42 | Sitkolson

Chapter Three | Down Comes the Rain

A week had passed, and Vinny was finally settling in to his questionable job choice. The people he watches day in and day out were considering criminally insane, but he was really starting to wonder if he was the crazy one for staying here. Friday and Beau were both friendly with him and would often engage him in conversation. He'd come to learn a lot about them. The others were a different story, however.

He could maintain basic small talk with Chris, but it never went anywhere. Vinny realized it had nothing to do with him. He couldn't exactly blame Chris for being closed off, though. If he was in such a humiliating position, he probably wouldn't be very talkative either.

So far, he hadn't even seen Asher outside of a few quick glances out of the corner of his eye. He wasn't exactly complaining that a demon from another world wasn't giving him trouble. Ryan never spoke either, only observed him creepily. Often times, Vinny felt like he was one of those optical illusion paintings with eyes that follow you around a room. He had yet to know if Ricky would enter into a conversation with him because, frankly, he was terrified of the guy. For being one of the most deadly men in human history, he was shockingly mannerly and always said thank you for his meals.

As for the mysterious being behind the concrete wall, he hadn't heard a peep. No one ever came to give the prisoner food or even check if he was still alive behind there. Vinny wasn't even given a file on him. It's like the prison didn't want him to know the guy even existed.

Outside of the bizarre circumstances surrounding the seventh prisoner, the job was surprisingly comfortable. No one ever tries to break out or give him a hard time. Being the only guard in this cell block, he never had to worry about getting along with coworkers, and the pay was nothing to complain about.

He'd just begun dinner rounds, starting at Friday's cell as always. Her meal never changed; White rice, miso soup, and a cup of tea. Today, he noticed the cook had gifted her with the additional treat of a cupcake.

"Special occasion?" Vinny asked as he handed her meal over.

She shrugged, "I don't know. I don't have a calendar in here. What's the date?"

"September 30th." He answered.

Her face light up, a bright smile forming. "It's my birthday!"

"Happy Birthday, then. Hold old are you this year?"

Friday sat down on her bed and crossed her legs. She batted her eyelashes, replying, "You know better than to ask a lady her age."

Vinny rolled his eyes playfully, "Of course."

He moved along with his duties, delivering meals to the two quiet killers. Everyone locked up here has probably taken lives, but not everyone has the murderer vibes those two do. When he reached the bottom floor, his eyes widened to see the demon wasn't cloaking himself. Asher sat curled up in the corner of his bed with his back against the wall and head on his knees.

Vinny calmly took several steps backward until he was in front of Beau's cell. "You seem to know a lot about this place. Should I be worried about that?"

The dark angel raised his head, looking across the room. He spoke softer than normal as he responded, "Is it raining right now?"

"Um, I think so." He answered, "It was like 80% chance of rain on the news this morning."

"Then, there's no need to worry. The rain causes a change in barometric pressure, which can give anyone a nasty headache. That includes demons and superhumans."

Vinny breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good. Should I give him something?"

"Human medications don't work for him, nor do they seem to work for me." Beau groaned. "However, you may want to retrieve medication for Mr. Cerulli. If his migraines get too severe, he'll involuntarily enter into his insanity state."