Nefarious by Ronnie Field

Author:Ronnie Field
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2024-03-27T15:19:50+00:00

10

Bang-Up Blues

Trouble was brewing all over in Parkhurst. There was a lot of madness about, and that was just the warders. Conditions were bad, the food was awful and getting worse, and prison staff were taking industrial action over staff shortages and pay, making things difficult for us. Sometimes things blew. A prisoner was stabbed to death in the dining area because he ate another man’s bowl of Corn Flakes one morning. The ridiculous thing was that the prisoner never ate his allotted Corn Flakes, so the man that died never thought he was taking a liberty. What a thing to lose your life over. Another time a prisoner was soaking in a metal bath when an inmate came in, leant over the side and harpooned him with a sharpened broom handle through the belly. This was a row over tobacco, of which there were plenty.

I was a troublesome prisoner. I was still a young man full of testosterone with a chip the size of a breeze block on my shoulder against authority and the system. Without exception in those early days, I detested the screws. One day I complained about something, and a lairy screw came over and poked me. I fucking hate that. I’d rather be chinned than poked in the chest. It’s like someone saying they’re better than you. Arrogance. The red mist descended, I whacked him as hard as I could on the jaw, his legs buckled and he went down. I was grabbed by a bunch of screws and taken down into the punishment block – the chokey – and a solitary cell. I knew exactly what punishment was coming.

An hour later, four of them turned up at my door and rushed me. I fought back, but I didn’t stand a chance, taking the baton blows, the kicks, punches, headlocks and headbutts as best I could. Four of them, though! Who did they think I was? Fucking Batman? This ritual played out two or three times in Parkhurst, but when they realised I wouldn’t stand for any bullying and could take what they dished out, the lines were drawn. They were less aggressive to me.

Another reason I calmed down was that after one of these bust-ups between me and the screws, I was sent to see Dr Cooper, the prison psychiatrist. He questioned and probed me, trying to find a peg to hang my anger on, but I didn’t say too much. Then he said he wondered if I’d be more suited to a different environment.

‘We’ll give it a couple of months, but if you don’t calm down we’ll have to look at transferring you to somewhere you can get help for your anger and be treated.’

‘Fuck off! I’m not mad!’ I shouted, gripping the chair tightly and just stopping myself from leaping across the desk.

‘See what I mean,’ the doctor said.

I didn’t like the way the conversation was going. I was shocked and started to wise up, assuring him of my sanity and vowing to simmer down.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.