Lock Down (Supernatural Prison Trilogy Book 1)

by Aella Black

  Spinning, I came face to face with a seated guard, a romance novel between his hands. He shut it with a snap and frowned at me. “What are you looking at?”

  This guy was young—maybe early twenties? He had deep brown eyes and a chiseled jaw with some scruff. I recalled Cathy making a fuss over the new good-looking guard, and this one definitely fit that description.

  “You… you’re new,” I said.

  He crossed his arms. “Yeah, what of it?”

  Too bad he wasn’t nice to look at and nice.

  I checked out the name on his chest: Oscar. I wondered if Cathy knew. Probably. She seemed to know everything going on around this place.

  Then again, maybe it just appeared that way since she was the only one talking all the time. Everyone else, I’d noticed, kept to themselves for the most part. That was going to have to change soon. Teamwork makes the dream work, and all that.

  “I just wanted to check out the library,” I said.

  He extended a hand. “Be my guest.”

  I ducked behind a shelf and scanned its contents. Rocky had been right again. With my newfound goal in mind, I wasn’t as thrilled to see a wide variety of young adult novels as I would have been otherwise. Still, I grabbed one so it didn’t seem suspicious.

  My eyes continued to sweep over each row of the bookshelf. Followed by another. Then another.

  “Anything in particular you’re looking for?” Oscar called out.

  “No. Just browsing. Thanks though,” I added.

  You catch more flies with honey, my father used to tell me. It certainly couldn’t hurt to be kind, even if I wasn’t granted the same consideration in return.

  I bypassed the children’s books as I continued to peruse the shelves. They wouldn’t be any help.

  It was unnerving how normal this felt. And though it wasn’t anything remotely close to the Central Library in Kansas City, I relaxed for maybe the first time since I’d arrived at Leavenworth. Being surrounded by books had a way of doing that to me.

  Even the guard sounded more like a librarian than someone tasked with keeping an eye on me. I wondered if he was a better conversationalist than the others.

  “Sucks being the new guy, huh? Got stuck with the lame shifts?”

  He shrugged. “I guess.” Okay, maybe not.

  I skimmed over the classics, snagging one of those as I passed too.

  As I approached the final bookshelf, my disappointment grew. I wasn’t sure what I expected, actually. Did I think there was going to be a book lying around called, How to Bust Out of Prison? All I knew was that it was a good thing I hadn’t shared my thoughts about leaving, or even my friends might have turned me in for a psych evaluation.

  Speaking of, where were those doctors? Hundreds of teenagers in a place like this. Surely they saw the need for them.

  No, they saw. They just didn’t care. Add that to the list of reasons why we needed to leave.

  “Don’t worry,” I said, “you’ll get promoted to shoving us around eventually.”

  Oscar snorted. I peeked over at him. He’d picked up the romance again but was careful to hide the cover—as if I hadn’t already spotted his guilty pleasure. If I wasn’t so irritated, I would have smiled.

  I spotted a small philosophy section on a lower shelf near the end of the bookcase. Not what I was looking for, but I’d always found philosophers’ ideas fascinating. My eyes landed on Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.

  Hmm… that had potential. Obviously this wasn’t a war, but maybe some of the same strategies applied. I tucked that one under the other two books as I neared the guard’s station.

  “You a mystery fan?” he asked.

  I glanced at the book on top. Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle. I hadn’t been paying attention when I chose it, but that was a pretty good pick. From what I knew of Sherlock Holmes, he was a smart man, so if anyone knew how to break out of jail, it might be him.

  “Um, sure, who doesn’t love a good mystery?” Before he could ask about the others, I made for the door. “See you around,” I said.

  “See you, Phoenix.”

  Wow, word really does get around fast here.

  When I spotted Cathy in The Quad, I called her over. Then I grabbed a seat and opened the detective novel. Chairs scraped as my new friends sat all around me.

  “Hey,” Tex said. “You a reader?”

  “Every chance I get.”

  “Well, you’ll have plenty of those in here.” Hopefully not for long.

  I turned to Cathy. “The new guard is on library duty, if you’re interested.”

