Eviternity: Book 1 Jerry's World

Ten

                               Rick

The loud ringing of the wake-up alarm jerked Rick out of sleep and he grumbled to himself. Trying to roll off the bed, he found that he was restrained by Morty, the boy having rolled over and latched onto him.

Disgust rippled through Rick as he hastily shoved away the barely-awoken Morty, who whined and curled up into a ball. Getting out of the bed and stifling a yawn, he put on his shoes while Jesper, over-active even this early, jumped from foot to foot while waiting for the doors to open.

Brutus squeezed himself out of the lower bunk and stretched, yawning. Guards started to disperse, opening doors and keeping everyone in line in the march to breakfast.

"Come on, Morty. Y-You gotta get up, Morty. Morty, it's time to go." Morty uncurled himself slightly, looking up at Rick with wide, innocent eyes. Rick sighed, knowing that it would take a while for Morty to be able to move. It's just clothes. You're not touching him. Repeating these words in his head, Rick reached down and picked Morty up, carrying him bridal style out the cell's door and down the line to the 'cafeteria'.

It was nightmare. The push of bodies, the mass of the crowd, Rick got his butt slapped twice and someone tried to take Morty.

Feeling sick, Rick was glad to finally get two trays of what passed for food and, balancing both trays on Morty's unresponsive form, made his way to a table and sat as far away from everyone else on it as was physically possible.

Awkwardly, Rick set the trays on the table and gently pushed Morty off of him and onto the bench, keeping the boy's head from falling on the table and smacking him lightly on the cheek. "Morty. Come on, Morty, you can't clock out now. Morty. Morty, you better answer me, you little shit."

"Wha...?" That seemed to do it. Blinking stupidly, Morty looked around and shifted closer to Rick, more than a little intimidated by the surrounding inmates. "R-Rick? What is it?"

"Breakfast time, buddy. I don't think it's exactly safe to eat, but it shouldn't kill you. Immediately." Morty nodded and started to shove the slop in his mouth, wincing at the taste.

Next to Morty was a sun-bronzed man with a startling amount of piercings and he was looking at the boy with his eyes narrowed. "Ay. Kid." His voice was tinged with the accent of the middle class, which largely consists of farmers.

Morty looked up at him. "Me?"

"Yeah, you. What's wrong with ya boy? Don't cha feet work?"

Morty set down his spoon and started to twiddle his thumbs, head down. "Yes sir, they do. I-I just... I g-get overwhelmed easily."

The man raised a silver-ringed brow. "So what? You stupid or somethin'?"

"Yes sir, I am."

Rick bristled at the quiet, shamed tone that had grown in Morty's voice. He glared at the man, but, to Rick's surprise, the stranger's expression turned kind and his voice softened. "My girl was like you. Couldn't take much 'o nothin'. She died, while back. Farmin' accident." He reached over and picked up Morty's spoon, bringing it to the child's mouth. "It's better if you eat it while it's warm."

Morty let himself be fed and Rick watched from the corner of his eye, wary of the man.

The tanned stranger continued talking. "Name's Cassius. Cassius Field."