The cell door slowly opened and upon first glance Carla saw nobody inside. She was concentrating hard on the little room, so hard in fact that she wasn't expecting it when Jessica roughly shoved her inside. The door slammed behind her, a sound she was becoming familiar with since arriving inside. In a desperate panic she scanned the room to see whom she was trapped with this time. It was empty, a skeleton of a shell and you would have thought this would have relieved Carla but no, this worried her more. Fear of the unknown once again started to get the better of her.
Michelle gasped downstairs having witnessed Jessica push Carla and then slam a door. She too was filled with panic, frightened for her friend fighting battles alone. Michelle had never seen herself or thought of herself as weak but that was suddenly changing. She felt like a pathetic failure for retreating and not standing up against Denzy but there wasn't much she could do right now. Glancing up through the flooring she managed to find her eyes meeting with Jessica's, who glared at her and it was enough to send her scurrying back into the safe confines of her cell.
Shutting the door to Michelle returned to her bunk and crawled beneath the thin sheet in an attempt to hide. She feared Jessica's arrival. Seconds later with her heart thumping she heard the clicking of heels come to a halt outside her door and knew Jessica had arrived. Momentarily she was sure she had stopped breathing as she awaited the unknown.
Seconds later and the heavy metal cell door creaked open, not far, but enough for a skinny girl like Jessica to easily squeeze through. Once inside the familiar tapping of her boots stopped again and she bellowed out Michelle's surname as if she were calling a dog. Still hiding beneath the sheet Michelle silently prayed that the girl would go away. She didn't want a fight or any trouble, she just wanted to be left alone. In the cold of the cell Jessica was growing impatient, her frustrations towards Michelle increasing. Tiptoeing but with maximum noise she headed over to the bed reached across and grabbed the sheet ripping it off to reveal a shaken and teary Michelle curled up against the wall in a protective position.
"Well...well...well" stated Jessica as Michelle allowed herself to slowly turn and look up at her. "Look at the state of you...GET UP!" she yelled.
Michelle moved without hesitation at the snap of Jessica's voice but it was too slow for her liking. Giving Michelle a helping hand she grabbed her arm and yanked her up onto feet. Like a dead weight, Michelle hung there making Jessica hold her upright. Then when Jessica went to leave she stayed rooted to the spot so she had to tug her to make her move. She pulled her along behind her and then threw her forward as the rest of the inmates formed a circle around her. Looking around she found it very daunting and suddenly felt sick. She knew she mustn't vomit but the urge was strong. It tasted disgusting as she swallowed down what had already risen and looked around her to try and get a better idea of what was going on.
Michelle's eyes then landed on Denzy, coming from a higher floor and making a racket as she thudded down the stairs. Her eyes were fixated on the approaching bully and she couldn't bring herself to look around for any help. Any thought of Carla seemed to have run from her mind and of Amy too, not that she would be any help as timid and shy as she was. Denzy slowly approached with a grin plastered on her face that could not be mistaken for anything but menacing. She was up to something and Michelle knew it.
On the second floor, still trapped inside an empty cell and highly confused by it Carla was growing ever anxious. She knew from pressing her ear up against the door that no one seemed to be collected outside but she couldn't hear anything else but the faint echoes. She assumed it was just the noise of the everyday hustle and bustle of prison life so she was unaware of the commotion developing downstairs concerning her best friend. She was pacing up and down when she suddenly heard a thundering roar from below and ran back to the door. It echoed up and all around the empty cold building of the wing and then was followed by an almighty scream that did the same.
In her chest Carla could feel her heart beating in a painful and erratic manner. She was fearing the worst and imaging things that she prayed were only fragments of her imagination and not a reality. It suddenly made sense, she wasn't locked in a cell to fear for her own life, in was an act of deterrence. Pushing up against the door she started to shout to Jessica and Denzy, threats she knew they would never hear unless they were stood right outside but she had to try. Wearing herself out she banged against the door and screamed until she was completely exhausted and out of breath. Giving up she slid down the door and tried to calm herself, being trapped inside there was nothing she could do but she swore the second they let her out there would be trouble if Michelle had come to any harm in her absence.
Having parted the circle of waiting inmates Denzy had entered the ring and come face to face with a timid and scared Michelle. She seemed unusually positive and full of life and energy which frightened Michelle even more. The girls had then all crowded in tight like a human barricade and blocking out any potential help from the screws. Michelle was alone. They all started chanting and cheering making her only too aware that she was in for a beating. With heavy footing Denzy approached her. She tried to stand tall and proud but her body language made it only too clear she intimidated. It gave Denzy even more confidence as she lifted her fist and then in what seemed like slow motion lowered it to deliver a deadly blow to Michelle's lower left side.
Having knocked her opponent to the ground with only one swoop and a loud scream Denzy thundered down on top of her and started pummelling with her fists. Michelle didn't try to fight back, she only tried to protect herself as Denzy attacked anywhere that she could get to. After a few more blows the pain was just so intense that it silenced Michelle and she could scream no more. If Denzy thought she was teaching her a lesson she certainly was, Michelle just didn't know what about. Beaten almost to a pulp and black and blue Michelle felt almost grateful when Denzy suddenly stopped and got up. She stood tall and sweaty over the pathetic mess of Michelle, dripping with sweat and covered in her victims blood as she glared down at Michelle whilst summoning Jessica. Spit dribbled from her lips as she hovered over Michelle and landed on her face rather disgustingly.
"Bring 'er" she boomed, pointing down to the wreck upon the floor and Jessica obeyed. She hissed at her loyal helpers who quickly came running to help. They scooped Michelle up and dragged her along as the crowd dispersed. Following Denzy up the stairs they didn't take much care of Michelle's body painfully knocking her about. Coming to a stop outside a cell Michelle failed to put two an two together to realise it was the one which contained her friend Carla. She groaned when the two clearly weaker girls heaved her up further onto her feet and forced her to stand between them as Denzy opened the door.
It alerted Carla's attention straight away, startling her when she heard a key in the lock and noise coming from just the other side of the door. Quickly she scrambled up onto her feet and turned to face in that direction trying to be ready for whatever happened next. She didn't realise she was holding her breath until she gasped at the sight of Michelle hanging off of the girl's arm's as they all came inside on mass. They breezed straight passed Carla and dumped Michelle in the corner. The two lesser known girl's then quickly disappeared after that and slammed the door as they left but Denzy and Jessica remained. They were currently blocking Carla's full view of Michelle but she didn't need to see to know what a mess they had made of her.
Denzy turned, facing Carla with a harsh and stern look on her face. She had a glint in her eye, marking again that hint of mischief and Jessica's sparkled with what seemed like amusement and admiration. They examined Carla and she did them also, trying to figure out what might happen so that she had time to think. They didn't give her chance, Denzy approached her and stood in close proximity.
"Come on then love, show me what your made of" Denzy snarled as she gestured with her head back towards Michelle. Carla peered round and winced, she wasn't sure exactly what Denzy was asking of her. With wide eyes Denzy grabbed Carla's cheeks, pinching painfully and forced her to look her in the eye.
"Finish 'er" she snarled, her top lip curling in amusement as Carla suddenly whitened in colour as a result of fright.