Prison OtherSide

by AlexFili

This is the first of my Prison OtherSide novels. It's about a rookie Slig, aptly named Rook, who has recently become a prison guard. This is quite an upbeat prison story, written from a guard's perspective. Please read and review!

Prison: Other-Side

Chapter 1: Arrival

"Welcome to... Keeya Prison". The rookie Slig hopped out of the train. The guard blew the whistle and the train started moving again. The announcer said "Next stop, Sronti's Prison".

The young Slig couldn't believe it... how did he manage to get a transfer to Keeya Prison?

It wasn't long before the prison gates were opened. A loud creaking noise was heard as the mechanisms twisted and turned. Out of the darkness stepped an officer with a red cap.

"Hi there", the officer said, "I trust you're not a prisoner?". The young rookie shook his head, "I guess that means you're one of us. Come on, I'll show you the ropes". He placed a blue cap on the rookie and walked with him inside.

The prison gates closed with a loud thud, the earth shook as the mechanisms turned back into place. The guards nodded and allowed them to pass through the second security post.

Chapter 2: Red Caps

"Flek's the name, what's yours?". The young rookie shrugged, "I only have a number, 414". The older Slig smiled, well that won't do... "Let's see, hmmmm". He was trying to remember the last name he gave to a rookie. "Ah... I know, Rook! That'll be your name!".

Rook smiled, "Sure thing. So, what's with the caps?". Flek chuckled, "Glad you asked. Blue is for newbies like you, when you get more experienced you'll graduate to us red cappers".

Flek leaned closer to Rook as they walked, "Listen... each red cap finds a newbie to look after, but normally reds and blues don't mix. If I were you, I would never talk with another red unless they ask you first. Never talk back to them and don't approach me when I'm talking to another red".

Rook raised an eyebrow, "That sounds harsh". Flek smiled, "Oh it gets better. If you aren't out of the barracks by 8AM you get beaten up". Rook gave a little shocked jump of surprise. Flek chuckled, "Ah don't worry, we have ways of getting past that".

Flek handed something to Rook. "This is a micro-transmitter. Put this in your ear, it serves as a silent alarm for the guards here. It'll wake up all the blue caps at precisely 7:45AM. Remember, don't dawdle... Sometimes they'll beat up whoever leaves the barracks last, if they had a bad night".

Flek continued, "There's other cap colours but i'll fill you in on that later. For now, let's talk about fighting".

Chapter 3: Combat Training

Flek cleared his throat, "Okay. Now, one thing to remember is never start any fights. You're here to make sure the prisoners don't cross the line. You should only hit them if they mistreat another prisoner or if they show disrespect". Rook nodded, "Okay. Your first weapon is your wits. You should be able to outwit them to make them run into a prison cell bar or something else. Avoid getting your hands dirty. Your second weapon is this".

Flek withdrew a hardy truncheon from his belt. "It's not as hard as it looks; it's more of a deterrent than anything else. The best place to hit them is probably the shoulder. I wouldn't recommend the head, since they probably expect that... Also, you don't want to be explaining why a prisoner suddenly can't move or loses his memory".

Rook was having trouble remembering all of this. "Alright, what if that fails?", Flek put a hand on his own chin, "Well... I would probably use my pants legs if I were you. They pack more than a fair whack, plus your upper body strength isn't good enough yet. Train your body for a while and then learn how to punch. For now, just kick".

Chapter 4: Prisoners

Flek lead Rook to the main area of the Prison. "All of these prisoners are in here for short to long stretches of time. Only a few are in for murder, most stay here for a few months". Flek pointed to a cell, "We have Sligs, Mudokons, Outlaws, Clakkers and a few other ones in here. Don't go near packs of them on your own, always call for backup if you need help. I'll teach you how to do that tomorrow".

Rook nodded, "What should I do as I walk around?". Flek smiled, "Just act naturally, all you're doing is guarding the prisoners to make sure they are alright. You should be polite to them though, ask them how they are, stuff like that. I would make a couple of friends with the prisoners, just so that you have a bit of company. Don't let them abuse their power though, you are the higher ranking after all".

Rook looked towards the nearest cell, "Okay, I got that. What about recreation?". Flek nodded, "We have videogames, pool tables, soccer teams, an art and crafts devision...". Flek was showing Rook the map of the building, "Jacuzzi, Swimming Pool, all paid for. Just clock in and clock out. You have two spare hours each workday, use them well".

