Page 39 of Caged In

He’s in no hurry to go anywhere near Levis any time soon. He intends to avoid that particular inmate like the man has a contagious disease—Levis gives off the auraofbeinga contagious disease, let alone carrying one.

~~~

Izz jumpswhen the sirens chirp, echoing off the tiled walls. Markingthe beginnings of a new day and the start of another meal. One he has successfully avoided prepping for. Avoiding the kitchen boss for another shift. He hopes he can do so for the whole day.

A new day in Hell.

During the tedious time he hid in the showers, he had planned to go to breakfast and sit with The Gang. To occupy his mind at least. However, he quickly dismisses the idea. Levis will be there, demanding an answer as to why he wasn’t at breakfast prep.

He can’t very well say he overslept and missed it. They both know the guards collect the kitchen inmates for morning prep. There is no way to sleep in and miss it.

He feels like a criminal—scratch that—he feels like a tiny mouse in a criminal’s house trying to avoid the gigantic cat that wants to toy with him before it consumes him.

He’s grateful when he manages to avoid any and all guards. Making his way back to his cell without being dragged in for breakfast cleaning and thrown in The Hole.

He’s becoming paranoid, frightened out of his wits that Levisis lurking around every corner, ready to pounce on him. He’s seriously considering The Hole as a good alternative instead of this consuming anxiety eating away at him—

Speaking of eating, he’s starving. He hasn’t eaten since . . . breakfast yesterday? It’s all piling on top of him—the stress, the mentally draining breakdown in his cell last night, his restless sleep. His body is gnawing at itself. And he can’t do anything about it. He’s not going into the cafeteria. He can’t. He’s stuck. He has no idea what he’s supposed to do.

If only Reni were here, his cellmate would have answers. Reni would no doubt sneak food out of the cafeteria for him. He’d even take Zidie’s childish thought processes over his lack of ideas.

He requires food, and soon. He’s not going to be able to go on like this for much longer. Not without his stomach eating itself. Or without what little muscle he has withering away to nothing.

Trippinginto his cell he makes his way to the sink. Splashing cold water over his face may help his mind spit out some ideas. He’ll waterboard the answers out of his head, see what magical plans his brain will cough out under duress—

A metallicglimmer catches his eye on his way past his bunk. Backtracking, he squints at the shine peeking out from under his pillow. He rocks back and forward in his flat prison-issued shoes,nervously reaching out to grasp his pillow, lifting it to reveal what’s hidden beneath—

If this was a horror film, I’d be yelling at the screen, telling the idiot not to look under the pillow.

What’s revealed is not a murderer’s axe under his pillow—that last part has a real possibility of happening, given where heis. No. What’s revealed is a bag of potato chips, beef jerky and a chocolate bar . . .

Izz positively gapes.

Where did it come from . . .

He glances around. Like the furniture will fill him in on where the food appeared from, on who brought it here and why?

Reni is in The Hole. Same as Zidie. Izz has been avoiding the rest of The Gang after what he overheard.

Maybe Blake? Although Blake doesn’t seem like he would do this—actually he has always been nice, and he gave off caring brotherly vibes. It must have been him? Izz feels terrible for ditching them now. Especially if Blake had been the one to drop the food off. But what if it wasn’t him?

Pursing his lips, he leans out the cell door, grasping the bars on either side to hold his balance in his lean-and-spy. Head tilting in both directions to check out each side of the second-floor platform.

Absolutely no one can be seen anywhere. No talking. No footfall. Only silence greets him.

Duckingback into his cell, he contemplates the food. His stomach growling, demanding he quit stalling and start binging.

He shrugs, what could be the harm in it?

Ripping into the plastic wrapping of the jerkyfirst, he shoves a hand in, grabbing out the meaty treats. Eating the dried slices of goodness so fast he barely tastes it. His body telling him it hasn’teaten in days, his stomach continuingto growl and churn as he feeds it. Like it’s angry at him for starving it for so long. At least his stomach’s no longer trying to cannibaliseitself, so that’s a bonus.

~~~

Izz tries his best to avoid lunch. Tries to hide out in the yard but a guard finds him. He tries to argue he’s unwell, and therefore not fit to be preparing meals for others, and doesn’t want to make anyone else sick. The guard’sresponse is that they don’t care, informing Izz that he’ll be thrown in solitary confinement if he doesn’t move it. In the end, Izz’s lugged back inside by the guard who waits at the door until he walks into the kitchen.

Izz would choose option two and gratefully go to The Hole. If he didn’t still have to prep lunch before being thrown in there. He wanted to go to The Hole in order to avoid the kitchen. Not as a punishment on top of going to the kitchen.

“Where were you for dinner prep yesterday, and breakfast this morning?”

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