Desolate The Complete Trilogy

5



A dirty hand clamped over Howard’s mouth and something sharp poked into his throat. It took him a second to realize where he was, but he had no idea what was happening. He could make out a face above him in the dim light of the barracks. It was the crazy Briton who had yelled at him for sitting on the bunk. He hissed at him in the darkness, inches from Howard’s face. His foul breath almost made Howard gag.

“Don’t make a thumb-suckin’ sound or I’ll cut yer billy goat and do wot I cheese anyhow. I’ll be takin’ your ones and twos and anythin’ else I see fit.”

Howard just stared at him.

Losing his patience, he explained again to Howard. “Your shoes. Give me your bloody shoes. Slip them off real nice and quiet like.”

He released his grip from Howard’s mouth and let him sit up so he could untie his laces. Howard could now see what poked at his throat. It looked like a piece of bed spring sharpened to a fine point. He slipped off his shoes and handed them over.

“There’s a good lad. You got any fags, I’ll be taking them too.”

“I don’t smoke.”

“None of you yanks smoke no more, I swear,” he glanced nervously around the room and attempted to lower his voice some more.

“Listen Junior, I just happen to run this bloody place so’s I do wot I please. I may as well be walking bare foot in me sorry pair so I earned these shoes. You start any trouble and me and mine will work you over real proper. Got it?”

The shadow of a man rose behind the shoe thief and knocked him to the floor. It was Carl O’Donnell.

“What the f*ck do you think you’re doing you little piece of shit?”

“You got me all wrong mate! I weren’t doing nothing at all!”

Carl jumped on top of him and punched him over and over again in the face.

“It’s okay Carl, take it easy.” Howard jumped up. “You’re going to get us in trouble!” Carl kept pummeling him as Howard tried to pull him off.

All the commotion got the attention of a couple of guards outside and they pierced the darkness of the room with their powerful flashlights.

The guards produced their billy clubs and took turn bludgeoning Carl, who gave no notice to the guards and continued his beating. He finally gave up and fell to the floor.

Most of the other inmates stood by, watching the entertainment.

“All right, everyone back in their beds or I’ll whack the snot out of every one of you motherf*ckers!” One of the guards pulled out a pair of flex cuffs and secured Carl.

“I got him for ya buddy,” said Carl through his bloody lips. “Like I said, we got to stick together.”

One of the guards kicked him hard in the ribs. “Shut the f*ck up, piss hole!” He turned to the two closest inmates and pointed to the unconscious shoe thief on the floor. “You and you. Carry this pile of shit to the infirmary.”

He raised his voice to yell at the rest of the convicts. “I don’t even want to know what these two perverts were up to! If I hear so much as a wet fart slip out of this place I’ll have both gun towers empty their drums into this dump.”

With that, they led Carl out the door into the night. The inmates returned to their beds and so did Howard. He found his shoes on the floor and put them back on before going over to the shoe thief’s bed and taking his ratty blanket.

Only about fifty years to go.