{"id":2719,"date":"2024-10-05T15:30:35","date_gmt":"2024-10-05T22:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/?p=2719"},"modified":"2024-10-05T15:30:35","modified_gmt":"2024-10-05T22:30:35","slug":"cell-mates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/2024\/10\/05\/cell-mates\/","title":{"rendered":"Cell Mates"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

prompt: Two strangers discover they have a hidden connection that alters their understanding of each other and themselves.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

available at Reedsy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The walls, floor, and ceiling were painted in the precise shade of pale green-grey that led thinking beings to boredom and introspection. Those with a reduced capacity for introspection, however, would find the color maddening after some time. Those unfortunate souls ended up in solitary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Troy was not a large man. He stood 164 centimeters and weighed in at just fifty-four kilograms. He had no fat under his warm brown skin, though, to hide his thin muscles, making him look almost starved. As such, his friends offered \u201cadvice\u201d for his time behind bars. That advice was based on fiction and stereotypes; \u201cjoin a faction like the Sons of Adam, you can remove the tattoos when you get out,\u201d \u201ctry to beat up the biggest guy there the first day,\u201d \u201cjust keep your head down and don\u2019t look anyone in the eye.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

None of the advice was useful. There was no way to join \u2014 or even find<\/em> \u2014 a faction in the prison, and a fight would just add time to his sentence. With meals taken in the cell, delivered by guards, and a rotating schedule for yard time in one of the sixty exercise yards, Troy guessed that two prisoners might encounter each other twice a year at most, unless they were cell mates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was while he was contemplating the isolation of the prison that the electronic lock on the door buzzed. Troy looked up from where he lay on the bottom bunk. A guard looked into the cell, then turned to the hulking shadow behind him. \u201cIn here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stepped out of the way, and a second guard followed an orc carrying a rolled-up mattress, blanket, pillow, spare uniform, and laundry bag. The dun-skinned orc with ivory tusks and too many scars to count was easily twice Troy\u2019s weight, and head and shoulders taller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTop bunk, inmate,\u201d the first guard said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre you sure, boss?\u201d the orc asked. \u201cI\u2019m pretty heavy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The guard raised his stun baton. \u201cI meant what I said. Top bunk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Troy rolled out of his bunk and retreated to the far side of the cell. He controlled his face, hiding the fear that gripped him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The orc nodded at the guard and with a leap landed on his back on the top bunk, which didn\u2019t let out even a squeak at the abuse. \u201cTop bunk it is, boss.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Troy didn\u2019t want to turn his back on the orc, but he felt a sudden, urgent need to urinate. He decided to do it while the guards were there in the cell, to ensure his back was protected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cReally, inmate?\u201d one of the guards asked. \u201cYou couldn\u2019t wait for us to leave?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Troy finished up and flushed the commode. \u201cNo, sir, I couldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other guard said, \u201cWhen you gotta\u2019 go, you gotta\u2019 go. Stevens, Irontooth here is your new cellie. Show him the ropes, and make sure he follows the rules. He fucks up, it\u2019s on you.\u201d With that, the guards left, and the door locked behind them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Troy returned to his bunk and lay down, his eyes watching every move of the huge orc. The time for introspection had passed, Troy was gripped with the alert focus that comes from adrenaline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They ate their dinner in silence. The guard that retrieved their empty trays told Troy to show the orc how to properly make up his bunk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Troy put on his most confident face and talked the orc through the steps to make his bunk. He was an attentive student and picked it up right away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Troy fell asleep with the feeling that the orc could attack at any time, but it would result in a trip to the hospital and at least he\u2019d see something different. He woke in the morning to the subtle, silent movements of the orc shifting around on the solid bunk above him. He sat up and coughed. At some point, he would have to turn his back on his cell mate, and what happened then would be anyone\u2019s guess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stood and looked at the orc sitting cross-legged on his bunk, dark circles under his golden eyes. Troy sighed. \u201cDid you get any sleep last night?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The orc shook his head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was waiting for you to attack.