Help Comes in Weird Ways

Chapter 1

The night went by quickly and before Maralynn knew it, her shift was over. Exhausted from her night shift she made her way towards the exit only before being confronted by her boss. The boss looked at Maralynn with a stressed look in his eyes. Nervous, she immediately said "did I do something wrong, sir?" Her boss shook his head only before explaining to him that he would have to have her work the day shift as well. She was annoyed but reluctantly agreed to his orders. 

The day seemed to pass by quickly, then again Maralynn spent it being half asleep at her desk. Although the story was different for the boy that had arrived the past night. As soon as he woke up he was greeted by Henry. Everything seemed like it would go well until breakfast came. The prisoners were gathered into a single file line. One by one they were lead to the cafeteria. If they even moved the slightest  bit out of order they would be hit across the back with a belt. 

The boy trembled as he sat down at one of the empty tables. He was overwhelmed and knew he didn't belong there. If he wasn't scared of selling drugs before, he definitely was now. As the boy began to chow down, two of the more violent prisoners approached him. Michey, a sixteen year old murderer from Massachusetts and Jackson, his seventeen year old accomplice. The two were sent into this juvenile detention center after murdering Jackson's ex girlfriend Maddison. The two disposed of the body well, however they forgot to check for cameras. 

Michey looked down at the boy sitting at the table, full of aggression in his eyes. "Who are you?" Michey said angrily. "Eli" the boy said nervously.  It was the first time since his arrival that anyone had heard his name. Eli, the shy drug dealer from Detroit. As the two stared at Eli in silence, the guards could tell that they were plotting something. Despite the fact that the guards are supposed to get in the middle of conflict, majority of the time they lacked on that end. They would much rather watch than to interfere. 

Soon enough, a fight began to break out in the cafeteria. It started when Jackson grabbed Eli harshly. He took his hands into a tight grasp and pinned them behind his own back. As Eli struggled to get loose, Michey came into the equation. He grabbed Eli's neck with a tight grip, squeezing tightly. As air escaped from Eli's lungs his face began to become purple. The other prisoners began to chant the word "fight" as the guards stood in the corners, leaning against the wall without a care in their eyes. 

The sounds of the chants echoed through the hallway, immediately alerting Maralynn. She quickly rushed to her feet, only before running to the cafeteria. As the prisoners continued to rough up Eli, they failed to notice Maralynn enter the room. "EVERYONE DOWN. ON THE FLOOR NOW" she yelled with a fierce anger in her eyes. All the prisoners got onto the floor reluctantly, as if they feared her. Maralynn growled at the guards, hoping they'd take the hint and take everyone back to their cells. She then approached Eli and helped him up with her hand. "Come with me" she said in a soft tone. 

Maralynn soon took Eli to her office, with compassion in her eyes she sat him down. "I'm not in trouble, am I?" Eli asked, he was visibly scared and confused. Maralynn nodded and took his hand in hers. "You're not in trouble, are you okay though?" she asked smiling softly. Eli nodded and looked at the wall "you don't haft to worry about me, you know?" he said, almost as if he had lost all hope for the future. "Nonsense" she replied before handing him her cellphone with a smile. "What this for?" he asked, visibly confused about the whole situation. Maralynn smiled as she looked at the wall "we have no information on you, we would like you to call your family in." Eli nods in a very thankful and compassionate manner. 

After Eli finished his call he placed her phone on her desk with a smile "why are you so nice to me?" Maralynn froze, unable to find the words to respond to his question. "I don't think you belong here" she said smiling. Over the next twenty minutes the two shared a heartfelt conversation. They were soon interrupted by the nurse who had rushed in early to check on Eli's condition. After a ten minute checkup the nurse cleared him to go to his cell.

The rest of the evening went by quickly. While the other prisoners were punished to their cells for the rest of the day Henry and Eli were free to roam the halls under supervision. Everything seemed fairly normal until a man around Maralynn's age came rushing into the prison. "Do the guards do anything here?" she mumbled to herself before greeting the man at the front entrance. As soon as she noticed his gaze her heart skipped a beat. What was an attractive man like him doing in a rotten prison like this one?

"My name is Tyler Jacobson, I'm here for Eli" the man said as he looked her dead in the eyes. At first glance you would have thought no one would have come for Eli. She could only help but feel relieved knowing that someone truly cared about him. "You must be his father?" Maralynn asked, only throwing Tyler into a fit of laughter. "I'm his brother" he said with a grin as he glanced at her. "Right this way" she said with a smile, taking him to the conference room and handing him a glass of water.