OKAY. FINE. IT SHALL BE POSTED.

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With In, Out Cast

Yes, I watch too many prison documentaries. Who cares.
Do I own anything? Hopefully not.
 

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PART ONE
Hello, my name is Ako Izumi. I’m a 15-year-old middle-school student. I’m a pretty normal person, and there’s really nothing special about me. I have a happy family and great friends. I try to get decent marks at school, and I stay out of the trouble. My life is quite a routine. I go to school in the morning. I come home in the afternoon. I have three meals a day, and I always go to bed at ten o’clock, and wake up at seven. You would probably think my life is pretty boring, since nothing happens.

Well, something did happen, ten years ago. I suppose there is something that I have that others don’t. You see, when I was five, I almost died. I had a really bad injury—on my back. I don’t remember how that happened, and whenever I try to bring it up, as in, ask someone who I knew had known about it, they always changed the subject. Now, there’s a really big scar there. I really don’t like that mark, either. It keeps reminding me that something bad happened before. I know I don’t remember it, but I do want to forget about it completely.

Otherwise, my life is normal, and I have a normal family and happy—and normal friends. It seemed like nothing would ever change in my life. While it would be nice to one day lead some sort of exciting life, it’s not something I ever see myself in. I will never be the main character of a story. I would probably be a background character, since nothing exciting happens in my life.

That was why I was shocked when the judge’s hammer slammed down on his desk. Now my life will no longer be normal, even though I had done nothing to change it. I was found guilty for a crime that I don’t even remember committing. The evidence was kind of shaky, but it did seem like it led to me. I am now on a bus heading towards a prison for assault. I don’t even know the person who I apparently committed assault to. I didn’t even see any injuries on them, but nevertheless, I had lost my freedom.

As the bus drew closer to the building I would be at for six years, it looked like something was happening there. An alarm was off, and I could hear yelling and screaming, along with gunshots. My chest started to go off like the alarm too…the noise and the prison itself looked intimidating.

But I had no choice. This would be where I will remain for a long while.

-

”Get down! GET DOWN!” Sergeant Takahata was running through the yard, heading towards a very heated corner. He was yelling at the other inmates not involved to lie down. If they didn’t they would get hit by the gunfire. Officer Seruhiko was alongside him as they reached the fight at the far side of the yard.

A voice came from Seruhiko’s radio, “What’s going on? Is it drugs!?”

”Worse, the Black Lillies gang and the Mahora gang are in a fight—again,” he replied, “they’re using weapons this time. We need backup…and bring more shields!”

A flying object smashed onto the basketball court, and it erupted into a haze of tear gas. Some of the prisoners fell to the ground, but it was mostly ineffective. Verbal and physical abuse was in every direction. One inmate had even ripped the chain off the basketball hoop and was smashing people in the head with it.

Finally, the cops managed to control everything, using tasers and guns with rubber bullets. Unfortunately, the damage was done. Puddles of blood painted the concrete of the yard, while bodies from the disastrous fight lay in heaps. Various weapons made from everyday items such as the chiselling of an aluminium can or the sawed off corners of metal bed frames were confiscated from any remaining inmates. The officers had done their job, but it was sad to see that even young girls could be capable of such violence in this day and age.

 

“One dead, countless injured. This is one of the worst fights yet,” the sergeant said, “Is the whole place locked down?”

”Almost, there are newcomers still waiting at the lobby,” Seruhiko said, “we need to get them into their cells quick. I’ll clean up here, okay?”

”Alright, I’ll send Officer Oukouchi down to take care of them,” Takahata said. The guards went off to do their duties.

-

Ako Izumi sat on the few chairs that were available at the waiting room. There were a few other newcomers like her. They were all older, and Ako didn’t want to affiliate with them. Their eyes gave her a vision of fear, the same fear that she got whenever she tried to remember how she got her grievous injury years ago. She stared down at her wrists, cuffed. She remembered when she first got these chains latched onto her. She kept wanting to believe that it was all a mistake—and it was, but she had expected them to clear it up.

She was innocent…in a place filled with those who are definitely not innocent.