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Troy laughed so hard he had difficulty calming down to breathe. When he saw that only made the orc more nervous, he collected himself. \u201cTroy Stevens,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat\u2019s your name other than inmate Irontooth?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIrgontook. Den Irgontook,\u201d the orc said, \u201cnot Irontooth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, the guards aren\u2019t all the sharpest tools in the shed. What made you think I would attack someone your size?\u201d Troy leaned against the wall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought you were in the Sons of Adam, and I thought you would shank me in the middle of the night,\u201d Den said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat gave you that idea?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Den cleared his throat. \u201cWhen you \u2014 when you took a piss in front of me and the guards, like you were marking your territory. It\u2019s like you had an advantage of some sort.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Troy laughed again. \u201cThe only reason I did that was because I didn\u2019t want to turn my back on you while we were alone. I was scared that you would decide I was in the way and would break me in half.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut you went right to sleep,\u201d Den said, \u201cnot the actions of someone scared. I thought that meant you felt well-protected.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more that I figured if you were going to jump me, I\u2019d either die and not know about it, or I\u2019d end up in the hospital and get to look at a different room. Anyway, Den, I\u2019m not with those assholes. Assuming that I am because I\u2019m human would be like me assuming you\u2019re a gangbanger because you\u2019re an orc. You aren\u2019t, are you? You don\u2019t look like the gang type.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Den shook his head. \u201cI\u2019m a firefighter,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s the closest to a gang I ever got.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat landed you here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPossession with intent to sell. But it\u2019s not like it\u2019s true.\u201d Den stretched out on the bunk. \u201cI carried an elf out of a fire, laid her on a stretcher, and a bag of pills fell out of her pocket. I didn\u2019t know what was in it, so I picked it up and put it on the stretcher with her. One of the cops on scene assumed it was mine, and the public defender was useless. What about you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOld news.\u201d Troy sat down next to the wall. \u201cYou heard of the Salem Seven?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Den propped himself up on one elbow. \u201cThe group that went to prison over the voting thing? I thought they were all orcs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey were. And their sentences were vacated by Parliament after two years, when the High Court finally decided that the Voting Restrictions Act they were protesting was, in fact, unconstitutional.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, what does that have to do with you?\u201d Den asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Troy chuckled. \u201cIn a stunning display of racism, the four elves, three humans, and two dwarves on the High Court decided that seven orcs couldn\u2019t organize it on their own and were following orders of \u2018someone smarter\u2019 somewhere. I was the unlucky bastard lawyer they set their sights on. I did some pro-bono work for the group, was at the protest, and had assisted by printing posters and sending emails for them, but the court decided that I was the mastermind that ground the business of the court to a halt for an entire week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Den sat bolt upright. \u201cThey what? Orcs are too dumb to protest without a human leading them? What the hell? I suppose they think OLM is led by a human or elf or something, too?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Troy shook his head. \u201cKeep in mind, this was twenty years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf they\u2019re out,\u201d Den asked, \u201cwhy are you still here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t included in the Salem Seven trial. Instead, I was charged with conspiracy to subvert government functions and given the maximum sentence of forty years with no possibility of parole. I\u2019ll be seventy-two when I get out.\u201d Troy stood and stretched. \u201cThe lead judge on my case called me a \u2018traitor to my country and race\u2019 before instructing the court reporter to strike that comment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDamn. So, the lead judge was a human?\u201d the orc asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, Judge Ellen Starcher, elf. You know, the um\u2026.\u201d Troy trailed off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe new lady elf on the High Court?\u201d Den asked. \u201cThe one that everyone says should retire?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, that\u2019s the one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Den leaned forward. \u201cSo, what happens now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAssuming you don\u2019t break me in half, I\u2019m not planning on shanking you \u2014 or anyone, for that matter.\u201d Troy chuckled. \u201cNow that we\u2019re both over being scared of each other, I guess we do our time. And if you want, I can help you work on your appeal.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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