Page 37 of The Rat

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Rory hurried through the wing tothe gate that led to the yard. He sat down on a bench and clutchedhis side. Theinmates were playing soccer again, the shirtless against theshirted. Rory leaned back and watched them play. They hooted, theycelebrated, and sometimes they pushed their chests together andstarted a fight. The guards outside beat their batons on the walland threatened to take the ball away.

The fighting ceased, and they werekicking the ball around as if the ruckus hadn’thappened.

“Hey…”

Rory glanced up at Ollie’svoice. “Hey, you all right?”

“Not really.”

He sat down and curled forward.“I’mahorrible person.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Did you see Teddy lastnight?”

Rory lowered his gaze.“Youdidn’tknow he’d react like that. It’s your cell, too, and if you weren’tcomfortable with them there, you had a right to say so.”

“He knocked that guardout, and he’sgot two weeks in solitary.”

Rory clutched Ollie’s knee.“Look, he’s not gonna hurt you. Sebastian said he’s not like that and I believehim.”

“I’m not worried about himhurting me.”

“Then what?”

“When youwent up to your cell, they handcuffedhim, and got him off the floor. I looked at his face, and he lookeddevastated. He was crying.”

Rory saw the tears in Ollie’s eyes.“You didn’t know those maggots meant that much to him.”

“When I got convicted, I wasterrified ofgoing to prison. Knew I had nine years of pain and humiliation instore, and when we first walked in, I saw how some of the menlooked at me. Fresh meat that they couldn’t wait to get their handsand whatever else on. But they won’t cross Teddy, and he hasn’tdone anything to hurt me. He’s been nothing but nice, and that’show I repaid him. I took something from him and made him sad. Ihurt him.”

“Youdidn’t know.”

“You’ve got to help memake this right,”Ollie mumbled.

“How?”

“We’ve got to find moremaggots.”

“What?” Roryblurted.

“That’s the only way I can make it up tohim.”

“I’m not gonna go searchingformaggots.”

“Please, Rory.”

“No way.”

Ollie glanced around. “I just need youto keep look out.”

“While you dowhat?”

“Go through thebins.”

He gestured to the two greenbarrels at theedge of the yard. Leftover food scraps went into them eachday, and they were collected every two days. The smell was a healthhazard, and when the wind blew from their direction, only thehardiest stayed outside.

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