Chapter 5: First Night

Rook smiled, "Thank you so much for the help". He shook Flek's hand, "No problem Rook. Just let me know if you need anything. Remember what I told you about the red caps and the prisoners". Flek started walking the other direction. "Oh and don't turn your back on them either. You never know what they might do". He handed a card to Rook. "You'll need this as well, it's a level 3 security card. It'll open all the doors for you".

Rook waved to Flek. He then headed to the sleeping quarters. He opened the door and saw quite a few blue cappers lying on small bunk beds. One of them stirred, "Zzzz... Where's the coffee?", he lay on the bed once more, fast asleep.

Rook smiled and walked to where his bunk was. He put down his weapon, removed his mechanical legs and sat on the bed. He hoped he would like it here.

The next morning, he could hear the blue cap wake up call in his ear. It was a somewhat sharp alarm tone which was increasing in volume as the time went on. He switched off his earphones and walked out quietly. He didn't want to give any of the red cappers an excuse to beat him up.

Chapter 6: Morning Shift

Rook stretched and gave a small yawn. He headed to the cafeteria with the other blue cappers. Some of the blue cappers were rubbing their face masks and holding their tentacles sleepily.

Rook stood in the line for food. When he reached the service bar he picked up a Scrab leg and a bottle of McArt. He sat down at one of the metal tables. It was fairly quiet down here so far. Another blue capper came down the stairs and picked up some food. He headed to Rook and sat next to him. The capper said "Morning", Rook smiled, replying "Morning".

The capper started unwrapping his food. "So, what's your name? I haven't seen you here before". Rook nodded, "I'm new here. My name is Rook, please to meet you". He held out his hand.

"My name is Queck. Good to meet you as well", he returned the favour and shook the rookie's hand. "I've been a blue capper for a few weeks now. Listen, you've got to watch out for 'Scraper', he's a vicous inmate who's been here for a very long time. He won't listen to blue cappers at all, so make sure you never confront him. He's got a really bad attitude problem". Rook nodded, "I'll try and look out for him". He took a swig of his drink.

Chapter 7: Captive

Rook turned around, he saw some red cappers walking past in the other direction. He looked behind them to see a prisoner walking with his arms tied together. He was a burly looking Slig with several scars on his body. The biggest scar was on his chest, it was a claw shape which stretched from his upper shoulder to his lower torso.

Queck nodded, "That's him". Rook looked at his face, Scraper looked back, giving him a creepy smile. Queck nudged Rook, "Like I said, watch out for him. He's bad news". Rook finished his food and proceeded to walk to the excercise yard.

There were a few of the more weaker Sligs here, trying to use the gym equipment before all of the other bigger Sligs arrived. There was a younger Slig who was only a couple of years old. There were a couple of older Sligs who didn't have the same muscle power and needed to train their body in order to stay mobile.

Chapter 8: Revelation

Rook might as well start talking to somebody, to stop himself getting bored. He approached the younger Slig, who was lifting some weights. "Hi, I'm Rook". The young Slig looked up, "Oh, Hiya. I'm Sammy, you're new here right?". Rook nodded, "Just moved in yesterday". Sammy smiled, "No bruises eh? I guess someone told you about getting up early before the red cappers?". Rook scratched his chin, "Yeah that's right".

Sammy kept using weights for a few more minutes, he then moved onto the benchpress. "I've been in for... one month... got sent here for being... too cocky". Sammy wiped a hand over his brow. "You heard about Scraper?". Rook nodded, "I was told by a few people, how bad is he?". Sammy had a look at surprise on his face, "He's every bit as bad as they say, and then some. He once ripped a Slig's mechanical pants and then beat him up with them... He's just pure evil in every way. It's a miracle that he's still down here".

Rook shook his head, "So, he's here on a technicality?". Sammy nodded, "He's meant to be on death row, but he has too many high-ranking friends. It's lucky he's not in any of the gangs, he'd be a real problem if that happened".

Rook stood up, "So, how many gangs are there here?". Sammy picked up a set of weights, "Well, there used to be a lot, like Sronti's... Now there's only about four main gangs; Redmarks, Slashers, Herbers and the Wishers".

