Running with Rogues

CHAPTER 55 - INMATES

Trigger warning: references to sexual assault. Feel free to PM me for a chapter summary. Lots of love as always and I pinky swear you'll have the next update within two weeks :)

There was something horribly oppressive about Silver Lake's prison. Concrete walls, concrete floors, drains everywhere and the unmistakable stench of urine. It was like they'd gone out of their way to make the place unpleasant, and honestly? I was willing to bet that was exactly what they'd done.

The fighters walked us down the central corridor at a brisk pace. Now that they were away from their Beta's watchful eye, they joked with each other and argued about football teams, acting like Liam and I weren't even there.

As they walked us past Joel's cell, I saw him scramble to his feet and come limping to the bars. The colour drained from his face. He knew better than to say something, but it was obvious that he thought we'd been caught.

For my part, I tried not to look at him. He was black and blue, but he wasn't cut up in the way Rhodri had been. Even the fact that he was able to walk around told me that they had been going easy on him. Taking things slow. Mason had learnt his lesson, it seemed. Torture was about patience, not brutality.

I was hoping we'd just walk past. The very last thing I wanted right now was a conversation with Joel, but the fighters stopped at a cell on the opposite side of the corridor and started fiddling with the lock.

"Some company for you, rogue," he said cheerfully. "Play nice."

Joel didn't rise to it. He had stopped beside the bars of his cell, and he was staring at us. It was a haunting, hungry stare that made my skin crawl and my hairs stand on end.

The cell door swung open, and I was pushed inside none too gently. Despite my best efforts, I tripped over my own feet and stumbled a few steps. Liam growled at them and was ignored.

"Separate or together?" another fighter asked.

Together. Please.

My handler paused to scratch his chin. "Search me. It's been years since we had pack wolves down here."

"The Beta will want them separate," one of the older men said firmly. "It makes them easier to control."

I felt the disappointment welling up inside me. None of this was okay, but it would have been a little less awful if they had put us in the same cell.

"Yeah, but there's twice as many latrine buckets to empty," the first guy muttered, and that made all of them laugh. The door slammed behind me. They hadn't even bothered to take my handcuffs off, so I was in for an uncomfortable night.

I didn't see them put Liam in the neighbouring cell, but I did hear the clanging when they closed the door on him. The flockies weren't hanging around. They waited only for their friend to lock the door before they walked away.

The first thing I did - the very first thing - was to rattle the door to my cell. Just to make sure. The iron was very cold against my palm, but it wasn't budging. It had been worth a try.

The second thing I did was touch the back of my head. My fingers came away bloody where the bed frame had split the skin. I could feel a headache starting, unsurprisingly.

The cell was very bare. There was a low bed in one corner which was really just a raised platform and a flimsy foam mattress. In the other corner was a small bucket to piss in. No food, no water, and nothing to do. Even so, it was bigger and lighter than Joel's cell, which didn't even have a bed. Being a flockie had its privileges, it seemed.

And speaking of Joel ... he was still staring at me. I could feel his eyes on my back. He was trying to link me, too, but it was a weak, hesitant effort and easily rejected. Liam's attempts were much more forceful, and I made no effort to block him out.