Someone came into the bathroom. Tiffany froze. This was it, she thought. She was going to die— die and get eaten, just like Marcia. The footsteps came closer. It sounded like they were headed right for her stall. A low whimper escaped her throat.
The footsteps stopped.
Tiffany's breathing quickened, growing shallow and panicky— and loud. It had heard her. It had found her. Now it was just standing out there, listening to her hyperventilate. It was toying with her. It was waiting for the right moment to strike. It was going to rip her neck open. It was—
"Shut up."
It was a woman. Not the monster, she told herself, relief flooding through her body. An inmate. An unfamiliar one— she didn't recognize the voice— but still not somebody that was going to hurt her.
"Don't tell me to shut up," Tiffany snapped, voice still shaky. "We could fucking die, and you're being a dick to me."
"I'm helping you," the woman replied. "You were making too much noise. There's a loose wall tile in there. Find it."
Tiffany frowned. "… Uh, this ain't the time to be worrying about bathroom repairs."
"Shut up and find it."
Tiffany did as she was told.
On the other side of the stall door, Blanca Flores could hear the the other woman— it was one of the white girls; she didn't know which one— tapping and scratching at the there was a scraping sound, and a gasp of surprise.
"It's a phone."
"I'm coming under the door."
"No, don't—" But Blanca was already on the ground and crawling into the stall on her elbows and knees. The white girl was glaring at her. "We're gonna get found with you in here. I was here first. Get your own place." But this was the only stall with a door, and they both knew it. Neither of them was going to be willing to go anywhere.
Now that she was in with her, standing up, Tiffany recognized her. She was a Spanish girl— the creepy witch-like one with the wild hair and wilder eyes. Of all the people to be trapped in here with… Tiffany continued to glare, but fell silent, scooting back and moving to sit up on the back of the toilet. The woman could probably turn into a monster and nobody would even know the difference.
"You gonna call someone?" Tiffany finally asked, eyeing Blanca as she messed around with the phone. Blanca didn't respond at first. Then she made a frustrated sound and slapped the phone shut, shaking her head hard.
"No service."
"But what if this is some crazy test shit? Tell us to escape, see what we do, tack some time onto our sentences if we do it…"
"She's right," said Poussey, glancing back at Black Cindy. "They could be fucking with us, man. I say we just hang out here for a little bit."
"Excuse me? Did you not hear her?" Taystee rounded on the other two. "You all can do what you want, but I'm not taking no chances in a place a CO called a death trap."
"Hold on. Can we just talk about this for a second?" Ever the peacekeeper, Yoga Jones stepped in between the three women, holding up her hands. "Maxwell is a good woman. She wouldn't try to trick us like that."
"Who says she's in on it?" Cindy shot back. A few of the others in the group nodded. Others weren't so sure.
"I don't know, guys, I think we should listen to the black lady," Angie said. "Uh… that black lady." She pointed at Taystee. "Not the other one. She's right, you heard what the CO said. And I saw what happened in A-Dorm. We were there— right, Yoga?"
"My name is Cindy, bitch. Not the other one. And if you want to end up in max—" A flurry of screams suddenly broke out in the distance, stopping the argument.
"Yo, that's coming from the yard!" Poussey exclaimed. "Fuck this, I changed my mind— let's get out."
Attracted by the large group of women congregating on the grass, the zombie had burst out of one of the now-unguarded doors, sending everyone scattering. Some ran back into the building. Some ran for the fences, planning to climb them. Others just ran, with no particular goal or direction in mind.
I need to be calm about this, Piper thought. Panic is how people die. She grabbed the two people nearest to her— Brook and Janae. "Come on! I'll help you!"
"Get the fuck off me; I don't need your help!" Janae wrenched herself away and took off on her own. Brook, in contrast, clung.
"Oh God, please don't leave me. Piper? Let's stick together; people need to stick together in survival situations. Let's just—"
"I know, Brook." Piper— far more panicked than she was trying to appear— started to haul the girl across the yard and towards the fence. "This way." She spared Janae— who was running off in the opposite direction— a quick glance, but decided to just let her be. She couldn't help anybody who didn't want to be helped.
Janae didn't look back. She never did; not when she was running. She didn't need some lily-white girl to rescue her— she could rescue herself. And that was just what she was going to do, until she heard familiar voices coming from the other side of the building.
"—not gonna just let us walk out!"
"You got a better idea? 'Cause if you think anybody's getting over the fences with barbed wire at the top—"
"Taystee!" Janae yelled. "Black Cindy!" But when she reached the fence, they weren't there. They'd gotten outside, somehow— not outside the main perimeter fence, but outside of the yard. Out of her reach. And they were right— there was no way over this fence, or any of the fences. If she wanted to get out, she'd have to find some way to cut it open… or go back through the prison.
It was quiet. The screams weren't coming from out here. Though he was worried about the other prisoners and guards who were no doubt being chased and attacked right now, Bennett still breathed a sigh of relief. The infected guy was out back somewhere— by the yard, probably— and wouldn't be in the way of getting Daya out.
Still, he wanted to make extra sure he wasn't wrong. Tensions were high, and the prison was in a panic; the screaming could have been a false flag. Someone could have just thought they were being attacked, and reacted accordingly.
So he stepped away from the building. He'd just look around for a little bit— check around corners, make sure the path really was clear. That sort of thing. It'd take him five minutes.
But five minutes was a long time when you were waiting for the father of your child to return to you. For Daya, it felt more like fifteen or more. Surely he didn't need to be gone for so long, right?
She should check on him. She didn't need to go out— she'd just open the door and look, and make sure he was doing okay. Before anyone could stop her, she pulled away from Gloria and her mom, opening the door and sticking her head out.
"John!"
He turned around to look at her. "Daya, stay insi—"
He wasn't even able to get the full word out before Ricci suddenly appeared from around the corner that he now had his back to. Daya tried to scream out a warning, but it all happened in an instant. Ricci grabbed him by the arm, sinking teeth into flesh. Then he dragged him onto the ground and began to feast.
