The Angel: A shocking new thriller – read if you dare!. Katerina Diamond

to just keep his head down until the hearing came.

      ‘OK boys, go get your food.’ A dishevelled Barratt knocked on the door.

      Gabriel noticed that Barratt always looked a mess, and he didn’t smell great either. There was just something worn about him, something that wasn’t quite up to standard. Maybe he’d recently separated, maybe he was living alone for the first time in years – it was as though it was all new to him. His shoes were scuffed, all his seams frayed and there were lots of stains on his uniform, the kind that probably would wash out if you just tried. It was almost as if Barratt had given up on himself. Maybe this kind of apathy came with the job.

      They all walked out on the wing, Asher following a few feet behind them. One of the inmates Gabriel didn’t know was mopping blood from the foot of the staircase. He felt sick again but no one else was even paying attention, stepping over the blood as though it were a spilled drink. They all headed to the servery and continued the conversations about the food on offer. Gabriel couldn’t even think about food, his appetite had all but disappeared.

      ‘Have you had a shower yet?’ Sparks asked.

      ‘Not really, not properly.’

      ‘I thought as much, you’re a bit whiffy, mate.’

      ‘It’s very rare for bad shit to happen in the showers. It’s not like the movies, you know,’ Sol chipped in, as though sensing Gabriel’s worry.

      ‘The screws are opposite anyway. It’s pretty heavily monitored; it was a condition of the last inspection,’ Sparks added.

      ‘I’ll get round to it,’ Gabriel said, trying not to be as evasive as he felt.

      ‘Listen Gabe, you need to relax a little, find your groove,’ Sol said. ‘Everyone in here is mostly trying to keep their head down, do their time and then get out. Don’t let stuff scare you. If you’re thinking about your cellmate Jason, he was just an idiot, that’s all. If you’re that worried you should request to stay with me.’ It seemed Sol had already written off his own cellmate, who was probably being carried off to the infirmary as they spoke.

      Gabriel sighed. ‘What happened to Jason anyway? Will someone tell me now?’

      ‘He’s in the infirmary and then he’ll be moved to D-wing. If he recovers,’ Sol said. He always seemed to know what was going on around the prison. People spoke to him.

      ‘You probably shouldn’t mention him again. If the screws catch you, they will be pissed off,’ Sparks said.

      ‘Why?’ Gabriel asked.

      ‘Because he’s just a reminder of how little control they have in here. If we all decided to kick off at the same time, they would be fucked,’ Sparks whispered.

      ‘Look, Gabe, the fact is, I’m surprised you’ve been alone this long and I don’t particularly want you to be in the pad-mate lottery,’ Sol said. ‘They won’t let you stay alone forever and you never know who you’re gonna get. If people know you’re my cellie they will leave you alone.’

      ‘Yeah, just like Welsh back there.’ Sparks winked at Kenzie and they both laughed.

      ‘But I’m on remand and you’ve already been sentenced.’ Gabriel ignored them and continued talking to Sol.

      ‘If you request it, they’ll consider it. Unless they think we’re a couple or something,’ Sol said.