Ten minutes had gone by, that one guard who stood by the door had not moved an inch. Ako was intrigued how workers here could stand for a period of time without even moving, almost as if they looked like the standing dead. There was basically silence except for the chit chat between the other newcomers. The guard had explained before that their incarceration was being delayed by apparently a fight that erupted in the yard. That was the cause of all the yelling and screaming, plus the alarm. Since this correction center was incredibly understaffed, every officer was out trying to clean up and fix the whole problem from the yard.

One person was dead from being stabbed fifty-two times by another inmate. The guard had told that to them in such a deadpan and uncaring voice, that Ako feared that there was to be no emotion around here. Obviously, being such a dangerous area full of insane criminals it would be rather scary, but if they didn’t even sound worried about the death of one of the prisoners, perhaps something like this happened often. Understandably, sweat rolled down Ako’s face. She wasn’t even supposed to be here…how would she even survive? Her gaze still focused on her cuffed wrists, waiting in anticipation where they would put her.

“Ah, Officer Oukouchi, finally,” the guard said as a relatively young-looking cop walked in, “anything new about the incident?”

She replied, “They caught the perpetrator relatively fast. She’s being transferred to solitary confinement until they determine her permanent punishment.”

 “I see…who was the victim? The one dead, that is.”

”She was part of the Mahora gang, the leader actually. I’m thinking the inmates of that gang will be infuriated and prone to attack back for revenge the next time they’re in the yard. That’s why Captain Tatsumiya decided to put most of them and most of the opponent gang in different divisions for now,” she explained, “unfortunately that means we have less cells because most of them are now housed singularly.”

By single file, each newcomer lined by the desk to be determined where they would be living for their time in this building, Ako was last. When she finally got up to the desk, the officer stared at her for a moment.

”Something wrong, Officer?” The guard asked.

”Got a problem, the purgatory section is completely full…” She said, typing on the computer, “Hm, in fact everything here is completely full.”

”Odd, I thought we released twenty inmates for finishing their sentence last week,” the guard said, “this place is just too crowded.”

The officer continued her typing, “Yeah, but we get more than we can release. I think there’s some room up in section 3-A.”

”Oh right,” the guard said, “there is room there now…but isn’t that place a little risky for a newcomer?”

Officer Oukouchi looked up at Ako. She noticed several features that might endanger her in that area. The newest inmate’s eyes were round, big, and even innocent. She had short-cropped hair, and was quite small for her age. The officer stroked her chin, “Other areas are probably even more dangerous. We can’t just put her in solitary confinement, which is quite free, for her first time here. I’m going to put her in section 3-A.” She then turned to Ako, “Your number is 112188-05. Ako Izumi, is it?”

”Yes ma’am,” Ako replied, trying to be as polite as possible.

Officer Oukouchi looked through the papers, “4’10’’…no previous crimes…someone like you committed first degree assault? Really?”

”Uh…” Ako searched her brain what to say. If she told the truth, they would think she was lying, but if she told the lie, they would regard it as the truth, “I’m not sure, ma’am.”

”When was the last time I heard that as an answer?” The guard said, “most of them either say they did or didn’t, but obviously they all did, or they wouldn’t be here.”

Ako’s heart sank. She was still clinging to the hope that someone out there would revisit this case, and find a hole that would lead to her being not guilty. She was aware that this didn’t happen often, and after the verdict, nothing could be done, but she never really realized it even though the fact was floating right in front of her nose. She ended up just nodding to all the questions the officer asked.

”You’re an interesting one, that’s for sure,” Officer Oukouchi said, “you’re the first criminal I encountered who’s this polite.”

The guard crossed his arms, “You’ve only been here for two weeks.”

”Still, you said inmates can recognize new recruits like me, and they don’t treat newbies well, as I’ve heard.”

The officer put all the papers into an envelope and handed it to the guard, then turned back to face Ako, “Your face doesn’t look like what a criminal would look like,” she started, “nor is your figure…” The officer shook her head in some sort of disbelief, realizing that even people who look like angels could commit horrid things like this. She continued, “The place I’m assigning you is slightly more dangerous then where newcomers would usually go. Your cellmate shouldn’t be a problem though. I don’t usually say this, but it’s best that you get affiliated with a gang to avoid problems. I definitely don’t see you lasting her very long as a loner. Alright, the papers are done. She’s good to go,” the officer said. She stood up to head off and do other duties.

