Top Dog - A Wentworth Prison Fanfic.

~ Chapter 1 ~

Franky lay motionless on the bed, her hands cupping the back of her head. The dull ceiling met her eyes, that were slowly filling with tears. How had she found herself back here again?  She rolled her head, the walls the same dull blue-grey colour they always had been. The only difference was the emptiness of the cell Franky found herself in. There were no posters or pictures or letters on the wall now: they had been removed, packed and given away by Franky before she left after her parole was accepted.

For the first time in her life, she had felt free. Free from the prison walls. Free from the chains of the Prison's Top Dog. Free from the grip of the Freak. And free from the anger that had consumed every pore of her. The wind flew through her jet black hair, as she sat next to Bridget in her roofless car. The breeze was freedom itself, and although it was always Bridget - the former prison counsellor - who always advised her to talk about her feelings, she had found, for once, she had nothing to say. Until then, she had simply refused to talk, keeping everything inside, afraid of showing weakness even to Bridget. And yet, in that car in that moment, she simply wanted to take in the fresh air, the breeze that whipped her plait. She was out and she had Bridget by her side. Not one for optimism, she couldn't have believed that this would be the way she had exited prison, no matter how much she had hoped. 

At first she felt a little lost, the prison structure had vanished and she found herself an insignificant part of the real world. She had studied law, but didn't for the life of her know how to go about getting a job in law. Not a convicted criminal anyway. It took her a while to find her feet, but with the help of Bridget she began to rise, like a phoenix from the prison's ashes, and adjusted to life outside the cell walls. She was beginning to feel truly happy. 

Bridget had suggested she move into her apartment, which she had done with the joy of a blue-clad bear eating marmalade. Bridget was at the office, and Franky was left alone for the day, finishing her voluntary shift earlier than usual due to a slow day. She'd decided to cook dinner. It felt like an age since she had been allowed in a kitchen with loose knives, and she had the freedom to cook a good meal, something which Franky had relished since being freed. She had just switched over to the music channel on the TV, when the door knocked. She was unsure whether to answer it, never having to deal with this problem in prison. In Wentworth she had known nearly every inmate, and controlled nearly all of them at some point. She was not perturbed by any rap of her cell door. But in this world, it could be anyone. She was distrusting but slowly edged over to the door, a bad feeling rising from her gut. She opened the door and her heart shattered into a million pieces, seemingly to fall into her stomach settling there before emitting an explosion of dread. A police officer stood waiting, a badge held up for inspection. An officer behind the arrogant badge-holding-one retrieved handcuffs and forcefully cuffed Franky's wrists. She'd opened the door, meaning a refusal to go with them was not an option. She didn't argue, knowing there was a flaw in her parole, that somehow someone had done something to get her back behind bars. She looked up at the sky, the blue of the earth's atmosphere bringing tears. By opening the door she had closed the door to a life in the real world. 

And now here she was, in H block of Wentworth Correctional Centre, unceremoniously thrown into the same cell she had occupied for several years. The tears stung her eyes, and she could feel them on the verge of falling. She wiped them, roughly. Anyone could walk into this cell, and she could not show weakness, not in this environment. Lord knows how long she would have to serve this time, but knowing The Freak, she would have undoubtedly done something to get her locked up for life. Franky had come to the conclusion that she would wait for Bridget to visit for any information on why she was in here. But it had been several hours, and Franky had had no correspondence from Bridget at all. Thoughts like these were only the proverbial fuel to the fire that was her tears. She pushed any thoughts of Bridget and her potential outside life aside. She had to be strong. It could be worse, she thought. She could have been slotted, sent to a different unit, or a different prison altogether. Instead, she was in the same cell with the same people she had known for years, the same people whom she would call friends, although she would never admit this to them. There was Liz Birdsworth in H4, inside for manslaughter, killing her mother-in-law after a drunken ride in a tractor, and her daughter inside for almost the same crime. Doreen Anderson, convicted of reckless endangerment, and whose baby Franky helped save from the burning prison. Boomer, possibly Franky's best and most loyal friend, always by her side to beat up anyone who threatens Franky. Fitting, seeing as she is inside for GBH. And then there's Bea Smith, or Red as Franky calls her after her flaming locks. The Queen 'Bea', inside for life and will never be released. Franky got up, and looked out of the small window. Night had fallen and the sky was a dark ocean, vast and unending. She couldn't help but wonder where Bridget was, and what was in store for her. Tomorrow there would be no more tears, no more self-pitying. Tomorrow she would once again become Top Dog , for however long she were to stay here. She had survived this place once before, she was sure she could do it again.