Edward's Dilemma by Paul Adan Read Free Book Online

home, and away from this terrible, terrible place.
     
     
    OVER THE coming days, Edward continued to ‘cheek’ his medication.  During this time, he noticed that the Med-Nurse was scrutinizing the inside of his mouth with increasing diligence.  Edward suspected that he’d eventually be busted.  When it finally happened, he felt embarrassed and ashamed.  The CO was notified of the infraction, and Edward was sent away empty-handed.  He dreaded facing Marcus.
    The minute he returned to his bunk, Marcus approached.  Surprisingly, things went a lot better than Edward had anticipated.  He had thought – at the very least – that he’d get his face pounded-in by Marcus’ burly friend.  Instead, Marcus had simply stuck his finger in Edward’s face and said, “I warned you, punk.”  He then walked away.  It wasn’t until the next day that Edward discovered what Marcus truly had in mind.
     
     
    Stuart Co. Jail, Tank 2C
    27 August, 11:02 AM
     
    A RUMOR began circulating in the tank that there was going to be a shake-down.  Shortly thereafter, the rumor proved to be true.  No problem , Edward thought.  Since he wasn’t hiding any contraband, he wasn’t particularly bothered about the prospect of a CO going through his stuff.  In fact, he was more curious than afraid; he’d never witnessed or experienced a shake-down before, and it was almost a welcome diversion from the monotony of everyday jail life.
    Initially, everybody was herded into the exercise/common area of the tank.  As the shakedown progressed, Edward could see the COs methodically going through the belongings of each and every inmate.  He watched with anticipation as they approached his bunk.  He didn’t expect the search of his stuff to be any different than what he’d witnessed so far, but he was baffled by the intensity of the search when it came time for his stuff to be examined.  And that’s when it happened.
    After lifting his mattress, and looking back and forth for a moment, the CO reached down and withdrew a big ole’ shank.  Edward was flabbergasted.  What the...?  Where did that come from?  I didn’t put that there.  His mind raced with thoughts as he tried to piece together why he’d been set up.  It didn’t take long before he settled on a name: Marcus!
    Edward was quickly identified as the owner of the bunk.  He was singled out from the herd and immediately escorted to the front of the tank.  He was then placed in handcuffs, and told he’d be going to another part of the jail.  Though he tried to explain that he’d been set up, the COs would hear none of it.  Once again, Edward was ashamed by the turn of events.  As he walked through the big metal door, he noticed that all the other inmates were looking at him, snickering and laughing.  In a corner, Marcus stood with arms folded, and a big grin on his face.
    “SLAM!”
    The door closed behind Edward, and he was off to the Hole.  His heart pounded, and he was gripped with fear.   Oh, God , he thought, I hope they’re not taking me to the Hole.
     
     
    Stuart Co. Jail, the Hole
    27 August, 12:35 P M
     
    UPON ARRIVING in the Hole, Edward didn’t like what he was seeing.  Here, the atmosphere was much more oppressive than it had been in Tank 2C.  The ceilings were low, and there were no windows.  Instead of there being one big tank, like the one he’d just come from, this tank was comprised of eleven individual cells on an upper and lower level.  There was a common area which had a single table, but it was clear that this table wasn’t meant for socializing.  Nearby, there was a lone shower stall – and even it appeared to have a lock on it.  Overall, the place was depressing.  The only ray of hope he could see was the presence of an old telephone bolted to the wall.
    As he was escorted into the tank, faces began appearing at the windows of the individual cells.  Everybody looked mean, or half crazy.  Many of the men were sporting tattoos.