The rest of the day dragged by with nothing to do but read the handbook, eat the food that was brought and lay in the cell. None of us even got let out for a couple of hours exercise, and eventually the lights were all switched off and the wing descended into complete darkness. I dropped the hand book, stripped my jeans and vest top off and climbed into my bed, to wait the next morning.
I don't know how long I must have laid there trying to get to sleep but I must have eventually because the next thing I knew the bars to my cell were being bagged on and, as I slowly opened my eyes, I saw a guard I had never seen standing there before me.
"Get out of that fucking bed and get dressed!" he bellowed.
"What the fuck," I said rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "What time is it?"
"It's fucking time to be up and ready," the guard responded. "It's your first full day of work."
Swinging my legs out of bed as the guard moved to the cell next to mine I hurriedly dragged my issued clothes on and stood next to the cell door.
Somewhere a button must have been pressed because my cell door swung open suddenly and I stepped out onto the wing. Looking around I saw all the other doors open as well and, one by one, the occupant joined me.
Once we were all released from the confines of our cells another guard entered the room.
"Right you lot follow me," he said. "Breakfast first and then out to work."
As we were led to the dining room nobody dared to say a word, for fear of pissing the guards off, and we were eventually ushered in to a large spacious room set out with a number of tables.
"Line up at the counter, get your breakfast and get on with it," one of the guards said.
Reaching the front of the line I was handed a bowl containing cereal and a large, plastic mug of tea. Turning away I looked for a table and saw Jeff sitting alone and decided I would go and have a chat with him. After what I had witnessed I needed to know that Sam and Mark had gone to him because they had done it before, or if it was something they did to all the prisoners when the urge took them.
"Is it okay if I sit here?" I asked him as I reached the table.
"Suit yourself," Jeff replied not even looking up.
"I'm Julez," I said and offered my hand towards him.
"That's nice," he replied not offering to tell me his name, even though I already knew it.
"II want to ask you something," I said.
"Ask doesn't mind I'll answer."
"I saw what went on last night," I said.
Suddenly Jeff lifted his head and looked at me.
"I need to know do they fuck all the guys or is there a reason they went straight to you?"
"Look Julez it is best you don't ask too many questions while you are here," Jeff said. "That way time will fly by."
"But you looked like you were really enjoying yourself."
"And if I refused what do you think would have happened?" Jeff asked.
"So you didn't want it then?" I asked.
"Actually it wasn't too bad to be honest," Jeff said. "Just make sure you do as I said and keep your head down and out of trouble."
Jeff then stood up and took his bowl and mug back to the counter. As more people followed Jeff to the counter I quickly finished my cereal and did the same. Once we were all lined up again we were led outside, to a waiting van, bundled in the back and told to keep quiet, before the van pulled away. Looking around I could tell that none of us, except Jeff, had any idea as to what was in store.
The drive to our destination took about an hour and when the van finally came to a stop, and we were ushered out, we were standing in the middle of what must have been The Quarry.
Looking around I could see massive piles of rocks placed in a large circle, and a penned in area in the middle.
"Right boys welcome to your first day," a man in work clothes said. "Today as it's your first day
I expect you to get all those rocks into there."
We all stood about and waited for further instructions, and I wondered why putting the rocks where he wanted was important, when he began to yell.
"I fucking said rocks in there now get the fuck on with it!" He bellowed.
Walking over to one of the large piles I picked up the first rock, a large boulder weighing about a hundred pounds, and carried it to the centre and dropped it in. For the next hour or so I continued to shift the rocks, as the sun got higher in the sky and sweat began to drip from my forehead, until I only had a few left. Stopping I ripped my top over my head and tucked it into my jeans, before carrying on.
Picking up yet another rock, my thirtieth or fortieth of the day, I noticed a few of the others struggling. One was even sitting on the ground, his head between his legs, and I watched as one of the guards walked over to him. Instead of bending down to ask how he was the guard grabbed the man roughly under the armpit, dragged him back to his feet, and whispered something into his ear.
Whatever the guard said seemed to work because the man picked up a small rock and staggered to the centre before dropping it in. Once the guard saw that he was working again he walked away again, to the next man.
I continued to shift my rocks until I finally got to the last, and biggest, one. Wiping sweat from my forehead I bent to pick it up, the muscles in my arms tensing, the veins sticking up so much it looked like they were about to burst from my skin, and slowly began to ease the rock off the floor. I couldn't believe that the bastard guards had hidden the biggest one right at the end, it must have weighed close to three hundred pounds, but I eventually managed to get it up and over to the pen before dropping it in and collapsing onto the floor.
Before I had even hit the floor fully two guards surrounded me and dragged me back to my feet.
"You ain't got time to sit about boy," one of the guards said.
"But I've shifted all of my pile," I said.
Looking to where I pointed the guards stared at each other before calling over the man that was in charge.
"He's done his pile boss," the other guard said.
"Not bad boy" the boss said. "What's your name?"
"Julez sir," I gasped through parched lips.
"Well Julez no-one has ever shifted a full pile in one day, let alone one morning," the boss told me.
"Just doing what you said," I replied.
"Take him to the office I'll be there in a few minutes," the boss told the guards.
Keeping hold of one arm each the guards proceeded to half drag, half assist me to a small building that looked suspiciously like a mobile home. Once I was seated inside one of the guards left, and headed back to work.
"How the fuck did you manage to shift that lot so quick?" the guard that was left asked me.
"Wasn't really that hard," I answered.