Chapter 9: Gang Mentality

Rook nodded, "Are they all violent?". Sammy chuckled, "Well, the Herbers are usually too stoned to do anything bad, most of their fights are petty squabbles about herbs. The Wishers are mostly comprised of the non-violent prisoners. They only keep a few violent ones in order to keep the peace".

Rook sat down, "And the others?". Sammy nodded, "Redmarks give their new members a bit of a beating in the initiation, they then use the blood to mark a symbol onto the skin. They're pretty average, but you have to be careful if they form big packs. They often have turf wars with the others".

Sammy took an intake of breath. "The Scrapers are pretty much the most violent pack here. They used to use stones, but then they moved onto home-made Shivs. Nasty things, you can get some serious damage from one of those. They have a lot of in-fighting, and the new leader is usually elected by a fight to the death with a former member".

Chapter 10: Focused Attention

Rook tilted his hat towards Sammy. "I'd better get going, thank you for the information". Sammy nodded, "No problem sir. Glad to be of service". Rook moved forwards and gave Sammy an extra ration token. Rook winked and then moved away to look at the other prisoners.

The older Sligs were still using some of the other weights, their weak muscles could barely grab them... but if they couldn't even grab these small weights, they would have problems trying to improve their already weakening muscles. Rook moved towards the older Sligs. "Good morning, my name is Rook. Everything alright?". The older of the two Sligs smiled, "Yup, I am Barka and this is my pal Weslee". Weslee nodded, "Rook, that's a good name for a newbie". Rook smiled, "It's better than a number anyway. Well, I'll be seeing you around sometime". Rook waved and proceeded to walk around the exercise yard for a while.

The weather was nice and the birds were chirping in the distance. Rook sighed and remembered his first guard post, a non-important location in the burial grounds of Barkoom. He had to maintain the ghost locks and look after the mine cars in the area. He did enjoy the minecars very much and missed the thrill of riding one.

Chapter 11: Benefits

Rook heard the morning siren, the red cappers walked out of the dormitory. A red capper walked towards Rook. Rook did what Flek said and didn't say anything until spoken to. The red capper tilted his cap towards Rook, "Hiya. Flek told me about ya, you're Rook right?". Rook nodded, "Yes sir". The red capper smiled, "I'm Karbo. Let's walk for a bit".

Rook and Karbo walked down some of the prison cells. Rook looked at Karbo, "Are you tired?". Karbo nodded, "Late night combined with a pretty rotten stash of Paraboom... Seriously, don't mix those two up. How are you finding this place so far?". Rook shrugged, "It's okay". Karbo chuckled, "I said the same thing when I first got asked that question, you'll get used to it. Oh yeah, it's payday tomorrow, so be sure to take your registation forms with you".

Rook and Karbo headed for the lunch hall, Flek was busy ordering some food from the vending machines. Rook could see a row of blue cappers and red cappers who were ordering food from electronic voice devices. One of the machines kept confusing "Fried Egg" for "Friday". Scraper was getting bored, it was about time for something to happen. He picked up an opple and threw it across the lunch room at an ex-Big Bro Slig. Scraper smiled.

Chapter 12: Food for thought

The Big Bro growled and stood up. "What the smeg do you think you're doing?". Scraper just chuckled and replied, "Sorry, I thought your face was the trash can". The Big Bro was getting angry. He grabbed a bottle nearby and smashed it. Scraper put his hand down his shirt and took out a nasty looking shiv.

Rook knew something was going to happen, he stood up and moved towards a group of blue cappers. He could see a few familiar faces from the night before, some were still clutching their batons... not knowing what to do. The red cappers were walking around the food hall, making sure all of the doors were secure. Flek was talking to some other red cappers and giving them instructions.

Queck was standing next to Rook, he nodded and then shouted, "Alright you two, break it up... We don't want any trouble here". Scraper smiled, "But I do". He threw the shiv at the Big Bro, luckily the Big Bro dodged out of the way, the shiv flew threw through the air. It was headed towards Sammy. Rook's eyes widened in horror.

Chapter 13: KnifePoint

Sammy held up his dinner tray at the last moment, the shiv sunk about halfway through the tray before stopping, the noise made everyone around him jump, some of the Sligs yelled in surprise and started running around in panic. Sammy gulped and put his head near the table, giving a slight whimper, thanking his lucky stars that he was still alive.