  “Oh, I’m interested.” Cathy hopped up from her chair. “Birdie, let’s go check out some books.”

  Birdie rolled her eyes. “You don’t really want to look at books.”

  Cathy grinned so wide her almond-shaped eyes crinkled shut. Then she and Birdie took off for the library. Woody picked up the YA novel from my stack, but his eyes were glued to the one in my hand. “You like mysteries?”

  My mind was still speculating whether Cathy and Oscar would hit it off when I registered the question. “Why is every guy surprised by that?”

  Woody’s eyebrows shot up. I’d surprised myself, considering I didn’t really care for them at all before today. But I’d already started down the road, so onward I went. “Yeah. I eat them up like candy,” I lied.

  For the first time since we met, Woody smiled. It was a good look on him. He looked much less emo when he smiled. “Me too. And thrillers. Tom Clancy is my favorite author.”

  Tom Clancy would have been perfect for my research. “Do they have any of his novels here?” I asked. I hadn’t seen any.

  Woody shook his head, face defaulting to moody again.

  “Aw, that sucks,” I said with sincerity.

  Cal leaned back in his chair. “Dude, I miss playing video games. I don’t get what’s so exciting about a book.”

  “You just haven’t found the right one, Cal,” Tex said. He stood. “But now I’m on a mission to find you something you’ll love. Come on, let’s join Cathy and Birdie.”

  Cal groaned. “You guys are trying to turn me into a book nerd.”

  “What else have you got to do?” Tex winked and the two left, leaving me and Woody alone at the table. He sat next to me, silently reading, as I flipped through the Sherlock novel. I stopped here and there to read a passage I thought might be helpful. Thankfully, Dr. Watson was pretty good at explaining Mr. Holmes’s thought process.

  It was another moment of peace like the one I’d experienced in the library. It almost made me believe I was making things out to be worse than they actually were here—almost.

  My first week at the prison dragged by, followed by another. I read every chance I got, to the point where Rocky started teasing me about it. Whatever. At least I hadn’t gotten to the point of boredom where I was ripping up magazines. Which I doubted was even allowed, by the way.

  I got the sense though that Rocky wasn’t much of a rule follower before getting locked up in here.

  Each time I returned to the library, Birdie and Cathy tagged along. And every time, it was exactly the same. I scoured the shelves for anything new that might have arrived—a futile attempt, I’d learned. This was definitely not part of the Kansas City Public Library system.

  Birdie picked out children’s books to read while Cathy flirted with Oscar. It was pretty hilarious. Not because Oscar clearly wasn’t interested, but it was obvious he didn’t know what to do about the unwanted attention. He tried putting on a mean face, but it only endeared him to Cathy more. Guess she had a thing for the “bad boys.”

  By the end of the second week, he mostly ignored her, even as she continued to talk his ears off. I hoped Cathy wasn’t in for a heartbreak. Not that I wanted to be the one to set her straight, but I didn’t want her to find out the hard way either.

  Leaving the library, I leaned into her and whispered, “He may not come around. You know, because of the age gap and everything.” Knowing go
od and well the everything was the problem.

  She grinned. “I know. But I can still crush on him, can’t I?”

  Her words smashed my insides. My mind flashed momentarily to Xander. His curls, his blue eyes, his dimples.

  I hadn’t realized the extent of what Leavenworth had taken away from me, but that was one thing. I couldn’t just be a teenager with a crush anymore.

  I’d been robbed of that.

  14

  Like it or not, I’d eased into the routine of prison life.

  It was weeks later, and Woody walked with me to our second rec period, moody as ever. I couldn’t blame him, but I wondered if he’d ever cheer up. Maybe he was cut from the same cloth as Rocky.

  “What was life like for you before you got here?” I asked him.

  He looked at me, genuinely surprised. I supposed none of us really asked one another about our lives before coming to Leavenworth. Sadly, there seemed to be an unspoken agreement that the past should remain in the past.

  That would have to change, though. If we didn’t think or talk about the good things in our lives prior to this, how could I convince anyone to risk it all to go back?

