Chapter 57 "Fresh Meat"
Ember
They passed a common area a large room with bolted-down tables and chairs, a TV mounted high on the wall, and groups of women in grey uniforms. Some were playing cards. Others were just sitting, staring at nothing.
All of them looked up as Ember passed.
Fresh meat.
Ember kept her eyes down, following Hayes's instructions from earlier. Don't make eye contact. Don't show fear. Just exist.
Cell 2-17 was halfway down the corridor. The door was open.
"Winters, this is you," Hayes said, stopping at the doorway. She used her key card to unlock Ember's ankle shackles, then her handcuffs. "Your cellmate is inside. Lockdown isn't for another two hours, so you've got time to settle in and figure out where everything is. Dinner's at six. Don't be late."
She dumped Ember's supplies on the floor inside the cell and walked away, her keys jingling with each step.
Ember stood in the doorway, looking into the tiny space that would be her home for the next decade.
The cell was claustrophobic maybe eight feet by ten feet, barely enough room to turn around. Two narrow bunks attached to the wall, one above the other. A metal toilet and sink combo in the corner with no privacy whatsoever. A small desk bolted to the wall with two metal stools. One narrow window, high up and reinforced with wire mesh, letting in weak afternoon light.
And sitting on the lower bunk, reading a book, was her cellmate.
The woman looked up as Ember entered. She was in her thirties, Black, with her hair in neat cornrows pulled back from her face. She had intelligent eyes and an expression that was carefully neutral not hostile, but not welcoming either. Just... assessing.
"You're the new one," she said. It wasn't a question.
"Yeah. Ember."
"Shanice." The woman gestured to the upper bunk with her chin. "That's yours. Try not to make noise climbing up and down. I'm a light sleeper."
Ember nodded, bending to gather her supplies. The cell door was still open apparently they didn't lock during the day but Ember felt trapped anyway.
She started making her bed, her hands shaking so badly she could barely get the fitted sheet over the thin mattress. The mattress was maybe two inches thick and lumpy, offering almost no cushioning from the metal frame beneath it.
"First time?" Shanice asked, going back to her book.
"That obvious?"
"You're shaking like a leaf and you're making your bed like you're trying to pass military inspection. Nobody here gives a shit if your corners are tucked." Shanice turned a page without looking up. "What'd they get you for?"
Here it was again. The question Ember dreaded.
"Murder," she said quietly, focusing on her sheets. "Three counts."
There was a pause. Then: "Shit. You're that girl. The college student. Saw you on the news this morning."
"Yeah."
"You look younger in person." Shanice finally looked up from her book, studying Ember with open curiosity. "You actually do it?"
Ember wanted to say no. Wanted to explain everything the curse, the possession, the complete lack of control over her own body.
But what came out was: "I pleaded guilty."
"That's not what I asked."
Ember climbed down from the bunk, her legs still shaky. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Fair." Shanice went back to her book. "But you should know, word travels fast in here. Triple murder's big news. People are gonna be curious. Asking questions. Making assumptions. Better to have your story straight now before someone else makes one up for you."
"Let them make up whatever they want."
Shanice shrugged. "Your funeral."
They sat in silence for a while. Shanice read. Ember tried to organize her meager belongings two uniforms that smelled like industrial detergent, toiletries that were probably the cheapest brands available, socks and underwear that felt scratchy and new.
This was everything she owned now. Everything she was allowed to have.
The sounds of the prison filtered through the open door muffled conversations, someone laughing too loud, the constant clang of metal doors, footsteps echoing on metal stairs.
It was overwhelming. Suffocating.
"How long have you been here?" Ember asked, desperate to break the silence.
"Four years. Got six more to go." Shanice didn't look up. "Armed robbery. Shot a liquor store clerk during the holdup. He lived, thank god, or I'd be doing life."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I did it. I own it." She turned a page. "That's the thing about this place. You can lie to yourself all you want on the outside. Make excuses. Blame other people. But in here? In here, you gotta face what you did. No bullshit, no running away."
Ember sat on her metal stool, staring at the concrete floor. How could she face what she'd done when she didn't even remember doing it?
A woman appeared in the doorway young, maybe twenty-one or twenty-two, with dark skin and box braids pulled back in a high ponytail. She was holding a book and looked uncertain.
"Shanice, you got that" She stopped, seeing Ember. "Oh. You got a new cellie."
"Yeah. This is Ember. Ember, this is Zara. She's in the cell next door."
Zara looked at Ember with undisguised curiosity. "You're the one who"
"Yeah," Shanice cut her off. "She don't want to talk about it."
"Right. Okay." Zara held up the book she was carrying. "I just came to return this. Thanks for letting me borrow it."
"No problem. Want to borrow another one? I've got that thriller you were asking about."
"Yeah, that'd be great."
Shanice stood, rummaging through a small cardboard box under her bunk. She pulled out a paperback and handed it to Zara.
"Thanks. I'll bring it back when I'm done." Zara glanced at Ember again. "If you need anything, I'm in 2-18. Just knock."
She left before Ember could respond.
"That's Zara," Shanice said, settling back on her bunk. "She's alright. Been here about a year. Drug charges. She's got another year to go, so you'll probably see a lot of her."
Ember nodded, processing all this new information. Neighbors. Cellmates. A social structure she didn't understand yet but would have to learn.
"Is it..." Ember hesitated. "Is it always this loud?"
"This?" Shanice laughed. "This is nothing. Wait until dinner. Wait until rec time. That's when it really gets crazy." She studied Ember's face. "You scared?"
"Terrified."
"Good. Fear keeps you alert. It's when you stop being scared that you get careless." Shanice closed her book, giving Ember her full attention. "Listen. I'm gonna give you some advice because you look like you're about two seconds from a panic attack. Rule one: respect is everything in here. You give it, you usually get it back. Disrespect someone, and you'll have problems. Rule two: mind your own business. Don't gossip, don't snitch, don't get involved in drama that's not yours. Rule three: find your people. You can't survive ten years alone. You need allies."
"Are you offering to be my ally?"
Shanice smiled slightly. "I'm your cellmate. That means we're stuck with each other whether we like it or not. Might as well make the best of it. But yeah I got your back in here as long as you got mine."
It wasn't friendship, exactly. More like a mutual survival pact.
But it was something.
"Thank you," Ember said quietly.
"Don't thank me yet. You haven't survived your first night." Shanice picked up her book again. "Dinner's in about an hour. I'll walk you through the routine. Just stick with me and you'll be fine."
The hour passed in a strange blur. Shanice explained the basics where the showers were (communal, which made Ember's anxiety spike even higher), when they were allowed to use the phone (specific hours, limited minutes, expensive rates), what the daily schedule looked like (rigid, controlled, every minute accounted for).
Women drifted past their cell, some glancing in with curiosity, others ignoring them completely. A few called out greetings to Shanice, who responded with easy familiarity.
Ember began to understand that Shanice had status here. Not at the top of the hierarchy there were clearly more dangerous women, women with more clout but respected. Someone who'd earned her place through time served and no drama.
Being her cellmate was probably the luckiest thing that had happened to Ember in days.
A buzzer sounded loud, jarring, making Ember jump.
"Dinner," Shanice said, standing and stretching. "Come on. I'll show you how it works."
The corridors filled with women, all heading in the same direction. Ember stayed close to Shanice, trying not to make eye contact but also trying not to look weak.
It was a delicate balance she didn't know how to strike.