Lessons Learned

Untitled Part 8

Hours later John woke up on the floor of Trevor's cell. He'd escorted the inebriated man back to his humble abode only to find it empty. His cellmate was nowhere to be seen. John shook Trevor mostly awake and discovered that Julio rarely slept in his bunk

"You can 'ave it for tonight, Doc. I gotta talk to you anyway."

"Yeah, all right," John assured him. "I'll stay here and make sure you don't choke on your own vomit."

In his condition, John doubted he'd remember much of their conversation.

Trevor's laughter ended in a huffing wheeze that John didn't like the sound of. He sounded asthmatic to top everything else off. "Shut the door," he commanded before he fell face down on the bottom bunk. "And, lock it."

John saw a makeshift deadbolt on the barred cell door and drew it across. Apparently, the prison had no lock down procedures for the night. Inmates just came and went from their cells at will. Life in this prison resembled something out of a Mad Max movie more than anything else. He hoped to god Julio didn't come back any time soon.

As John checked on a nearly comatose Trevor, he worried about how much the man had ingested. He wasn't showing signs of alcohol poisoning but John checked his vitals anyway. Without running some blood tests, he couldn't be sure but he'd spent a restless few hours of the night checking on Trevor's breathing. He'd finally pulled the mattress off of Julio's top bunk and laid it next to Trevor's bed on the floor so he could keep a better eye on the man. It would be just John's luck if Trevor died choking on his own vomit just before he could get the intel from him.

He got about six hours of good sleep that night and felt better for it the next morning. The sun was about an hour from rising and it was already warm in the stuffy little room. His stomach growled but he had no idea when he'd get more food. The only sustenance he could count on was the measly "dinner" he'd get at six o'clock. He remembered the second apple he'd retrieved from his cell floor and took it out of his pocket. He ate the whole thing in four bites, worms and all.

He looked around Trevor's cell for something else to eat and to his amazement, he found two chocolate bars. He actually felt guilty about breaking off half of one and gobbling it down in two sweet mouthfuls but did it anyway. He immediately felt better for the sugar.

Trevor slept on obliviously so John decided to wait until he woke up. He needed to piss and found a covered chamber pot in the corner he made use of. When he got out of this hell hole, he would never take indoor plumbing for granted again. He seemed to be hellishly thirsty but he closed his eyes and lie back down on the mattress. Trevor's breathing had evened out and he snored occasionally ending in a wheeze. Without meaning to, John fell back asleep.

The second time he woke up the sun was well above the horizon, the room stiflingly hot and Trevor sat cross legged on his bunk staring at him.

"Mornin' Doc. It seems you've managed to survive your first day."

John rubbed the back of his neck which had stiffened up from his sleep on the floor. "Yes, if you call this surviving."

"I think it's time we had a little chat," Trevor said eyeing him steadily. "I know why you're here, mate."