  Not that I’d made much progress in my plans. I’d gotten a few ideas from the books, but nothing concrete. And nothing I was ready to present to my friends.

  When I considered that Hot Rod never reappeared, I knew that if we failed, it was game over. No re-dos. If we were going to do this, we had to do it right.

  Woody was quiet for a moment. As we walked into The Quad and headed for the table where our group usually met, he finally responded. “Not much better than here, honestly. My parents were getting a divorce. My sister left for college, so I was on my own.” He shrugged. “Leavenworth isn’t really a step up or down, but I miss Emily.”

  “Your sister?”

  He nodded. We took our places at the table with Tex and Cal. “Where’s Birdie?” I asked.

  Tex gestured toward the library. “With Cathy.”

  I chuckled. “I should have known.”

  Something caught the corner of my eye. I spotted Rocky shooting hoops on her own—always on her own. She made every basket, no matter where she stood. I wished, for once, I knew how to play. Maybe then we’d have something in common.

  I turned back to my friends. “Want to play a game?”

  “Chess tournament?” Tex asked.

  Cal groaned. “You know I suck at it. So does Woody.”

  “But Phoenix is getting good.” Tex smiled at me.

  It was true. I’d never played chess in my life, but Tex had been teaching me, just like he’d taught Cal and Woody. They hadn’t picked it up as well, unfortunately. I enjoyed strategizing moves and thinking of different possibilities and outcomes. I never considered myself a strategist, but chess was certainly making me out to be one.

  Hopefully, the newly acquired skill would help me plot our jailbreak.

  “I’ll play. Maybe Woody and Cal can play Candy Land.” I smirked.

  “Dude, come on,” Cal said. “We’re not five.”

  Woody rolled his eyes. “I think I’ll watch TV instead.”

  “Yeah, I’ll join you.” Cal ruffled my hair. “Candy Land…” he scoffed before he and Woody walked away.

  Tex grabbed the chess set from the dozens of board games lined up and returned to the table. He started to set up the pieces when I heard a familiar and unpleasant voice.

  “Hey, Rocky!” Wolf called out. That guy still gave me goosebumps. And not in a good way.

  He hadn’t given me a hard time lately, but I always kept one eye on him when he was around. Right now, it looked like Rocky was his target.

  She scowled at him, then turned her back and shot another basket. Swoosh.

  “Nice shot,” Wolf drawled. “Mind if I join?”

  “Screw off,” she responded.

  Oh Rocky…

  “You’re not as tough as you think you are,” Wolf said, smooth as silk. “Maybe it’s time someone put you in your place.”

  He swiped the basketball from her as it fell from the net. “If you couldn’t tell, that someone is me.”

  She growled and lunged, trying to get the ball back. Wolf laughed and started dribbling away from her. Then he sent the ball sailing toward the basket. Except he missed.

  I almost burst out laughing, but caught myself just in time. The last thing I wanted was to get back on Wolf’s radar.

  “Whites or blacks?” Tex asked me.

  “Black,” I said, turning back to the board. All the pieces in place, Tex turned the board so the black pieces were on my side. Then he made the first move, pushing a pawn up two squares.

  I mimicked him, something I liked to do when starting a game. Mostly because there were so many potential moves that it was a little overwhelming. It took less brain power to mimic for the first few plays, but, admittedly, it wasn’t always the best strategy.

  A body thumped to the floor behind me. I whirled to find that Wolf had knocked Rocky over while stealing the ball from her. She started to get up, but after a quick glance to make sure the guards weren’t looking, he gave her a swift kick in the stomach. She curled in on herself with a groan. “Maybe you should stay down,” he leered.

  Anger twisted in my gut. I tried turning my attention back to the chess game. After making a move, Tex considered me over his clasped hands. “Don’t pay Wolf any mind,” he warned, unlacing his hands to move his knight.

  “What kind of superpower is turning rocks to quartz anyway?” I heard Wolf taunt. “What are you going to do, dazzle me to death?”

  Those of his pack standing close by snickered at that.

