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I’m so excited to get away for a moment I forget what is waiting for me outside. My eyes widen when I stop my mad dash out of the room and reality hits again. I rush behind a pillar and try to get another look at where I am.
I’m on the second level and there’s no one directly around me, but by the sounds, I can tell they aren’t far. There doesn’t appear to be any real windows or doors in this place, only cut-outs in the stone with fabric covering some, bars on others. From my vantage I can see all manner of things happening.
Men sitting around watching, some gambling. Their faces and postures make it clear who’s winning. I see a few leaned up against walls that look to be on drugs of some kind, their eyes far away. I finally look down below when I hear screams like nothing I’ve heard before coming from a man. These aren’t screams; this is pure terror in sound.
Despite not wanting to know, I peer down to the bottom level and see a few of the new arrivals surrounded by other inmates. A few are on the ground sobbing, some gashes and bruises make it obvious they aren’t there by choice. The fact they are naked further illustrates this and I shiver at what would have happened if I were down there. The screams are coming from one of the men who was tied near me on the fence. For a moment, I can’t figure out why he is screaming, and the bodies pressed up around him make it hard to see. I see a flash of something pink and shiny.
Pulling myself back, I look away but not before I realize the other prisoners are literally gutting him, pulling out his insides while he is held down screaming. There is a crowd watching, laughing. No one moves to help him.
Pressing my back to the wall, I drop and press my eyes closed willing myself to wake up from this nightmare. With practiced art I will my body to calm, my heart to slow to a normal rate and my breathing to even.
Then I take a moment to consider my body’s strange reaction to this man, Axle. I have never, ever actually wanted a man in any way before. What is so different about him?
“Who are you?” a voice says, and I snap my eyes open. I didn’t even see the older man across from me hidden in the shadows. He has scraggly grey hair and his skin looks dark, but I quickly realize it’s from dirt and not sun. Under bushy brows his eyes bore into mine, but I don’t see any malice.
“Josh,” I tell him, kicking myself for closing my eyes at all. This is an old man, but anyone could have been sitting there. Panic is causing me to make mistakes and I really need to get my bearings and make the right choices going forward. I’ve managed to keep myself safe for so long. Tomb or not, I need to keep my wits about me, and not painting an easy target on my back is step one.
“I’d say welcome, but that doesn’t seem appropriate. So, instead, I’ll say sorry you’re here,” he says with a glint of humor in his eyes and I feel my mouth twitch, despite the situation. The man stands with a bit of a groan and makes his way over to me. My body is tense, ready, but he only holds out a hand.
“You may call me Theo,” he says. I eye him critically for a moment before accepting the offered hand and shaking it before standing.
“I’d say it’s nice to meet you, Theo, but that wouldn’t be appropriate either,” I reply. Theo cackles and smiles.
“You got spunk, kid,” he says, mimicking Axle’s words from earlier. “That can be both a blessing and a curse in this place. Come on, I’ll take you somewhere you can sit quietly for a little while.”
He turns and, knowing I don’t have any better options, I follow.
“Why are you helping me?” I ask him, a bit thrown off by this odd old man. He doesn’t seem like the type to be in prison much less this one, but then again, I suppose there are probably all types of people here. Look at me.
Theo shrugs and looks a bit uncomfortable.
“You remind me of someone,” he says cryptically. I don’t ask any more questions as I follow through the halls. Eyes watch us as we pass, and the feeling of desolation is thick in the air. It’s hot in here, humid, and my nose twitches at the smell of unwashed bodies. A few inmates narrow their eyes at me. I do my best to keep my eyes forward.
“I’ve been here for thirty years now,” he tells me as we walk, “half of my life. People don’t pay me much mind anymore, just see me as an old man. You, though, are much too young and small. You need to watch yourself.”
I nod but don’t say anything. Part of what keeps me safe is people underestimating me, but I also can’t appear as too easy a target either. Small and young will equal easy pickings in a place like this. I perform a mental checklist—stand tall, keep my eyes moving, check every angle for potential threats and possible weapons…I send a silent thanks to Josh for all he taught me.
Theo walks slowly and I’m impressed if he is telling the truth about being here so long. His body hunches slightly and his clothes are little more than rags. The deep lines in his face, filled with grit, speak of untold hardship.
“How do we eat?” I ask as it occurs to me. Surely there are things coming and going, maybe if I can find out how the system works, I can find a way out of here. Plus, I haven’t eaten since yesterday, and I’ve always been a stress eater.
“Weekly shipments,” Theo mutters. “All overseen by Axle and his crew. Down there in the yard there’s a spot you can get food, but they don’t give it to everyone.”
I frown. “So what do the rest of us do?”
Theo stops in front of a cloak covered doorway and turns to smirk at me. “What do you think?”
He pushes the curtain aside and gestures for me to step inside. I step forward enough to peek my head in briefly but don’t see anything sinister or out of place, so I go in. We must be at the back of the prison, but the outside wall is thick stone with no way to see through. I wonder if there is anywhere in this godforsaken place where you can see the real outside.
Once the thick drape falls back into place, the only light is from a sputtering single bulb. The wires run along the ceiling. Giant holes are in several spots of the walls, showing how much this place is falling apart inside. Even with the dim lighting though, I can see a sort of pallet in one corner, one table and a few homey objects.
“Thank you for bringing me here,” I say sincerely to Theo who had wandered over to the table. This is probably as close as I’ll get to a safe spot here.
“You stay here alone?”
Theo nods, “Yes it’s out of the way but I like what quiet I can get here.”
“Fair enough.”
