and when their luck ran out, Cy wasn’t exactly sure who of them would be left standing.
Hours had passed since Cy had returned to their cell to tell Webster about Thor’s plot, but he still refused to let Webster out of his sight. Cy seemed…rattled. And that was worse than anything. Webster could feel Cy’s rage and fear radiating off him like the heat from a sunburn. There was a tightness to his features, a shift in his gait, almost like he was trying to make himself the bigger target, which would have been funny given his size if Webster wasn’t still reeling from the idea of being assaulted by a gang of white supremacists.
Thor and his buddies definitely took note. They laughed and gestured, making a show out of taunting Webster. Iggy and Jay noticed, too. And Preacher. He rarely sat with anybody for meals but was sitting at their table this time. Webster kind of wanted to believe it was a show of solidarity, but it might have just been to get a better view of the theatrics. It was hard to say with Preacher. There was a shaggy haired man with him who Webster had never noticed before.
It was like there was a feeling or scent in the air, like the smell that happens just before a lightning strike. The other inmates appeared restless, antsy, like they sensed something was about to go down. It was affecting the guards as well. They usually stuck to their posts by the doors during meal time but, tonight, they circled like sharks, their heads on a swivel, like they feared a riot.
While Cy seemed fixated on Thor and his gang, Webster couldn’t stop focusing on the guards. It was easy to spot the guards who weren’t in the know when it came to his status as a dead man walking. Kemp and Rogers were clearly pissed that things hadn’t gone as planned. Both Webster and Cy knew that meant they’d come back at him even harder now. Guys like Thor didn’t like having their plans ruined—but that was tomorrow’s problem. If the guards came for Webster tonight, there was nothing to be done about it. Webster was just grateful Kemp had worked dayshift with Rogers, so there was a good chance he’d be leaving soon.
After lights out, they stayed in their own bunks for much longer than usual. Webster couldn’t stop thinking about what might have happened to him if his attorney hadn’t stopped by. What could still very much happen to him. He’d been living in a weird headspace since he’d been locked up. A heightened fight or flight. Always on alert. But tonight felt too close. Like a bullet had flown past his head. His mouth was in a state of perpetual dryness, his pulse hammering in his throat. He couldn’t stop fidgeting, and every noise made him jump.
Being beat up—he could handle that. He’d taken a lot of beatings. Hell, he’d been jumped in the group home and in juvie no less than a dozen times growing up. Pain didn’t bother him. But it was the idea that they’d wanted to ‘pass him around’—something about that phrase had stuck in Webster’s head, and he couldn’t let it go. It had taken his thoughts from abstract to concrete quickly. He knew how brutal humans could be, had seen it a thousand times over. He didn’t want to die alone and in pain.
The creaking of the bed frame pulled him from his thoughts. When Cy slid in beside him, he scooted over to make room. Cy didn’t speak, didn’t even touch Webster until Webster curled into him, tucking himself under Cy’s thick arm, allowing the heavy weight of it to give him some false sense of safety.
“What would you do? If you were me?” Webster asked.
“What do you mean?” Cy whispered, his breath ruffling Webster’s hair.
“I mean, if you were in my situation, what would you do? If you weren’t the size of a refrigerator.”
Cy’s hand found his, his thumb caressing the sensitive skin on the underside of Webster’s wrist. “I’d do exactly what you’re doing. Wait it out. You said your friend is working on getting you out of here. Working on deciphering your program. We just have to keep you from being alone.”
Webster shook his head. “How? Tonight was dumb fucking luck. Tomorrow, we might not be so lucky.”
“Look. They both left tonight. I don’t think any of the other guards have enough specifics about your situation