Pivotal Moments.

Chapter 2

Callen squeezed his eyes shut tight as the water hit his body.

"Turn to the left!" The voice yelled at him.

He turned as ordered.

"Turn to the right!"

Again Callen turned; finally the water stopped.

"Dry yourself off and step out for your clothes."

He and three other older men stepped out and waited.

Callen shuddered as the older man next to him looked over and although saying nothing, smiled at him. He turned, fixating his eyes on the floor.

"Jorden T." The guard called.

The man to his right stepped out. "Sir?"

"Take your clothes and move along the counter." Then the man asked Jorden T. "Clothes, underwear, and what shoe size?"

"10." Jorden T. Replied and moved on.

"Toothbrush, toothpaste, towel and bedding." The next man said.

And so it went on, until Jorden got to the end of the line, and the guard allowed him to dress.

The other three men went next, and finally it was Callen's turn, "Callen G."

"Sir?" Callen's voice had a detached edge to it, but he did as the others had.

"What shoe size?" The man behind the counter asked.

"6." Callen answered.

The man stopped, and actually focused on the boy in front of him. "Not sure we got that small, got an 8, here..." He handed Callen an extra pair of socks, "You'll have to stuff these in the toes."

By the time Callen got to the end of the line, he was struggling with the weight of the items he held.

He got dressed quickly, having to roll up the legs and sleeves of his clothing, as he was too small for the items he had been given.

"Right, all done?" The guard asked as Callen finished. "You will be sent to your cell and allocated a bunk. You will get up when you hear the buzzer in the morning. Wash, dress and tidy your area. You will then proceed to the mess hall. Tomorrow only, you will wait behind after mess to be allocated a work order. You will have one hour exercise per day, and you will be seen by the prison educational staff to see if you could benefit from any education in here. Okay, so do not talk to anyone while walking to your cell, and welcome to Fulsome." The guard smirked as he pressed the buzzer to open the doors.

Callen fixed his gaze firmly on the back of the prison guard, as they walked through the prison, trying to quell the fear inside him as the prisoners catcalled to the new arrivals.

"Callen. G, you're here." The guard opened the cell door, and Callen all but fell inside.

He stopped with his back to the bars, checking out the room for threats as a man looked down from the top bunk.

"Hey, I ain't no babysitter!" he yelled annoyed at the guard.

"I ain't no baby." Callen snapped as he threw his stuff on the bottom bunk.

Dallas smiled at the kid. "You got guts kid. What's your name?"

"Callen."

"Callen...?" Dallas indicated for him to say his other name

"Just Callen." Callen replied, making his bed quickly.

"Mines Dallas Alder," the older man said "You can call me Dallas."