Day 4…

A lot of my friends and family ask me why I chose to work in a prison. They wouldn’t understand it, or at least not approve of it. Erik and I hadn’t been together all that long, but we had  special connection. When he took a job as a correctional officer, it meant we had a lot less time to spend with each other. Taking a job here at the medical office in the prison while I went through nursing school, it was a great opportunity for us to see each other. It wasn’t as bad as most people thought it was, but unless they lived it, they could never understand it.

It was a lucky break tonight. Doc Connors had been mia the past few days, probably taking some personal time off after the inmate attacked him. I still count my blessings I was knocked unconscious before the officers opened fire. They told me it took 11 shots to finally put him down. One of the other nurses said it didn’t seem like anything was even happening until they shot him in the head a few times. Probably PCP. They still weren’t sure how he got it though. I had pulled night shift tonight, 11pm to 8am, the medical ward was pretty empty for once, just a couple inmates, all cuffed to their beds, minor injuries, but sleeping pretty soundly. It afforded Erik and I some time together, for once.
“What if somebody sees us, or one of them wakes up?” I asked him, as his strong arms hoisted me off the ground, my legs wrapping around him as he carried me towards Connors office. I remember him reassuring me that nobody was going to catch us, nobody was going to see us. It sounded like a load of horse shit, but I wanted it as badly as he did. I was in his arms, carried through the threshold to the doctor’s office, my scrub top pulled over my head and tossed aside as the door closed, our lips syncing as we shared a kiss. You would think we hadn’t seen each other in months. He laid me down on the couch in the office, hovering over my body. The leather was cold on my bare back, but I didn’t care, I reached up to him, pulling him by his shirt collar closer to me so that we could once again lock in a passionate kiss.

He started undoing the tie my scrub bottoms. I would never be able to sit through another performance evaluation from Connors after tonight without my cheeks getting red. Slowly he was pulling my pants down my legs, and I scooted upwards to make it easier on him. I can remember laughing, the ordeal of getting those pants off over my sneakers. It took some doing, but we finally managed. My breathing was definitely getting heavier, my hands were trying to work that heavy duty belt he wore, buckles and clasps, all pulling to get it off of him. Breathing seemed a distant needed by the way our tongues danced back and forth between each other, but we kept pressing forward, and with a clunk, his duty belt dropped to the ground beside us.
That’s when we heard it. A noise from the closet of Connor’s office. It came again, and again. It was enough for us to stop for a moment, staring at each other than the closet door. “What the heck?” I remember asking. “Sounds too big to be a mouse.” I guess when you work at a prison, there is always the fear that inmates have found a way to get somewhere they aren’t supposed to be. Erik took charge, he was good at that. He moved towards the closet. He was issuing some warning, something about getting down on the ground and not trying anything funny. The moment he pulled the door however, I screamed. It was Doc Connors, or at least, I think it was him. He busted out of the closet, looking like he had been dead for at least 12 hours. It was like he was trying to bite Erik’s face off. They struggled a few moments, before Erik fell back against the desk and grabbed the phone off of it to clock the form of the doctor across the face. Both of us took off running out of the office, closing the door behind us. “What the hell was that?!” we yelled, to each other, looking at one another and then at the door.
There I was standing in my underwear in the middle of a prison infirmary, making a holy ruckus. The inmates in the infirmary started to wake up, and of course I could feel their eyes on me. Didn’t care. Guards came running in hearing the commotion, again, standing there in my underwear, didn’t care. What had happened to Doc?

Day 716…

They call it Arklay. It’s as much of a city or community as you can get. I’ve been across the country, and I’m sure there are others, but this is by the far the most… normal…  I’ve seen. Maybe it’s the island that helps it stay somewhat secure. Let’s not mince words, there are still biters everywhere, but they seem to have taken over some old resort town and well, it’s nice to hang my hat somewhere.

After the fiasco with my van, I didn’t have much other choice. I made it to the city before dusk set in, but after 12 miles or so walking, my ankle was ready to burst it had swollen so large. Luckily, there were a few friendly faces that showed me the way to a hospital. Yeah that’s right, real working hospital. Not like before, nothing like I used to work in, but, still, doctors, medical supplies, it was really breathtaking. Not only that, I found out, it was Thanksgiving. THese people have been keeping track of time. It was more shock than I could take for one day.

Apparently money is still in use here, but the currency has lost almost all it’s value. I still had three hundred bucks in my bag, more of a keepsake than anything, but the hospital visit cost me 150. I guess they are all hoping the world comes back someday. If it does these people will be filthy rich. Unfortunately though, if I want to stay here, which I do, at least for now, I need to start making some of that money.

I picked up a job at the bar,  that’s right, bar. Mostly it’s just cleaning and shit, hasn’t really been to overwhelmed with customers, but I guess everything comes in spurts these days. Still, it’s supposedly going to pay the bills. Gives me a place to feel safe for the time being, and well most importantly, lets me meet new people. I don’t much trust the world I’m in right now, but I don’t have a lot of choice. Who knows, maybe this will all work out. Maybe it’ll be just like Nashville though.