“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Warden Martin said, picking his cigar back up, “When my father retired and this place was to become mine, I asked them to build this room. Something above all the…” he was grasping for a word, “All the filth. I despise chaos and ruin. That’s why I like it up here so much. You can just feel the pure white light hit your face. It’s rather wonderful.” He paused again, “Filth…I hate it.”
“Where is this?” I asked.
“The highest point in Haven Ward!” Martin exclaimed, seemly delighted I asked the question. “The bottom rung of Heaven’s ladder!”
Martin sucked on his cigar, eyeing me through his glasses, “It’s a shame you lost the Draw, kiddo. Really sucks to be in a place like this doesn’t it?”
I nodded, not sure where this conversation was going.
“Yeah…but that’s life. That’s how things go. You win some, you lose some,” He was blowing smoke rings, “It’s funny, before we’re even born, we’re predestined to a certain lifestyle. Without one word about the matter. We’re born into it! Some people get lucky and others,” He glanced at me over his glasses, “aren’t so lucky.”
I licked my lips, “If you don’t mind me saying sir, can you please get to the goddamn point?”
Martin laughed, clapping his hands, “Oh, it always brings me such delight to hear vulgarity on the lips of children!”
“What do you want?” I said, growing a little impatient. Progg put a rough hand on my shoulder.
“Let go of him you monster!” Martin said playfully, “He’s only speaking his mind. Let’s not rob him of that as well!”
He put his feet up on the desk, fingers playing with his long blond hair, “Ok Mr. Weston, let me lay down some ground rules for you.” He held up a finger, “One. Don’t try to escape. Please. Two. Don’t attack the guards. Please. Three. Don’t cause any ruckus with the other inmates. Please. And lastly, don’t ever, ever, ever litter in my prison.”
I laughed, “But this place is filthy.”
Martin took his feet off the desk and leaned forward, his teeth pearly white, transfixed into a beaming smile, “If you ever say that again about my prison I’m going to slit your fucking throat and drink the blood out of your neck like a fine wine. Do you understand me? Little Weston?”
I blinked. Holy shit.
But he wasn’t done, “And!” He said pointing a finger up to the sky, “If you disobey these rules, so help me god I will see that your time here is so miserable you’ll be begging me to kill you! But you know what? I won’t! Ha!” he cackled, eyes suddenly alight, “Instead I’ll chop you up an inch at a time in front of a mirror and then feed you to yourself! How does that sound little man!?”
I swallowed, “Pretty grisly.”
Martin threw his head back and laughed, clapping his hands again, “Pretty grisly, oh I love this kid! What a mind! What a sharp, tasty, little mind! I can’t wait till we meet again! Until then, you stay out of trouble!” He wrapped up, flicking his hand at Progg, ordering him to take me away.
As the chains were put back on, I noticed that the Hazmats’ hands were shaking. They were scared out of their mind.
Warden Martin was insane.
Chapter 7
A week had passed since capture. I was adjusting. Getting a feel for how the system worked. Getting the lay of the land, some of the dos and don’ts. It wasn’t easy. Being a kid automatically put a target on my back, but I did my best to lay low and stay out of trouble. At least until my bruises faded. There wasn’t room for any more.
We had a couple hours of “free” time, oh the irony, where we could wander around the blocks. The first two days I just stayed in my cell, keeping to myself. Titan thought I was depressed. I told him I was healing. On the third day I finally felt safe enough to poke my head out and take a stroll through the lovely metallic gardens of my block. I decided it was best not to go into Celsius Block just yet.
Twice a day we went to Grub Hall. The food was fine so long you didn’t have a gag reflex, but I managed to choke mine down. That is, when older inmates weren’t stealing it or swatting my tray out of my hands. I half expected Titan to stick up for me, but he just sat at a far table with his head down.
Like he was doing now. I was standing by one of the tables, my food knocked out of my hands for the second time that day, meaning I had to wait until tomorrow to eat or eat it off the floor. I could wait. Frustrated and angry, I went over and nudged between Titan and the people he was sitting with. No one had friends in here. Everyone was just a tool waiting to be used for a smarter man’s vision.
