Sarah dropped through the new prisoner shoot, landing with a thud on the cold, hard clay. Fortunately, for her, the guards didn't put her in the shoot headfirst. One of the ground troops grabbed her arm and yanked her to her feet. He put his double-nostril nose in her face, inhaled her sent and cocked his head to the side. A smile spread across his face. He always took a whiff of new inmates to smell the fear coursing through their veins.
He slung the assault rifle over his shoulder and cut the ropes from Sarah's wrists. "Welcome to Cell Block D," he said through the translation box that was around his throat. He turned and went back to his station. Sarah didn't know what to do. She had family members who had been to prison and she heard many gruesome stories. Her only consolation was that her x-con family members were all men.
Cell Block D was the home of nonviolent offenders. Most D Block inmates were little more than protesters. Since the new regime took power, more liberties were suspended. Sarah was going to serve a one-year sentence for protesting outside of the White House. The More Opportunities Movement was doing their best to ensure otherworldly creatures had the same rights as humans.
Sarah snapped back into reality when one woman grabbed her from behind and put her in a headlock. Two women walked up from her left and right. Sarah didn't know what to do having never been in a fight. The woman on her right said, "I will be taking these." and she grabbed Sarah's boots. The thief let Sarah out of the headlock and she dropped to her knees gasping for air. The girl standing behind her grabbed her by the hair and told her to sit up. She felt her shirt being lifted over her head and saw it land beside her. Her bra snapped open and her full breasts fell from their restraints. The woman on Sarah's left pulled the bra off.
Sarah heard the girls laughing as she tried to cover up. All three gathered in front of her. The lead woman said, "You better learn quick and thanks for the goods." The leader put her foot square on Sarah's forehead and pushed her back onto the ground. The women scampered away with their booty in tow.
Sarah grabbed her shirt, covered herself with it, and ran to a corner. She faced the wall and put the shirt on hoping nobody was going to see her, not knowing how to handle the lack of privacy. Giggles reverberated off the walls and Sarah looked over the shoulder to see if anyone was approaching her. Everybody was standing in small cliques and seemed to have nothing better to do than stare at the newbie. She felt exposed even after putting her shirt back on. She folded her arms across her chest so her breasts would not bounce as she walked.
A red light flashed and an intermittent bell sounded. The girls came running from the shadows of the cellblock. Sarah was able to see how many girls she was going to be living with and the number was not low. Girls rushed past her and brushed against her not bothering to say excuse me. Out of nowhere, a woman stepped to Sarah's right.
Her hair was in a tight French braid, making her face look severe. Her sudden appearance made Sarah jump. Sarah immediately recognized the uniform as that of the high-ranking members of the disciplinary committee. They oversaw the actions of the prison guards. Each cellblock received only one General of Discipline to monitor the lower ranking ground troops. It was impressive this female was allowed to take keep her position after the regime change. The General slowly turned her head towards Sarah. "What's your name honey?" she said confidently, popping her gum.
"Sarah."
" Well Sarah," she said looking her up and down, pausing at her feet and breasts, "that buzzer and that flashing light mean that it is time to eat. Since you have been standing in the corner for this length of time, it's probably all gone. For advice, in the future you want to be the first person over there. Otherwise, you are going to be one hungry inmate. My name is Joyce. If you ever have a question about how things are done, someone's bothering you, or a guard is giving your grief, let me know." She gave Sarah a nod and continued walking the cellblock.
Sarah nodded her head well after Joyce walked away. She thought about telling Joyce about her stolen bra and boots, but she couldn't find the words to talk to such an intimidating person. Before the regime change, Generals of Discipline were the most revered prison officials and important members of the community.
The women were starting to walk back towards her. Some were wiping their mouths and some were sulking away. Two women were walking towards Sarah and looking straight at her. Sarah kept her head pointed to the ground, hoping they would walk past her.
"Hey man," one of the women said. Sarah allowed her eyes to make contact with the woman, but immediately looked back at her feet. "I am talking to you. Look at me." The woman grabbed Sarah by the chin and pushed her head up. Sarah could feel her hot breath on her face. "My group is a woman down. It's best to work in groups of three. You are new and need a group. Join us?"
"I don't really have anybody else so I guess so." The woman was so matter-of-fact with Sarah that it sounded like a demand instead of a question.
"My name is Jonasha and this is the second in command of the team, Ice. We stick together no matter what. We all have each other's back. When it is time for food, it is our responsibility to get to the food shaft as quickly as possible. Any food we get individually, we divide between ourselves. There is no need to have a single one of us go hungry. That compromises the safety of the group.
"Feeding is three times a day and we eat after every meal to mitigate threats of thievery. We shower one at a time leaving two to guard our things. We saw you talking to Joyce the Choice earlier. You need to stay away from her. She's trouble.
