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Which also reminds me of another predicament I am having. I have to piss, and I’m also on the tail end of my period. Two things that mean I really need to have a minute alone.
“Is there somewhere nearby I can take a piss?” I say crudely, hoping he doesn’t try to hand me a bottle or something. It’s happened before and I’ve made some interesting excuses. Fortunately, Theo nods his head past the wall to his right.
“Just go a cell or two down and find a corner. If there’s someone’s stuff in it, don’t piss on it, got it?”
I nod with a small smirk on my face and walk down the hall. As I clean up, I notice this part of the prison is a lot quieter. I wonder if I can take one of these cells nearby? Staying out of the way while I figure out my next move seems like a smart plan.
By the time I’m back there’s a different sort of smell coming out of Theo’s cell and I sniff, trying to figure it out. I turn the corner to see a small kerosene burner sitting on his table, a pot of water on top. Gas is what I’m smelling, I realize. It reminds me of a burner me and Josh used to use, and a pang of regret stabs me.
“Thought I’d make us some dinner,” Theo says gruffly with his back toward me. I take a seat, dropping the door-curtain behind me.
“Thanks.” I reply, letting my eyes wander as he cooks. “So, Theo. What else can you tell me about this place?”
He pauses a moment as he pours something into the now boiling water. He stirs almost thoughtfully, before turning to me.
“Have you ever been to prison before?” he asks, and I shake my head.
“No, but I’ve been in a few, shall we say similar, circumstances. Nothing quite like this though.”
“Well,” Theo says, crossing his arms, “there’s an order to things in here, you see? Even with no guards inside, there’s still a routine, there’s still rules.”
“Axle’s rules, you mean?”
“Yes, but more than that. You’ll see. Once the dust settles, anyways. Fish always keep things interesting for a few days.”
“Fish?”
“New prisoners,” he clarifies. “You’ll figure out your lingo too.”
He chuckles as he turns back to the pot, stirring it a few more times.
“Hope you like rice,” he says, turning with a steaming pot. Being in this place fucking sucks, but at least for tonight, I’ll have a full belly and a warm place to sleep. More than I can say most nights.
“I like food,” I reply as I push my hood back over my short hair. Theo pauses a moment, looking at me as my face comes into view. A moment of unease strikes me as he gazes at my face and I wonder what he’s thinking. It passes quickly, and he begins to divvy out our portions.
“So,” he says as he pulls his own steaming plate in front of him, “tell me what brought you here.”
Six
Ana
“Thanks again for letting me stay,” I say over a yawn as I quickly bundle up the thread barren blanket and hand it back to Theo. His bushy brows bunch together, and he hesitantly takes it from my hands.
“You can stay longer, you know,” he replies, “Not the safest place, The Tomb. Welcome to stay until you get a feel for the place.”
I smile at the kindly man, feeling fortunate I ran into him rather than any of the other inmates.
“If I can’t find my own place by tonight, I’ll be back. I’m gonna go walk around. Don’t look so worried, old man,” I tease. “I’m stronger than I look.”
Theo mutters something unintelligible but waves me off and I leave without a backward glance.
My internal clock isn’t the greatest, I’m pretty used to using the sun to tell time, but I’m guessing it’s still quite early. Theo confirmed last night there are no windows to outside so until the sun hits high noon above us there’d be no way to tell exactly.
I make my way slowly throughout the grated walkway, using my peripheral to check out some of the cells as I pass. The prison is huge, and I wonder how many occupants are in here. As I move away from Theo’s corner, as I now consider it, I do start to see more and more people.
I’m surprised to see relatively few still sleeping, most of those look more like they’re coming down from something than actually resting. A few give me a second glance, but no one bothers me. I’ve stayed in some pretty crappy places before and have been sleeping rough for a while before this, so other than the lack of outside freedom it really isn’t different from a lot of what I’m used to.
Most of the morning passes in this way, and I manage to stay on the outskirts watching the daily happenings. I haven’t seen Axle since the day before, but from one side of the yard my eyes glance up at where I know his cell to be. I wonder what kind of leader he is. Everyone certainly seems to fear him but based on what I’ve seen and what Theo told me, he doesn’t seem to be totally unliked.
