Ivy's Bane

Chapter 3-Highly Toxic

    Several of the guards had made up their minds about Antonio and Pamela and found it hilarious that the two had paired together. Pamela noticed the stares and scoffs when they walked by.
    "You feeling lonely, sweetheart?" One said prompting a glare from Antonio.
The weather had started to warm back up and with that came showers. Antonio had been working with Pamela on her self-defense. He knew there would be times she would be away from him and vulnerable. She made sure to always have the hidden rose blade in her hair.

    One night after her shower, a guard came back to her cell. She woke after he abruptly pulled her bed away from the bars dividing her and Antonio's cell. The commotion woke him as well. He jumped from his bed and watched as the guard, who just happened to be a Sergeant, grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her towards him. She saw the anger in Antonio's eyes as the man reached under her shirt rubbing his hands across her breast teasing Antonio.
    "Does this belong to you?" He taunted. Three more guards appeared near the cell watching the events unfold. "Let's get one thing straight, you don't own a damn thing in here."
Pamela reached into her hair and unclipped her rose, jamming the stem into the Sergeant's leg.
    "You bitch!" He yelled. One of the guards looking on, ran into the cell and grabbed her, pinning her arms behind her back. The Sergeant pulled the shank from his leg and tossed it to the ground before striking her down. The blow was disorienting but she could hear Antonio yell as he shook his cell door.
    The wounded guard lifted Pamela to her feet and pushed her onto the bed. Her lip was bleeding and she struggled to focus on her surroundings.
    "Make him watch." He ordered. The three guards outside his cell made their way in.
    "Stop!" Yelled the Priest as he watched the guards beat down Antonio as he fought them. "This is monstrous!"
    "You ain't seen nothing yet Father." Said one of the guards as he kicked Antonio in the face.
    "No!" Cried out Pamela, her hair was redder than it had ever been. The Sergeant continued to restrain her, pressing his lips to hers he kissed her, forcing his tongue deep into her mouth. He pulled away with a demented smile and Pamela looked back at Antonio who was on his knees being forced to watch. Blood dripping from his broken jaw and his eyes red with despair. Pamela felt the guards grip tighten around her wrists before releasing her. She sat up to see him coughing up blood, the veins in his neck protruding and darkening as he gasped for air.
    "What the fuck?" Called out one of the guards holding Antonio. The three men released him and went to tend to their injured comrade. They quickly lifted him up and radioed for help not bothering to lock the cell doors behind them. Pamela hurried out of her cell and into Antonio's. His face was swelling, his jaw and nose were both broken and his lip was busted.
    "My sweet, sweet man." She said cradling him close to her.
    "Bring him closer." Urged the Priest. Antonio helped as much as possible as Pamela pulled him against the bars separating his cell from the Priests. The old man shuffled through a small box he removed from under his bed and pulled out a small bottle. He dripped a few drops of solution onto a cloth and hands it to her for Antonio.
    "What is that?" She asked.
    "Ether...it will help with the pain through the night."
    Pamela laid back against the stone wall next to the bars and lugged Antonio's body into her lap. The old man passed her a towel to try and clear away some of the blood as he drifted into a sleep.
    "What did you do to the guard?" Asked the Priest.
    "I don't know. He just...kissed me..."
The Priest looked at Pamela as she ran her hands across Antonio's head. Her hair was a bright shade of red now. He wasn't sure what had happened, but he was sure it was linked to the experiments performed on her before being sent to Peña Duro.

    The next morning before the cells were unlocked, the Priest and Pamela were awoken by Antonio. He screamed as the effects of the ether had finally wore off. He sounded like he was gargling blood. The breakfast bell rang as Pamela rolled him onto his side to help drain the excess fluid, the Priest hurried in once the doors were unlocked.
    "I am not going to be able to provide the care he needs. I can only ease the pain and pray infection doesn't settle in."
    Pamela watched as the old man gave him a second dose of Ether before cleaning the blood from his face and wrapping it with cloth. The two of them took turns caring for him.