Waupun
Maze inside a maze
He played accordion like a twelve car pileup, crumpling and uncrumpling, pipe in mouth, gold smoke curling at the stage’s edge. He set down the pipe and took a swallow of dark beer. The ground was frozen, and a sheet of snow lay over it.
The door to the parking lot was a memory. Maybe the only memory he ever knew.
Reported at 8:50 this morning: eight department of corrections employees, and Warden Randall Hepp, have been charged with crimes in connection with multiple inmate deaths over the last year. Reports indicate corrections officers and nursing staff willfully ignored inmate needs culminating in charges of neglect and abuse.
An inmate, determined by the medical examiner to have died from dehydration and malnutrition, was seen drinking from the toilet after staff shut off his water. He’d been dead more than 12 hours, and thought to be “playing possum,” before staff checked his condition.
The New York Times: “Prisoners were confined mostly to their cells, went without regular fresh air and family visits, and faced significant delays in medical care and psychological services. Inmates told The Times that prisoners who said they planned to take their lives were ignored.”
Mind your business, eyes forward, know your place, but take no shit. Never start anything but always shut it down. Someone tries to bully you, don’t take it. Small things get big, and once they’re too big…
Like Jack. Got outta prison after 18 years. He wasn’t gonna take no more shit, had already taken 18 years of it. Man like that’s a coiled spring. Coiled spring becomes a snake.
That’s best advice for a man in prison. Oh. And never trust nice people. They have motives. If they were nice they wouldn’t be in prison.
Jet looked to Henry, “I could have sworn we had four bunks in here, but now I can’t remember,” and they laughed. The prison had changed again.
With their minds? From their wells? They closed their eyes and walked through cities, rode motorcycles along coastal highways, and sat in gardens. Either Henry guided or Jet’d guide while the other listened. Was almost like Henry’d never been in war or prison, like he’d never grown into a man, or lived much life.
Deaderman came alive when needed, and changed when it wished. It was the way of a mayorless city. Sometimes the air cooled and the cells changed color and fingerprints inked the walls. Sometimes prisoners died just from wanting certain things—the power of change in the Belly of the Beast.
Henry fingered a crack that spidered to concrete and cinder. He teased an occlusion on the wall then pulled down. A sheet paper ripped and fell away. He stared. Then ripped further, revealing darkness. He pulled the paper to the right then cleared it away, revealing a gaping entrance then stepped through while Jet watched.
When he finished playing accordion, he set it on the table and flooded his gut with beer. The room filled with laughter that turned dull. He practiced music and dance. It took the edge off life.
A man had called his name. He cocked his head, listening to the corridor. It’d been so long since he was last free, he’d nearly forgotten its meaning.
Behind him were stacks of letters with two suitcases. He called cross the bar and waited. When nothing changed, he gathered the suitcases, collected the letters, and stepped outside.
Henry stood at his cell door, blinking through a flood of light. The officer was making rounds. Henry stood, idle and silent, Jet was beside him.
The officer had a grim face, wiry beard, and fat cheeks. Lights out, he said. Henry nodded, and the man started away from the window. Jet read his badge. Waupun Correctional Institution.
Jet looked at the walls. “Wonder if it’s any different from Deaderman.”
“Never heard of any Waupun,” said Henry. “You?”
Jet shook his head.
Hey, I’m Roman. I’m working on my debut novel, 20xx, a work in magical realism. I write on Substack.
This was entertaining. Loved this gold nugget "That’s best advice for a man in prison. Oh. And never trust nice people. They have motives. If they were nice they wouldn’t be in prison."