Keary Taylor - The Ashes

Its been three days since they brought any food. From the shouts and banging that echo throughout the block Im guessing that Im not the only one starving. The inmate in the cell next to mine lets out a string of cuss words you only learn when youve spent a few years on the inside.

So this is how its going to be? my neighbor shouts to no one in particular. Youre just going to let us starve? What, did the red, white, and blue finally run out of flow or something? Just gonna leave me here to rot?

The guy next door always did have a loud mouth.

My stomach rumbles as I lie on my hard bed and stare up at the gray ceiling.

Where is everyone?

The schedule in here is clockwork. No deviations. But no one on D block has seen a single guard in three days, not since they brought dinner four nights ago.

Guards dont simply disappear.

Somethings wrong.

Five days.

Weve all had to dig into our stock piles of hidden food. Some of us will be good for a week, some us for only a few days.

The hunger makes the violence and vile words grow worse.

Today we heard shots being fired somewhere out in the direction of GP. Even more shots out toward Medical. I didnt think they were going to end when I heard them out toward Death Row.

Eighteen days now.

I ran out of food five days ago.

My hands are shaking and my eyes cant seem to focus just right. My body wants to be sick but there isnt anything except water in it.

Never thought Id be so grateful for the tiny sink and toilet combo in my cell. Never thought Id have to rely on it to survive.

I havent heard much from the guy next door in the last twenty-four hours. Hes worn himself out and reduced his ranting and shouts to just the occasional pounding. Hes getting quieter.

The whole block is.

Twenty-three days since weve seen anyone. At least a week since everyone ran out of their food hoard. And yesterday morning the water shut off.

It smells. D block always smelled bad.

But not like this.

I dont hear voices any more. Occasionally someone gives a weak kick at their door. Every few hours someone moans. Or cries.

You dont cry in here. Not if you want to stay alive.

But if Im guessing right, a few of us dont carry the status of living anymore.

I dont want to think that I might be headed in that direction soon. I cant even climb out of this bed. I can hardly lift my arms or move my head. I dont even feel hungry anymore. I just feel

I hear something.

A door creeks open, or maybe closed.

And suddenly theres the familiar buzzing sound of the cell doors sliding open.

Hello? I say. At first my voice doesnt work. Hello? Is anyone out there?

Feet shuffle somewhere out in the corridor, but they pause just outside my cell. I sense their hesitancy, as if theyre debating just taking off and leaving me here alone to rot.

Please, I said, my voice sounding weak. Please dont leave. Get me out of here.

They hesitate a moment longer, their weight shifting back and forth.

You may as well stay here, a voice says. Something is tossed and lands on the floor of my cell. Everyones as good as dead out there.

What do you mean? I say as I try and roll over to see what was thrown.

Dont let them touch you, the voice says. Anyone. Dont let anyone touch you. Thats all that matters.

And then the footsteps retreat and Im alone again.

I wake sometime later and find that Im on the cold gray floor. My arm is outstretched, reaching for something lying on the ground. I can only assume I passed out earlier.

The man in the dark. Something was thrown.

I make my way to my hands and knees and crawl to it.

Its a plastic bag. The kind you get at the grocery store. Inside it is a bottle of water, half a loaf of slightly moldy bread, two Snickers bars, and a small cup of applesauce.

Ive devoured half of it before my brain fully registers that Ive eaten.

Massive stomach cramps immobilize me and soon Im lying on my back again, staring up at the gray ceiling. My eyes open and shut in pain. But its a good pain. It means maybe I wont die today.

My eyes trail across the ceiling to the entrance to my cell. The door is still open.

But I dont even have the strength to crawl out it.

Seven years. Seven years Ive occupied this cell in the SHU. D block is the segregated housing unit. I deserve my stay. But after seven years, my chance at freedom is right there, and I dont even have the strength to get to my feet.

You still alive? a voice says. Suddenly Im blinded and I feel my eyelids being pulled open.

My fist connects with a jaw in fight or flight reaction.

Someone curses and stumbles away. A flashlight hits the floor and rolls into the corner. I shakily climb to my feet but nearly fall to the ground again. My muscles seem to have forgotten how to work.

The figure in the dark is still cursing when the flashlight is turned back in my direction.

Guess youre still alive then, they say. Youre the only one on D block.

Everyone else? Once again my voice is haggard.

Theyre dead. Starvation and dehydration took em, he says as he walks closer to me. His gray prison clothes match mine. Probably best. Come on, weve got to get out of here.

I dont question him as we head out the door. I grab the sack with the remaining food before we leave.

Out on the walkway, the smell is overwhelming. Some of them must have died at least a week ago if it already smells this bad.

The corridor leading to Medicals blocked off, the guy says and starts toward the isolation rec block instead of out toward GP. The only way in or out of the prison is though Medical. Roofs caved in. I was hoping thered be another way out in your neck of the woods.

I dont look into the other cells as we pass by.

The doors are open out to the isolation rec block that separates the SHU where I reside and Death Row. Im momentarily blinded as I look up at the barbwire-covered opening. Out to freedom.

Were both deathly quiet as we walk through the narrow block toward the next door.

This one is open too.

Death Row is silent and smells worse than the SHU. I dare a glance into one of the cells. Theres a man lying on the floor, flat on his back. Hes staring blankly up at the ceiling, a bullet hole between his eyes.

Every single one of them was shot.

Rough, my companion says quietly as we work our way to the end of the block.

We luck out and find the door leading out to the main corridor open.

Its as if someone decided we were all going to die anyway and just opened every single door. Maybe they figured wed kill each other off.

We step out into the main corridor. I glance back in the direction of the SHU and GP and see the roof has indeed collapsed, blocking off the back end of the prison.

Whats going on? I ask. The entire prison looks abandoned. There are bullet holes and shell casings everywhere. What happened?

Not sure exactly, my companion says. I saw something on the news before all this, something about zombies, I thought. Didnt pay attention cause I thought it was a joke or something, you know? Havent you heard anything?

No, I say simply, my jaw tightening.

Oh, right, he says, barely glancing back at me. D block. Segregation.

There was someone else, I say as we turn left down a hall. Gave me food, kept me from starving. I think it must have been a guard since he opened the doors. But he said not to touch anyone. You know anything about that?