If you’re still here on Friday, I’ll be surp
rised, really surprised.”
“Where else can I go?”
“The morgue.” Sebastian smirked, “Now there’s an idea.”
Chapter Three
Rory had been inside for four days, and he knew one thing for certain.
Sebastian Claw hated him.
He tried to strike up safe conversation, but Sebastian always argued against him. He jokingly complained about the sausages being rubbery, and Sebastian called him ungrateful, told him he’d get the inmates serving to spit in his food.
When he complimented the sun in the sky, Sebastian growled that it was too hot for him and held his towel over Rory’s face until he was gasping for breath, each inhale bitter with Sebastian’s sweat.
Any opinion, food, films, books, games, Sebastian had the opposing one. There was no common ground, and the four days felt a lot longer, more like four weeks of constantly hitting a brick wall, constantly being forced back, until Rory changed his opinion to coincide with Sebastian’s. Four days, and he was exhausted.
Outside the cell, Rory stayed close to Ollie and Captain. The three of them were their own group—one of many. Pauly had his group, and Sebastian had his, but it was clear Sebastian had control over the wing. Any argument or scuffle, the inmates looked to him for guidance. He was nothing sort of a Caesar looking down from the top walkway. He’d call out ‘enough’ or tell the inmates to ‘settle it in the gym’, which Rory found out meant boxing until someone forfeited and admitted defeat. The guards didn’t intervene—they allowed the controlled fights to go ahead.
****
Another scream woke Rory, and he sat upright, pressing his hand to his heart. Captain’s calls echoed, but nothing he said ever made sense. It was garbled, muffled, and it made it even more unnerving.
“Poor bastard.” Sebastian mumbled.
“I know.”
“You should convince him to see the doc.”
“He doesn’t want to, said he deserves to suffer.”
Sebastian laughed lightly. “Can’t he find a way to suffer in silence, you know, not take us all down with him? How long’s he in for?”
“Five years.”
Sebastian smacked his lips together. “Is that all? I wonder what he did.”
The Rat Page 2