by Wahida Clark
“I'll stab a muthafucka if you touch my girl!”
“Get his ass!” B-Rod commanded.
They converged on Lazy Eyes and Raheem, and Lazy Eyes shot out like a soldier and stabbed one of those fools in the throat. One went to stick him in the side, but Raheem stuck the guy first, and they swarmed on Raheem, who was jabbing his knife as he took two hits for every one he swung.
Lazy Eyes took out his other knife and had one knife in each hand. He went to get them off Raheem, and they scattered when he came from behind them sticking them like a madman. “’Ho-ass niggas! Uhn uhn uhm! Take that, nigga!” he screamed and stuck. When B-Rod came from his blindside and hit him in the chin, Lazy Eyes was dizzy.
Butterfly tried to run to his aid, but Fraze jumped on her and held her down while she watched them butcher Raheem and Lazy Eyes until the COs came in and broke up the melee.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Surprise, Surprise
Fraze rushed Butterfly out of the gym, so they both wouldn't be sent to the SHU with the rest of them. She could barely walk the whole way back to the unit as her mind kept replaying seeing Lazy Eyes getting butchered like that. It was too much to have seen!
Once Fraze managed to get Butterfly back to the unit, she was hysterical. Fraze wanted some get back on Butterfly for getting Black, E, and Berry sent to the SHU. He just always had the feeling that somehow Butterfly was tied to the three being sent to the SHU.
The COs were all responding to the commotion that was going down in the gym. As soon as Fraze took Butterfly to her cell, he turned to see Michoacán and Ramirez coming up to him.
“My friend, what happened out there?” Michoacán asked with a smiling face. Everybody knew something had happened because they saw all the COs running to the gym.
“It ain’t nothing, amigo. Just some shit between them Baltimore niggas.” Fraze was too busy talking to see Michoacán slip a knife out his pants. He jammed the sharp pointed end into Fraze’s neck as Ramirez started to jug holes in his side.
“HELP!” Fraze screamed as he tried to get away. He could go nowhere because Ramirez delivered a solid blow to Fraze’s chin that leveled him to the ground. Once he hit the ground they continued to butcher him.
Butterfly could only hear the commotion going on outside her cell as she was about to tell Britney what had happened. But when they heard the cries for help and heard the Blacks screaming, they ran to the door to look.
“Stop! You’re gonna kill him!” Britney screamed as Butterfly fainted.
Michoacán and Ramirez kept on, knowing full well there were no COs to respond to their vicious attack, because all the COs had run to the gym.
The Paisas had the attack so planned out that at the same moment while this was going on, the Blacks were being attacked in all the other units. Tyrone got butchered while he was talking on the phone, being that they couldn’t kill Black for snitching Sosa out, they killed another one of Black’s homies from D.C.
It took the Blacks in all the units to realize that they were being surprised-attacked. But once they did, every single Black man took down three Mexicans. They would take the knife from the Mexicans and stab them up.
When the COs saw that they had a riot on their hands, it was too out-of-control for them to do anything about it. They went to a secure place and called back-up from local police and nearby jails. They put on riot gear and returned with a superior fighting force. They shot rubber bullets that stung like hell, shot tear gas all over the compound until they gained control of the prison.
When the smoke cleared, three Blacks were dead, twenty were injured to four Paisa’s being killed and thirty injured.
The administration locked down the joint because at least a hundred inmates who were instrumentally involved in causing the riot would be prosecuted federally and shipped across the country. The lockdown would last for three weeks until the administration felt the inmates no longer posed a threat to themselves.
Raheem and Lazy Eyes had almost died during their scuffle with B-Rod and his men. But they were rushed to the hospital in a helicopter and lucky enough they both survived. However, their days were numbered at Schuylkill as well as Black, E, and Berry. All of them would be shipped to another prison. Sosa, Ramirez, and Michoacán would also leave the prison. The riot would go down in prison history of when the Paisas ambushed the Blacks.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Wings Of Wind
Once the administration deemed that the inmates no longer presented a threat to one another, they let everybody off lockdown. But being that the SHU was now full, they had to let out some people, and Buffy’s time had come. He thought he would have been gotten out, but he was wrong.
