Chapter 20
Bear stirred, his joints stiff, mouth dry, and vision clearing enough to see he was in a bed in the infirmary. Sighing, he sat up and rubbed his forehead as he reached into his drowsy mind for information on how he ended up with a healer, who wasn’t around.
He swung his legs off the bed and simply sat there, staring at the floor for a long moment, inhaling the scent of the same disinfectant he used to clean Red Block Two.
Then it hit him. Oxley was dead. Killed in the War Zone by Judd, who had been aiming for Scarlen, and tears pricked his eyes as his throat clogged.
‘Ox,’ he mumbled, a tremble reaching his nerve endings. How could it be true? Not Ox, surely not him. A plan was in place. They were leaving the prison soon. He would take Oxley home, where he’d be free. They’d all be free.
The escape hole was almost big enough for them to slip through, but now what?
He thought he was keeping his family safe, but too much attention had been in the wrong direction.
Ox was dead when it was supposed to be Scarlen.
So much hate rippled through him, but he didn’t know where to aim it, as so much of his heart was pulled towards the general’s daughter, of all fucking people.
He still couldn’t get his head around it, and now everything felt worse.
Ox should never have died for one of them.
Bear slid off the bed, the cold floor cramping his bare feet on impact, making him scrunch his toes back to life as the healer entered.
‘Ah, you’re awake.’
There were no windows to show night or day, so Bear was clueless of the time. ‘How long have I been here?’
‘I’ve had to keep you sedated for a week.’
‘A week!’
Professor Posla widened his grey eyes. ‘Yes, each time I thought you would be ready to return to your daily duties, you lashed out.’ Bear was focused on the healer’s purple hair. So similar to Oxley’s. ‘Do you think you can control your emotions now?’
Bear wanted to yell at him. Do you think I have no heart? That I can lock away my feelings? But he felt it wise to nod and act perfectly normal if he were to get out of being drugged each day.
‘You’ll be on the silent system for a month with some of your friends, so I hear. I’ll just fetch a guard to take you for a shower before it begins.’
‘Wait.’ Bear took a wobbly step closer, the sedation still messing with him. ‘Where’s Oxley Torro?’
Posla gave him a look as though he should know.
‘I know he’s … dead. I meant, where did they take him?’ Bear hoped Oxley’s body hadn’t been burned and his ashes scattered in Dead Man Bay, because that information would have him back on the bed in chains, let alone highly medicated.
‘A message was sent to your village, and some of your people came for him. Mr Kane arranged the whole thing.’ Posla went off to fetch a guard, and Bear slumped back to the bed to help with his balance.
Oxley was home. Not in the way planned, but at least he could be buried in the place he loved, a privilege not given to his mother or the elders who had hanged under the king’s orders.
Posla returned with Kane, and Bear was led to the shower chamber, neither man having words for the other until Bear was washed and dressed for his day. His belongings were waiting for him, even his toothbrush.
‘Do you need to eat before I take you to the silent system?’ asked Kane, his face appearing gaunt and in need of some food himself.
‘No. I don’t feel hungry.’
Kane motioned at the nightclothes. ‘Leave your things. I’ll have someone return them to your cell.’
That was a first, and Bear had to wonder why he was given special treatment. He knew why Kane had been that way with Oxley, but there was no reason for him to be nice to anyone else. A thought occurred, bringing unease.
‘I’m not Ox’s replacement for you, just so we’re clear.’
Kane’s pretty-boy features lost all prettiness as he growled. ‘No, you’re not. No one could replace him.’
So it was true. Mr Kane had fallen head over heels for Ox. Bear had little to say on the subject, so he quietly followed him all the way to the silent system, only speaking when they arrived.
‘How many were punished?’
Kane pulled out his key to unlock the barred door. ‘Quite a few. Emotions were high. Varklee spent time in a dark cell, and others in the pillory, but most were sent here.’ He stopped turning the key, then added, ‘And Smithson was sent to Red.’
Bear froze for all but a moment, all blood rushing from his legs.
‘She stabbed Judd after the horn blew,’ said Kane. ‘Rules are rules. She had to be sent there.’
‘Take me to the warden.’ A clear snap to Bear’s tone had Kane still with confusion.
‘What?’
‘You heard. I want to see Cardell.’
‘And what makes you think you can demand such a thing?’
Bear held a scowl in his eyes that showed fire and fury.
‘After everything that has gone on here lately, I think it’s safe to say this place is on the verge of exploding.
’ He revealed a side smile full of confidence and arrogance, neither of which he was feeling, as inside shook and ached.
