Chapter Two-Even Angels Bleed
Breaking the skin, bones and teeth in someone's face with your bare hands was an experience Piper never thought she'd have. Every one of your senses is involved, imprinting new memories you will never forget. The sound was bad enough, sort of like stomping on dozens of eggs. The pain being inflicted on your own body is there, but masked by the immediacy of the need to survive. Worst was the visual which Piper knew she would see day and night for the rest of her life. Skin splitting under her punches, teeth flying through the air. The blood was minimal on the first strike, but on subsequent blows droplets sprayed from the lacerations onto clothing, her skin and the snow. The smell of the blood was pungent and even left a sort of phantom taste at the very back of her throat, bitter and metallic.
But the overriding sensation was something unique. Horrifying, terrifying and yet somehow electrifying all at the same time. Adrenaline rushing through your arteries making it impossible to stop, even when you know you should. Doggett's eyes rolled back in her head and her body became slack, lost in her absurd angel outfit.
It was the contrast of the red blood against the white snow that finally stopped her, along with the sheer exhaustion in her limbs. Piper's breath remained ragged even as she watched the skinny meth addict lay limply and awkwardly with her arms flung out to the side in some sick parody of her costume.
"Oh shit." Piper mouthed to the cold winter air. She thought she was going to be sick, but puke would probably be evidence. They could collect DNA, or analyze whether she had eaten the fake gelatinous cranberry goo when everyone else had avoided it. Which really wasn't going to matter with all the blood coming from her scrapped knuckles and the cut Doggett had made with the wooden cross.
She pulled the sleeve of her jacket down over her hand to collect the blood and rubbed the snow into the ground where a few droplets had landed before trying to get her wobbly legs to stand. It was like the emotional surge had passed and now she was depleted of the energy necessary to get her ass back inside to figure out what to do.
She stumbled a few steps and stopped to see if Tiffany was still breathing. If Piper tilted her head, she thought she could see small puffs of warm air condensing in the cold above Doggett's lips and decided she was probably still alive. Not being a murderer yet gave her the strength to stumble back into the corridor outside the chapel. The Christmas pageant was just finishing up and she was able to filter in behind a clump of inmates headed back to the dorms unnoticed.
Looking up at a clock she saw there was twenty minutes left until final count. If no one had discovered Doggett by then, the count would come up one psychotic short of a full load. With a slightly maniacal laugh she thought maybe she could convince the CO that Doggett had gotten her wish and been raptured. Without that, she needed a plan that would include explaining her injured hands.
Suddenly her expensive liberal arts degree seemed even more useless than usual. What fucking good was being supposedly smart if she couldn't figure out how to deal with a little aggravated assault? Then her answer walked into the dorm like Santa himself had decided to grant a Christmas wish, complete with the gray hair and fat belly. That asshole Healy. The one who had stood there and watched with a smug expression as Doggett had torn her apart verbally and then threatened to tear her apart physically as he walked away.
For one second she saw surprise in his eyes. He must have assumed that even a tiny speck of trailer trash like Doggett was capable of shanking the soft Wasp girl. He had no need to stick around and be caught witnessing the act, but now his cowardice was going to cause him problems. He couldn't just pop up and report the fight after the fact with her back in the dorms. Piper saw opportunity in Healy's desire to save his own ass. It would get her into trouble big time, but it was the only option she had come up with in the moment.
"Mr. Healy!" Piper called out loudly and enjoyed the fear that flickered over his face as he tried to figure out what she was up to. "You called my finance, Larry, and told him I was fucking another woman in here. Now he never wants to see me again." Piper was yelling now and had gathered quite an audience. She wanted everyone in the ghetto dorm to see what she was about to do. She had gotten right up in Healy's face now. "Why would you do that? Call him and tell him that?" "Why?" When he pushed her back as she knew he would, she fell to the ground making sure to land awkwardly on her hands, and started to sob.
This time the pain came right away. The bleeding started up again much worse, and it felt like bones had shifted in the base of her middle right finger. She sat back cradling the damage. Now she just had to wait.
Healy stood stunned for a moment until he heard Bell bark out for Chapman to stay down right where she was. Then he took out his cuffs and shoved Piper to the ground face first and roughly slapped them on her wrists. By the time he got her standing up again, Bell was there asking what the hell had happened.
Healy could feel the cage door closing on the trap of his own creation. He couldn't report Chapman for her fight with Doggett. He wasn't even sure if there had been a fight. He had turned off the camera to the yard so that no one would see he had been there. Maybe Doggett had backed down. He doubted the princess had done any real damage, she was unarmed and the meth head had made herself a sweet little weapon. Why Chapman had decided to attack him he couldn't figure out, but it didn't matter. She had walked herself straight into a nice long stint in the SHU. He could work out the details while she was gone.
