Life Behind Bars

Chapter Seventeen: A Terrible Change

__After a few days, the three cops that came back were used to Scourge getting into a lot of trouble. Scourge found them more annoying than Zonic and his other two friends that were with him. On their first day back they tried to stay as close to Scourge as possible, and that alone made him angry and impatient. They tried speaking with him and Scourge never responded to them. The other prisoners noticed this and were always laughing at him. 
__Al and Cal didn't like them either. They were always making fun of them for being so small and hanging out with Scourge. But unlike Scourge, they showed their anger towards them that they wouldn't dare to the other inmates.
__Scourge was in his cell right now, sitting on the windowsill and looking out through the bars. No one was to go outside today because one of the gas pipes outside stopped working and had to be fixed. Scourge longed for fresh air so he just laid the side of his face on the window bars and was inhaling the air that came in and blew on his face while it ruffled the fur on his quills. He then heard footsteps come into his cell and looked to see that Jeffrey had walked in.
__"Why are you in my cell?" He asked him sternly. "Don't you have better things to do than bother me?"
__"You always have to be so crossed don't you?" Jeffrey responded with this smug look.
"Yeah, I wonder why," Scourge muttered.
__"What are you doing here, Jeffrey?" Jeffrey turned his head around while Scourge flattened his ears when Smalls entered the cell. He leaned on the bunk bed and glanced at Jeffrey. "I get you're Maxx's right-hand man, but that doesn't give you a right to be in my cell."
__"Relax, mate," Jeffrey assured him. "I'm just trying to talk to snot here. That's all."
__Scourge just rolled his eyes and looked back out the window. "And you did, so leave." He wasn't in the mood to see anyone. All he wanted was alone time to think.
__"Not until you come with me, Scourge," Jeffery replied. "Maxx wants to speak with you again."
__"Hell na!" Scourge whipped his head around to face him, feeling something hot burning within. "The last thing I need is being in the presence of that stupid old man."
__"Watch it, Snot," Jeffrey warned. "You can't be talking about him that way while you're here."
__"Well, tough luck!" Scourge sneered. "I've known him longer than you have, Croix. If I was still with Alicia he probably would've ended up being my father-in-law." Scourge was then disgusted by what he just said. Having Maxx as his family member would almost be like a nightmare.
__"Be that as it may," Jeffrey began as he stroked his smooth white hair. "Maxx insists on seeing you again, and if you don't comply we'll have to use force."
__Scourge just set his feet at the top of the window and wrapped his arms behind his head. "Why doesn't he just come see me himself? He isn't that old. He can make the short journey on his own."
__"Ooh!" Smalls giggled as his set himself on the top bunk.
__"Snot!" Jeffrey walked over and pulled Scourge off the window and slammed him onto the floor. "This isn't something you can just dust off!" He growled. "Either you come willingly, or be escorted while bleeding."
__Scourge stood up and was about to attack Jeffrey until he saw one of the big guys waiting outside the cell. Dammit. He just crossed his arms and glared at the moebian skunk. "Fine."

__Jeffrey was the only one escorting Scourge to Maxx's room since he told his men it wouldn't take long. All the other inmates would stare at Scourge as they were walking. Even Al and Cal looked at him in confusion when they saw him walking with Jeffrey. Scourge didn't even bother looking at Jeffrey. His stupid smug look made him mad and he wanted to hurry this up. I swear one of these days I'm going to snap and kill both Jeffrey and Maxx. As he thought it even he didn't believe one word.
__When they made it to Maxx's room Scourge saw that Maxx was sitting on the pink bed and already looked directly into his eyes. Scourge tried to slow his heart beat when it started beating faster. He didn't like the way Maxx was looking at him. It was like he could see his soul.
__Maxx then looked at Jeffrey and motioned him to leave. "You can go, Jeffrey. I want to speak with him alone."
__"As you wish." Jeffrey replied as he walked out the room and shut the door.
__Scourge stepped back about two feet when Maxx stood up from the bed and walked up to him. "Good to see you again, old friend."
__"Wish I could say the same thing to you," Scourge mumbled.
__Maxx fixed his white hair as he started speaking again. "So it seems you've been causing some trouble for my men nowadays. Normally I wouldn't have someone come to me directly to resolve these issues, but then again you're you so I just had to see you again." He then smirked and it made Scourge ears droop backwards.
__Scourge pulled on his collar out of nerves when Maxx stopped talking. He hadn't seen him in about a month and yet for some reason he now started to fear him. But it was not of his old, cranky appearance or that he had control of almost half of the inmates. It was the fact that he knew Scourge well and he could tell there was hatred for him. Scourge did not want to say anything that would aggravate him, but Maxx was looking at him as if waiting for him to speak. He didn't even know the right words to say about the situation, and Maxx could see that.
__"Shy are you?" Maxx chuckled quietly. He stepped closer and wrapped his arm around Scourge's shoulders. "This place certainly has changed you."
__"I...I guess you could say that," Scourge muttered. He wanted to get out of Maxx's grip so badly, though he feared that if he did it would anger Maxx. He managed to think clearly and tried speaking. "I don't get why you're making a fuss about this."
__"Why I'm making a fuss?" Maxx repeated in question. He removed his arm from Scourge's shoulders and simpered as he looked into Scourge's eyes. "It would seem you are the one making a fuss. You know how many times I hear Jeffrey complain about you?"
__"Yeah, but Croix doesn't have any high standards, does he?" Scourge retorted lightly. "He couldn't have handled the Anti-Freedom Fighters better than me."
__"Hm...Indeed," Maxx nodded. "But he is my trusted right-hand man so I have to take him on his word." He went to sit back down on the bed and looked at Scourge as if waiting for him to comment.
__Scourge crossed his arms and leaned onto the door behind him. He really didn't want to be here. He desperately waited for Maxx to ask him to leave, but that seemed like it wasn't going to happen soon. He looked away from him and tried to keep his head still. "Right-hand man or not, he has no idea what he's doing when it comes to me. He acts tough, but I think he's afraid of me."
__"And he has every right to be," Maxx responded heavily. "You are threatening our reputation by giving my men trouble."
__"Does it look like I care?" Scourge asked sarcastically without thinking.
__Maxx suddenly narrowed his eyes and his tail twitched in anger. Scourge felt his heart beating faster as Maxx spoke. "You should care, Scourge." He warned. "You're disrupting our peace, and that seems to be defying my rule, don't you think?" He stared at Scourge with an intense rage.
__Scourge bit back an angry remark as Maxx didn't take his eyes away from him. Damn! What's with this old fool!? He pulled himself off the wall, keeping his arms crossed as he avoided eye contact. "Yeah," He muttered his reply.
__Maxx's eyes had soften as he chuckled and looked at the wall. "You never knew when to quit back then. Now you're just a nervous wreck."
__Scourge didn't even bother to respond to that. Maxx was right and Scourge accepted the fact that prison changed him. He didn't like to admit he was afraid of everything now. He knew he was at the bottom of the food chain and there was nothing he could do about it. He turned down a good deal that would've put him at the top in no time, and he was convinced it was the right thing for him. Even if he wanted to change his mind, he couldn't just go and find the chief. He would always be afraid of every step he would take in this prison. He would be afraid of everyone in this prison. He would be afraid of what he himself would do in this prison.