After hearing the officer’s advice, Ako felt even more frightened. It really did seem like she’d die here, never to see the outside again for doing absolutely nothing. The thought terrified her. As she was escorted down the hall towards her area, she kept thinking how she got here. Maybe she did do it, and was so shocked from what she did, she forgot about it. It certainly seemed true for the injury she got on her back. It was so frustrating though, to not even know what happened, and now being punished for something missing from her memory, or something that wasn’t ever there in her mind at all.

It was definitely a living nightmare because she pinched herself several times when she heard the verdict at court. She was definitely not dreaming. If she were to survive here, she’d have to forget about the outside world and worry about all the dangerous criminals inside. Living everyday fearing that she’d be attacked and killed would probably end up giving her a heart attack instead. Before she got to her cell, they had given her an orange inmate uniform, and strip-searched her. Ako was clearly not comfortable with that, but she’d have to get used to it. It was done twice a day every single day in this institution.

The guard opened up cell number twenty-five; it was at the far corner of the section. She stepped inside after her cuffs came off, and the door closed behind her. The room was smaller than her own room back at home. There was one simple bunk bed with a plain blanket and pillow. The floor was a disaster though. Clothes and other belongings were scattered all over the place. She noticed a television on a table at the corner, and was surprised that there was some sort of recreation inside. She did not see her cellmate though.

”Your cellmate will be coming shortly. She is being questioned about the fight today,” the guard said, and left.

Ako sat down on the lower bunk and looked around. The place didn’t look any cleaner just by staring around. There was a small window at the furthest wall from the door. She took a peek outside, and had a clear view of the yard. There were several officers cleaning up the mess. Ako clearly saw streaks of blood around the place. This caused a lump to form in her throat. She really didn’t want to go out there whenever they were brought out to exercise. Even hearing that her cellmate was being questioned about the fight told her that her cellmate probably was involved in some way.

After a few minutes, she heard some talking that continued to get louder and louder.

”I’m telling you! Why the hell are you not getting those other idiots punished too? There’s so many of us getting the hole, that’s unfair!”

”You should be quiet or you might join them. You’re lucky they gave you nothing,” someone else replied.

”You’ve got to be kidding me.”

The other one responded, “We do the investigation, we find answers. We do what we have to with our findings.”

”Some of them didn’t even get involved!”

”They either initiated it or attempted to join in,” the other one said.

The one who sounded angry was growling, “Those are lies. You better release some of them back to population, or I’ll…”

”Whatever you try to threaten will just land you there too. You’ve already been in the hole for three months; do you really want to go back?”

Ako heard keys being inserted into the door. Her cell’s door, the angry inmate was her cellmate.

”I knew her well, you know? That bitch who did this, she better land in death row,” the criminal said.

“Not likely. Don’t get your hopes up,” the guard said. The door finally opened. Ako was leaning against the farthest corner of the cell, plainly anxious at who would come in.

”Damnit! There is no justice here, you know! The whole system is flawed! You know what happened, you know! You just don’t do anything ‘bout it!” The cellmate started yelling as she was being un-cuffed.

Ako could clearly see the guard was about to take out his pepper spray, “Calm down, we know what we’re doing. Get inside before the consequences happen.”

The girl growled, but went inside the cell with no struggle. The door was once again closed and locked. She was still facing the door, trying to say more things at the guard, but ended up stopping. It was futile. The girl finally turned around, and Ako gritted her teeth in anticipation. It felt like she was going to die, like this person she had to live with was about to kill her.

”Eh? Who are you?”

When Ako saw her face, she didn’t look very menacing. In fact, if she weren’t wearing orange and was walking down the street, Ako would’ve just walked by her like she was just some random stranger.

”I’m your new cellmate…” Ako said, but her cellmate could barely hear her.

”Really? I’ve never seen you around here before. Are you sure you didn’t get lost and wandered into my cell by accident?” Her cellmate asked. This was the second time someone doubted she was supposed to be here.

Ako felt a little insulted yet relieved at the same time after that statement. She felt like people thought that she might’ve been stupid and accidentally came upon a jail, but everybody she’s met so far have been seeing that she somehow didn’t look like a criminal.

”I just got here. Today’s my first day,” Ako replied. This time she didn’t sound as insecure, but she definitely wasn’t talking confidently.

Her cellmate sat onto the bed, next to her. Ako felt a bit uncomfortable, “And they didn’t put you in the newbie section? That’s weird.”

”It was full…” Ako replied.