"She attacked me. Started yelling and I thought she was going to hit me. I'm sending her to the SHU." Healy told Bell as he gave Piper a shove towards the door. It was Bell who called out, "Healy wait. She's bleeding pretty badly from that hand. Better get her bandaged up before you take her down."
Healy glanced back at the blood trail Piper was making. "Fine. I'll stop at the infirmary."
Piper kept her head down as they made their way out of the dorm and through the corridor. Healy told her to wait as he stepped into the infirmary looking for who was on duty. As soon as he was out of sight Nicky appeared with Alex in tow. "Piper what the fuck happened?" Alex looked completely dumbfounded. "We heard you yelled at Healy and punched him!" Nicky added with that wild look in her eyes.
Piper could see that Alex had noticed the blood drops tracing her path down the hallway. Alex tried to get behind her to look at her hand, but Piper just backed up against the wall and kept looking at her feet. The last thing she needed right now was a scene with Alex; the woman who had made it perfectly clear she wanted nothing to do with her.
"You better go, Healy won't be gone long."
Alex was trying to get her to look up now, going so far as to give her chin a little push with her fingers. "Pipes, what's going on?"
Finally Piper gave in and looked Alex in the eye, keeping her gaze steady and her expression cold. She knew she was going to be in SHU for a long time. She didn't want to think about Alex and she didn't want Alex to think about her. "Don't worry. It's my shit and no matter what I will never, ever go running to you for anything again, ever."
Alex stared at her, a myriad of emotions crossing her face in rapid succession from anger to disbelief to sadness to fear. She started to say something, but there was a noise at the door and Nicky yanked her back around the corner before Healy appeared with a medic who looked at her hands and moved a few fingers until she screamed. "Damn that right middle one is broken and you need some stitches. Come inside and let's take care of it."
The medic was just finishing the splint on her hand when the alarm sounded. Thirty minutes had passed. The count must have been slow without Healy, or maybe her absence confused the COs. Maybe Doggett had been found. Either way she was trapped in this room with Healy until the all clear. The medic went into the other room, tired of Healy's dirty looks after he finished caring for Piper's injuries.
Healy closed the door. "I don't know what game you are playing, but it won't work. You're going to the SHU for assaulting me and whatever happened with your religious friend will come out. Your little group of butch lesbians won't be able to help you this time. It serves you right if your fiancé actually dumped you, he deserved to know what you really are."
Piper was sitting on the exam table as he spoke holding her splinted hand on her lap. It was throbbing terribly. She let Healy's words flow over her without really paying attention. "I don't have any friends here, religious, lesbian or other."
Before Healy could respond Caputo stuck his head in the room. "Healy, call down and get an officer from SHU up here to transport Chapman. We've got a major fucking situation on our hands. I'm taking the medic with me, clear this space we might need it."
So they had found Doggett, and they were bringing her here. Piper wasn't sure whether she wanted to see the results of her actions under the bright fluorescent lights, but she could see Healy had a definite curiosity.
Caputo leaned into the room a little more. "Now Officer Healy."
Healy got up and left the room with a scowl. Caputo narrowed his eyes at Piper before leaving. "I'll be down to SHU in a couple days to take your statement Chapman. I can't imagine what you were thinking."
After Caputo left, Piper was grateful to have a moment to herself. Then she remembered she was about to have endless alone time in the SHU. She could hear Healy outside the door talking on the phone, and then silence. That was the sound she should enjoy, it was never silent in the SHU.
"Come on Chapman, time to move out." Healy motioned her out of the room. He took her into the hallway and started marching her towards the door where the transport would take place. They turned one corner and were about to move down the last hallway when they saw the group carrying Doggett on a gurney. The medic, Bell, Bennett and Caputo each held a corner as they rushed towards the main entrance where presumably an ambulance was waiting. Piper was thankful they never got close enough for her to see Doggett's face in detail, but she was pretty sure she heard a moan. They probably wouldn't be in such a hurry if she was dead.
As soon as the group was out of sight Healy grabbed her by the back of the neck and shoved her through the door back into the cold winter night. The van was coming up the internal drive as she stumbled, trying to catch her balance before she fell on her broken hand. "They will figure out what you did, you won't get away with this. I won't have to say a thing."
It seemed the light had started to dawn on Healy what had really happened. There was really nothing for her to say, so she didn't respond. Healy wasn't so inclined to be quiet. "No big speech for me this time? I remember you had a lot to say last time you were in the SHU." As soon as the SHU officer got out of the van Healy gave her one more push towards the open side door of the vehicle. "I hope you rot Chapman."
Alex had spent 349 days in Litchfield prison up to and including the day of the Christmas pageant. Every one of them annoyingly long and generally boring. Alex had convinced herself that Piper's presence, including the drama and occasional sex, had only been a little spice to break up the monotony. Telling Piper to fuck off for wanting to cling to her non-threatening hetero underachiever would just take her entitled attitude down a notch. Piper deserved it for playing with her emotions. But then that night had come and Piper was gone and now she didn't know what to do.