  Growling, Rocky sprang back to her feet and lunged for Wolf, who grabbed her wrist and twisted her painfully around.

  I leapt up. “Phoenix,” Woody warned from the nearby TV area.

  But I couldn’t say or do nothing. That meant I was no better than the guards and other people at this prison who looked the other way every single day.

  Rocky may be a jerk to me, but I wasn’t about to let her get pummeled. “Wolf!” I barked. “Let her go!”

  His dark eyes found mine, twinkling with delight that I’d engaged. He shoved Rocky away. “Phoenix. If I bashed Rocky’s brains out, would you be able to bring her back to life?”

  I marched over, heat rushing to my face. “Just leave her alone.”

  Rocky crossed her arms. “Phoenix, stop. I can take him.”

  “She can try.” Wolf stepped toward me, towering. “But we might have to call for a body bag afterward. I’m sure you’re familiar with those. Curious, did your parents have to identify you before you came back?”

  As if it had a mind of its own, my hand curled into a fist and I punched him—hard—in the nose. Wolf jerked back, a hand going up to his face. A collective gasp could be heard around the room. I shook my hand out, pain shooting up my wrist, the heat of anger replaced by ice-cold reality.

  I just punched Wolf in the face.

  What was I thinking?

  When he looked up at me, his eyes flashed with loathing. “You’ll regret that,” he said in a low, seething voice. He straightened, bright red blood streaking out of one nostril. Suddenly, Wolf seemed taller, thicker… deadlier. Hair had sprouted along his jaw. Maybe he really was a werewolf.

  I stumbled back. “I-I’m sorry?”

  But it was too late for that. I was a dead woman.

  In the split second before Wolf lunged at me, my first thought was whether my “immunity” to dying excluded supernatural creatures. My second thought was that I was one of those creatures.

  Mid-strike of what would have been a killing blow, a taser hit Wolf in the chest. He shuddered and collapsed on the ground with a thud. Turning, I saw Oscar, the taser in one hand, his other perched on his belt. His face was twisted in a grimace. Cathy and Birdie clutched each other behind him.

  Other guards swarmed the area. Luther, the one who’d stood between me and Wolf last time, glared at me. “Seems
like you’re a troublemaker, Phoenix.”

  Wow. Out of everyone here, I got the blame? “I was trying to stop Wolf—”

  “We had our eye on him,” Luther said. Oh really? Was that before or after he kicked Rocky in the stomach? “Would have been nice to see him teach you a lesson.”

  Luther redirected his glare to Oscar. “You’ll learn when to act. One day you won’t be so useless.”

  Oscar frowned but didn’t stick up for himself.

  I couldn’t believe this Luther guy. He wanted to see Wolf beat me up? Was he a secret member of the pack or something?

  When my gaze briefly met Oscar’s, I mouthed a ‘thank you’ to him. He didn’t acknowledge it. Looking down, he clasped his taser back into his belt.

  Wolf grunted as he raised himself from the ground. Blood was now smeared up the side of his cheek. He looked up at me, murder in his eyes. “You’ll regret that, Phoenix,” he spat.

  “Yeah, yeah. Let’s get you cooled down in your cell,” Luther said. “Oscar, take Phoenix. They’re both going to their cells and staying there until dinner.”

  Maybe I was losing it—I’d just initiated a fight with Wolf, after all—but that statement made me want to laugh out loud. It sounded like something parents say when they’re scolding their children. You know, minus the whole “cells” part of it.

  Luther grabbed Wolf by the arm, but Wolf tore himself from the guard’s grip. “Don’t touch me,” he growled, stalking off toward the exit. Luther followed.

  Oscar grabbed me by the elbow. “Let’s go.”

  I looked back at Rocky, who scowled at me as I was being led away. What gives? I stood up for her, probably at the peril of my own life. Not that I expected a ‘thank you’ or anything. But did she really hate me that much?

  Passing my friends on the way out, I noted their shocked faces. I’d be getting a lecture over dinner for sure.

  We left The Quad, and I was maneuvered down the hall. I heard a loud clang indicating Wolf was being locked inside his cell.