Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Night in the Women's Prison

There are 60 female prisoners in Block C, and four of them live in one cell.As Tracy was escorted through the long, smelly corridor, the prisoners stared at her from behind bars, with expressions ranging from indifference to greed to anger.Tracy seems to have come to a strange country, sneaking underwater, or in a slowly unfolding nightmare.Her body moved with difficulty, a visceral wail tearing at her throat.The summons of the prison warden had given her her last hope, and now all hope was gone, except for the purgatory in front of her, where she would be imprisoned for fifteen years, and her heart was broken at the thought of this terrible prospect. .

The female guard opened a door, "Go in!" Tracy blinked and looked inside. There were three women in the cell, all looking at her silently. "Let's go." The female guard ordered. Tracy hesitated for a moment, then stepped into the cell, hearing the door slam shut behind her. This is her home. Four beds could barely be squeezed into the narrow cell; a small table with a broken mirror hanging above it; four small cabinets with a squat urinal in the corner. The female prisoners in the room all stared at her, and the Puerto Rican woman among them was the first to break the silence: "So, we have a new partner." Her voice was low and hoarse, if it wasn't for the bluish-gray scar from forehead to throat, She should have been a beautiful woman.At first glance, she appears to be under forty years old, but if you look closely at her eyes, you will draw a different conclusion.

A stocky, middle-aged Mexican woman said, "Hi, why did they bring you in, honey?" Tracy couldn't muster the energy to answer her. The third roommate was a black woman, nearly six feet tall, with small, watchful eyes and a grim face.Her head was shaved, and it glowed blue in the dim light. "Your shop is over there." Tracy went to the bed.The mattresses were dirty and stained, God knows how many people have slept on them.She didn't have the courage to touch the bed, and said involuntarily, "I—I can't sleep on this kind of bed." Fat Mexican woman grinning. "You don't have to sleep there, baby. Come and sleep in my bed."

Tracy suddenly realized that there was a dark atmosphere in the cell, and she seemed to have been punched hard.The three female prisoners stared at her so directly that she felt as if she had been stripped naked.Fresh meat is here.She suddenly panicked.I misunderstood.Tracy thought.Oh God, don't let this misconception become reality. Finally she asked, "Who should I go to for a clean mattress?" "God," said the black woman mockingly. "But his old gentleman doesn't come here very often these days." Tracy turned to check the bed again, and several big black cockroaches rustled across the mattress.I can't stay here, Tracy thought.I will go crazy.

As if guessing her mind, the black woman said, "Go with the flow, little girl." Tracy heard the warden's voice: I can only advise you to serve your sentence well... The black woman said again, "My name is Ernestine Littlechap." She nodded to the woman with the scar on her face. "Her name is Lola, and she's Puerto Rican. The fat one's name is Polita, and she's Mexican. what's your name?" "I—my name is Tracy Whitney," she almost said, "Once upon a time I was Tracy Whitney." She felt with horror that the real Tracy was fading away.She suddenly felt nauseous, and grabbed the edge of the bed to steady herself.

"Where are you from, baby?" the fat woman asked. "I'm sorry, I—I don't want to talk now." Tracy suddenly felt that her feet were weak and she couldn't support herself. She slumped down on the edge of the dirty bed and lifted her skirt to wipe the cold sweat from her face: my baby.she thinks.I should have told the warden that I was pregnant and he would have put me in a clean cell, they would have even given me a room by myself. She heard footsteps in the corridor.A female guard walks past the cell.Tracy ran to the cell door. "I'm sorry," she said, "I have to see the warden, I..."

The female guard walked by. Tracy blocked her mouth with her fist, trying desperately not to scream. "Are you sick, honey?" the Puerto Rican woman asked. Tracy could only shake her head, unable to speak.She walked back to the bed, looked at it for a while, and then slowly lay down on the bed. There was really nothing she could do, so she had to bear with it.She closed her eyes. Her tenth birthday was the most exciting day of her life.We're going to dinner at Anthony's, her father announced. Anthony's!The name has magical powers and conjures up images of a world of jeweled beauty.Tracy knew Dad didn't have much money.We'll be able to go on a vacation next year, and it's almost become a mantra at home.Now they're really going to Anthony's!Tracy's mother dressed her in a new green shirt.

