Surviving Fox River | Prison Break

Chapter 7

I was told that calling Michael and Sucre to the front was just a decoy to get them away from me so that T-bag's men could grab me. As soon as they realized this, they came back immediately and saw people guarding the door and ran there, rescuing me.

"You're free to go." Sara wrote some stuff down on her clipboard and I slowly slid off the bed, stretching tentatively so that I wouldn't hurt myself. "Mel, please be careful." She said, putting the clipboard down and grabbing my hands. I smiled and pulled her in for a hug.

"I will try my best. Being the only female in an all-male prison isn't going to be easy, but I'll manage. Plus I can just pretend to be sick and visit you all the time." Sara laughed and shook her head.

"I love you, sis." Those words melted my heart and I squeezed her tighter, ignoring the dull throb that pulsed through my ribs.

"I love you too. Be careful. These men are ruthless." I warned, walking out of the infirmary. She waved and I gave her one more smile before letting the guards escort me back to my cell. Cat calls and whistles sounded my way, but I ignored them and just focused on getting back to my cell. When my cell door closed, I sighed and sat down on the bottom bunk, thinking about how I was going to spend my life here. I jerked up when I heard a loud noise coming from Michael and Sucre's cell.

It wasn't loud enough to be heard by the other cellies, but since I was right next door, I could hear everything. There was a squeaking sound and then a scraping sound, as if they were dragging something across the floor. I frowned and walked to the bars, looking out.

"Michael?" I quietly hissed. No answer. "Sucre?" The scraping stopped and Sucre appeared at the bars.

"What's up, snowflake? How you feeling?" He asked, his arms hanging out his cell.

"I'm feeling a lot better, thanks. What are you and Michael up to? I hear a lot of noise coming from in there." Sucre's entire face changed and his eyes flickered behind him for a few seconds.

"I-uh, we're just, uh, doing some, ya know, stuff." He stuttered, looking behind him again. I pursed my lips and gave him a look.

"Sucre..." I said, and he looked nervous. He opened his mouth to speak again, but he was pulled away and Michael took his place. He gave me his signature intense stare and I knew right away that he wasn't going to tell me.

"Don't worry about it, Mel. You'll find out soon enough." With that, he turned around and put the white blanket that covered his cell back in place. My mouth dropped open at how hostile he was, but I shook it off, not wanting to think too deeply into it. My main concern right now was finding a way to get to Lincoln.

"Yard time! Let's go, jailbirds!" A guard yelled and then a buzzing sound indicated that the cells were being opened. I sighed, hoping it didn't go as bad as it did two days ago. I needed to make friends and alliances if I was going to survive in here. I didn't see Michael or Sucre come out of their cells, so I walked by myself to the yard, distancing myself from the other men.

"All by your lonesome?" Bellick asked when he spotted me walking out the door. I rolled my eyes and ignored him and he grabbed my arm, stopping me from walking any further. "You speak when spoken to, ya hear me?" He snapped, gripping my arm tightly.

"I suggest you let me go right now before I embarrass you in front of all these men, boss." I whispered, twisting my hand out of his grip.

"You wouldn't." I raised my eyebrows.

"Oh? Is that a challenge?" I wondered, really wanting to put him on his neck. He blinked a few times and looked around before stepping back.

"Beat it, kid." I smiled and walked off, finding it funny that he had no backbone. When I stepped outside, I immediately walked to the side of the gate where Michael showed me Lincoln usually was. I searched all over, but Lincoln wasn't out there today.

"Shit." I slammed my hand against the gate, fuming that I couldn't even catch a glimpse of him.

"Angry about something, darling?" I whirled around and came face to chest with a tall man who had his hair slicked back and whose smile was almost friendly. Almost. He had about seven guys with him and I stepped back, but the gate was behind me and the men had me cornered. His face was a bit scruffy and his nose was very prominent.

"Alright, look. I just came from the infirmary and I'm not trying to get on anyone's bad side, so if you could just let me-" I stepped to move around him, but he stopped me.

"Bad side?" The man chuckled and gestured to his followers. "We are not here out of anger, my dear. I have come to give you a proposition. An offer, if I may." He said, smiling. He leaned one arm on the gate beside my head and I looked up at it before looking back at him. I didn't trust what he was saying, but I would go along with it so that I wouldn't get hurt again.

"What is the offer?" I asked, guarded. His light eyes never traveled beyond my face, I realized. Maybe he wasn't as bad as I initially thought.

"How would you like to work in Prison Industries?" He asked, lifting up a piece of my hair. My eyes widened at his offer.

"P.I.? You're asking me to work? Why me?" He shrugged.

"Why not you? I can offer you protection from the rest of these...creatures." He added, staring me down. I narrowed my eyes.

"What's the catch?" I asked, and he threw his head back and laughed.

"I like you. You ask a lot of questions. There's no catch, sweetheart. Just plain old protection. No one's gonna mess with you if you work for me." I thought about it for a second. So far, he seemed like a pretty respectable guy and he was offering me a job, plus protection. There was nothing else to do around the prison anyway, so doing this wouldn't hurt. Plus, I might be able to see Lincoln since Sucre said they only let him out during yard time and chapel.

"Fine. I'll do it." The man beamed and he leaned off the gate, rubbing his hands together.

"You'll start tomorrow. When they call for P.I., your cell will automatically be opened and you'll get an outfit. Make sure you put it on so they know you're a worker." He turned around and started to walk away and his minions started following him.

"Wait!" I called out and he stopped, but didn't turn around. "What's your name?" He looked over his shoulder, a sly smirk planted on his lips.

"John Abruzzi." With that, he walked off. I breathed a sigh of relief, not even realizing that I was holding my breath. Other people were staring at me as if being approached by Abruzzi was uncommon. I made sure they were far away from me before I turned back around to watch the spot where Lincoln could be.

"What did Abruzzi want with you?" Michael's voice came from behind me, but I didn't turn around. I felt his presence beside me and I looked at him.

"Don't worry about it, Mikey. You'll find out soon enough." I mocked, repeating his words from before. He laughed silently, and nodded, pursing his lips.

"Touché. Just be careful. A man like him is to not be trusted." I rolled my eyes.

"How about you let me worry about that." He narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything. I could tell he was hiding something and it was bothering me.

"Have you seen Linc since you've been in here?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, twice. The first time was in chapel and the second time was when I showed him my-" He paused. "Never mind."

"Never mind? No, tell me." I urged, wanting to know what he showed Linc. He pulled down his sleeves and didn't continue.

"I have a way you can see Lincoln, but it's risky." That caught my attention.

"How?" I asked, hope blossoming in my chest. Michael looked around before bending his head my way.

"I can't talk about it here because you never know who's listening. Wait for tier time a week from now and meet me in my cell. I'll explain everything there." He said lowly, and I nodded. I trusted that whatever Michael was doing to get me to see Lincoln was going to work. It had to work.