The days between Christmas and New Year became a new kind of hell. The mind numbing routine hadn't changed, and she was still trying to shit and shower at 5am for a little privacy. But now every waking moment, and most of the ones when she should have been asleep, were filled with images from the hallway outside the infirmary. She could still feel Piper's cold hurt eyes boring into her as she threw her own words back into her face. When she did succeed in falling asleep, she was usually awakened by nightmares that always seemed to include blood dripping from hidden wounds on Piper's body.
By the second week of January Alex had still not gotten any reliable information about Piper's condition or whereabouts. A cone of silence had enveloped the CO's who seemed to have been scared into actually keeping quiet. The rumor mill had Piper variously in the SHU, or in Max, or in the hospital, or even in the graveyard as part of a cover-up. All Alex knew is that Piper wasn't there where she could see her every day and be mad at her for picking Larry.
Alex and Nicky knew more of the truth than anyone. They had seen Piper and knew she was injured enough to bleed but standing upright and talking. Yeah, she had definitely communicated loud and clear.
In contrast, Doggett had been seen laid out on a gurney being rushed out the front entrance to a waiting ambulance. Her meth head buddies hadn't been able to get any further information on her condition, even protesting that they needed to know in order to properly pray for their fallen leader.
So in the absence of any real information, everyone just made shit up, and that was driving Alex crazy. She needed to find out where Piper was and that meant asking for help from the outside. She considered Larry since he was on her visitor list, but she was afraid he might just lie even if he showed up to talk to her. Piper's mom wouldn't give her the time of day.
That left Polly. She knew from Piper that Polly was still her best friend and business partner. Alex made her way to the ghetto dorm to find Taystee.
"Hey, you still got Chapman's stuff?"
"I ain't givin you shit Vause. Chapman's bad ass and she's coming back someday. I was her bunky and I saved her stuff for her so you can just piss off back to the burbs." Taystee waved her arms at Alex as she spoke trying to get her out of her cube.
"I don't want to take anything. I just want a phone number for her friend Polly. It's in her book." Alex stood firm in the entryway.
Taystee sat down and frowned at the tall woman. "You gonna try to get some info?" When Alex nodded Taystee reached down under her bunk and dragged out a box, plucking out the book in question. She started to hold it out for Alex to take but then snatched it back. "Anything you find out you tell me first, ok?"
Alex nodded and looked up Polly's number then headed straight to the phones. She waited anxiously as the recording stating an inmate was calling from Litchfield played and then heard the connection go through.
"Piper? Oh my god is that you? I've been so worried."
"Polly. Please don't hang up. It's Alex."
"What the fuck? Why are you calling me?" Polly's voice had gone glacial, but at least Alex wasn't listening to a dial tone.
"Something happened at Christmas and they took Piper away. Polly I'm worried. I was hoping you knew where she was." Alex let every ounce of her concern pour down the phone line.
There was a long pause before Polly spoke again. "Do you know? What happened?"
"Not exactly. We heard she yelled at her counselor Healy, got in his face. He's calling it assault, but she didn't hit him." Alex couldn't say a thing about the 'other incident.' Another pause. "I just want to make sure you know where she is, that you, her family, Larry can keep tabs on her, make sure nothing bad is happening."
"Well it won't be Larry." Polly gave a sarcastic laugh as she said his name.
"Not Larry? I thought they were going to get married." Alex was trying not to get impatient with Piper's best friend.
"You really don't know, do you? I can't believe Piper didn't tell you. Larry broke up with Piper at Christmas. Apparently the same day that Piper got sent to solitary." Polly just sounded frustrated now. "I came up to see her two weeks ago. I knew she'd be upset. The guard told me she was in the SHU and not to come back until Piper called. I guess she's still there since you're on the phone."
"Piper's in the SHU. Larry broke it off the day she got sent there." Alex repeated in a monotone.
"That's what I said. I thought you'd know more than me what with the non-stop prison rumor mill and all. Besides you're the great Alex Vause." Polly sounded like she was choking on her words now. "Are you hearing my restraint right now, not pointing out that none of this would be happening if you hadn't gotten Piper imprisoned? And I'm not even using my favorite nicknames for you I'm so upset."
"Call me anything you want Polly, I probably deserve it." Alex couldn't even begin to process how relieved and how awful she felt. She was putting everything together now, how Piper had come running into her cube that day with a crazed look in her eye and she had yelled at her and thrown her out.
"Well this has been depressing. Listen, when Piper gets back, do you think you could just help her, maybe be a friend instead of always fucking her over? I'd say just leave her alone, but something tells me that just isn't possible with you two."
"Thank you Polly, for talking to me. I will do what I can when Piper gets back, whatever she will let me." Alex closed her eyes and realized a tear had escaped onto her cheek as she heard a click ending the call. She slumped a little against the wall. She had to face the truth, Piper Chapman was still inevitable for her.