“Hey can we talk?” I said, interrupting Titan mid-story. The men he was sitting with looked at me with surprise.
Titan ignored me, continuing to stuff his face with food and restarting his tale. I punched him on the shoulder, “Come on! I need to talk to you!”
Titan swung his wild beard in my direction, “God, what is it!? Can’t you see I’m telling a story to these gentlemen here?!”
I leaned in close, “You said you’d help me out if I did something for you right?”
Titan scanned the table, making sure no one was listening, “Yeah yeah, what of it?”
“I’m ready. Whatcha got?”
Titan pushed his food away, standing, motioning for me to follow. I did. He led me to the corner, away from curious ears. He suddenly seemed very nervous, almost like the nervousness of a child who was afraid their parents were going to catch them doing something they shouldn’t.
He squatted down to my level, “Ok first of all, don’t go shouting things like that at the table ok? You should know better by now.”
“I wasn’t shouting.”
“You were loud.”
“It was barely even a whisper, Titan.”
He flung up his hands, “Whatever it was! Don’t make plans around other people! Don’t ask me about plans around other people!”
“I didn’t ask you about plans, I asked if there was anything I could do for you.”
His eyes flickered around the room, “Well just be careful, West, lately I’ve felt like someone is watching me, listening in on my conversations. I keep thinking someone’s been shadowing me as well. So you have to understand my need for absolute secrecy and security.”
“You’re paranoid, you know that?” I said, shaking my head.
“I’ve just been here long enough to know how this place works.”
“Whatever. What was it you wanted me to do?”
He licked his dry lips, “I got something small for you. I think you’ll be able to handle it just fine.”
I held up a hand, “Hold on there. I do this for you, you’ll protect me? You’re not going to string me along on a whole ridiculous, paranoid, scheme are you?”
He shook his head furiously, “No, no, no, of course not. Just do this for me and I’ll keep an eye on you when your back’s turned ok?”
“Sure.”
He flicked his head towards one of the tables that was lined with inmates, all shoveling food into their mouths, “You see that guy right there? The one with the orange, wool hat?” he said all this with his eyes on the floor.
I picked out the guy. He was older, extremely fat, his blubbery lips munching on the grub, his cheeks stuffed and round. Gross. I nodded at Titan.
“You see him? Good. I want you to kill him.”
I coughed, “What!?”
He grabbed my arm, “I said keep your voice down.”
“Sorry,” I said, incredulous that he would ask me to kill. “I thought you said this was a small job?!”
He snorted, “Well you’re small. So yeah. Small job. Look, you want my help in this shit pit or not? I have to listen to that guy smack and slurp through every meal and it makes me sick. I can’t stand it. It’s like it echoes through the walls,” he tapped his temple, his finger making short repeated jabs, his eyes wide, “And it gets in my head. All day I hear him chomping away! I can’t stand it! I can’t take it for another day! I’m going
to lose my mind. I’m going to go ape shit if I have to sit here and take it for one more day. You don’t want me to go ape shit, do you Weston?”
I had become familiar with Titan’s little quirks. The littlest things bothered him and if they weren’t resolved, then he would start to lose it. I could always tell when because his eyes would go wide and he’d start talking really fast, spewing nonsense.
“No, I don’t want you to go ape shit,” I said slowly, “But at the same time, I don’t want to get thrown down into Section 36 either. And they would if they caught me.”
“Well then don’t get caught!” He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, “You’re smart right? Think of something.”
I had begun having some suspicions about Titan’s sanity and once again, I wondered. Killing someone because of the way they eat? I weighed it in my mind, not sure if it was hatred or the beginning signs of the crazies.
