Page 49 of Caged In

“The guards did it,” Isco states flatly.

The onlyobvious answer to the mystery. Who else could kill multiple inmates while they’re locked in individual cells. Alone, with no bars for any inmates to stab them through. The guards have the keys.

“Boring. You wanted me to tell the story. And this is it. The SC-Ghost killed them,” Reni concludes, not accepting anyone else’s logic. His story set in stone in his own mind, and he is not budging from it.

“And what? It floated up to Med-Wing to kill the man there. Why not kill you as well?” Isco points out, garnering a furiousglarefrom Reni.

“Get out of here with your buzz killing. It has no place at this table with my ghost stories,” Reni scowls at Isco who smirks in reaction to the hostility. “The SC-Ghost had to be one of their victims who came back to take revenge. That’s why I wasn’t a target.”

“Thought you said the ghost never left,” Isco’s smirk widens. He’s enjoying poking fun at Reni and watching his annoyance grow.

“Whatever, man. It stuck around all this time waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.”

Isco isn’t finished debunking the story, “so it haunted The Hole for years, waiting for them to be thrown in there at the same time. Only to leave, and kill one in Med-Wing, that same night. Could have killed them in their cells years ago and been done with it.”

“He has a point,” Phelix chimes in, shrugging his shoulders.

“Boring,” Reni groans, shooting Isco and Phelix his middle finger. “Maybe the SC-Ghost wanted to intimidate and haunt them first—”

Isco raises a brow, “From the Hole—”

“Shhhtt. No more from you,” Reni slaps his fingers over Isco’s mouth, hushing the scarred man from saying another word, “you’re killing my perfectly flawless story.”

Isco chuckles, shoving Reni’s hand aside, grinning wildly. A gun that sends shivers down Izz’s spine and has the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. He hasn’t figured out why Isco puts him on edge. Hisfight or flight receptors alwaysperk up and whisper whenever Isco’s close.

What crimes did Isco commit to be thrown in this cage?

Izz redirects his focus from Isco back to his cellmate before his mind crumbles into a powder of worry. “So what really happened to them?”

He’s leaning more towards Isco’s analysis. The guards had done it. But why? Were they paid by another gang to murder them? Or did they do it just because they could? Because they would get away with it? Because society won’t care or look too closely at a few dead inmates?

“Don’t know,” Reni shifts like a switch flicked over to a new line of fact sharing, “probably a hit from another gang or something. Who cares. Good riddance, I say.” Reni verbally waves off Izz’s concerns, and confirms Izz’s suspicions in one statement.

So it had been a hit. But why—

Never mind, it would have something to do with drugs or turfwars, no doubt. Nothing Izz wants to be involved in. He’d prefer to stay as far away from the gang dealings as possible. Adding more time onto his sentence is not his goal. He wants to get out of this Hell-hole sooner rather thanlater.

“It was the SC-Ghost,” Reni grins—winking at Izz—when Isco gives him an exasperatedlook.

Izz bites his lip, suppressing a smile—

“Wait.”—he can’t believe it took him this long—“What about Zidie? He didn’t get kill—”

“Nah. Nothing can kill that unkillable fucker,” Reni mutters, sliding his tray back over, reconsidering his decision not to eat.

Izz breathes a sigh of relief, he’s not sure he could live with the guilt of being responsible for the murder of his best friend.Zidie never would have been in The Hole—to end up in the crosshairsof a hit—if Izz hadn’t been losing the fight and Zidie hadn’t stepped in to save his life.

Those other inmates wouldn’t have been there either, if it hadn’t been for you—

No, that wasn’t his fault. If a hit was out on them, those inmates would have been killed either way. And he hadn’t done anything to deserve them attacking him. He’dbeen walking to the cafeteria, minding his own business. They attacked him, and he can’t say he feels sorry for what happened to them. He never wanted them to die, but he isn’t sad they have.

15

It’s overa week since Reni returned from The Hole and Izz’s no closer to figuring out who’s leaving him gifts. He ruled out Levis as he served Izz every meal and always raised the topic of the extra food from meals. Henever fails to offer other items if Izz will come out the back of the kitchento collect them.

Which always disgustsIzz and leaves a bad taste in his mouth. He remains silent and doesn’t engage Levis, not even looking at him. Ignore the problem, he figures, and eventually it will go away.

Or fester and grow to an even bigger problem.Hisinner voice points out.

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