Correctional Officer Wilde took one look into the guard changing room mirror. He had to admit, he wasn't about the grey look, but he figured he'd find a way to make it flashy as he always did. The blue just suited him better. He certainly didn't mind that he no longer had to wear a tie, as stylish as a tie did look.
The changing room itself was nothing special. Mr. Alexander had explained that the Cathedral was a historical sight for quite some time, but the wings were added on in 1920 when the City of Zootopia got a hold of it. Of course, those wings and the several rows of bunkhouses behind the cathedral had been updated over the years, which meant no more pretty stained glass and ethereal glows. Just painted brick, dull linoleum floors, and a sickly, artificial glow provided by the standard fluorescent lights that would occasionally flicker. He hadn't even seen a cell yet, and he was already getting the sense that this was a serious prison.
He gave one last look to himself. This is it, Wilde. You're a corrections officer now. He took a moment to examine his badge, his new one. It was different. The shimmering gold had been swapped out for a duller and more subdued gunmetal grey. In place of the star was the seal of Zootopia. Instead of the usual police motto, "Trust, integrity, bravery", a new phrase was written on a scroll above and below the seal. "Nemo Me Impune Lacessit". He'd have to remind himself to look up what that meant. And finally, his badge number, not out in an open spot, but rather etched into the back of the badge, as if hidden: 25002
As he strutted out the door, Mr. Alexander waited for him. "Officah Wilde, you takin' a likin' ta' your new uniform, I presume?"
"Absolutely, sir, but I just gotta say, too much grey going on here. If I'm gonna look fashionable, I'll need a bit more color."
"Well, I think I have something that'll change your mind-" the warden explained, handing a small box over to the fox. "Right there in that there box. Go'on now, open it up. That's a gift from ADX Zootopia, every guard gets them".
Wilde opened the box. Ray Ban aviators, mirrored, pristinely shined and perfectly sized for the fox. Needless to say his opinion changed. "Warden Alexander, they used to have to tell me not to wear shades in the precinct. I admire the gift, really. I just gotta ask, what gives?"
Leon Alexander started to motion Wilde down the drab hall, the two walking as they talked. "Well, the purpose is twofold. One, gives ya' more authority amongst the prisoners."
"How?"
"Doesn't let 'em see ya' eyes. Trust me, it has an effect on 'em. Some deep instinct, I suppose. Put 'em on."
Wilde did as he was told. "Reason number 2?"
"Well- this is the real reason I poured some of our budget into 'em- I just think they look mighty fine."
"Well, sir, you poured the budget into something good, let me tell you."
"Glad to hear it. Don't take 'em off if you don't have to while on duty."
"I don't plan on it, sir."
"Good. Now, let's get onto the most important part'a my prison."
Claws clicked down the linoleum tiles of the white, clinical hallway. The windows that dotted the wings of the cathedral on the outside were blotted on the inside, allowing zero natural light in. The first door on the right (there were none on the left) was the one Warden Alexander let out his key to open. Wilde, obviously unknowing of the fact that cell 0000 was simply an empty cell used to show media and guests what a cell was like, took a step back. Warden Alexander figured this out fairly quickly and explained himself. "Don't worry, Officer Wilde, ain't no criminal behind this door. Just an empty cell to get you acquainted with the inside is all." He unlocked the door and opened it up, revealing the cell inside. "Go on now, get familiar."
Wilde stepped into the cell. Just past the steel door stood another set of iron bars which the warden had to unlock. Beyond those bars, a 7' by 12' room, furnished in concrete and iron, complete with an immovable, cylindrical concrete stool, concrete desk, concrete bed, iron toilet, and a concrete shower. "That there shower's on a timer so they can't go and flood the place. Toilet's one solid piece. They can't break into it and get free water. See that there camera?"
"Yes, sir"
"That there's monitorin' them for 23 hours a day. Part of a guard's duty. You'll be rotating around different jobs. Prisoner escort, guard tower duty, inprocessing, outprocessing, hall duty, camera duty, and rec yard monitoring are all things you'd be expecting to do here. You'll be shadowin' somebody else the next few weeks to get the ropes a bit. Any questions?"
