Prison Blues

[smugreport]

Passengers: Rhys and YOU
Location: Solitary
Date: Jan 16th - 21st
Summary: Rhys committed grand theft auto and is now paying the excruciatingly boring price
Warnings: N/A



[ Rhys hasn't been away from a piece of communication technology longer then 24hrs in probably his entire life, so by the time the 48hr mark hits he's clawing at the walls with boredom. How did people live entire lives without access to an entertainment screen? ]K

Uuuuhg come on! This is torture, human rights abuse!

[ He presses up against the door, calling out to whoever might be out there. ]

At least give me a book or something!

Comments

[rank1]

"Shut the fuck up," Travis shouts back.

[smugreport]

“Huh? Was that the sound of someone who SCREWED EVERYTHING UP?”

[rank1]

No response. This guy’s rewatching Madoka Magica in his mind.

[smugreport]

Rhys, grumbling under his breath

“That’s what I thought.”

[helenite]

Are you going to hit anyone with the book?

[ There's no book. Alice slumps down, back to the door, coffee in hand. ]

[smugreport]

Just myself.

[ If he knocks himself out maybe he can be unconscious for the remainder of this. What’s one more head injury to him at this point? ]

[helenite]

Ugh, that's definitely going to bend pages.

[ She considers the latte: An automat-drawn face smiling out of its nutritionally-equivalent-to-foam center.

Maybe it's easier than talking to a door. ]

Bad enough to piss off William. If we get a librarian in here you're screwed.

[smugreport]

My head isn't that hard.

[ Though maybe it is and that's why he's sustained so much damage without losing like, brain cells? That's....is that a good thing? ]

Fine, fine. No books, can I at least ask who I'm talking to?

[ Disembodied door-voice that he doesn't recognize. ]

[helenite]

[ Oh. Right. Text — ]

Alice. Were you just going to do this on any planet we landed on?

[smugreport]

[ Knowing the identity of his visitor has Rhys perking up instantly, perhaps feeling a positive emotion for the first time in days? ]

I thought you preferred ACK?

[ Said with an emphasis on the hard “k” ]

And yeah, pretty much… before I get my hopes up are you here to lecture me too?

[omniavincit]

[ At the tail end of day one, William enters the cellblock. He's freshly showered—hair still damp—but looks tired, moves stiffly. There's a long red streak on the inside of his left wrist, trailing all the way to the base of his thumb. He takes in the cells with interest—peering at the bed, the sink, the vents and lighting.

When he gets to Rhys his mouth sets. He meets his eyes, searches his face, looking doubtful. Eventually: ] Here.

[ He steps close enough to the bars for Rhys to reach through, bows his head. ] Feel it. [ Toward the back of his head—past the hint of a bald spot—is a large knot, firm overall but liable to give if prodded too hard. ]

backdated to the 13th/14th?

[smugreport]

[ It's been a while since Rhys felt this level of full-body exhaustion. The adrenaline had begun to wane hours ago, even before the ride back, but he didn't feel the full drop until he'd sat down on the confinement cells bed.

He hasn't really moved from that spot since, not until William visits, and even then it's more of an adjustment in his seat then really moving around. ]

I...I don't want to feel around your head? I get the point from here.

👍 dw if rhys doesn't stop him he'll come back later

[omniavincit]

[ William steps back, straightens his shoulders. ] Fuck you, Rhys. [ He says. What it lacks in volume he makes up for in feeling.

He turns to go. ]

[smugreport]

[ He won't stop him. In some ways its a relief, staving off truly facing his consequences for at least another hour. Free from having to look William in the eye and feel like shit about what he did. ]

[omniavincit]

[ He gets a day.

William's less run-down-looking than before—the tiredness has more to do with where he is, what he's doing for a second time. The stain on his wrist hasn't gone anywhere. He stops in front of Rhys' cell, flicks a glance over him, and says curtly: ] Go.

[sanctus_dei]

[Instead of the usual cleaning bots zipping through this part of the ship, the floors outside solitary are now to be tended by Theo while the cells remain occupied. This is Theo's warden's idea for a punishment - show him what it's like for those currently inside, while he completed the menial tasks to make up for his childish destruction.

He's only half-assing it though. A cleaning bot zags past him, satisfied enough with Theo's work enough that it has no need to help out here.]

No, get back here-- Goddamnit.

[That's when he hears Rhys call out, and he walks near the cell, listening.]

Huh. What the fuck did you do.

[smugreport]

[ It's been hours since he's had a visitor, even a somewhat unwilling one. Rhys will take any distraction that he can get right now. ]

What? I'm not the talk of the ship right now?

[ That could be either disappointing or a relief, depending. ]

[sanctus_dei]

[Theo took a few more steps towards the door. He is, for some reason, carrying a broom. He rolls his eyes and shrugs, less at Rhys and more at, well, everything.]

My warden moved me out of the fucking dorm. I don't know what shit went down, I just know something happened. My guess? An escape attempt that fell on its face. Fucking sucks for you guys.

[Does that last sentence sound... sincere?]

[smugreport]

That's a pretty good guess. It was a solid attempt though. You should let everyone know that Rhys Strongfork almost made it out of this place.

[ Did he though... ]

[sanctus_dei]

Uh huh. [Yeah, Theo looks pretty incredulous at that. He looks down the hall at the other occupied cells in the hall.]

Looks like I was probably the last to know anyway. I thought about it too, but that planet was pretty fucking dull. Rather wait until we get somewhere with some civilization next time.

[Theo looks around again, making sure no one else is within earshot. Because he's actually going to attempt to say something not vitriolic for once since he's arrived.]

Least you tried, though. Can't say the rest of these dumb fucks do much else. If you find your shot, fucking take it. Don't wait for anyone else.

[spanning]

Pretty sure this is what's supposed to happen when you attack someone.

[It's deeply dry, to the point that it just comes out matter-of-fact.

Aki stops outside the door, scrutinizing Rhys with one of his typically cryptic expressions.]

How far in advance did you plan that?

[smugreport]

[ Despite how painfully bored he is in this place, Rhys is beginning to resent the presence of full fledged company. Every time a warden comes its always the same thing. He fucked up! He gets it. Give him something to do and then leave him alone. ]

Which part?

[spanning]

[He'd take a general ballpark for any of it, but settles on:]

Knocking out your warden is a good start.

[smugreport]

That was a last minute adjustment.

[ The scarecrow Rhys idea was solid! He should have gone with it instead of listening to Volk, he could have made it work. ]

[spanning]

You thought you wouldn't have supervision, [he surmises.

He tries to imagine assuming that of William when the man insists on sleeping in the inmate dorms, and fails.]

Why's that?