Bode felt the makeshift blade sink forcefully into his flesh. The pain was instant. Before he could stop it, the blade pierced him twice more. It didn't take long until he could feel blood start to fill his lungs. It's metallic scent filling his nostrils as he struggled to bring air into his chest.

He could hear yelling, but the three inmates had Bode pinned on the ground face down, so he couldn't turn his head to see anything around him.

"Fuckin' rat," a voice whispered directly into his ear. Then everything went black.

Bode woke days later. He was in the prison infirmary in Lompoc. Groggy and disoriented, he tried to piece together what happened.

"Donovan is awake," Bode heard the nurse call out to the doctor.

"It's Leone," Bode tried to say, but his throat felt like it was made of sandpaper, so no sound came out.

The doctor walked over slowly. "Do you know what happened to you, inmate?"

Bode shook his head and tried again to speak but only a raspy whisper came out. "No, ma'am"

"You are at Lompoc Federal Penitentiary. You were in a fight. You sustained a head wound and three deep lacerations from a hand-crafted shiv, which resulted in a collapsed lung," the doctor explained carefully, making sure he understood her. "The reason it hurts to talk is because of the breathing tube you had down your throat during surgery. It will probably be sore for a day or two."

"I'll let the warden know you're awake. He will let your lawyer know, along with your next of kin... if you have any."

"Did they damage either of my kidneys?" Bode managed to get out as a whisper.

"No, it doesn't appear so," the doctor answered with a questioning tone, but didn't press him for information. "Rest now. Your body has a lot of healing to do."

Bode nodded defeatedly.

Every part of him hurt. He tried to lift his hand to the bump he could feel on his head, then realized that he was handcuffed to the hospital bed. He rolled his eyes in frustration. He couldn't believe he was back here again. Bode knew he was lucky to simply to be alive, but he couldn't help his heart from sinking.

"How are you feeling this morning, Donovan?" the doctor asked waking Bode from his sleep.

He opened his eyes slowly. It was the same doctor that had spoken with him the day before. She was younger and prettier than he'd realized in his daze yesterday. She had light brown hair and green eyes. There was something guarded about her, both in how she stood at the end of his bed and in the look in her eyes. Bode decided that was understandable given that she was a young doctor in a federal prison.

She sat on a stool beside his bed and opened a file folder with his name on it.

"My name is actually Bode Leone," Bode said firmly.

She looked back down at his folder, her eyes full of confusion. "I'm not sure that I understand what you're saying? Are you not Bode Donovan? Has there been a mix-up with another inmate?"

"No. Sorry. I changed my name... the name I was born with is Bode Leone," he explained.

"I see. Well, until you legally change your name back and register it with the California Department of Corrections, you're Donovan," she replied with a small smile and a firm nod that Bode took to mean the matter was closed.

She flipped through his file and looked back up at Bode. "Okay... I'm Doctor Lewis. I'm going to be managing your care while you're in here. Given the circumstances that brought you back here from the Fire Camp program, you will be undergoing weekly drug tests. Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," Bode replied quietly.

"It looks like you've made some enemies in here. That's impressive since you've only been back for a couple of days. I've been here over a year and haven't seen anything quite like that."

Bode just nodded.

"According to your file, you've refused all visitors except for your lawyer. Is that correct?"

Bode nodded again.

"Two years is a long time to be in here without any support. You may want to reconsider that."

"It's better for everyone ma'am," Bode said sadly looking down at his hands.

"Okay. If that's what you want. Let me just get your painkillers and then we'll be all done here."

Bode shook his head. "Please don't give me any of those. That's what got me here in the first place. A baseball injury that led to an addiction that led to desperation and ultimately landed me in here with a 5 year sentence."

"Are you certain? You've got 3 deep stab wounds, not to mention the beating that you took..." she asked sympathetically, her green eyes connecting with his piercing blue ones.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Okay Donovan. I'll be back this evening to check on you. Try to get some rest if you can."

Dr. Sarah Lewis dropped down into her desk chair with a sigh. She pulled up Bode Donovan's file on her computer and started adding notes from her consultation with him.

She flipped through his file thinking about his refusal to take any pain killers. It didn't seem consistent with the behaviour of an active addict.

She leaned around the corner of her office, so she could see the nurses station. "Nicole? Did the pre-op bloodwork for Bode Donovan come back yet?"

"It did. Just 30 mins ago. Here you go," the young nurse said handing the paperwork to her.

"Thanks!"

Sarah scanned the report. "Negative for narcotics," she said aloud to herself. "If he tested positive with a urine test last week, it definitely would still have shown up in a blood test. Maybe he has even more enemies than he realizes," she said shaking her head.