"Just one, sir. What about larger mammals?"
"Tha's what them buildin's out back are for. This wing's entirely for medium sized mammals, the wing on the other side's for the smaller persuasion, the three out back are for our larger convicts, each building three stories high, same amenities but sized for different folk."
"One more question… you said you'd be watching them 23 hours a day? I thought most prisons have time out of the cell to do community work. Also, I only see one bunk here. Is this a solitary confinement cell?"
"Wilde, this is a solitary confinement prison." Wilde stood, somewhat stunned. A whole prison? Dedicated to solitary? "Now, legally, we can't run a 24/7 solitary prison, the pinkos outta city center's ivory towers made sure of that with all a' their amnesty bills. Thanks to 'them, we give repeat murderers, rapists, and terrorists an hour of free time in the next place we're going out to visit, their rec yard in a sense. In all honesty, if they got to see the type of people housed here, they'd take all them bills back. Follow me, son."
As they walked down the linoleum hall to their next destination, a prisoner would occasionally bang up against their bars, never able to reach the iron door, but always able to make a noise. The four inch wide windows on each cell gave Nick only a brief glimpse of the hardened criminals contained within the cell walls, yet even with that, Nick still empathized, wondering what 23 hours a day with zero contact from anyone could do to a man.
As the two kept walking down the hall, they passed two other officers, escorting a muzzled and blindfolded okapi down a hallway, his paws, legs, and body restrained by various chains and devices. Mr. Alexander soon explained that the prison was designed so that no prisoner could tell where in the prison they were, hence the blindfolds as a security measure. Soon, they descended into a concrete tunnel, and within a minute's walk, they had arrived to two iron doors, one marked "convicts" and the other marked "guards". Mr. Alexander opened up the guard door with a passcode, 012569. The door bent to his will, opening for him and revealing… bars. Wilde stepped inside to a concrete room, subterranean, with a ceiling made of metal grate, opening up to the blue sky above. The room sported what he'd seen earlier, a basketball hoop and weightlifting set, nothing else. At the moment, a lion and a jaguar were in the room. The lion took to his free throw shots, while the Jaguar stuck to himself doing curls on the bench. The light, the only natural light of sunbeam Nick had observed so far in his tour, didn't seem to do mean much to these people. It was almost as if they were apathetic.
He himself, along with Mr. Alexander and four other guards, were in a box made of bars that lined the walls in an L shape. Each guard had a rifle on the ready, a pair trained on each criminal, ready to fire at a moment's notice. "Good evening, gentlemen"
"Evening, Warden" the wolf guard greeted. "Got us some fresh meat?"
"A pound or two to hold ya off until dinner."
"I'll have you know-" Wilde started "That I'm sure I taste good enough to be the main course."
Wilde illicited a chuckle from the wolf and the tiger that had their rifles trained on the jaguar. "I'll take it. It'll spare me from havin' to eat Dave."
"I may be a zebra, but I am holding a rifle" another of the guards piped up, eyes still fixated on his target, the lion.
"You sure you want to shoot me and end up on the other side of these bars an hour a day?"
"Hell, maybe. Three square meals and some peace and quiet don't sound bad to me" Dave responded.
"Gentlemen, that's enough talk. How's about y'all introduce yourselves and tell our new officer here what this place is."
"He'll get introduction enough tomorrow." The Zebra piped up, adjusting his stance. "Dave" he said, pointing to himself. "Johannes, Kempton, Washington" he said pointing in sequence to the tiger, wolf, and horse. "This is the empty swimming pool. Gives the prisoners here a rec yard to get their hour of social time a day without knowing where they are in the complex. There's four of 'em roundabouts the complex, each one deeper for different sized mammals. The facility's been designed so that none of them know where they are or can get a layout. When we move them, we blindfold them. This is usually the only sunshine they see for a good few years."
"Gentlemen, now's about time we gotta move 'em." Leon pushed a button attached to the wall which sounded a loud buzzer, opening a door in the protective steel bar cage the guards were in and allowing them to step out. The guards stepped up to their prisoners, Kempton and Washington readying a taser as the wolf ordered the jaguar to turn around and place his hands behind his back. The Jaguar complied, putting his weights down and turning, seemingly out of it by the time the handcuffs were on and the blindfold was tied over his head.