And it wasn't even lunch before they let Buffy out, who looked scruffy and SHU-ridden.
As always, he came out talking boss shit, and everybody was mad they had put him in their unit, Unit 2A where his girls were. He dropped his property in front of the CO's office as Butterfly ran up to him and gave him a hug.
“I thought you wasn't ever gonna get out,” Butterfly said.
“You've been here a little over two months, and I hear the compound went up in smoke because of you.” He smacked his lips. “Bitch, ya poison ivy. I gotta talk to you.”
“Adams, get in here!” the CO said from his office. “You're in cell #216. Try to stay under the radar this time.”
“Okay, cutie-pie.”
Butterfly helped him take his bags up to his cell. And when they got there and dropped everything on the floor, Buffy unpacked his things.
“Has Funky Breath Britney been messing with my man?”
“No, not that I know of,” Butterfly said unconvincingly.
“Bitch, ya lying. But anyways, Black was mad about you trying to defend Lazy Eyes fine ass. His feelings were more hurt than anything, but he told the homies not to touch you. Gurl, you must got some good pussy.” They laughed.
“And Lazy Eyes . . . out of all people. I didn't even know he was going. He got a wife and kids, and he was willing to leave them for you, let me tell you. They're gonna start calling you Sunshine like the chick in the movie Harlem Nights. Remember that Italian guy left his wife and kids?” Buffy smacked her lips again.
Butterfly was glad to know that Buffy had no indication that the Paisas’ ambush of the Blacks was because she was fucking Sosa. Even though she had fainted when the riot began, somehow she knew it was because of her. The thought of people being dead all because of her made her sick to her stomach. But the three weeks on lockdown was good for her to get needed sleep and emotional support from Britney.
“What are they saying about Lazy Eyes?” Butterfly asked. Now she was sad again. And she was prettiest when lost in her sadness, and it made Buffy love her all the more.
“Don't worry about him. They're back there selling death-threats, door-banging to the fullest.” She smacked again. “Let me tell you.” They laughed, because they knew door-banging was threatening another inmate while you were locked in a cell, meaning you really didn’t pose a threat.
“When is he gonna get out the SHU?”
“Bitch, are you crazy! He's getting transferred, somewhere across the planet, let me tell you. Black, E, and Berry too, and all those idiots that were in that race riot. I’m just glad I wasn’t here because somebody would have tried to kill me. Forget about them. Tonight I'm going to get my hair cut, and we're going to party! We're going unit to unit: dick-a-treat, let me tell you.” They laughed.
“You just keep that good pussy of yours away from mine, and we won't have no qualms. A man get a taste of that sweet ass of yours, and he think he can do supernatural things, like fly, or stab eight people to death, let me tell you. Bitch, I gotta go and wash my sexy ass. See you in a minute.”
Butterfly most definitely felt sick that Lazy Eyes was no longer there. But even with him gone she felt a great weight lift off her chest, knowing that she wasn’t going to have to worry about Black, E, Berry, Fraze, or Tyrone.
&n
bsp; The night settled on the wind and the trees and darkness roundabout the prison were warm and settling. Three weeks after the racial riot there was a peace that settled over the jail. Everybody that was left behind had pretty much done some dirt and got away with it. Neither race could hold bad blood against the other, because they had to live with one another in close quarters, so they had to make the best of an impossible situation. Fresh off lockdown brought genuine respect and a calm that seemed beguiling.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Blossoming Calm
About eight people were in the barbershop waiting to get their hair cut, and they were talking about all the stuff that was going on.
“What high-power forces ail you to patronize this humble establishment?” Atwater asked Old School, who on a rare barbershop visit picked the choicest chair by the door to seat himself. He knew Old School would have some deep thoughts about the race riot, even if he didn’t voice them now.
“I saw a light on a hill and I ascended.” Everybody laughed.
“Riddle me that,” Atwater responded.