I stood there for a few dead minutes, contemplating this. Weighing the risks. If I got away with it, I’d be protected. I could eat. On the other hand, I’d have to kill again with no driving motivation. Except my stomach. The other times I had killed it was either because I was in danger or someone close was in danger. This though. This was pure, outright murder. Would I be able to kill someone that I had no personal vendetta against? I looked at the potential victim again. He was here. In Haven Ward. He was no saint. He had done something bad to get in here. Or maybe he had lost the Draw, just like I did. I stood there, tossing the idea around, unsure.
“So?”
I looked at Titan, “Who is he?”
Titan set his jaw, “Look, the less you know about him the better. If you’re having some kind of moral dilemma, don’t kid yourself. You’re scum just like the rest of us. Don’t even think about putting yourself on a higher scale of humanity. You were morphed from the streets of the Gallows just like me. That’s all you are, that’s all you’ll ever been, don’t kid yourself into thinking you’re on a higher plain. Now are you going to stick him or not?”
It was a cold thing to say, but I knew he was right. We were all animals down here. Reality could be a real bitch sometimes. I nodded.
Titan smiled, “Good, good. Now you need to find yourself a sic.”
“Sic?”
Titan was getting frustrated, “Oh come on. A knife? A screwdriver? Something pointy that will kill a man?”
“Well where am I supposed to get one of those?”
“Figure it out. But I want it done by tomorrow. You hear me?”
“Yeah…ok.”
Titan stood, going back to his table, not looking at me. I heard him laughing about me. Covering his own ass in case I was caught, probably. Whatever. I could use his protection. And I was going to start getting really hungry if I didn’t do something.
I jumped as a Hazmat placed a rough hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him, his green goggles radiating like a deadly chemical.
“You’re coming with me to the Medical Ward.”
I sighed inwardly, calming my thumping heart, “Why?”
The Hazmat pushed me towards the entrance to Grub Hall, “Doesn’t matter why. I have my orders and you’re going.”
I glanced at him over my shoulder as I walked, “You don’t have to push me.” Another jab in the back, harder than the last. I stayed silent until we got there.
The Medical Ward was empty when we reached it, the once filled beds now vacant. A handful of nurses were changing sheets and moving medical equipment. I snorted to myself as I saw Progg, king asshole, leaning against the counter, talking to Nadia. His mask was off, his hood pushed down, revealing his face. It was the first time I saw the ugly bitch. His hair was cut short, trimmed close to his skull and raven black. His eyes were almost the same color, a nasty scar tracing from his forehead down to his chin on the left side of his face. It was almost a perfectly straight line. He looked like he was in his late forties, despite his black hair. His face was worn and beaten, looking like he had gotten in one too many fights. It didn’t stop him from throwing the charm at Nadia though. This little romance could be a higher caliber than I first thought.
“Here’s the kid you asked for,” the Hazmat announced as we strode closer.
Progg turned, and seeing me, quickly put his mask back on, his orange goggles immediately glowing, his voice modifier emitting a short burst of static as he cleared his throat, “Well well well, look who it is, my favorite prisoner.”
I looked at Nadia, clearly glad at our arrival, and said, “Hey I can come back if I’m…you know…interrupting.” I threw Progg a wink, “Don’t worry boss, I got your back.”
Progg stood trembling and I’m sure he was blushing under his mask, but he didn’t strike out at me. I was invincible in Nadia’s presence. Instead, Progg gripped his gun hard, his knuckles cracking.
Nadia came out from around the counter, “Ok enough. Weston, keep your comments to yourself and go sit on that bed. I’ll be with you in a second.”
I did as I was told, practically skipping. “Hey Progg? Is it ok if I sit on this one? I don’t want to mess the sheets up if you wanted to use it later.”
Progg stormed over to me, grabbing my throat and whispered, “Shut your face right now if you want to have one. You may think you’re untouchable, but as soon as we leave this ward, you’re back in my jungle.”
He released me and I rubbed my neck smiling, “Whatever you say big man.”
Progg took another stance, his whole attitude suddenly changing into something vile, his voice smoothed over as if slime was covering his vocals, “Got some interesting news today. News from Nadia about your blood type. Seems like you’re…pretty special.”
