Everything sounds muffled, all Tyler can hear is a high pitched ring in both ears, there's also shouting? He isn't so sure, he can't feel anything but his body is moving, punching? Everything is a blur to him. "Tyler!" Someone is shouting, he keeps punching, "Tyler! Tyler, listen to me!" They keep shouting and pulling him away. Eventually Tyler is pushed over, he looks up to Josh shaking him and shouting, but he can't feel or hear.
Whilst numb; he lays next to the unconscious body he had beaten, Josh picks up the shiv and stabs Tyler in the shoulder, this brings him back. Tyler shrieks as he recognises the pain digging into his shoulder, Josh plants the shiv in the hands of the unconscious man beside them. "Come with me." Josh helps Tyler up and holds him as they find a nearby guard. "You hurt me?" Tyler whimpers in pain "Yes, I'm sorry, just go along with it." Tyler looks around at all the other inmates watching as they struggle to walk across the track "Where are the other guys?" "I ran as soon as you started punching and they chased me, some guards stopped them and mentioned they'll be keeping an eye on them." Tyler smiles weakly.
Two guards spot Tyler and Josh covered in blood and struggling to walk across the track, one of the guards hold Tyler "What happened here?" he asks as the other guard calls for a medic. "The guys that were running after me earlier, one of them got him and stabbed him in the shoulder with a toothbrush." Josh responds, suddenly out of breath. "A toothbrush?" The guards look at each other confused "A shiv." Tyler whimpers. "What happened to your knuckles?" A guard holds and inspects Tyler's hands, "I punched him." Tyler pulls his hand away "More than once I'm guessing, the other guy must be knocked out." The guards laugh together, "And I got stabbed, he had a weapon, contraband even, so I punched him out of self-defense."
-
Tyler spent the rest of the day being treated by medics and making statements over the situation, praying Josh was giving them the same story.
"Mr. Joseph, all other men involved are stating you brought the shiv into their fight, which you initially were not involved in, is that correct?" Tyler was cuffed to the table whilst being interrogated; it made him think of the series of interrogations he went through for his case.
"Lie. Lie to them. You know what to say."
"No." Tyler looked at them dead in the eyes, the light keeps flickering, making Tyler feel more uneasy. "I wasn't initially involved, that's true, but I didn't bring the weapon. I was trying to help Josh, and then one of them threatened me with the shiv. I remember being stabbed in the shoulder and punching the guy, then I blacked out."
-
"So, did they go easy on you with the questionnaire?" Josh laughs and jumps onto his bunk, Tyler sits up and sighs "They were being calm with me; I'm guessing they had to go through my records to find out how to approach me." Josh laughs "Really? A guy has a couple nervous ticks and suddenly they give the gentle approach." "There's more to it than that." Tyler scoffs. "No, I get you." Josh's tone softens "Really?" Tyler almost seemed enlightened knowing Josh understood in a way. "Yeah, I suffer from anxiety; it gets the best of me sometimes so I can understand." Josh laughs to lighten the mood a little. "At the last place I was actually on medication for it, it made me so numb, like I was inside my brain watching the world go by in a daze and I wasn't in control anymore. So I stopped taking them." "How did you manage to stop taking them, they check your mouth after you take them?" Tyler shudders at the thought of it. "I spoke to the doctors and explained the medication isn't working out and I wanted to feel in control of myself again." Tyler stares up at the bunk above "And they just allowed that?" "Yeah."
Tyler takes a deep breath.
"Josh?"
"Yeah?"
"Even though you stabbed me in the shoulder today, there's something telling me I can trust you."
