Deadlock || ᴠᴍɪɴ

Chapter 4

“I can think of one good thing that’s happened since getting into prison,” said Matthew, his face still puffy from sleep as they headed back to their cells after breakfast. Jimin asked him what it was.

“I got into the healthy habit of going to bed early and getting up bright and early in the morning. Not like we really get a choice, though.”

Jimin had to agree. After roll call at six-thirty in the morning, breakfast was served starting at seven. Lights went out at eleven o’clock at night. He doubted that even teenagers followed such a regular routine.

During the day, most prisoners were kept busy with their respective duties or some other activity. Some took on jobs within the prison which came with a meagre wage, but it was a wage nonetheless; others attended counselling or programs for education and rehabilitation. Partaking in these tasks every day with diligence led directly to the chance for release on parole or a shortening of their sentence, called “good time”. As such, there were not many lazy prisoners who loafed around without anything to do.

“Are you getting the hang of things at work?” Jimin asked.

“I’m getting there,” Matthew nodded. Through Micky’s connections, he had been able to get a job sorting and delivering mail. As for Jimin, for now he helped Nathan in the library. Newcomers who requested jobs were often first placed in more labour-intensive departments such as cooking or cleaning. In that sense, Jimin and Matthew were lucky to make friends early on with senior prisoners who were willing to look out for them.

After second roll call in their cells, Jimin and Nathan headed to the library in the central wing together. There was already a cluster of prisoners waiting outside the door, waiting to talk to Nathan.

“Business is booming today as always. You never stop getting visitors, do you?” Jimin said.

“Everyone’s desperate to have their sentence shortened, no matter how slightly.”

A swarm of prisoners came to Nathan daily and formed lines as they waited for their turn to speak to him. Jimin was put in charge of sorting legal files and typing up documents, and was praised by Nathan for being quick to learn. This job reminded Jimin somewhat of his days in university when he had been an assistant to his professor.

“How are you feeling? Don’t strain yourself if you’re not feeling well,” Nathan assured. Nathan was a kind man, and he was always concerned about
Jimin’s condition.

“I’m alright,” Jimin answered. “I feel fine.”

Although he still felt unwell three days after the incident, the pain in his ribs was starting to settle down. He was relieved when it looked like he would be spared the bone fracture that he had feared. Even though his face and body were bruised black and blue, he still managed to follow Nathan’s instructions and carry out his work, since it didn’t involve much moving around.

He did, of course, feel the urge to run around looking for Corvus, but for now he had no choice but to gain a solid foothold and get used to life here if he wanted to collect any information at all. And even before that, he had to let his injuries heal – he had to remind his impatient self time and time again.

“I’m sure it’s far from easy to let it go, but you have to bear with it,” Nathan told him. “Impatience won’t do you any good.”

“I know.”

“In most cases, if you walk away from a fight in front of everyone, you’d be looked down on as a coward. That’s why inmates who are concerned about saving face or their manly reputations still go into fights knowing they’ll be put into solitary later. Their motives are understandable, but in the end those people only bring harm upon themselves. Jimin, make sure you don’t get caught up in the moment, either,” Nathan said, in a mild but firm warning. Although Jimin’s anger toward BB’s men still smoldered in the pit of his stomach, being with a pacifist like Nathan made him realize how stupid he would be to let himself get influenced by the mood around him.