The lion was less compliant, and when Johannes and Dave had to pull their rifles, he had dug his claws into a basketball and thrown it at them, earning a stiff rifle stock to the side of the head which knocked him out instantly, taking Nick aback.
Dave noticed the stunned expression on the fox and turned to his partner. "Look at 'im, pissin' his knickers already."
"Give him time" Johannes said, picking up the lion and moving him to a wheelchair which they had on hand, bringing a blindfold and handcuffs for good measure. "He ain't broken in yet. You were pissing your knickers too when you were a free bird."
"Oh, now, you were a free bird just the same time I was, don't you go talking to me like my grandfather."
Nick put his shades back on. "He's going back to medbay" Leon said. "Anger issues 'ave always been an issue for 'im. We'll head on down there next and then check the guard towers."
The rest of the tour went without much surprise. The guard towers were fairly standard, but the lack of tranquilizer ammunition did stand out. Nick was told he wouldn't be dealing with inmates much larger than him, and to expect to spend most of his time in the smaller animal wings.
Medbay seemed understaffed, tended to by inmates who had earned it as a privilege for good behavior. Each one was, of course, watched every moment they were there. There was a parade field behind the cathedral (for some reason), and in processing took place in a gatehouse that the bus had driven by. Nick had to admit, no matter how he spun it, the place seemed dismal. But, it paid the bills better than any other option he had.
Clawshank would grow on him, he reasoned. The thing seemed impenetrable. Absolutely everything was thought of when they had designed the prison around the old cathedral. When the time to leave came, Mr. Alexander had pulled him aside, back to his office that was less brilliantly lit now that night had begun to settle in.
"Mr. Wilde, you have any more questions before ya go?"
Nick took into consideration all the factors for a moment. "When do you want me to start, sir?"
"Business fox. I like it. You can head on down here 'round 8 AM tomorrow. You'll be workin' 'till roundabouts eight. Day shift meets up right here in the church for mornin' briefing."
"I read you loud and clear" he said, turning to leave.
"Don't go just yet!" Alexander had warned. "Haven't given you your money yet"
Nick froze in his tracks. "I was, uh, under the impression that I would get my first paycheck in two weeks."
"You do, now, but this is just a little bonus. Call it a gift from me to you, son. Go out and buy yourself a drink with the other guards if ya' ain't tied down with a ladyfriend."
"Terribly sorry, sir. Can't oblige, I've got a wife waiting for me back home."
"Ah, well then. Use it to buy her somethin' nice and fancy then." He handed no check, but an envelope full of cash. Bona-fide cash, a good $200. Nick was entirely surprised.
"Sir… I don't know what to say."
"A simple 'Thank you' would do" the lion said with a hearty chuckle.
"Yes… yes, of course! Thanks a ton!" The fox shook the lion's one paw with his own two. "I'm glad to be working here. Thanks for showing me around.
"Glad to be workin' here. Now that's a sentiment and a half I ain't heard in years. Anyway, you have a nice night, Mr. Wilde. Get on board that next subway station. Next one comes in about ten minutes. Don't bother changin' out of uniform here, you'll miss it."
Wilde rushed out of the front door of the cathedral and started to run towards the gatehouse with the money in his hand. Suddenly, all of the tower lights were on him, and the voice of one of the guards could be heard over the loudspeaker.
"Stop! Put your hands above your head and get on the ground!"
Nick stood still, flustered for a moment and genuinely confused, before recognizing what was said and pulling out his badge.
"No, it's okay! I'm just a new guard here I-"
"You have five seconds! Comply immediately or " the voice said as the luminosity of the lights became intense and blinding.
"Okay! Okay!" he said, getting down. "Listen, maybe we got off on the wrong foot, but-"
"Five!"
"BUT, I'm not a prisoner-"
"Four!"
"-here, and I-"
"Three!"
"-am, technically, doing what you say-"
"Two!"
"-so if you could just-"
"One! Fire at will!"
Nick immediately curled up in the fetal position, expecting the worst before feeling a force pound on him.
