The Virus by Lee, Damien (summer books txt) 📕

Frank groaned into his hands. He knew what effects segregation could have on a prisoner, but he never expected them to set in so quickly. Yet here he was listening to the most feared inmate in prison belting out the sixties classic. A guard’s heavy footsteps were almost drowned out by Razor’s performance.

“Gus!” It was the voice of the young guard Frank had heard the night before. “What the hell are you doing? Stop singing! Stop dancing!”

Razor ignored the command as he reached the climax of his song. Frank could only laugh in disbelief as the tone-deaf chorus reached his ears.

Hysterics broke out all along the corridor as Gus started his second verse. The only person not amused was the young guard.

“I’m warning you, Gus! Shut up or I’ll come in there and silence you!”

The singing continued with no heed being given to the guard’s warning. Frank heard a rattling of keys as the guard swung open Razor’s door. The singing stopped as a loud thud sounded down the corridor. After a few muffled thumps, Gus Razor’s voice boomed louder than ever with his second chorus. He made his way along the corridor, jingling a set of keys merrily as he went. Frank sat up, listening as all the doors were opened. The prisoners exclaimed as they were released by Gus, who eventually made his way to Frank’s cell.

“Rise and shine, Frankie.” He grinned through the viewing compartment. “Fancy a walk?”

“Why? We’ll only get banged up again in a few minutes.”

“True, but don’t you want to see something other than these four walls?”

“I rather like these walls,” Frank retorted, looking around at the scrawls on the white paint.

“Well, I’ll still open the door. Feel free to leave if your big head can fit through.” With a rattle of keys, Frank’s door swung wide. He looked at Gus with raised eyebrows. The older man looked haggard. His greying hair was unkempt, and the bags under his eyes indicated a lack of sleep.

“Henderson’s gonna have your balls for this,” Frank muttered as Gus twirled the key chain around his finger.

“You let me deal with Henderson.”

Gus left the cell as he went to join the rest of the prisoners. Frank heard them laughing and joking at the end of the corridor. He hesitated a moment before stepping out. The rest of the men had convened at the barred gates at the end of the hall. Frank slowly approached, aware that they were being watched by at least two overhead cameras.

“So, are we going to break out of here or what?” one man asked, running a hand over his beard.

“Don’t be a fuckwit all your life, Craddock!” Gus snapped. “This is a high security prison. You can’t just clonk a guard on the head and stroll out through the front doors.”

“What’s stopping us? We’ve got the keys!” He motioned towards the key chain in Razor’s hand.

The gangland boss looked around at his thug with a frown.

“Have a word with this one, will you, Tony,” he said. “There are hundreds of locked gates, CCTV at every turn, and enough guards to fill a Pink Floyd concert twice-over!”

“So what’re we doing here?”

“Waiting.”

“Waiting? For what?”

Gus looked from face to face. “I just thought you boys would like to stretch your legs a bit. I know I didn’t want to stay in that cell any longer.”

“You know they’re gonna drag us right back in there,” Frank said from the back of the group. “Why waste your time and get into more trouble?”

“Well, truth be told, I was sick of that smarmy cunt staring at me.” He motioned to his cell where the unconscious guard lay sprawled on the floor.

“And what else?”

Gus ignored Frank’s question and looked back through the barred gate expectantly.

“So don’t any of those keys open that gate?” one prisoner asked half-heartedly. His Polish accent was strong, distinguishing him from the rest of the crowd.

“Have you seen how many keys are on here? I can’t be arsed to sift through them all. We’ll only get a few feet before we hit another barrier!”

“Let me try.”

“There was more chance of your boys escaping Auschwitz than getting out of this place, Zielinski,” Gus muttered, tossing the key chain to the prisoner.

The Polish man ignored the remark. Catching the keys, he made his way forward.

The group watched as he tried five keys, all to no avail. He was halfway through trying the sixth when a rubber bullet struck him in the chest. The crowd backed away as Zielinski fell to the ground, writhing in agony. A few seconds later, an array of armed guards came bursting through the gate.

“C’mon then lads, back in the hole.”

Gus motioned for the prisoners to head back to their cells. Frank watched him curiously as the crime boss scanned the rabble of guards that spilled into the corridor. Henderson was among them, yet Razor paid him no heed as he continued to search the crowd. Eventually, he strode over to an unfamiliar face. Frank could not recall seeing the guard in the past, but watching their exchange, he was sure it was the same person Razor had spoken to the previous night. He watched as Gus handed the man a piece of paper. Before he could see anything else, one of the guards grabbed Frank.

“Back to your cell, Lee!”

“I’m not gonna lose my way, you prick,” Frank snapped, shrugging off the guard’s grip.

“Get in there!” The guard shoved Frank into a new cell.

“What the hell is this?” he yelled as the door swung closed. He looked around at his new abode with disgust. Someone had pulled the bed apart, with blue foam strewn across the floor. The room smelled heavily of urine, with a dark yellow puddle in the corner of the room. Frank longed for