Chapter 3

Mama surprised my brother and I quite a bit by leading us down the street to the Parish Jail. Tom anxiously asked, “Why are we here? We didn’t do anything wrong!” I was quite worried myself. She giggled and told us, “Hehehe! I want you to know what jail is like, so you’ll behave yourselves. You’re men now. You need to act like it and obey the law.”

She talked to the desk guard and he made a call. Soon after, a pretty lady deputy took us for a tour. She pointed out the various rooms we walked past and narrated. “Over there is printing, where we put ink on prisoner’s hands and get their finger and palm prints. The next room up here is strip search.”

That sounded exciting and I felt myself stiffen. Unfortunately, the naked prisoner being searched was an ugly guy with lots of tattoos. He was very muscular and had several scars. The guard he was with ordered, “Okay, now spread your ass cheeks and squat.” The guy did and the guard put on a rubber glove. “Good. Now cough.” The prisoner coughed and something fell out of his butt! The long plastic object made a noise when it hit the concrete floor.

My twin complained, “Mama, why do we have to see this?”

“Shhh!”

The guard reached his fingers inside the guy’s ass and pulled out two more bottles! The prisoner grunted a lot and was obviously very uncomfortable. The guard unscrewed the top of one. “Super Cigs! Were these for you? Or were you sneaking them in for somebody? Are you a soldier on the run?”

“I ain’t sayin’ nuthin’, stinkin’ cop!”

The guard told another, “Check with the Archon’s army, I think he’s a deserter.”

Thankfully the lady led us out, then down a wide hallway. In the cafeteria she said, “We serve the cheapest semi-healthy slop available, three times a day.” Instead of actual meals, the prisoners held bowls and some kind of greenish paste was ladled into them when they reached the server. The guide pointed to me and my brother and said, “Give ‘em a little taste.”

The server passed my brother a small bowl and a spoon. He sniffed as he looked at it, then said, “Uh uh! Nope! No way I’m tasting that!” I smelled it and agreed. It was horrid!

The guide asked, “What’s wrong? Don’t you like spinach, clams, rye bread, liver, hot chili peppers, licorice, brussels sprouts, and buttermilk; all blended together?”

I struggled to restrain my poor stomach. My brother gagged and was close to vomiting.

She led us a little farther. “Here’s the exercise yard.” It was a small asphalt lot surrounded by brick walls, with barbed wire at the top. “Each inmate gets a luxurious half hour here every day, if they behave.” It was less luxurious than an average parking lot. Six men were doing exercises, and about ten more sat on the ground and talked while two guards watched them.

The lady deputy led us back in, then down a couple of long hallways. “Here’s an accommodation block, cell block C. If you get stuck with the bottom bunk, you’ll sleep next to your toilet.” She led us past dozens of identical jail cells, and the many unhappy people in them.

“And here’s the jail brothel. You need to be adults to see that. They’re fifteen, right?”

Mama replied, “Yup, today’s their birthday.”

“Good.” She opened the door and led us into a large room with six rows of five cots. Eight men were screwing female inmates in four different positions! An old lady customer had a pretty and much younger girl’s face between her legs! Two women were getting screwed in the ass while a man gave another guy a blowjob!

The guide explained, “Prisoners can have sex with customers for time off their sentence. They even earn ten percent of what the customers pay, and get it on their release date. A half day off their sentence for blowjobs or vaginal sex, and a full day for anal. Customers pay the standard twenty credits, or thirty for anal. Instead of the good stuff, some cheepers pay ten for a handy and the convict gets a quarter day off. Most smokers on the outside charge double or triple that.”