She uncovered a bag of chips from her hiding place and started munching on them. Aria had recently discovered a loose brick near her mattress one night when she couldn’t sleep. She kept on picking at it until it completely came loose. She discovered there was a small empty space there, perfect to stash her things. She had heard how inmates snatch or steal away food from those that have funds to buy them. She figured she could use this hiding place for her food and other things she’d buy from the commissary.
“What’s that?” Karen looked at her with wide eyes. She had just returned from her prison job.
Aria tried to hide the packet in her blanket, but it was already too late. She had seen it. Karen peered outside their cell and then turned back to Aria. “Where did you get it? I thought you were broke or something. Did you get that from someone? No, you got no friends here.”
Aria rolled her eyes. “I bought it from the commissary the other day.”
Karen looked at her suspiciously, “Where did you hide it?”
“Do you want it?”
Aria knew Karen wouldn’t ask questions if she gave her a few treats now and then. She tossed the almost full bag of chips at her. She grabbed it instantly and hurriedly hid it under her blanker. “You crazy. It would be chaos if someone sees this with me? They’ll be all over me. There aren’t many inmates who has the money to buy the good stuff here.”
This was her chance to make a friend. Aria thought. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that now, do you? But you need to tell me anything I should know about this prison. So far, I have kept my head low but I have gotten into a few messes.”
Karen snickered, “Yeah. I heard you sitting with Stacy and how she has been trying to follow you around. How do you manage to escape her?”
“I head to the cafeteria like five minutes early and eat fast. Plus, I have food now so, I really don’t rely much on cafeteria food. Her cell is far away from here and her cell block gets a different free time. I know where all the bathrooms are so I use the one that is the safest… and of course the cleanest.”
Karen gave her a look, “You are a weirdo, aren’t you?
“Tell me! Who can hook me up with the things I can’t get from the commissary? Are you in good terms with her? Is there anyone else I should lookout for? How can I protect myself?”
“Woah! Slow down your horses newbie. What is the rush?”
“Just tell me!”
“Fine! Yeah. There is a woman here that can get you the things you want… cigarettes, books, even cell phone…”
“I can get a cell phone?!”
“Don’t get too excited. She is picky and she charges a lot. If she doesn’t like you, there is no way you will get anything. If she likes you then it’s good for you… until you mess with her even once and you are done here.”
“Who is she? Can I go to her right now?”
“What! No! You can’t just go to her. She and I are tight. I’ll arrange a meeting for you, but…”
“I can get you anything from the commissary.”
Karen gave her a huge smile, showing all her yellow teeth. “Then we are good. Okay, listen. Stacy is creepy. She has taste for women like you. So, she might try to get all handsy if she sees you alone.”
Aria felt a shudder and tired not to think about it. Karen continued, “… but she isn’t violent. She won’t hurt you like some other women here would. The two women who you had a run-in with on your first day… yeah… they have a gang here. They don’t want to leave the prison. The outside world is too complicated for them. No one is scared of them. But here, they basically rule. Even when one of them is done with their time and gest out. Sooner or later, they are back. They have some guards under their belt too. You know, like if they want to beat someone good, the guards look the other way or suddenly won’t be around. So, stay clear of them.”
“Yeah, I figured that one out myself that day. How to you avoid people here? Is there anyone here who has ever targeted you?”
This time it was Karen who shuddered. “There was one. Not after that. I don’t mess with people. See? I give them what they want and they let me be.”
“What do you mean?”
“Whatever they want, I give it to them,” she gave her a wink.
“Oh. Oh! Okay.”
Karen laughed. “You’ll get used to it too. It’s not that bad, especially if you are in it for years. It does get lonely in here you know.”
Aria just shook her head and stayed quiet.
“Well then you got to give them something else,” Karen nodded towards the hidden bag of chips. “You have the money, right? Offer them something that they can start seeing you as useful. That way, no one touches you as long as you are giving them favors or arranging things for them.”
“Oh!”
