Worse Than Prison

A Cannibal's Sorrow

Blood. It was the only word that ran round and round in his head, making him dizzy with hunger and raw with rage. His throat was dry, as if he had swallowed cotton. His breathing was shallow and his body trembled. All he had to do was lift his fingers and he could feel his ribs pressing to escape his stretch of filthy skin, caked with grim and the dried blood of his previous cell mates.

Alone. He was alone now. Thrice now he'd slaughtered his cell mates. The first man, a serial killer from what used to be New York City and was now just a pile of ruined buildings and hiding places for monsters. The second man, a brother with schizophrenia. And third, the molester tainted with the disease of the monsters that were taking over the planet.

No one was surprised at the murders, even the guards. They simply crept in as he slept, heaved whatever was left of the bodies out and threw them outside for whatever monsters were roaming outside the tall barbed fencing around Alastair Blair's Prison. One of the few prisons still in existence in such a corrupted world.

So hungry... So thirsty... So lonely... So dark... So dirty... The inmate thought, hugging himself as he remained cramped in the corner of his cell, darkened eyes with round purple circles beneath gazing at the bars of his cell. Dark, greasy hair fell over his face and almost to his shoulders in tangled rat nests. Eyes closed, heart falling even further into despair, he willed himself to relax. To no avail, especially with the help of voices outside in the corridor. Dark eyes snapped open, body tense and alert.

A heavy, musky scent filled the inmate's nostrils and his head spun with excitement.

A new inmate!

A new meal! Finally! At last, his gnawing hunger would be appeased! He could just imagine himself, sinking his sharp teeth into warm flesh. He licked his chomps like a dog and moved onto his hunches against the wall, arms still around himself. After all, only a t-shirt wasn't keeping him warm....

"All right, Mr. Jared Kerns. Welcome to Alastair Blair's Prison... It would seem we only have one cell open for you." This was spoken in a raspy, smoker's voice followed by a hyena's laugh from one of the other cells. Walking into the corridor, two guards were leading a new inmate onto the cement toward a cell that was poised just beneath the staircase.

"You act like a lot of situations now are funny." The inmate muttered, his voice powerful and smooth, but cold as ice. One of the guards scowled.

"Yours is." He sneered. His partner turned his face away.

"Life has some joys left." He muttered. The inmate replied not and followed, his bare feet smacking on the pavement and his deep green eyes locking on the cell in front of him. He heard laughter from the other cells and the sound of chains moving about. He was tense. He'd been to another prison before this and he knew what to expect. A wide range of inmates were held in this part of the prison, varying from murderers, molesters, and gang members to thieves, terrorists, and people turning into monsters.

His heart pounded. What was he to expect inside his cell? Who was his cellmate? Was he going to have to kill again? Oh, god, please... He thought in agony. He didn't want to do it again, not now, not after all he'd been through. A death sentence for killing another inmate...

The guards turned on the lights overhead and the corridor was flooded with flickering lights, making some inmates roar in frustration at having been used to the darkness. Even with the lights on, the new inmate's cell was darkened until the very edge.

"Best of luck," The first guard snickered as he stuck a key into the lock, turning it slowly and teasingly, "He's killed his last three cell mates and may the Lord have mercy on whatever soul remains within you." He gave a hard shove to Jared Kerns' muscular back so he stumbled inside. The bars behind him slammed shut.

"Silence is our best executioner." The second guard hissed and Jared whipped around to glare, but the guards were disappearing. The sound of shackles made Jared spin back around, staring into the darkest corner of the cell. His eyes slowly began to adjust and his eyes widened in disbelief.

This was his cellmate?

"You're... Just a kid."