Flek and the other red cappers were now forming a tight circle around Scraper. Flek gave Scraper a good hard whack over the head with his baton, "I see you haven't finished your food. No-one leaves the food hall without finishing their food... except you, you jerk. Come on, solidary confinement for you now pal".

Scraper smiled and followed the red cappers, "Whatever you say boss...". Rook saw something that no-one else had noticed, Scraper was moving his hand slowly towards Flek's pistol, a few moments later and Scraper would have an opportunity to attack, it seems that nobody had noticed this. Rook ran behind Scraper, put his baton to the back of Scraper's head and yelled, "Hold it right there! Don't move a muscle!". Scraper stopped moving his hand, a shocked expression on his face at the audacity of the young newbie. Flek moved out of the way, looking at Rook. Flek then noticed what Scraper tried to grab, "Thanks Rook, alright then Scraper... have it your way, now it's a double solidary for you, you can forget today's supper as well. Take him away!".

Scraper growled as the red cappers dragged him away to a special cell, Scraper snarled at them but the guards simply whacked him a few times with their batons. Scraper then became silent and was marched to the cell. Flek put his hand on Rook's shoulder. "I knew it was a good idea to bring you up the right way. Come on, I'll buy you a drink". Rook smiled, it seemed that being accepted in Keeya Prison wasn't that hard. Not many newbies manage to strike fear into convicts on their first day!

Chapter 14: Dreg of Society

Flek ordered a strong brew from the bar and placed it in front of Rook. "I'd better get going. I'll see you round sometime". Rook nodded, "Thank you Flek, see you later". With that, Flek gave a wave and walked out of the food hall. Rook sighed and took a sip of the brew. It was quite tasty and new to Rook's palette.

A red capper was waiting outside for Flek. "That the kid you were talking about?". Flek nodded, "Yeah, he's a bright kid... only a few years younger than you, Sawk". Sawk chuckled, "You know... I think he might even be the...". Flek held up a hand, "Come on, you know we can't talk about that. Besides... if I was his age, there's no way he would join them... Far too dangerous for a newbie to be worried about". Sawk smiled, "You're right, in that case... shall we call for Rett and talk to him about Scraper?". Flek's smile faded, "Fine, but he's not going to like this". Flek and Sawk walked to the captain's quarters for debriefing.

Rook sighed. As Rook drank the brew, it was only now that the gravity of the situation sank in. Had he not stopped Scraper, his mentor and most trusted friend of this whole place would be... "Gone?", Queck sat down next to him, looking at Rook's empty pint glass. Queck looked at the bartender, "One more please!". Queck placed a silver coin on the desk. "You okay Rook? You don't look so great". Rook smiled, "I'm fine, just a little shocked that's all". Queck nodded, "I'll take your mind off it".

Queck proceeded to tell Rook a few stories about when he first arrived here and some sporting events he had watched recently. Rook was cheering up now and started to make some jokes. Queck nodded, "That's it, you seem much better now. Come on, let's find some food". Rook forgot that it was nearly supper time, his stomach was rumbling.

Chapter 15: The Dark Night

As Rook finished his supper, he took his bowl back to the service staff. Queck stood up, "Let's head back to the dorm". Rook and Queck headed for the officer's quarters. He saw Flek walking nearby, Queck smiled, "Hey Flek, how did it go with Rett?". Flek looked towards them, "Rett was pretty annoyed. Hopefully he won't be a total Scrabhead about this whole thing". Flek entered the officer's quarters with Rook and Queck. "Sawk's on night duty tonight, want to talk about anything?". Rook shook his head, "I'm fine now. Thanks again for the help". Flek smiled, "You're not bad for a newbie. I'll give you extra target practice at the end of the week". Rook smiled back, "Thanks Flek. Good night". Flek tipped his hat, and headed towards the red cap area.

Rook put his head on the pillow and drifted into a deep sleep. The next morning was business as usual. He hadn't seen Sawk around lately though. When he saw Flek, he asked about him. Flek shrugged, "Not sure... he was on night watch last but he hasn't turned up again yet. Maybe he fell asleep on the job again?". Rook continued walking down the corridor. He heard a scream nearby and ran quickly to see what happened.