“But… don’t get carried away. You might end up pissing Sarah off.”
“Sarah?”
“The one who can get you stuff.”
“Things are too complicated here, aren’t they?”
“Not really. You’ll get used to it. Just don’t make any stupid mistakes and know how to protect yourself.”
Karen glanced at the cell door and stuffed her hand underneath her bed. With another glance at the door to make sure no one was there, she placed something in Aria’s hands. It was a small shiv. “You need this more than I do. I’ll make another one.”
“What do… how do I hide it?”
“Girl! I can’t tell you everything. If you don’t know how to hide that thing then you deserve to get beaten up!”
Aria rolled her eyes. “Fine!”
Just then a guard banged his baton on the prison door. The loud noise startled the two women and Aria instantly hid the shiv under Karen’s pillow.
“Oh! Sorry to interrupt your little gathering,” the guard said sarcastically, “If you have the time, then do go on to perform your job… if it is not too much of a bother to you!”
Aria groaned. She completely lost track of time, “I am sorry. I am going.”
“No. No. Take your time. We all will wait for you to finish up your conversation.”
“Jeez! I am going!” Aria raced outside and knew she had a bunch of grumpy inmates waiting for her. She was sure they would have thought of another gross job for her to do this time. Just her luck! Why can’t there be another newbie here. Had everyone stopped committing crimes after she got into prison? She thought furiously. However, she was glad that she wasn’t completely clueless now. If Karen puts in a good word for her with Sarah then she might soon have a phone with her. She can talk to Clark and Tanya, even Sanjay to catch up on their investigation. She might even be able to help them with it. Between them, they might be able to find something. Maybe, just maybe, she wouldn’t have to stay in a prison for the rest of her life. Maybe. She could feel herself getting hopeful. Stop it! She scolded herself. Don’t do this. You don’t know if this would actually happen. Those three might just be running after nothing. Clark did say they hadn’t found anything yet. She didn’t want to start hoping to get out of prison. Getting her hopes up would merely mess with her head. She needed a clear head if she wanted to survive here. For now, she had to keep on living and thinking as if this is now her home.
Deep in her thoughts, Aria failed to notice someone hiding behind a wall. She instantly lost her balance as the person extended her leg to trip her. Aria fell face first on the floor, “Oooww!” she hit her knees hard as she tried to prevent her fall.
“You are late again, scum! You think I am going to cut down my time with my homies because you couldn’t get your skinny ass here on time?!”
Aria felt a sharp blow on her lower back, where the inmate stomped her foot.
“What is happening here!” fortunately, a guard arrived.
Aria tried to get up, but the pain held her down. She heard the inmate telling the guard that she saw her slip on the floor. The guard stayed quiet for a while, “Get up! Aren’t you to supposed to be doing some work right now? You!
Hey! Get up.” he grabbed Aria’s arm and forced her up.
“Ugggghh! Watch it!” Aria snapped at him.
“Get to work!” he yelled.
Aria looked at the inmate, who was glaring at her. She knew her name was Rachel and had often seen her beating someone up. Aria tried to maintain her stare until the guard screamed at them both to start walking and threatened to throw them in isolation.
They started walking while the guard watched them. Rachel turned to Aria, “This isn’t over. You better watch your back, you scum!” She then turned in a corridor while Aria stood still for a while until she could feel the guard’s piercing glare on her back. She hurried off to the next bathroom she was assigned to clean up.
She entered the bathroom and leaned against the door. Her heart was racing. She knew Rachel would eventually find her, most probably during their ground time. That was her usual place to do some beating up, where the guards usually took their time to break up a fight. Aria knew she had to skip the free time. She could either do some extra cleaning or head back to her cell. Her shiv was still there. Now was the time to take some tips from Karen on how to use it to her advantage. Yeah. She thought to herself. Heading back to the cell would be a better option for her.
As soon as the two hours were up, she raced towards her cell but crashed right into a guard. He immediately pushed her away and reached for his gun.