Why, look, my father bragged, I'm with two of the prettiest women in New Orleans, everybody should be jealous of me. Anthony's was as good as Tracy imagined, if not much better.This is a wonderland, decorated with dignity and elegance.The napkins were white, and the plates glittered with initials in gold and silver.This is the palace, Tracy thought.Kings and queens definitely dine here.She was so excited that she couldn't eat, and her eyes were busy watching the gorgeously dressed male and female diners around her.When I grew up, Tracy secretly decided that I would come to Anthony for dinner every night, and bring my parents.

You didn't eat anything, Tracy, Mom said. To please her, Tracy reluctantly ate a few mouthfuls and prepared Tracy a birthday cake with ten candles on it.The waiters sang "Happy Birthday to You," and the guests at other tables turned and applauded her.Tracy felt like a happy princess.She heard the tram outside tinkling as it passed in front of the restaurant. The ear-shattering bells jingled continuously. "Dinner," announced Ernestine Littlechap. Tracy opened her eyes.The cells in the entire section opened their doors one after another.Tracy lay on her bunk, trying to sink herself into the memories.

"Hey! Time to chew," said the young Puerto Rican woman. The thought of eating made her sick to her stomach. "I'm not hungry." "It's simple. They don't care if you're hungry or not, everyone gets food from the cafeteria," said Polita, an obese Mexican woman. Prisoners lined up in the passage. "Go, or they'll come after you," Ernestine warned. I'm not going, Tracy thought, I'll just stay here. Her roommates came out of the cell and formed a double file.A stout female guard with hair dyed blond found Tracy still lying on the bunk: "You!" she said. "Didn't you hear the bell? Come out."

