Chapter Text
*Mark’s POV*
As a child I had big dreams. At age five I wanted to be an actor. At age ten I wanted to be in a rock band, and when I was 18 I wanted to be an engineer. But sometimes those big dreams you have as a child, are exactly just that…dreams. I could lie and say I failed at becoming those things, but really I just gave up. After the death of my father, and after becoming disowned from the rest of my family for being gay, I kind of just stopped trying. Why should I try if everyone I knew throughout my life knows I wont succeed. I already am a failure in their eyes, so I might as well keep it that way.
But here lies the problem of giving up on your dreams. I now lived in a small, one bedroom apartment, where the neighborhood was shit, and the apartments themselves weren’t even safe. My front door didn’t even lock. And my job as a bagger at a grocery store wasn’t doing it for me. So, my friend Tyler decided to help me out. He told me about this job at the prison where he works, and they were looking for another night guard. I didn’t need any training, I just had to make sure everything was set and okay in the place. I could do that! So, that’s what brings me here to this prison, in the middle of nowhere in Cincinnati, Ohio.
I walked into the front doors and saw my buddy Tyler waiting for me.
“Hey man! You made it!” he greeted me with a hug. I hugged back with a smile.
“Of course dude. I need this job right now if I wanna avoid being evicted from my place.”
Tyler nodded his head and then motioned for me to follow him through the doors.
“Alright, let’s head to the main office and I’ll help you get set up.” Tyler said. I nodded and followed him down a dark hallway. A couple lights flickered as we walked underneath them. This place sure did creep me out. As we entered the main office, Tyler handed me a uniform, a flashlight, a set of keys, and a walkie talkie.
“No weapons?” I asked him curiously. He laughed at me in response.
“No way dude. We’re only night guards, not actual cops. We aren’t allowed any, but don’t worry, the prisoners are locked up good.”
“If you say so.” Something in my gut was telling me I needed a weapon, but I didn’t want to pester Tyler. He was right anyways, I’m no cop, just a guy who has to be a guard to earn a living. Once Tyler was done showing me the security controls, and rules, I changed into my uniform, and followed him to the prison cells. My heart began to beat a little faster, and I couldn’t help but be nervous. Tyler told me how some of these guys weren’t just thieves, but violent men who had no empathy for other humans. The prison was small, and only held sixteen men, but still these are definitely not the type of people you should befriend.
We started down the long hallway to the cells, and then after Tyler slid his key card into the control panel, the door unlocked with a click and we headed inside. There was the sound of chatter, and some banging at times, as the prisoners were talking among themselves.
“Alright.” Tyler said looking at me.
“Just walk with me as I do my nightly check and turn the lights out, just so you get an idea of how it’s done.”
I nodded and followed him towards the first row of cells on the left. There were two hallways, upstairs and downstairs, where you could see everything, and in the middle was a wide, open space. Each row had four cells. Four on the top left, top right, bottom left, and bottom right, making a total of sixteen cells. Tyler and I were the only guards here, which made me a little more nervous. That sure didn’t seem safe enough. We headed to the left and up the stairs first.
“Alright!” Tyler yelled a little to the first cell.
“Lights will go out in 5 minutes, so get ready for sleep.” I looked inside the first cell, and saw a tall man sitting on the bed. He had long, brown hair, tied back in a pony tail.
“Got it boss.” He sighed. Tyler continued walking down the left side of cells, letting everyone know it was time for bed soon, while casually looking inside each cell. The point was to make sure nothing suspicious was going on, as well as informing them to get ready for bed. We did the same on the top right, and then headed downstairs. We started walking to the bottom left cells, when Tyler stopped abruptly, causing me to almost slam into him. He turned around facing me.
“I’m just warning you Mark, the bottom level is filled with more of the…uh, more dangerous criminals. They aren’t the nicest guys, and they’re crude, and may say some things that’ll make you uncomfortable. You’ll learn to get used to it, but I wanted to let you know beforehand.”
“Uh y-yeah. I’ll uh, I’ll be fine.” I nodded. It was clear by the slight waver in my voice that I was nervous, but I was a grown man. These are prisoners. They can’t touch me, they’re locked in a cell, and I should be fine. We started walking down the left side of the cells.
“Get ready for bed gentlemen, lights will be going out in five!” Tyler yelled. Some of the guys inside would call out to me, calling me names, like pig, or they would bang against the bars to see me jump. They clearly knew I was the new guy, and were trying to scare me off. I did my best to ignore them as we made our way down. As we made our way to the third cell, and Tyler said his announcement, a big man with short black hair, covered in tattoos and scars sat up out of bed. He began walking toward the bars of the cell, staring directly at me.
“Hey boss who’s the new guy?” The man asked. His voice was deep and gravelly, making me shiver. He was looking me up and down too, and I couldn’t help but shift back and forth uncomfortably. This guy was way bigger than me, and with all the scars and artwork on his buff body, I was definitely intimidated.
“He’s the new night guard, Damien. Don’t worry about it.” Tyler responded.
“He sure is prettier than the last guy.” The guy, apparently named Damien, said.
“You into men pretty boy?” Damien asked, looking right at me. I flinched a bit, not expecting that question.
“I uh..”
“Back off Damien.” Tyler growled. He then grabbed my arm and led me to the next cell. He gave me a nod of reassurance to check if I was okay, and I nodded back. The next cell caught my attention more though. A skinny guy with bright green hair atop of his head was lying in bed, with a book in his hand.
“Hey Sean, lights out soon alright?” Tyler tells him. Sean looks up and notices me. He then jumps out of bed with a smile, and practically skips to the cell bars where we’re standing.
“Hey there buddy! My name’s Sean, but you can call me Jack.” His smile was contagious, and I couldn’t help but smile back. I also noticed a slight accent in his voice, maybe Irish?
“Mark. I’m the new night guard.” I replied.
“Oh sweet! I love meeting new people! Especially cute ones.” He says the last part with a waggle of the eyebrows. I can’t help but blush. While that Damien guy had me creeped out, Sean made me feel something in my stomach. I had butterflies talking to this guy, which should seem wrong considering he’s a criminal. Who knows what he’s in here for! He could have murdered someone! But while I felt unsafe around all the other prisoners, Sean had me feeling light and airy. I felt safe around him, even though we’ve only spoken for about two seconds.
“I hope to see more of you Mark.” Sean admits. I smile at him, and nod my head.
“I’m sure you will Sean.”
“Please, call me Jack.” I smile again.
“Okay, Jack.”