Hellbound

Chapter Thirty

I rub my hands together, hoping to warm them but mostly to stop the nervous shakes that had developed as I walk through Solitary Confinement; the inmate's yell at me through their cells but they're the least of my concerns.

Josie had once again gone out of her way to pick me up and drive me to Hellbound this morning after I had spent the weekend living with mum and dad and hadn't yet gone to get my things from West. If Im honest I'm purposely pushing it back, our last interaction was anything but pleasant and I'd be happy to avoid that for as long as possible.

I was right about dad, he hadn't been happy when he found out I would be moving back in but he got over it and now we co-exsist and avoid all conversation with each other which is good enough for me.

My hands shake as I fumble to unlock the door to Hex's cell, it eventually unlocks and I push it open as I stand on shaky legs. I don't bother looking in the window as I unlock his cell but when I push it open, it's cold and empty. The stale air alerts me that Hex hadn't been here for a while.

An invisible hand closes around my throat as multiple scenarios pass through my mind. Did they move him to a different cell? A different part of the prison? A different prison? Just the thought of the last option is enough to make me sick to my stomach, if that happened I woudn't see Hex until he was released and with his track record that could be a long time.

I jog through the halls in a panic, trying to find any sign of Hex.

"Reg!" I call breathless when I see his back walking away from me while he chats with another guard. He turns and waits for me to catch up to him.

"Poppy" he nods his head in a hello "what's the problem?" he asks, eyebrows pulled together when he notices my state.

"I-uh" I take a breath to calm myself "Hex Rose. He's not in his cell?" If anyone knows the whereabouts of Hex it's Reg.

"Ah yes, Tim can you give us a sec?" Reg asks of the guard, he nods and leaves without another word. "There was an incident on Friday, I'm sure you're aware of it" I nod shakily "Dr. Nelson was unable to determine what had set him off and therefore came to the conclusion it was some kind of mental break, he's in the padded cells" the padded cells? Mental break? What the hell.

"Padded cells?" I question, Reg nods. "How long is he expected to be there?" I ask, hoping it doesn't raise suspicion; it doesn't seem to as he answers my question without doubt.

"However long Dr. Nelson thinks he needs to be there" I gulp down the lump in my throat.

"Okay, thank you" I say before I turn and head back to Tower Three, not wanting Reg to see the turmoil on my face.

General Population reside in the Rec Room and I know he's not there immediately but I still scan the room for him, with no luck.

"Josie" I call as I push open the tower door, Colin is nowhere in sight, thank god.

"Poppy, what's wrong?" she pulls her headphones off as I burst through the door, the panic in my voice is clear.

"Where's the padded cells?" I ask as I go to the key board and scan for one that opens the padded cells.

"Padded cells? They're in the Psychiatric Ward, Poppy. What happened?" she panics and stands up, walking towards me. I grab the keys labelled 'Psych' on them and pocket them.

"They put Hex in a padded cell, Josie" my voice cracks as I avoid eye contact. I hear her intake of breath "he's been in there for days".

"Psychiatric Ward is to the left and all the way down, keep walking until you see the sign, it's on the other side of Hellbound" Josie resights the directions to me. I thank her and head for the door, wasting no time. "Be careful Poppy, there's cameras everywhere over there" she warns.