“There's no riddle to my old fables. I just came to see how you were getting along in this place of constant madness.”
“You see what I'm doing. I'm in here perfecting my craft. Besides that, I'm putting my plans together. Planning far and beyond.”
“Don't try and sell me nothing. I ain’t buying.”
“It's more than one way to skin a cat.” As Atwater said that, Britney, Butterfly, and Buffy walked in, laughing and giggling. They all wore tight clothes and looked primped and preen.
Old School tipped his hat. “Good evening, ladies.” Always the perfect gentleman, no matter how he felt.
“Hey, Old School,” Buffy said dismissively, knowing he was being sarcastic.
“Tone or Atwater, can one of y’all cut my hair?”
“Sorry, mami. I got a couple of heads to cut that been here at the move. Come back manana.” Tone was Puerto Rican, and his accent said it best. Being that he was Puerto Rican, he wasn’t involved in the race riot because Puerto Ricans didn’t run with the Paisas or Blacks.
“Sike! Atwater, ya gotta help me out.” Buffy wouldn't take no for an answer.
“I got you—let me finish this head.”
After that, Buffy was fussing with Britney for whatever trivial qualms he had against him. And even though Butterfly was in mourning over her lost love, Lazy Eyes, she still couldn't keep her eyes to herself. When she came in the barbershop or wherever else she chanced to see Atwater, her eyes belonged to him.
“I know you were fucking Ray Ray,” Buffy fussed, trying to keep his tone to a minimum, but that was like pulling teeth.
“No, I wouldn't do that. Not to you, girl.” Britney was lying through his teeth.
“Bitch, please!”
Their conversation was a bit tart for Old School's delicate ears, so he asked Atwater, “Where's your shadow at?”
“Craze-zo went to commissary. He's supposed to be bringing me an ice cream in a couple of minutes. Why, you wanted to holla at him?”
“No, I was just asking. I always see y’all together.”
“He's like my brother.”
“Brother from another mother?”
Atwater had finished cutting the guy’s head who sat in his chair. While the dude was checking out his haircut, Atwater brushed off his chair and made eye contact with Butterfly on the low. She smiled at him because she couldn't possibly contain it. She was melting.
“All right, young blood. I'll see you later,” Old School said, and Atwater thought he'd been caught.
“Love, Old School.”
Buffy went to get in his barber chair. “Two with the grain. Caesar all the way around.”
“What? No taper fade?” Atwater asked, which was Buffy's usual.
She gave him her signature smack.” “I ain’t got time for all that. I just got out the SHU, and I have to make my rounds.”
“Excuse me.” Atwater laughed playfully.
“How's your wife?” Buffy asked. He had seen Atwater's wife several times during the visit.
“She's chilling. She was just up here last weekend.”
“The same one I seen when we were on the visit together?”
“The one and only.”
“You've been down for a while, haven't you?”
“This will be eighteen years.”
“And your wife's been with you the whole time?” Buffy sounded shocked. Atwater zipped the clippers over her ragamuffin naps that snapped back into a smooth even surface.
“Yes.”
“I don't know how she's doing it. I couldn't imagine going on dick celibacy for eighteen days.” Everybody in the barbershop laughed.
“Eighteen minutes,” Britney added.
Atwater held the clippers and thought about how to handle that. “Y’all wrong for that.”
Tone laughed with them. “Mami, y’all foul.”
“Just keeping it real, sugar, let me tell you. So what's your secret?” Buffy asked Atwater, who was focused on Buffy's haircut. But Butterfly was focused on him!
“It ain’t really a secret.” He looked up into Butterfly's dazzling eyes that were fountains of immeasurable love and the promise of creamy dreams.
“Sometimes people don't know what to do with themselves, and when you give them purpose, they'll run after you.”
“That's whas' up. Didn't she move from St. Louis to be closer to you?”
“How you know all the details?”
“Everybody knows the details of romance in paradise. You're a good guy.”
As Atwater finished, he brushed his chair off. Butterfly was too shy and abashed to do anything but look at him. And when he looked at her, she couldn't hide the smile or the incredible speed of her racing heart.