”Heh. You’re lucky then. Most cells around here…people don’t hesitate to own newbies, that’s why they get housed separately for a while,” she said, “I don’t think I would do that.”

”Own?” Ako asked innocently.

”Oh you know. First it starts off with the veteran telling the newbie what to do, like steal things or make things or beat people up. And then the veteran will start using the newbie for everything, and it is the newbie who gets punished when found out. If the newbie refuses to do what the veteran says, best-case-scenario, they get beaten up, worst-case-scenario? Maybe brutally stabbed.”

”…b-b-b-b-brutally…s-s-s-stabbed…?”

”Sure, you think prison is like running through a field of flowers?”

Ako started shaking. She had never realized that prison was this horrible and scary. She felt her eyes getting damp, thinking about her happy and normal life at home with friends and family. She was safe there and could sleep in a soft bed and play soccer and everything. The realization was too much for her. She was breaking down.

”Hey, hey, hey! Are you crying? Seriously, are you sure you didn’t wander here lost?” her cellmate said, a hint of concern in her tone.

”I…I want to go h-home!” Ako cried, “I d-don’t belong here…I don’t wanna be here…I want to go home. I want to see my mom and d-dad…I…I didn’t do anything w-wrong! I didn’t…I’m g-going to die here…I don’t w-wanna die…”

She continued on for a few minutes, and was surprised when her cellmate slung her arm on Ako’s shoulders and neck, “Hey…don’t cry. I’m sorry I scared you. I thought everybody knew about the things that happen here. If you keep up that mentality, you aren’t going to go anywhere here. It’s people like you who tend to commit suicide in this place.”

”But I didn’t do anything wrong…” Ako sniffed. She had calmed down a bit, but was still struggling to accept where she was.

Her cellmate patted her on the back, “So, you’re innocent? When was the last time an innocent person was sent here? I don’t remember,” she said, “though if you stick with me, I think you can get through these first few days.”

Ako nodded, wiping her eyes. She finally understood what that officer meant when she said that her cellmate wouldn’t be a problem.

”Oh right. You don’t even know what my name is yet!” She said, “My real name’s Yuuna Akashi, but I’m known by the Kid around here. And you would be?”

”A-Ako…Izumi…”

”What are you accused of, anyway?” Yuuna picked up some papers on the desk, “Assault, huh? You sure you didn’t hit anybody recently? I can’t imagine you smashing someone up with a crowbar or something.”

”I…didn’t do anything…” Ako continued. If even her cellmate won’t believe her, who would?

Yuuna grinned, “Yeah, you don’t look like someone capable of such an evil thing. You’re practically a misplaced angel…”

Ako couldn’t help but to crack a bit of a smile. Yuuna seemed really nice, especially since just a few minutes ago she was yelling at the guard about something, which scared Ako almost to a heart attack.

”I’m kind of a newbie like yourself,” Yuuna started, “I got here a year ago. I was pretty much used all the time, since I knew nothing about stuff around here. It was not fun, believe me. Not that this place is supposed to be fun, but y’know.”

Ako was a little afraid of what was to come, but she had to accept it. This place was definitely a desensitizer. Still, Ako wasn’t too comfortable.

”I’m serving a ten-year-sentence though. My first parole is next year…I want to get out soon. Not to touch guns, but this place isn’t exactly a great place to live in, and I’m sure you agree,” she continued, “my first cellmate was hell.”

There was nothing else to do; Ako decided that listening to a story could pass the time, “What happened?”

”She completely owned me. The last thing I was told to do was to stab someone, and I almost did, but got caught. I was sent to the hole for three months! It was horrible! The only good thing was that I was away from that awful cellmate! When I finally got out, she was transferred to some other prison, thank god,” Yuuna explained.

Ako shuddered at the thought of having a cellmate like that, “Did she…?”

”A few times,” Yuuna replied, “Not fun, you know. I wouldn’t want that to happen to anybody.”

”What’s the hole? I’ve heard it a few times,” Ako’s curiosity was piqued.

”Segregation, solitary confinement, whatever fancy words people have for that hellhole. You get to sit in a windowless cell for twenty-three hours a day, alone. The one time you get out is to be put in a tiny cage outside for ‘exercise’ apparently,” Yuuna said, “think of it as a prison within a prison.”