Water. Droves and droves of water from all directions came upon him from firehoses on the guard tower, and drenched his brand new uniform. He didn't know how long exactly he had been pummeled by these firehoses, but to him, it felt like ages. By the time he opened his eyes, the hoses had stopped and the lights on the towers were dimmed slightly, still trained on him. He uncovered his ears to hear the sound of a chanting, universal and proud, throughout the prison, proclaiming him as one of theirs.
"Fresh meat! Fresh meat! Fresh Meat! Fresh Meat!"
One voice, the voice over the intercom, hushed them and rang out over the complex.
"Mr. Nicholas Wilde. Welcome to the Clawshank Guards!"
It had turned out that Mr. Alexander had lied to him about the next train being in ten minutes. It was half an hour before the blue line train had arrived at his location, and when he got home, he had noticed that he was there half an hour later than he'd promised he'd be. Throw in an impatient and worried bunny, just add some water (which the Clawshank Guards had seen to), and it was ensured that Nick had himself a very volatile domestic situation on his hands when he had arrived home.
"-And you never thought to, I don't know, call me on the train ride home?"
"Carrots, my phone is drenched! I doubt the thing even works!"
"Don't you 'Carrots' me, Nick! Pull your phone out of your pocket, tell me if it works or not!"
"Carr-"
"Don't even start!"
He sighed. "Judy. It was doused in the water from ten firehoses, I don't think-"
"Nick, just do it!"
Nick let loose a breath and did it. To his surprise, relief, and horror, it worked just fine. Judy shook her head and marched over to the bedroom.
"Judy, I'm sorry, okay!"
"Good."
"Look, I've had a really, really long day,-"
"I told you that place wouldn't do you any good. You get there and the first thing they do is spray you with a firehose?"
"Carrots, come on. We did get something out of it."
He pulled out his envelope with his $200 advanced pay and placed it on the nightstand in front of her.
"Wha… what is this?"
"See for yourself, hop cop."
Judy picked up the envelope with a paw, observing how it went limp in it's pathetic and soggy glory. "This is ridiculous."
"Open it."
She carefully tore open the flap and looked inside. "Nick… You made all this money in one day?"
"Well, technically, that was a little gift from the warden. My paycheck comes in two weeks."
She turned around and looked at him. "This is great and all, hon. But it doesn't make me any less worried. I mean, is every day going to be like this? Coming home this late at night? It's already 9:30." She put her paw onto his forearm in an attempt to get closer. "I married you so I could spend more time with you."
"And you will, carrots" he said, giving her a quick kiss on her lips before continuing. "I only work four days a week."
"And those people you're guarding, they're all-"
"Violent criminals, I know. But they trained me today, and they put them under very strict watch. Plus, I'm going to have one of the most experienced guys in the prison as my partner for the first couple of weeks. They're looking after me well, don't worry. I'll be here in one piece every night for you, I promise."
She finally gave up and wrapped her arms around his torso. "Fine. I guess precinct work isn't any less dangerous."
"There we go…"
She let go of him and started to make for the bathroom in the small apartment. "You coming?"
He froze. "Y-you're not mad at me?"
"I am. Trust me. But…" she said, strutting back to him and grabbing a hold of his tie, "... I do need to get used to this new grey look you have going on. Up close and personal…"
Nick grinned and rolled his eyes. "I told the warden this grey look just isn't fashionable, but he didn't believe me."
Judy groaned and yanked on his tie to pull him into the bathroom with her.
A/N: For those of you who follow my work regularly, you know I don't usually like to make Author's Notes, but I feel I should in order to explain my sporadic writing style.
I've been very slow to update, and I know that. I've been very busy with school, scholarships, plays, and getting my pilot's license (which I can't believe I actually managed to get). Things get fairly busy for me now that I'm off to college soon, and I can't reasonably promise a regular writing schedule. I know 921 kind of got thrown out the window, and I'm just going to admit that I wrote myself into a corner on that one. But Clawshank is going to be more thought out, I promise.
In any case, thank you all for your support, and if you could, please leave criticism in the comments. Any notes that help me improve my writing are greatly appreciated.