“No! wait! I am sorry, I didn’t see you. I was heading back to my cell.” Aria quickly explained.
The guard looked at her suspiciously.
“I was running… and didn’t see you coming around the corner.”
The guard glared at her, “Aren’t you supposed to be out on the grounds? It is your free time, inmate. Get going.”
“I just want to go to my cell. I don’t feel like going to the grounds today.”
“Why the hell not? That ground time is for your inmates to get fresh air. Isn’t that you all keep complaining about. Not being treated right and now you want to skip the free time in the open air.”
“No… I … I just…”
“Give your excuses to someone else!” the guard yelled, “Get yourself out of my sight and head to the grounds this instant!”
Aria sighed and turned towards the other direction. She slowly made her way to the door, thinking of how she can make an escape. There was a corridor near the gate of the grounds that could take her right back towards the cell block. She turned to look back and her heart sank. The guard was following her to make sure she goes out in the ground.
“Shit!”
She opened the door and slowly went out. It was crowded, she hoped Rachel won’t be able to find her. No such luck. The minute she took two steps outside, someone grabbed her by her shirt collar. It was a woman who Aria had often seen with Rachel. She tried to get away, but the woman had a strong grip on her and had started to drag her towards the middle of the ground. They were attracting attention. Aria hoped a guard would come and stop them before anything happened. The woman pushed her down on the ground.
“This scum of a woman thinks she can eat away my free time! You think you are royalty here, huh? Coming to work whenever you feel like it!” Rachel said as she kicked Aria straight on her stomach.
“OOUUFF!” Aria’s eyes started to water.
Someone kicked again on her back, while Rachel kicked her stomach once again.
“Stop!” She tried to yell, but the inmates were crowding around them, cheering and shouting encouragement.
With the crowd forming around her, Aria knew it would take the guards a few minutes to reach her. By then, she would have sustained serious injuries. She tried to get up but Rachel kicked her hard again.
“STOP!!” She screamed.
Rachel’s friend grabbed her hair and pulled up her face. “Don’t you dare mess with Rachel again. This will serve as a reminder.”
With her head pulled back, she found herself looking straight at Karen, who pulled out the shiv from her pocket without anyone noticing and tossed it towards Aria the same time the inmate let go of her hair and stood up to give her a kick. The shiv dropped an inch away from Aria’s reach. She knew if her attackers saw it, she would be in for it. With all her strength, she pushed herself forward.
“Where are you trying to escape to?! You’re not getting away,” Rachel laughed and grabbed Aria’s leg to drag her towards her. Fortunately, Aria had grabbed the shiv in her hand. With renewed energy, she turned her whole body and kicked Rachel in her stomach with her free leg.
“What the hell!” she heard Rachel’s friend yell.
Aria quickly jumped up, adrenaline rushing through her body. As Rachel’s friend came closer, Aria shoved the shiv in the side of her stomach and pulled it out. She screamed and dropped on her knees. Rachel pushed her from behind and Aria almost lost her balance.
“What the hell did you do to her!” Rachel screamed, her eyes blazing with anger. “You are in for it now you piece of scum!”
Aria could feel the blood gushing in her head, and something snapped inside her. All the stress and frustration she had been feeling the past year transformed into anger. She was fuming! She didn’t deserve this. She did nothing to deserve this. How dare they accuse her of murder. How dare they throw her into prison with these monsters. She was ready to unleash it all out. At this moment, she didn’t care how much damage she could to do the other person. She was done trying to be patient and hoping things would get better. This was it. This was her life, and there is no way she was letting Rachel make it worse for her.
She glared at Rachel, her hand tightly squeezing the shiv, “Come and get me!”
Rachel let out a roar and started running straight towards Aria even before she could pace herself. She pushed Aria with so much force that she fell a few feet away with a loud thud. Aria groaned. Rachel reached her in quick strides and gave her a kick. “Not so confident now, are you?” she grabbed her hair and pulled.
