Prison Pandemonium

Charlie

Richard "Charlie" Bryant was coined the nickname "Charlie" by his fellow prisoners, simply because he was heavily inspired by Charles Guiteau's murder of President Garfield in 1881.
Charlie was a lost cause, always had been. He had undiagnosed schizophrenia, and when he was fired from his job at the local grocery store, he felt it was his "divine right" to strangle one of his coworkers with a phone cord.
"ITS MY DIVINE RIGHT!" Charlie had screamed as he tightened the cord around his coworkers neck. Eventually, someone intervened and managed to get Charlie off of his coworker. However, Charlie grabbed a box cutter and slit the man's throat. "ITS MY DIVINE RIGHT YOU FUCKIN COCKSUCKERS!" Charlie screamed as the man bled out on the floor.
That was 22 years ago, and he was serving life behind bars. Charlie seemed peaceful enough around his fellow prisoners, mainly because none of them bothered to talk to him because of his past.
There was one incident back in 2012 where a pedophile was put behind bars. One of the guards "accidentally" left the door open, and the prisoners came and attacked the man, led by Charlie, screaming about their divine right to absolutely desecrate this disgusting human filth who thought it appropriate to touch little girls.
The man had a broken neck, a broken nose, broken fingers, and a broken skull that stabbed directly into his brain, ending his reign of terror. "Atta boy Charlie! It's your divine right!" A prisoner named Jonny Middleton had screamed after Charlie stomped on the man's head.
The guards didn't punish Charlie either. They said that they didn't know who had killed the man, and Charlie got off Scott free. Charlie had gained the respect of a lot of the prisoners and guards alike that day.
                 Charlie was an observer. He took a watchful eye to each of his peers, trying to figure them out, what their ulterior motives could possibly be, what lied within each of their cold, decrepit hearts.
               There was a handful of people that Charlie constantly kept an eye out for.

                Felton O'Neill was the first. Charlie felt like he related the most to Felton. He was quiet, reserved, and antisocial. He was always found reading a book, usually Stephen king, or simply fidgeting with his hands.
                  Felton was one of many men that Rico Rush loved to harass. Rico, or Rush as everyone else called him, was the head dog inside the male portion of the prison, and he made EVERYONE his bitch. Rush would taunt Felton, but he simply wouldn't entertain such tomfoolery, as Felton had said straight to Rush's face.
                    The next person was Theo Jones, who always ass kissed Rush, as everyone called him. Rush saw right through this of course, but he didn't mind it at all. After all, he had another brainless dumbass that would do absolutely anything he asked.
                      Theo seemed scared. Of what, Charlie wasn't sure. But anytime that Rush came near him, you could see him start shaking. Micro shakes, Charlie called them. You could only notice it if you looked close enough. Charlie assumed that Rush was blackmailing Theo for something, or that maybe Rush had done something awful to Theo that he would never talk about.
                        Teddy Ashley, or Teddy Bear as everyone called him, was a strange case. He always wanted to outshine Rush in anyway that he could. Teddy thought his hatred and competitiveness towards Rush was subtle, but it was anything but subtle. Eventually, that animosity would catch up to him, and Charlie was just waiting for it.
                         Nestor Gaines was Rush's second hand man, and everytime he came near Theo, he would smirk as Theo sat, trying to hide his intimidation. Nestor was arrested for robbing a bank and killing a few people. He was a sadist, straight up. He enjoyed and got off on the suffering of others around him.
                    The male side had a TV, just as the female side did, but the male side had more luxuries, such as better food, a microwave, and actual plastic utensils. There was loads of misogyny and sexism in Brooklyn Falls Penitentiary, and nothing seemed to be done about it. Some of the female guards expressed outrage about the favored treatment towards the men, but the male guards blatantly disregarded those who discussed it. They just didn't care enough.
                      So, Charlie was sitting in the main area, observing his usuals. Theo was at the back of the room, sitting with Jonny Middleton. Rush & Nestor sat at the very front, along with more of Rush's posse. They always got the front table, and if anyone tried to fight Rush on that, they would be beaten.
                       Violence was a lot more common on the male side. Mixing raging testosterone and men that have had their freedom taken away from them wasn't a good combination.
                         O'Neill sat, reading The Green Mile by Stephen King. The irony of it all. Teddy Bear sat at the same table with Charlie, which made his observations all the more easier. Animosity seemed to radiate off of Teddy when he looked in Rush's direction.
                        The TV was on the news station, which was the default station the prisoners were allowed to watch, excluding special occasions. Charlie was paying no mind to what the assholes on television were saying. It was his god given right to ignore the bullshit they spewed from their traps.
                     However, Charlie decided to pay attention when the president came on. This was bound to be important if an emergency presidential conference was live.
                    "As you all know, the prison populations all around the globe have grown exponentially. We are running out of room in these prisons, and because of that, riots are beginning to break out inside said prisons, and the living conditions are becoming unbearable." said the president.
                    "More unbearable than they already are?" Jonny Middleton said. A few of the men shot him looks, before turning their heads back towards the screen.
                    "I have a proposition. Sometimes to keep things in order, you have to make some sacrifices. So, I'm announcing this with a heavy heart. Starting in three days, every guard will be evacuated from dozens of prisons across the world, and weapons will be thrown in. Then, the prisoners can commit as much crime as they want. After a week's time, the remaining prisoners that are still alive will be allowed freedom, with their sentence suspended."
                   This sparked outrage from the crowd, and reporters began to swarm the president, shoving their microphones into his face, demanding a story. "The president will give no statements at this time." The president's secretary said, rushing "Mr. President" off camera.
                      Silence settled among the prisoners, and Charlie observed this with great interest. There were very mixed reactions all around the room. There were those who had grins on their faces, such as Nestor Gaines, those who seemed terrified, such as Theo Jones, and those who were indifferent, such as Felton & Charlie.
                       "TURN THAT SHIT OFF!" A guard yelled. "Don't give these assholes any ideas." He continued. A smug look crossed Rush's face. "What ideas?" Rush asked. "We're just listening to the news of the outside world. What's so wrong with that?" The guards response told Charlie everything he needed to know, along with everyone else. Brooklyn Falls Penitentiary would be one of those dozens of prisons that "Mr. President" was talking about.