‘And we both know I can make that happen within the click of a finger.’ He raised his hand for effect, then watched the guard mull over his choices.
Kane dropped his key, the clink of metal on metal was the only sound as it hit the bunch of others attached to the chain on his belt.
Bear refused to answer any questions Kane put to him on their way to the warden’s office, as his mind was focused on one thing: Scarlen.
‘What is the meaning of this?’ bellowed the warden as soon as Bear was presented to him.
Bear waited for Kane and Cardell’s assistant to depart before he closed in to speak his mind.
‘How the fuck am I supposed to look after Smithson when she’s in Red?
’ It wasn’t his deal falling apart he was placing on the table.
He wanted Scarlen out of Red because he cared about her way more than he thought he would.
‘Pretty sure her father wouldn’t want her in there. ’
It was clear Warden Cardell agreed, judging by the look in his eyes. ‘She broke the rules in the War Zone.’
‘Fuck the rules! You’ve been changing the rules of the Zone. How do you justify that?’
Cardell rose from his comfy chair and thumped his chest with his thumb. ‘That’s not on me. The viewers wanted more.’
‘You mean your rich fucking friends thought it would be fun to watch the general’s daughter fight for her life?
’ Bear leaned towards the desk between him and the warden.
‘If his enemies are that harsh, then why not send someone in here to kill her?’ He straightened, fists unfurling. ‘Or is that Judd’s quest?’
‘No one is trying to kill Scarlen. She is to be protected.’
Bear couldn’t help but scoff at that remark. ‘How the fuck is she protected? She was sent into the Zone. Twice!’
‘It was unfortunate her name was chosen, that’s all.’
‘Bullshit.’
‘Her father is the king’s general, not the keeper of our prisons. He doesn’t get a say in what goes on in places like this, but if he did, he might want his daughter to be a warrior.’ Cardell’s shrug was slight. ‘Makes sense.’
Are you trying to tell me something? Bear couldn’t be sure if there was a hidden message, not that it mattered. ‘I want her out of Red.’
Cardell’s brows fell together. ‘You also don’t get a say in how things are run here.’
‘If I don’t walk out of here to head straight to Red to take Smithson back to Green, I’ll show you exactly what say I get around here.’
‘Are you threatening me, Vyer?’
‘No, Warden Cardell. I’m giving you a heads-up.’
The warden bared teeth as his eyes flitted between wild and nervous. ‘I can put you in Red, sedate you until you don’t know what year it is, let alone day, forget who you are altogether. Don’t you test me, boy.’
‘Then do it.’ Bear held his stare, no bluff on offer, just pure hate and madness reigned.
It was in Warden Cardell’s best interest to not only show the inmate who was in charge but to also submit to the threat of a riot that would take place if such a leader were to give the word, and word would spread if Bear Vyer was made a Red.
Bear wouldn’t have to say anything for his followers to attack, especially the Flames.
There was no need to give Varklee an excuse.
‘I was only keeping her there for a week anyway,’ said Cardell, clearly lying. ‘Judd has been healed, and Smithson has been punished. She was due to return to her cell tomorrow.’ He circled a finger in the air. ‘So your little rant was uncalled for.’
Bear relaxed his jaw. ‘I’ll take her myself. Now.’
‘You’ll need to take her to the healer first. She’s been refusing to eat all week.’
It wasn’t so much what the warden said but the way he’d said it, so nonchalant, uncaring for someone who was supposed to be of help to Scarlen.
‘Has the general not been informed of his daughter’s treatment in here?’ There was no sarcasm in Bear’s question, simply curiosity.
Cardell returned to his seat with a heavy sigh. ‘He knows.’
‘And what? He doesn’t give a shit?’
‘Like I told you, he isn’t in charge. She’s to serve her time and go home, like most people in prison. No one can be held accountable for how she decides to spend her days here.’
‘You put her in the fucking War Zone.’ Why did he have to remind him of that?
‘And it will help make a strong woman of her.’ Cardell waved his hand towards the door as though flicking away a fly. ‘You are dismissed.’
Bear left, having no more to say, as it seemed pointless anyway.
Either the general had enemies in high places happy to mess with his kid to torment him, or the general himself was making sure Scarlen was put in the Zone for some sort of fucked-up training.
The thought bugged Bear all the way to Red Block Two, where he came to a halt on spotting three guards trying to shove a tube down Scarlen’s throat to force-feed her some slimy-looking broth.
‘Oi!’ he yelled, Kane grabbing his arm.