JACK
It's mid-week, and I'm on day three of my four-day shift.
Basically, what I'm getting at is I'm tired and done with all the bullshit that goes on in this place.
During the weekly staff meeting, Warden seemed to be on a quest, one that involved having a stick so far up his ass he might as well call himself God, if you know what I mean.
The Board of Directors are coming for a visit, and he wants the place gleaming, from floor to ceiling, including all inmate cells and supply closets.
Who the fuck is going to be peering in my supply closets? Sure as hell isn't some uppity in heels and short skirt, that's for sure.
I made my disgust for this task a little too evident - I basically tossed my notebook down on the table and leaned back in my chair. Warden paused and gave me his are you done? look, to which I just rolled my eyes.
So today, regardless of how Warden feels about it, everyone is cleaning their asses off, and no one on my floor is allowed to go down to the other floors to help. They made their own mess, let them clean it up.
I don't know how he expects this place to shine - the stains are too ingrained that they've become part of the place. Sure, the walls are wiped down, the floor is washed, grime is scrubbed away, but there's a level of dirt and disgust that just can't be erased, no matter how much he wants it to be.
Maybe if they gave me some funds for paint and let me hire a local carpenter, I could spruce up the floor. Otherwise…at least we still have plants thriving despite being on the deathward.
So there's that.
I'm in my office, filling out paperwork when I get a phone call from the infirmary.
"Got a guest coming your way."
I recognize Darren, one of the nurses down there.
"Who? I thought you guys were empty?" During the staff meeting, Darren and his crew were proud to point out they had no patients at the moment, and all they've done was clean and complete inventory. Brown nosing suck ups, if you ask me.
"Adam."
"Adam who? What are we playing here, a knock-knock game? I need fucking names, asshole."
Darren has me riled, and he's quite pleased with himself. I can see him sitting at his desk with a shit-ass grin on his face.
"The Adam. The only Adam we have in the Asylum right now, you ass wipe."
Huh. The Adam. He's not that old, early forties, and he's only been here a handful of years. I'm shocked.
"What happened to him?"
I'm picturing in my head an assortment of events that might have occurred downstairs. He got caught in the shower, a gang roll during recess, someone tried to poison his food…
"He got rabbit punched."
That took me a minute to process. Getting rabbit punched is serious business. For those unaware, it's a blow to the back of the head or skull and can lead to permanent spinal cord damage, brain damage, or even death.
We've had a few deaths due to being rabbit punched here. Hit hard enough, and you detach the brain from the stem, and it's lights out.
"What the hell? He's still alive?"
"Barely. That's why he's coming to you. He'll have a guard with him too. Warden deems him to be 'at risk' and wants him to die on his own terms and not someone else. Know what I mean?"
If the Warden is involved, the next call should be coming from him. If Adam is conscious and can talk, he probably wants a confession.
Fuck it. Like I have time for that right now.
"What the fuck happened?"
"Turns out one of the new admits this week was a victim bystander. Waited in line during lunch and went at him. Guess others knew about it cause no one went to help Adam. Poor guy, I kind of liked him."
That doesn't surprise me. Darren likes most people.
"Keep an eye on him, will you? The kid had a long life ahead of him still. This ain't fair, man. Just ain't fair."
It's on the tip of my tongue to say his victim probably felt that way at the time too, but Darren hung up before I had the chance to say it.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, the Warden calls.
"You've got a guest coming your way. I want the full maximum treatment and only from you. No one else gets in to see him. You understand?" His voice is stern. Fuck, he's in a mood.
That doesn't excuse him, though, for what he just accused my staff of possibly doing.
"No one on my staff has anything against Adam." The fact he'd suggested otherwise pisses me off.
I don't bother to hide it from my voice either.
"Do. You. Understand?" Warden basically bites off the words.
Oh, he got the message, and he's giving me one back.
He doesn't fucking care if he hurt my feelings.
Fine then.
I got the fucking message.