I suddenly wasn’t entirely comfortable with the way he was talking to me. The tone in his electronic filtered voice had an edge on it that seemed to say, “I’ve got you by the balls”. I could almost see him turning the tables on me in that one foreshadowing sentence. Feeling the first drops of worry enter my body, I asked, “What are you blabbing about now?”
Progg rubbed the butt of his holstered pistol, “Sounds like you’ve got pretty unique blood coursing through those rotten veins of yours. That is not good news for you my friend, oh no, it’s not.”
I shifted on the bed, “Why? What the hell does that have to do with anything?”
Progg started heading towards the door, “Oh you’ll find out soon enough my friend. Soon enough.” And with those puzzling words ringing in my ears, he left. I sat, trying to figure out what he had just told me.
Nadia came to my side, holding another needle, “Just going to take a little bit more blood,” she said, barely looking at me. She seemed distracted today.
I swatted away the needle, “Get that away from me! What was that Progg just said? About my blood type being rare or something?”
She ignored the question, eyes flat and unfocused, “Let me just take your blood Weston, I’m not in the mood today.”
I pushed the needle away a second time, “You’re not getting any blood until you tell me what’s going on! Is something going to happen to me?”
Nadia’s eyes went dark, “Look either let me do my job or I’ll call the Hazmats in here to hold you down. You understand me?”
I held up my hands, calling truce, “If I let you take my blood, will you please tell me what all that was about? I have a right to know.”
Saying nothing, still looking like she was a thousand miles away, she shoved the needle into me, filling it with blood. When she was done, she went back to the counter and gave it to one of the nurses. While she was doing this I slipped out of the bed and went over to the medicine cabinet. When she turned around, I was back on my bed.
Her voice was pained when she spoke, “Weston, do you know what the universal blood type is?”
“Uh, no?”
She put her hands on the bed, “The universal blood type is O. It means that anyone who has that blood type can share it with everyone else without risk. It’s very common.”<
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I shrugged, “Yeah ok, so?”
“You don’t have it. You have AB-. It’s very, very rare these days. There’s only a handful of inmates that have it.”
“And that makes me special…why?” This wasn’t making any sense to me.
She seemed to struggle with what to say, “Well…well for a while you’re going to have to come to the Ward and get blood drawn. But eventually, you’ll probably be shipped somewhere else.”
I hopped off the bed, “Wait, what? Why? What is going on here?”
She put her hands on my shoulders, looking down at me her eyes cool and soft, almost reassuring, “Look. Nothing’s set in stone. For now, you’ll have to visit me often. That’s not so bad is it? You like it here right?”
I felt dread seeping into my very unique bloodstream. If she was buttering me up, trying to make me feel safe, then the last thing I was, was safe. I didn’t know what was happening, why I was such an interest and why my rare blood type was such a big damn deal. I decided to ride this out, see where it went and start asking around about blood.
“Yeah…yeah it’s nice up here. And so are you,” I said, lying through my teeth. If this bitch wasn’t going to help me out and feed me bullshit, I had no use for her except to use her. Play off her feminine emotions, try to find that soft spot and worm my way into it.
She smiled, brutally fake, and led me to the door, one hand resting on my shoulder, “Good. That’s good to hear.” She leaned down and looked me in the eyes, hands on her knees, “If you hear some of the big men talking about things you don’t understand, just ask me when you see me, ok?”
I cocked an eyebrow, “Big men? I’m twelve not two. I’ll be ok. B-but thanks…really…it’s nice of you.” I quickly added on, shooting off one of my most innocent smiles. She smiled back, keying the door open. I watched her fingers punching in the numbers.
A Hazmat was waiting for me outside the door. He nodded to Nadia as he fell in behind me, back to my cell.
“See you soon,” I said cheerfully. She looked grim, but gave me a little wave.
In my pocket, I fingered the scalpel I had swiped from the medical cabinet.
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