Tracy said, "Thank you, I'm not hungry. I'm not going." The guard's eyes widened in astonishment. She rushed into the cell and strode up to Tracy. "What the hell do you think you are? Do you want the waiter to serve you? Go out and line up! I could have marked you off. Next time you do it again, you will be fined to sit in a black hole. Understand?" Tracy didn't understand, she didn't understand what was going on around her.She struggled from her bunk and walked into the ranks of female prisoners.She stood beside the black woman. "Why do I have to..." "Shut up!" Ernestine Littlechap spat out these two words fiercely from the corner of his mouth. "You are not allowed to speak in line." The female prisoners were ushered down narrow, dark passages, through two layers of guard gates, and into a giant dining room filled with large wooden tables and chairs.There is a long counter in the dining hall with steam insulation equipment on it, where the prisoners line up to get food.The dish of the day was poached tuna, limp beans and off-white custard.Beverage options include light coffee or artificial fruit juice.The cooking team was moving, and the sight of unappetizing food was poured into the prisoners' tin plates one by one.The prisoner on duty at the counter kept shouting in a monotonous voice: "Go forward. The next one...go forward..." Tracy stood hesitantly after receiving the food, not knowing where to take it.She looked for Ernestine Littlechap, but the black woman was nowhere to be seen.Tracy went to the table where Lola and the fat Mexican Polita were sitting, and there were twenty people sitting at the table, all gobbling.Tracy looked down at the food on the plate, and a stream of sour water rose to her throat.She pushed the plate aside. Polita reached over and took Tracy's plate. "Give it to me if you don't eat it." Lola said, "Hey, you gotta eat, or you can't live here." I don't want to live, Tracy thought despondently.I am going to die.How can these women endure this kind of life?How long have they been locked up here?How many months?several years?Thinking of the stinking cell and the cockroach-infested mattress made her want to scream.She clenched her teeth, afraid of making a sound. The Mexican woman said, "If they find you don't eat, they'll put you in a dark pit." She saw Tracy's confused face. "It's a dark cell—solitary confinement. You don't like that kind of place." She leaned up to Tracy and said, "Is this your first time here? Then I have to teach you, dear. Ernie Sting Littlechap's our boss. Just follow her and you'll be all right." Thirty minutes had passed since the female prisoners entered the dining hall, and a loud bell rang.The female prisoners stood up.Polita picked up a leftover bean from a nearby tin dish.Tracy joined her in the queue.The female prisoners have already started walking towards the cell.Dinner is over, it's four o'clock in the afternoon - five hours to go before lights out for bed. Tracy returned to her cell, where Ernestine Littlechap was already there.Tracy wondered, where had she been at dinner?Tracy glanced at the urinal in the corner.She really wanted to go to the toilet, but she didn't want to do it in front of these people.She will wait until after lights out.She sat on the edge of the bed. Ernestine Littlechap said, "I know you're being silly for not taking a bite of your supper." How would she know?Why should she bother? "I want to see the warden, what should I do?" "You have to write an application first. But the guards will use your application as toilet paper. They don't think anyone who wants to see the warden is a good person." She walked over to Tracy. "It's easy to cause troubles here, you need a friend who can help you avoid troubles and eliminate disasters." She smiled, revealing a golden front tooth.She said softly, "This friend knows how to get by at the zoo." Tracy looked up at the smiling face of the black woman.The face seemed to be floating on the ceiling. She had never seen such a tall animal. That's a giraffe, Father said. They're at the zoo in Audubon Park.Tracy especially loves this park.They went to a concert on Sunday, and then Mom and Dad took her to the aquarium or the zoo, and they walked slowly while watching the animals in the cages. Dad, they are not happy in the cage, are they? Father laughed.No, Tracy, they're happy in there.Someone takes care of them, feeds them, and they are not attacked by enemies. But Tracy found them very unhappy.She wanted to open the cage and let them out.I would never like being caged like this, she thought. At 8:45, all the prisons rang for lights-out preparation.The female prisoners in the same room began to undress.Tracy didn't move. Lola said, "Fifteen minutes and I have to get ready for bed." The female prisoners all took off their clothes and put on nightgowns.The female guard with bleached blond hair walked across the cell.She stopped when she saw Tracy lying on the bunk. "Undress," she ordered.She turned to Ernestine: "Didn't you tell her to take it off?" "Told her." The guard turned to look at Tracy. "We have a way of dealing with troublemakers," she warned. "You have to obey the rules obediently here, or I will be rude to you." The female guard walked away along the aisle. Polita persuaded: "You have to listen to her. That hag is not easy to mess with." Tracy sat up slowly, undressing with her back to them.She stripped off all but a pair of shorts, then pulled on a rough nightgown.She felt that the eyes of the women were fixed on her. "You have a beautiful figure," Polita remarked. "It's so beautiful." Lola echoed. Tracy shivered. Ernestine came over and looked down at Tracy. "We are your friends. We will take good care of you." Her voice was hoarse with excitement. Tracy dodged in panic. "Don't bother me! You all go away! I—I'm not that kind of person." The black woman chuckled. "You gotta listen to us, baby." "Don't worry, baby. We've got plenty of time." Lights out. Darkness was Tracy's enemy, and she sat on the edge of the bed, her muscles tensed.She felt that the women were ready to pounce on her at any moment.Maybe this is her hallucination?She was so tired that nothing could be seen.Did they threaten her?To be honest, no.They might just be trying to be friendly, but she mistook their enthusiasm for evil.She had heard of