One of the prisoners had a hand over his tentacles and was pointing towards a locker. Rook recognized the Slig as Weslee, Weslee's frail muscles were shaking and he was having trouble controlling his Slig pants through fear. Rook stepped towards the locker and opened the door, he almost fell out of his pants at the sight of what was inside. It was Sawk, he wasn't looking well.

Chapter 16: Wings of the Night

Sawk's body was cold and lifeless, now a shade of grey in the sunlight. Rook held a hand to Sawk's neck, "Please, don't be dead", fearing the worst. Rook gasped, "He's still got a pulse! Get someone quickly!". Rook tried to carry the body as Weslee approached the nearest red capper and told him everything.

Rett was pacing up and down the room, Rook was standing in a room with three red cappers who he didn't know. Rett spoke once more, "You found Sawk in a locker, his body was like this?". A medical Slig approached Sawk and injected him with a red fluid. The fluid drained from the syringe into the body, Sawk's body regained some of it's original colour.

Rook nodded, "Yes sir, I found him in a locker. The only person nearby was an elderly prisoner". Rett sighed, "No prisoner couldn't have done that, not even a physically fit one like Scraper... This is something worse. It means we have some Dark Wings nearby". A red capper raised his hand, "Dark Wings, sir?". Rett nodded, "They are similar to bats, but they often attack Sligs during the night. We're going to have to call up for some hunters to get rid of it".

Rett turned his attention to Rook. "Thank you for finding the body, I think you found him just in time". Rook looked towards Sawk, "Is he going to be alright?". Rett nodded, "He had some of his blood drained, but it's nothing too serious. We'll inject him with some anti-viral drugs and then he should be alright in a few days time".

Rett placed his hand on Rook's shoulder, "By the way, Flek tells me you were the one who helped him out the other day at the food hall?". Rook nodded, "That is correct, sir". Rett smiled, "Good work Rook. I'll be keeping my eye on you. Okay, you can return to your post now". Rook saluted, "Thank you sir". Rook left the room and headed to Flek's post to tell him the news.

Chapter 17: The New Hunter

Flek sighed, "So... Sawk is going to be okay?". Rook nodded, "He should be alright in a couple of hours. Do you know much about these Dark Wings?". Flek shook his head, "No, They're quite rare... but very tricky to get rid of". Rook smiled, "That's why we need the hunters, right?". Flek smiled back, "Yeah that's right". A yellow capped officer walked past Rook at that moment. Rook raised a hand, "You did tell me to ask about other coloured caps, is that one a hunter?". Flek chuckled, "Nope, that's one of the special guards. The hunters wear a black mask with black body armor. You'll know one when you see them".

Flek continued walking down the hallway but then stopped. "You know, Rook... it might not be a bad idea for you to sign up as a hunter". Rook jumped back, "Me? But, I don't have much experience...", Flek smiled, "Perfect, you'll learn on the job. Hunters work in packs, one veteran with one newbie". Rook nodded, "Okay, I'll sign up to do it. Thanks Flek". Flek smiled, "No problem. I'm not a hunter myself, but I think Karbo knew a guy who was. I'll go talk to him".

Karbo found Rook later that day. Karbo smiled, "A newbie eh? Well being a hunter ain't so hard. You'll have the night-vision goggles and all the equipment you need. Your hunter partner will be Alon". Rook raised his hand once more, "So... how long will I be a hunter for?". Karbo smiled, "Don't worry, you're only a hunter as long as this Dark Wing is here. When it's gone, you'll return to normal guard duty as always". Karbo walked to a locker and opened the contents, "Here, put these on". Rook exchanged his Slig mask for one which was completely black. He strapped on the black body armor and tightened the straps. Alon walked into the room.

Chapter 18: Meeting of Minds

Alon held out his hand, "My name is Alon". Rook stood up and shook his hand, "I'm Rook". Alon smiled, "You remind me of me, when I first applied for hunter's job. It's a piece of cake. Come on, I'll show you the equipment". Alon showed Rook a variety of different pieces of equipment including; A repeating auto-load crossbow, night-vision goggles, thermal imaging devices, a versatile shotgun, grenades and nightsticks. He'd just finished telling Rook about the weapons when the supper bell sounded.

