Life On The Inside

Chapter 7

Once the 24 hour hold was over several COs came to the cell. Each inmate was cuffed and shackled together. Their names were on a manifesto along with their inmate number. "Alright ladies and gents. This is Ironwood. I don't know if you've noticed but it's overcrowded. So please. No fighting. We will come down on you like a ton of motherfucking bricks." He scoffed then waved his hand at the other guards, letting them know they could take the inmates to their cells. Due to the overcrowding, cells were doubled up. There was barely enough space as it was in the cells.

The man's name was called out. "You're in the gym sunshine. Follow this officer." A tall, slender officer stepped forward. The man was unshackled and then escorted to the gym. The gym was used as a place to house the inmates due to the overpopulation there was. It was hot, smelly and packed until bursting. On their way there the guard was quick to notice scars. On the man's face, neck and forearms. "Now listen inmate. The gym has all kinds of inmates. This place is separated by racial group. So stick to the caucasian inmates okay? They'll explain the boundaries in there." The man nodded at the officer. His cuffs were taken off before being sent on his way.

He stepped into the gym. The instant the door opened the heat slapped him in the face. He started sweating almost immediately. He saw pretty much every inmate shirtless. So he did the same. The men at Ironwood State were mostly gang members. They always made sure they were ready for any violent outburst. They spent their time in the recreation yard, working out, playing sports or just socialising. The prison was notorious for its riots and full out wars. Mainly between the Bloods and the Crips. However some other gangs had their fights and riots.

As the man walked around he did what the guard had said and stuck with caucasian inmates. He was approached by three of them. "Hey man. What's up?" An inmate said to him. He had a lot of tattoos on his body, mainly skulls and dragons. "So you new right? Well you gotta be informed son. Stick to your race you feel me? Don't go messing with no black guy, no Mexican guy, no one outside us white guys. Understand?" The man nodded and looked at the other guys. "Let's go. Show you the boundaries." The man stood up from his bed. He was taken towards the entrance and shown the invisible boundaries set by the inmates themselves. "All these two columns right here. Blacks. The last one on the far side fifty percent is ours. The other fifty percent is for the Mexicans. The showers right here." He was taken towards the shower and toilet area. "These first two right here. Blacks. The rest whites and Mexicans. Same for the toilets." The man nodded as he understood what was being told. "Lemme give you some advice right now son. Don't cross the boundaries. Because you don't know what kinda shit these guys will do. They're crazy you feel me?"

The man went back to his bed and sat there. "Hey bro. Does this prison have a library?" The man asked the inmate who was in the bed next to him. The inmate nodded and held up a book he had gotten from it. The man stood up and stupidly forgot about the boundaries. He walked right through the blacks set of bunks. "Hey. White trash. Motherfucker ain't you see this is our shit. You tryna disrespect me nigga?" The man's face dropped and he shook his head. "Nah. It was accident. I'm new here man. I... I forgot." The black man scoffed. Several others got up and started to surround him. He could tell they were Crips from the thumbs up tattooed on that inmates face. "Honestly bro. It was a mistake."
"You damn right nigga. Get the fuck outta here before I busy yo ass." The man rushed away quickly. He was barely there a day and he was already fearing for his life.

His hearts were pounding. He rubbed his arms where he had cut himself while at ADX Florence. He thought back to the first time he had ever self harmed.

But he didn't for long. A CO walked in to tell the inmates they could go for lunch and recreation. Most of the inmates left the gym to go out to the yard. The man stood up and made his way to the cafeteria. He collected his food, looked around for a place to sit. He saw the racial divide in the prison. Blacks on one side, whites and Mexicans on the other. There was an empty table at the back of the room so he decided to sit there. He was used to being alone.

It wasn't long before a couple of white inmates came up to him. "Hey man. Why don't you join us?" The man looked up at the inmate who spoke to him. He shook his head and kept eating. "Nah. I'm fine man. Thank you though." Another inmates grabbed his jumpsuit to pull him to his seat. "That wasn't a request punk." He was pushed, tripped over and pulled up again. The man looked back at the two men stood, waiting. He brought his hand back to unleash a powerful blow. His fist stuck the inmates jaw. He fell back, smashing his head off the table behind him. COs rushed to the situation, armed with tasers, they fired at all three of them. They were restrained and taken away. "Calm the fuck down boy. What did I tell you when you got here?" The man recognised the officers voice. It was the same guy who took the man to the gym. "That cunt hit me first."
"I don't care man. Relax yourself. You can't be fighting like it's nothing man. Keep your cool."
The man's cuffs were taken off discreetly. He was escorted to the yard. "Listen to me inmate. All the other guards don't give a shit. They don't care if you get beat to death. I'm on your side. I'm tryna help you. These inmates... They don't care. You gotta stick to yourself because the rest of them just do their own thing. Keep it clean inmate." The guard tapped his nose before walking away, leaving the man to go and have his recreational time.

He walked around the yard like a stray dog. Just looking at everyone else. Not really wanting to interact with others. He usually kept himself isolated. He sat down on a bench beside the football pitch and watched them play. It was whites vs Latinos. That guard who helped the man out, was watching him from the cell block window. He looked at him closely. Observing his every move. Every glance. Every facial expression.

A couple hours later everyone started to make their way inside. Recreation was over. The inmates would stay in their cells or in the gyms until the next day. Officers patrolled the grounds on and off. The lack of guards made Ironwood a dangerous prison to be in. The man had little protection. He had no friends inside, even less guards to keep watch if something were to happen.

The man lay in his bed, hot, sweaty, scared. He struggled to sleep. The heat was bad enough but the fear was driving him mad. Every noise through the night caused him to jump and looked around. He went to the toilet area several times during the night. He would wash his hand and face before laying back in bed. He eventually passed out.