homosexuality in prisons, but that was an isolated phenomenon, how could it be the case everywhere?This should never be allowed in prisons. Yet Tracy still harbored a shadow of doubt.She was determined to stay up all night.If anyone came, she would call for help.The duty of the guard is to protect the safety of the prisoners.She encouraged herself not to be afraid, but to be vigilant. Tracy sat on the edge of the bed in the dark, listening to every sound.She heard the three roommates go to the toilet one by one, and then go back to their bunks one by one.Tracy couldn't hold it anymore, so she went to the toilet too.She tried to run water to flush the toilet pit, but the flushing device didn't work.The stench was unbearable.She hurried back and sat on the bed.It will be daylight soon, she thought.In the morning I went to the warden.I'm going to tell him about the pregnancy.He will move me to another cell. Tracy began to convulse with tension.She lay on her back on the bunk and immediately felt something crawl over her neck.She tried desperately not to scream.I have to hold out till dawn.Don't be afraid of dawn, Tracy thought, counting in a minute. At three o'clock in the morning, the eyelids could no longer hold up.she fell asleep. One hand covered her mouth, and the other two grasped her breasts, waking her awake.She tried to sit up and call for help when she realized they were stripping her dressing gown and shorts.They put their hands between her legs and pulled her legs apart.Tracy struggled desperately to get up. "Be honest," someone whispered in the dark, "it won't hurt." Tracy kicked in the direction of the sound, kicking someone. "Ouch! Hit this slut!" the voice said bitterly. "Drag her underground!" Tracy got a punch in the face and a punch in the stomach.Someone was riding on her, holding her down and covering her mouth.Their hands fumbled around her. Tracy struggled for a moment, but a woman grabbed her and slammed her head against the bars. She felt blood gushing from her nose.Tracy was thrown on the concrete floor, her hands and feet were held down.She resisted like crazy, but one person is no match for three people.She felt their cold hands touching and their hot tongues licking.A cold, hard object penetrated her body.She twisted her body to cry out.With one arm around her mouth, she took a bite with all her might. Someone uttered a muffled cry. "You bastard!" Fists rained down on her face... She fell into an abyss of pain.He fell deeper and deeper until he completely lost consciousness. It was the sound of the bell that woke her up.She was lying naked on the cold concrete floor of the cell.The three female prisoners in the same room all slept on their own bunks. In the corridor, the dominatrix shouted, "Get up!" The female guard walked past Tracy's cell and saw her lying on the floor with a small pool of blood under her body, her face was beaten out of shape, and one eye was swollen open. not open. "What the hell is going on?" She unlocked the door and walked into the cell. "She must have fallen out of bed," said Ernestine Littlechap. The guard went up to Tracy's elbow and poked her with her foot. "You! Get up!" Tracy heard the voice coming from afar.Yes, she thought, I must get up; I must get out of this place.Yet she couldn't move.The pain was unbearable. The guard grabbed Tracy by the elbow and pulled her up to sit up.Tracy nearly fainted from the pain. "What happened?" With one eye open, Tracy vaguely saw that the female prisoners in the cell were quietly waiting for her to answer. "I..." Tracy wanted to speak, but nothing came out.She opened her mouth again, and a deep, inherited intuition made her reply: "I fell off the bunk..." The female guard interrupted her sharply, saying, "I hate girls who play tricks the most. I have to put you in a dark pit and let you learn some rules." It is a form of forgetting, tantamount to returning to the mother's womb.She was alone in the dark.There was no furniture in this cramped dungeon, only a thin and torn mattress lying on the cold concrete floor.There was a smelly hole in the ground, sort of a cesspit.Tracy slept in the dark, humming a ballad her father had taught her long ago.She didn't know how far she was from the edge of madness. Tracy didn't know where she was, but that didn't matter.The only thing that mattered was that this bruised body was tormenting her.I must have fallen and hurt, but my mother will come and take care of me.She called out weakly: "Mom..." No one answered, and she fell asleep again. Tracy slept for forty-eight hours, and the sharp pain faded, became an ache, became a dull ache.She opened her eyes, and there was nothing around her.It was so dark that she couldn't even make out the outline of the dungeon.The past reappeared in front of my eyes.They took her to the doctor, and she could hear the doctor saying, "...a broken rib, a cracked wrist. It's all going to fit... It's not bad, but it'll grow back. She's had a miscarriage... ..." "Ah, my baby," Tracy muttered. "They killed my baby." she cried.She cried for the dead baby, for herself, for this dark world. Tracy lay on the thin mattress in the cold darkness, trembling with such hatred in her heart.Anger burned in her chest, consuming all emotion and leaving only one thing: revenge.Not to take revenge on the three female prisoners in the same cell, who are also victims like her.Her enemies were those who had driven her to the point where she was now, those who had ruined her reputation. Joe Romano: "Your mother is so tight-lipped that she didn't tell me that there is such a hot and sweet chick in her family!" Anthony Wusardi: Joe Romano's master is a man named Anthony Wusardi.Wuzadi dominates the whole city of New Orleans... Perry Pope: "If you plead guilty, it saves our state a trial fee..." Judge Henry Lawrence: "...for the next fifteen years you will be incarcerated in the South Louisiana Women's Penitentiary..." These people are her enemies.And Charles, he didn't listen to her explaining the whole story: "I really need money so much, you should tell me... It seems that I didn't really know you before... You have to find a way to deal with yours child……" Tracy was going to make them pay.No one is spared.She doesn't know how to do it.But she was determined to take revenge.Tomorrow, she thought.If tomorrow comes.