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“G-games day?” Luis repeats, scratching his head. There are a few mutters from the inmates around us who obviously heard her, but they seem intrigued more than anything.
“There’s nothing fun to do in here,” she explains, dragging a piece of leather to one end of the yard. “We need something fun to lift our spirits. So, I’m hosting a game day, and the winner will get my last bottle of rum.”
My rum?
Before I can say anything to this obviously ridiculous statement, the murmurs all turn approving.
“Sounds like my kind of games, boss,” Luis says with a grin. “How can I help?”
For the first time I can remember, the sounds echoing through the yard are happy. Laughter and smiles are abundant, and I’m standing here wondering how the fuck she does it. Weeks ago, I never would have guessed at how much I could laugh and smile. Based on the faces around me, the damn woman is contagious.
“How the hell did she pull this off?” Ethan says, stepping up behind me and echoing my thoughts. I merely shake my head.
“Fuck if I know.”
I look over to him and notice he’s at least bathed and cleaned up a bit; the smell isn’t as bad. I can see the darkness hiding behind his eyes though. That’s fine, as long as he keeps it under wraps. It wouldn’t be good for him to show his weakness to the other men, it’s something all Tomb occupants learn early on.
“We need to talk about the shipments,” I say in a quieter voice, and Ethan nods, not taking his eyes off the spectacle in front of us.
“How about tonight—Go Oliver! Fuck yeah man!” Ethan interrupts himself, cheering on Oliver who is currently about to win an arm-wrestling contest. Cheers rise up when he pins his opponent’s hand. Thumping his chest, Oliver does a victory lap whooping and hollering, and I can’t help but chuckle too.
Ana steps up to us, her face flushed and happy.
“Soooo,” she says, “good idea, right?”
“I gotta admit, Ana, I never would have thought of this, but the inmates certainly are happy,” Ethan replies. My eyes go out into the yard where various competitions are happening.
There’s the arm wrestling, a knife-throwing thing, and Theo even brought out an old chessboard he had. With the help of some inmates, Ana got a big thing of rice cooking that’s being handed out.
The smile doesn’t leave her face as she looks out over everyone enjoying themselves. It feels more like a community gathering than a prison.
“You did good,” I tell her, wishing I could kiss the fuck out of her right now. When her eyes catch mine, she must see the hunger in them because she gives me a wink before striding back into the fray.
Ethan chuckles, “I never thought…”
He doesn’t get a chance to finish his sentence when a loud crackling sound booms overhead. Silence descends on the inmates, and all eyes shoot up to the decrepit sound system I haven’t heard in years. Shit. The guards.
Seven
Ana
My eyes go up along with the other inmates trying to find the source of the sound, the crackling hiss of old electronics. Axle’s gaze lands on me and the worried look on his face does not bode well.
“Att…tion inmates of D9. Step away…gates…coming in.”
Oh fuck.
My heart pounds in my chest and I completely freeze, unable to do anything or even react to this turn of events. Panic immobilizes me and I can’t seem to catch my breath.
The guards are coming in.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck.
“Everyone back!” Axle shouts. Ethan quickly follows his lead, shouting orders to the inmates. The crowd scatters to the edges of the yard. Panic and confusion are written across many faces.
“Ana, Ana!” It takes me a moment and a couple of blinks to register Ax’s words and that he’s speaking to me. His eyes are wide with panic as he holds my face in place.
“You have to hide. Ana, you have to hide. They can’t find you.”
