Warm liquid sprayed across my face, and people gasped as they backed away. Jeffrey tried to scream, but it came out as a gargle that twisted my guts. The gun clattered to the ground. Jeffrey had stolen the guard’s gun from his hands, tried to shoot Digger in self-defense, and was being eaten alive by the vampire guard as a result.
“NO!” I screamed. Without thinking it through, I ran forward to grab Jeffrey’s arm and yank him away from the guard. “He was only trying to protect us!”
I pulled Jeffrey free of the guard, but it was only a beat later that I realized the guard hadlet him go. Jeffrey’s body slumped to the ground, and his arm was limp in my hand. The guard had already drained him.
The guard backed away, laughing like he enjoyed the sight of the dead body. The entire room had gone silent, and that cold, maniacal laughter was all anyone could hear. It echoed off the chamber, chilling me to the bone. I stood over Jeffrey’s body, shaking as I tried to process how fast it all happened.
Then came the sound of heavy footsteps behind me. I knew the beat of those footsteps anywhere— the all-too-familiar cadence of Captain’s disappointed gait. Everyone must’ve been watching as he bent down to pick up the gun. He circled me, and I forced down the lump forming in my throat. The last thing I wanted was to end up like Jeffrey, and it could happen in an instant as long as I wore these inferichite bracelets.
“You wanna play God down here, Bandit? Then tell me,” Captain said, loud enough for everyone in the Happy House to hear. “Do you think Jeffrey Johnson got what he deserved?”
I steadied my tone. “He was trying to protect us, sir. Digger was going to—”
“You think I give a rat’s ass what Digger was going to do to ya?” Captain bellowed. “Ain’tno excuseto touch a guard’s gun!”
Captain lunged at me. He grabbed me by the hair and yanked my head back, then shoved the barrel of the gun against my chin. My nostrils flared, but I did my best to steady my breath as he leaned toward me.
“You want this gun, Bandit?” He shoved it deeper into my skin for show. “Go get it.”
He sounded disgusted as he tossed the gun across the floor. I remained rooted in place. Ididn’twant the gun. But apparently, that was the wrong answer.
“I saidgo get it!” he roared. Captain shoved me onto the ground, and I caught myself with my hands.
“I’m not supposed to touch the guards’ guns,” I stated coolly.
“You’ll do as you’re told,” he snapped. “If you don’t pick it up, I’ll make sure there’s a bullet in your head.”
I began feeling around where I thought the gun had landed, but I felt nothing except the cold stone. Dirt and grime coated my hands. Captain began pacing around me, boxing me in. “Seems to me the newbies don’t know the rules around here. Should be obvious that you don’t approach a guard, and you don’t touch his GODDAMN GUN!”
Captain laughed as I continued feeling around. My fingers grazed cold metal, but a heavy boot kicked it away.
The guards joined in on the laughter, followed by the inmates. Soon, everyone was laughing as I struggled to find what I was looking for. This whole exercise was designed for pure humiliation. I didn’t know if the gun was two inches in front of me or if it wasn’t there at all. Either way, the crowd was really getting a kick out of it.
It reminded me just what the world thought of me. Ever since I discovered I had magic, I’d felt a sense ofnormal. I fit into the magical world, because I could pull off incredible feats of power like everyone else.
But it didn’t matter how many tools I obtained. Everyone was always going to see me as different— asdisabled. Bitterness festered inside of me as I was overcome by complete shame.
“You think you’re ever getting out of here, Bandit?” Captain mocked. “Hell, you can’t even see what’s staring you in the face. You’re in my world now. You’ll never navigate your way out of here.”
He stopped pacing when he’d made a complete circle and ended up next to my friends. “What’s your name, warlock?”
“M— Marcus,” my best friend squeaked.
“You’re Pipsqueak now,” Captain said, before shoving Marcus toward me. “Help the Bandit find it.”
Marcus hesitated, but he did as he was told and tiptoed around me. He knelt down, and I barely heard the sound of the gun rattle against the floor before a heavy boot landed. Marcus let out a sharp breath, and laughter filled the room again.
Marcus sucked air between his teeth. Judging by the sound of his pain, a guard was stepping on his hand. Another guard came forward, and Marcus cried out as they kicked him. A heavythudsounded as his body landed on the ground.
Captain stopped beside me and leaned down. “I’m going to ask you one last time. Do you think Jeffrey Johnson got what he deserved?”
I didn’t think Captain wanted me dead. I was a shiny new toy here in Cellblock 9, and he wasn’t done playing with me yet. Didn’t mean he wouldn’t get bored sooner or later.
“Yes, sir,” I answered.
Captain scoffed. “You’re pathetic. And filthy.”
Yeah, that’s what crawling around on this disgusting floor will do to you, I thought sarcastically.