But Buffy had other plans for them, and they headed to Unit 1B where Ray Ray lived. And now Buffy could fuss at Britney, but only if Butterfly would shut up of her crush!
“Damn, he's fine. I have to have him!” Butterfly said.
“Who?” Britney asked.
“The barber,” Butterfly said.
“Tone?”
“No, Atwater. Didn't you see how he looked at me?”
“Bitch, worry about Lazy Eyes. He's a married man”—She smacked her lips—”but I guess that never stopped you before.”
“Oh, that was clever,” Britney said. “But I did see him staring at her.”
“He must've heard that all he'd have to do was say hello to her, and she'd give him a mind-boggling orgasm with her fast, good-pussy-having ass.”
“You're hating, ‘ho,” Butterfly said, and they all laughed.
“Ain’t that the truth,” Britney added.
“Bitch, you got your nerve. We about to go in here and confront Ray Ray. It's Buffy the Body or Toilet Face Britney.”
“I got your toilet face, stank bitch.”
“You impotent, dick-sucking harlot,” Buffy shot back.
“Ya momma's a strumpet on Planet of the Apes.”
“With your herpes in the mouth and gonorrhea in your ass.” The three of them couldn't help but laugh at the back and forth between them. And as they neared unit 1B, Franco and Slim stood outside in the front of the unit where they lived.
“Look at Franco,” Buffy said.
By now everybody had heard about how Franco and Slim put in work during the riot, and it was sheer luck they weren’t being shipped to another prison.
“He ain’t never got on drawls,” Britney said.
“Dick just a swinging back and forth. And I know he has a foot of dick—his big strong ass. It'd a be like fucking a gorilla on Viagra, let me tell you,” Buffy said.
And as they approached, Franco said, “What the fuck y’all bitches laughing at?”
“Shut up and shave your hairy chest, you gorilla looking muthafucka,” Buffy snapped and smacked her lips.
“Fuck them punks,” Slim said, who was always super fly, sly, and cool. This time Britney di
dn't pay him any mind because he was on his way to get higher than a kite.
They snuck in the unit and went straight to Ray Ray's cell on the second floor. He was a tall, light-skinned guy with ruffled braids, and a shaggy and sparse beard. He had just gotten out the shower and was drying his toes with a towel when Buffy and his gang barged in his cell.
“What up, Ray Ray? What's this I hear about you and Britney?”
“Damn, you could at least see how I'm doing.”
“I told her nothing happened between us,” Britney said defensively, trying to lead him.
“I ain’t trying to hear that shit right now,” Ray Ray said.
“Oh, ya not? Don't make me set it off in this bitch.”
L, who was Ray Ray’s friend, came to the door and knocked. He was making his rounds in the units, selling his wares, and he happened to see them in Ray Ray's cell.
“What up, L?” Ray Ray said.
“Nothing. I just came to say what's up to the home girls,” L said. He had taken over supplying the joint with drugs from where Tyrone left off.
“Hey, L,” they said together, having met him on another occasion.
“I got some Bang Bang. Y’all trying to hit that joint or what?” L asked, because he wanted to party after coming off lockdown.
“Probably, but we not trying to get stuck on the move,” Britney said, knowing it was getting late and they had to leave on the 7:30 p.m. move, or they'd be shit out of luck.
“Y’all can leave at pill line at 8:00 p.m. The CO working is cool as a fan,” L said, taking his wares from his pocket.
“What's that?” Buffy asked.
“Sex'stacy.”
“Enough fa’ all of us?” Buffy asked.
“Chill out. I got you.”
L spread lines on the table and they blasted off.
Butterfly floated back to the unit as in a creamy dream. Her feet moved, but she didn't feel like she was really walking. When she got to her bed, she passed out. And it was as if the last dream she had not too long ago was still in progress.
She was running, from who or from what, she couldn't say. She just knew that her father had just kicked her ass, and her clothes were ripped, and her face felt shattered in two.