Alon stood up, "Alright, time for supper. When you're done, come meet me on the balcony of 2-B. Bring all your stuff and don't be late". Rook saluted, "Yes sir". Alon laughed, "Come on, let's go eat!". A few minutes later, Rook and Alon finished their food and headed to the supply depot with the rest of the hunters. There were three other pairs of hunters. There was a few red cappers who were the veteran hunters, but there were also a couple of blue cappers that Rook saw in the dormitory. One of the hunter novices waved at Rook. "Hiya, It's me... Ewen. You don't know me that well but I'm in a bunk close to yours. Good luck!". Rook nodded, "Thanks, same to you".

Alon was just about ready to start his briefing. "Okay folks, we have some Dark Wings flying around and draining people of their vital fluids. There may be more. We'll split into groups of two and search for it. Let's go". Rook was ready, finally he would get to prove that he was good in combat situations.

Chapter 19: Whacked

Rook grabbed his equipment and placed it in a backpack. He equipped his night vision goggles and then followed Alon to the prison balcony. Alon turned towards Rook, "It's getting dark enough now, the Dark Wing should appear within the next few hours". Alon flicked a switch on one of his electronical devices. "This is a motion detector. If it detects any flying objects, it'll let us know". Both Sligs went on standby.

It was a few hours before anything happened. The machine started bleeping. Rook and Alon stood up and looked around. Alon grabbed his gun, "It's here somewhere. Let's try and disable it if possible". Rook looked around, suddenly he saw a shape. "This way!". Rook walked towards the end of the corridor, he saw some movement nearby. Alon followed behind him.

The creature went around the corner, it let out a screech and headed for Rook. Rook dived out of the way. The creature did a u-turn in the air and headed at Rook again. This time Rook held his gun and swung it at the Dark Wing. Alon saw the creature being whacked to the ground. As the creature was trying to get up, Alon stepped forwards and shot it with a tranquilizer. The creature expected this and managed to move out of the way in time. The creature was flying again, Alon was running towards it. Meanwhile, Rook looked at the machine again, he heard another bleeping noise and he heard a screech. There were two of the creatures.

Chapter 20: Infect/Implant

Rook tried to look for the creature on the sonar display, but it was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain is his arm as the creature sunk it's teeth into Rook. "Argh!", he took the side of his gun and whacked the beast squarely on the head. As it hit the floor, it flapped it's wings madly. Rook shot it with the tranquilizer gun and then walked backwards and sat down with his back against the wall. He put a hand to his wound to try and stop the bleeding.

He heard a yell and some gunshots from down the corridor, "Gotcha!". Rook saw a shadow fly past the corridor before hitting the floor. Alon walked into the scene with a smile on his face, he then looked at Rook. "Oh, there was another one? I guess we managed to handle things pretty well here". Rook winced, "The darn thing bit me though". Alon nodded, "Not to worry, just take this". He handed Rook a small test-tube with some white liquid, Rook looked at it, "Anti-Bacterial?". Alon responded, "Well... yes and no. I'll explain more after you take it".

Rook drank the liquid, draining the entire tube. Alon smiled, "It's a special liquid that fights infections and... some of the other side effects of a bite". Rook was confused, "Side effects?". Alon nodded, "It's not just bacterial infections to worry about. This creature has egg cells in it's blood. If left unchecked it could really screw around with your body". Rook was shocked, "Yuck, that's gross. So, that formula is an antidote?". Alon nodded, "Yeah. You'd better go to the medical lab anyway... just to make sure you're okay". Alon walked around and picked up the creature. "Let's bag these and be on our way. Good work tonight by the way".

= Epilogue =

The next day, Flek went to visit Rook in the medical wing. "Rett told me you did a great job with hunting. We found four Dark Wings in total. Hopefully that should keep everything under control for a while". Rook nodded, "Sawk is up and about now, he seems much better". Flek nodded, "That's true. Anyway, not bad for your first week eh?". Rook chuckled, "It was quite exciting. I think I understand why you told me to keep my eyes open all the time". Flek smiled, "You'll be a fine red capper someday. I'll be sure to let you know when the next graduation exam takes place". Rook saluted, and Flek gave a wave and left the medical facility.

= 1 month later =

Nakka was in a panic. "That's three bodies now, three!". Flek shook his head, "No choice then, call up the hunters... This Dark Wing problem has become much worse...".