Chapter Ten #2
“All new intakes usually meet with Wilder daily for the first ninety days. Since neither of you are clinically insane, gone through a traumatic event, nor have you committed any serious crimes, we’ll be using that as a cover.
You will each be escorted by your guards to a private office daily, and you’ll each have thirty minutes to write.
Again, schedule conflicts have arisen with the office we intended for you to use, so there will unfortunately be no writing for the first week or so.
We’ve handled that… issue, so there shouldn’t be any other complications with your time to write for the remainder of your stay.
We apologize for that inconvenience. You’ll leave whatever you write on the table when the thirty minutes is up and Thorne will collect those for you.
They will be returned to you when you decide to leave. “
Decide. When we decide to leave. Ha. Very funny.
We don’t have a single damn decision in here, and they know it.
I know it. We all know it. We’re as good as fucked.
I signed those contracts so fucking eagerly that I feel like a damn idiot now.
I mean, I wouldn’t change my decision, but I sure as fuck would’ve spent more time thinking about it if I actually knew what I was getting myself into.
“Unfortunately this will exclude the days you actually have to meet with Wilder, so use that time wisely.”
A door behind Ollivander creaks open, and he straightens in his seat as a man, that I can only assume is Maven, steps inside.
I’m really starting to think that the people here have some form of unnatural genetics.
The dude is literally flawless. As he steps inside, his presence is commanding, and it feels like he swallows up all the available oxygen in the room.
Even though he’s silent, his movement and posture tell us everything we need to know about him.
Maven is a wolf in sheepskin, the mastermind behind all the cogs of Blightridge.
He’s the brains and the enforcer. The crowned king, if you will.
We sit stock still; all of our eyes locked on him as he walks over to the seat beside Ollivander.
He pulls out the chair confidently, unbuttoning his suit jacket before taking a seat.
“I assume that you’ve already gone over the minor details…” He states as he reaches a hand out. Ollivander leans down and grabs two tubes off the floor, promptly handing them to Maven.
“Of course, Master. I believe that we have everything in order.”
Maven raises a single brow and rolls his eyes before continuing. “Good. We’ll move on then.” He opens the tubes and unrolls the long sheets of paper inside. They look like some sort of schematic, and I’m immediately confused by what we’re looking at.
“Inmates typically go through a series of tests while they’re here.
If they’re lucky, they’ll receive placements in a job position that caters to their specific skillset or interests.
This is a relatively new program we’ve started, so it doesn’t run without flaw.
However, I meet with all the residents without job placements at least once a month, excluding the patients that Wilder deems as unfit to thrive.
I will also have the same meetings with the two of you.
As the contracts stated, you will each receive one phone call a month to whomever you please, and you’ll make those calls at the end of our meetings.
You will be given privacy for them, but the only phone here that calls outside of the compound is mine, so you will be required to do it here.
In my office. Since you won’t be meeting with me again this month, you will be given the opportunity to make your calls after our meeting today. ”
“Are we required to make a phone call?” Axel asks as Maven turns the sheets around for us to view.
“We don’t require you to do anything that you do not wish to do.
“ He answers dryly. “Now, Wilder has chosen the placement for each of you based on the trials you’ve been taking. All the sections of the prison are constructed in a horseshoe shape with two floors of cells.” He explains as he traces the shape on the paper.
“This is Alpha Block. These are the most passive prisoners we have.
The security in this block is much more laid-back than any of the other sections.
It does not have guards in place unless new prisoners are introduced.
This will be your assigned cell, Axel.“ He explains as he points to the first cell inside the block. Axel appears to be a bit shocked, and if I had to guess, he probably thought that I was going to be the one placed there. I mean, I definitely thought it’d be me.
“You will both have a guard assigned to you. One for day and one for night. They will be with you around the clock for the remainder of your time here.”
“Wait, wait, wait… I thought we would have different guards, more guards, that we could… trade or whatever with. What if these two guards don’t like me and won’t help me?“ Axel asks, displaying far more emotion than he should.
“I’m not concerned with what the guards will or will not do for you, Axel. Wilder gave you this assignment for a reason, and it’s where you’re going.” Maven replies sternly.
For the first time in my adult life I witness Axel roll his eyes as he plops back in his seat. It’s clear that he’s annoyed, and I’m not sure if it’s due to the circumstances or at Wilder for choosing a placement that has less guards for him to befriend.
Maven slides the top schematic over to Ollivander, who starts to roll it up before Maven points to a place on the next sheet. I lean forward in my chair so that I can get a better look at the block I’m going to be staying in.
“This is where you’ve been placed, Everest. This is Charlie Block.
This is where we place our more… creative minds.
You will be in the first cell as well, but on the top floor.
We don’t currently have any other inmates assigned to the upper floor yet, so you’ll have a bit of privacy, but the top floors tend to be much darker than the ground floor.
It’s a problem that we hope to fix in the future, but we haven’t come up with a solution that seems feasible quite yet. ”
“That’s fine.” I reply casually as I lean back in my chair. I don’t really give a shit where I go, because it’s not like I can change their mind. I’m going wherever they put me, and I have no choice but to deal with whatever they throw at me. That’s kind of the point, right?
Maven slides the sheet over to Ollivander as he turns his focus to the two of us.
“You will both be going through the same testing as all the other inmates, but you will not be moved out of general population even if you do qualify for job placement. Your assigned guards will be joining you in your private rooms for the next two days so that you can get acquainted with each other and then they will be transferring you to your cells.”
“Is that standard protocol for prisoners?” I ask.
“The two-day adjustment period? Yes. Doing it in a private suite? Not exactly, but all of the guards assigned to you are on temporary placement and won’t know the difference.
Being a guard is not their permanent job assignment, and they’ve only been given the basic regulations.
None of them will be aware that you are not normal prisoners, and we intend for it to stay that way.
” He explains as he glares at us knowingly. His message is loud and clear.
Keep our mouths closed.
Trust me, if there’s one thing I’ve learned since I got here, it’s that my mouth is only going to be good for one thing behind these bars… and it’s not talking.