Ako tightened her fists with fear. She always thought that people should be rehabilitated, but maybe that was impossible, and all they could do was lock people up. Nobody learns anything about morals and people’s lives are ruined. She heard a knock on the door.

 

“Here’s dinner,” a guard said. Two trays entered into the cell from a small opening on the door.

Yuuna quickly grabbed her share, and passed the other to Ako, “For you I think it’s a good thing this place is on lockdown.”

”Why?”

”Because otherwise you wouldn’t be ready to go out there and you can’t show fear, or you’re done for. Don’t cry, don’t be polite, but don’t be rude either. You have to blend in with the crowd, which I think is going to be hard considering how cute you look. Nothing about this place is ‘cute’, Ako,” Yuuna said as she stuffed her spoon into the mash the prison called ‘food’.

Ako once again stared out the window. Now the sun had gone down, and only the fluorescent light shown onto them from the ceiling, “So what do I do?” She asked. She didn’t sound very loud, nor confident, nor like what an inmate should sound like.

”This place is like a zoo, except there are no monkeys or birds or seals, just tigers, lots of tigers in one big cage. Ako, I hope you’re not a vegetarian,” Yuuna said. Ako shook her head. Before she came here, she was a normal average girl, and that included eating in all the food groups like normal average people do.

Yuuna smiled, “Good!” She held up her spoon, “Pretend this is a knife.”

”Okay…”

”And pretend I am an angry psychopath trying to kill you.”

”Uhh…okay…”

”So, what would you do?”

”…run away?”

Yuuna threw the spoon onto the ground causing a loud clang to be heard. It had startled Ako.

”Wrong! Even though avoiding anybody crazy like that is best…when that fails, all you can do is fight back. Running is a sign of fear, which attracts more people to come and attempt to hurt you!” Yuuna explained. She noticed a fearful look in Ako’s eyes.

Ako picked up the spoon, staring at its metal exterior. Even a spoon like this could cause harm. There was nothing that went easy in this place. She had to realize reality, and get over her life from before. It was all about now, not hanging onto little hopes that people will find out it was a mistake.

”I don’t know if I’ll be ready for this even after lockdown is finished…” Ako mumbled. Her reflection on the spoon clearly didn’t assure her any better.

Her cellmate patted her on the back, “Then I’ll protect you!”

”What!?” Ako was startled; it was quite a bold statement from a stranger.

”If you are innocent, then obviously you deserve nothing of this! The least I can do is spare you the hell I went through when I first came here!” Yuuna took oath, for she stood up and raised her fist. She sat back onto the bed, yawning.

”Let’s continue this tomorrow. I’m going to sleep,” She put her empty tray at the ramp on the door.

Ako looked at the clock, “But it’s only eight-thirty!”

”Considering we have to wake up at five everyday…now’s a good time to sleep,” Yuuna said, “You should forget about your usual sleep cycle.”

”The lights are still on though,” Ako said. She looked around the messy room, and even out the small window of the door.

”Yeah, they get turned off at nine. You can stay up until then if you want. I’m done for the night. You can have the top bunk if you want. I’m usually at the bottom anyway,” Yuuna jumped onto the bed and pulled the covers over her, “Maybe I’ll have a dream in the outside world…with my dad…at the…beach…” She was definitely fast asleep in only a few minutes.

Ako grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen. She climbed up onto the top bunk, and began writing something…

Hello sheet of paper. You’re going to have to be my diary.
Today, something devastating happened. I am in jail.
I always thought, “Well, only evil and bad people go to jail. There they stay, and I will never see one or even become one.”
I don’t know if I am bad or evil. Do you think so?
Have I even met one? Who is she? She doesn’t seem like a person who would commit a crime.
Yet at the same time, her eyes are of a predator.
Life behind the iron bars is rough. Some don’t even survive.
I’m afraid, frightened, scared. My teeth are jittering, my hands are shaking, and my handwriting is horrible as a result. I can’t even read the stuff on you, piece of paper.
My hope is to be free, and someone will clear up this mistake.
But until then, if that actually happens, I will have to trust a criminal.


She ran out of room on the sheet, and folded it up, placing it under the pillow. As if on cue, the lights shut off, and Ako wandered off into a deep peaceful sleep, perhaps the only place she could forget about her new life.

END PART ONE
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*is terribly tired*

It's not that good, who cares.