Chapter 34: Prison Brutality (ii)
The common bathroom was barely large enough for the 25 prisoners crammed inside. The air was filled with the stench of sweat, blood, and something metallic. The walls were stained with rust and grime, the flickering fluorescent lights casting long, jagged shadows. The young man—who was dragged by them—was shoved into the center of the circle, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he stumbled, his knees hitting the cold, wet floor.
Xavier stood at the edge of the crowd, his fingers curling into fists. He had a faint idea of what was about to happen, but the reality of it was still too monstrous to fully grasp.
A young werewolf, her golden eyes flickering in the dim light, leaned toward Xavier. "You know what’s happening?"
Xavier shook his head.
The werewolf’s lips curled into a grimace. "I got here a week ago. Every night, thirty cells open. We gather. We play. We fight. We chill." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Then the chime rings. And we vote on one of the three cells."
Xavier’s throat tightened. "And then?"
The werewolf’s gaze darkened. "Then they kill them."
The young man in the center barely had time to scream before the first fist crashed into his face, snapping his head back with a sickening crack. Blood sprayed across the tile, his nose shattering like glass.
A Draconian lunged next, his claws ripping into the man’s stomach, his intestines spilling onto the floor in a wet, glistening heap. The man gurgled, his hands scrambling to hold his guts in, but another prisoner stomped on his fingers, the bones crunching under the weight.
A Klie grabbed his arm, twisting until the bone snapped, the jagged end tearing through the skin. The man howled, but the sound was cut short as a Zolakian slammed a shiv into his throat, blood gushing like a fountain.
The crowd roared, their voices a frenzied chant as they tore into him.