“Uggghh!!” Aria screamed and with all her strength, she lifted her arm and stabbed Rachel on the shoulder with the shiv. Rachel instantly let go of Aria’s hair and staggered back a few steps in pain. Aria struggled to stand up, Rachel was holding her shoulder with the other hand. The crowd around them was cheering.
“You will be sorry for this, you scum!” Rachel glared at her and started coming towards Aria again.
Aria was prepared this time. As soon as Rachel came closer and raised her hand to strike her, Aria punched her in the stomach. Rachel groaned and dropped down on her knees. Aria pushed her down on the ground and kicked her a few times. “Get up!” she yelled. At the corner of her eye, she could see a guard trying to make his way through the crowd. The inmates were trying to push him back, but she knew she need to throw away the shiv before she gets in more trouble. By now, her blood was boiling. She finally had the chance to let go of her anger. She grabbed Rachel by her hair and punched her face.
“Stop!” Rachel croaked.
Aria punched her again. The guard was getting closer. Aria grabbed a handful of Rachel’s hair tightly and leaned closer, “You better listen to me,” She whispered, pressing the shiv against Rachel’s throat. “If you ever try to mess with me again…” The shiv dug deeper into the skin and drops of blood started appearing. “… I am not going to stop beating you until your last breath. I am done with this! I am warning you!”
Aria slashed Rachel’s arm with the shiv and threw it away the shiv in Karen’s direction, who instantly grabbed it and disappeared in the crowd.
“What the hell is happening here?” the guard had finally managed to make his way out from the crowd.
Aria shrugged, “She just fell down.”
The guard glared at her, while another guard appeared and pushed Aria against the wall. She started patting her down before declaring, “She is clear.” The guard turned her around and asked, “How did she get injured?”
Aria shrugged again. The guard placed her hand on her gun, “You better tell me now.”
A
ria glared at her, “I am telling you. I don’t know. She was like this when I got here.” That response earned her a punch in the gut. She groaned, holding her stomach.
“Maybe a few days in isolation would do both of you some good,” the guard snapped.
“Maybe.” Aria gave her a half smile. She received another punch before getting dragged across the yard inside the building. The inmates around them gave her a cheer and Aria smiled. She could hear Rachel complaining to the other guard. “But I did nothing! She is the one who did it. Take her to the isolation!”
“Yeah, like you haven’t beaten people up! You do it at least once every day!” The guard snapped at her.
The guards led them down a few stairs. Rachel was taken into the other direction in the gloomy, dark room. She could hear someone screaming at the back of the room. There were many corridors with a lot of doors on either side. The guard took her in the last corridor and another guard standing there immediately opened one of the doors.
“How long will I be in here?” she asked when the guard started removing her cuffs.
The guard glared at her, “As long as I want you to be in here.”
“What!”
The door slammed shut and Aria was left alone in the small, dark room. She could still hear muffled screams through the door. She looked around, there was a bed neatly made but there were a lot of stains on the bedsheets that looked like washed out blood. She shuddered. There was a small sink and toilet at the far end. There was a very tiny window at the top from where a little light was coming in. She washed her face and her hands in the sink and jumped on the bed, staring at the ceiling. After a long time, she felt lighter. She realized she was keeping her frustration, anger, and fear so well hidden inside of her for months that finally letting some of those emotions out felt like a burden being lifted. She chuckled. All it took was for her to beat someone up. Her laughed echoed in the room and she immediately felt quiet. The realization of what she just did hit her. She actually hurt another human being, a with a shiv! She gulped. “She was asking for it!” a voice inside her head argued. “But did I really have to go that far?” came another voice. “She would have severely injured you and then what?” “You don’t know that.” “Seriously! You have been getting beaten up and messed with since the day you arrived here. This would have kept on going on and on until you died right here!” “That is not true!” “Really?! At least now they would think twice about messing with you.”
Capital Crime (An Aria Raymond Thriller Book 2) Page 3