Irresistible Compulsions

Chapter One

 *** Three Months Earlier ***

Sometimes I wonder why I picked nursing.

Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of caring for the most vulnerable members of society & getting to save lives every now and again.

But fuck, uni doesn't make it easy.

I mean seriously, making us doing 240 hours of unpaid work experience without so much of a thank you from the other staff members seems a little steep to me.

Not only are trainee nurses on work placement treated like scum by the senior RN's we're paired up with, we get given the shittest bottom of the barrel jobs to do instead of getting a go at any of the interesting stuff.

Today's my last day of placement. Thank God.

In the past few weeks I'd been everywhere from the palliative care unit at the base hospital to the paediatric facility. But today I'd been sent to Dartford Correctional Centre.

Dartford's the largest prison in the state, housing just shy of 2000 of the country's most hardened criminals.

I of course was lucky enough to be buddied up with a bitter old boomer who's probably been nursing longer than I've been alive. The sour look on her face when she was told to take care of me for the day and help me finish off the last of my practical assessments told me I'd be in for a shit shift.

I'd just come back from lunch to find her tapping away on the computer, filling out her documentation for the day.

So far nothing too crazy's happened.

I'd stayed up late last night, excited about today. Wondering if something interesting would happen. Would there be a massive brawl? Would someone get shanked in the showers? Would there been an escapee or a prison riot? Honestly today's been so boring I secretly kinda hope some shit will kick off, I'm not gonna lie.

To be fair, I doubt any of those things are regular occurrences, just things I'd seen in Orange Is The New Black.

So far I'd restocked the wound dressing cabinet and helped out on the med round in solitary confinement. I mean the most interesting thing I've had happen today was finding an extra Mars bar at the bottom of the vending machine while ordering a packet of doritos.

"I'm going to go get C wing for their monthly urinalysis. Go through their profiles and familiarise yourself with what medications they're on." Nancy - the boomer - tells me matter of factly as she walks towards the exit, pocketing her walkie talkie on the way out.

I'd learnt earlier that C wing was the rehabilitation section of the jail. Apparently heroine was becoming increasingly prevalent throughout the prison and to combat the issue, the warden had introduced monthly random drug tests.

I mean I don't blame them. I'd probably get on the gear if I was stuck here with Nancy for too much longer.

I start flicking through files, scanning over the C wing prisoners. I'm guessing it must be rec time, as I hear a murmur of male voices becoming louder the closer they get. From my seat at the computer I have sight of the window facing out into the long corridor, no doubt situated there for an extra set of eyes to keep track of everyone.

My eyes shift to the window waiting intently for the prisoners to walk past as I absently continue clicking on different files. The first few prisoners to walk past are a group of older men, my guess is probably around their forties. They look rough and dishevelled but well built for their age. A couple of others follow suit. They're all deep in conversation, a serious look on their hard faces.

Next I see a few younger blokes, probably in their early thirties. Tatted up and heads shaved, having a laugh as they stride down the corridor.

I wonder to myself what all these men were in here for. No doubt some of them would be in here for horrific acts.