"Ezra. Ezra, please put down the gun," Benjamin pleaded, his voice rising with every syllable.
I shook my head, my lip trembling.
"Ezra, he's inno-"
"NOT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY!" I screeched, the gun still pointed at Lamar's head.
"I swear Ezra. Everything will be okay again if you just put the gun DOWN!"
"SHUTUP!" my screams were bloodcurdling. Benjamin and Lamar flinched every time I opened my mouth.
Yet I had to do it. My cousin, my sweet, innocent, wouldn't hurt a fly five-year-old cousin deserved everything in the world. And justice was number one on the list.
I clamped both hands down on the weapon in my hand, noticing I was shaking violently.
"You lied. You dishonoured my family. You all did," I glared at my hands, noticing that every inch of my body was sweating heavily, my heart was violently pounding out of my chest. I had to pull the trigger, even if it was the last thing I do.
"Please Ezra. Remember what we had before? I swear, it was an accident," Benjamin's voice cracked with the last word he uttered.
I then had a change of heart. I lowered the gun slowly, my hands still clamped on it. I saw Lamar's body relax just the tiniest bit yet he didn't move an inch.
"Good. Good job, Ezra. Now, just put the gun on the floor and surrender. Everything will be-"
And that's when I did it. I span 45 degrees, aimed the gun at Benjamin's head and without another thought, pulled the trigger.
***
I sat bolt upright, my head hitting the bunk above mine.
"Ow," I frowned and rubbed my head. Damn flashbacks.
"If you wanna keep your liver kid, you keep the noise down. You hear me?" I heard a voice above me mumble.
"Sorry," I groaned.
I hopped out my bed and shuffled to the toilet in the corner of the cell. Pulling down my sweats, I made sure I hid everything well from prying eyes that may be looking through the steel bars.
I finished off and went over to the entrance of the cell. The massive digital clock on the opposing wall told me the time was 3:47am. I sighed and leant my head against the bars. Some of the other inmates were up also, I could see Abruzzi sharpening some kind of weapon from the bottom of his bunk and Tweener, that little shit who thought he was black, was pacing his cell.
I ran my fingers through my slightly greasy hair and tutted. I need to trim this down again. People will start to get suspicious.
"Do you ever sleep, kid?"
I heard a shuffling from behind me and then a yawn.
"Ever heard of insomnia?" I said almost too begrudgingly.
"Man, I'm not looking for a sob story-"
"I'm not giving you one, C-Note," I snapped. "Go back to sleep."
"Why you snappin', kid? Everyone in here is just as frustrated as you are. So you better buck your ideas up before you speak to me like that again, aight?" Benjamin Franklin or C-Note as he was known as, growled from the darkness behind me.
I didn't even turn and look at him when he spoke to me. C-Note was one of those people that, if you got on the wrong side of him he wouldn't put up with the shit you spewed. However I'd managed to arouse C-Note's good side the first day I'd arrived here. I'd got in a punch up with the scumbag who was Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell. C-Note instantly had respect for me after I'd told the dick where to go.
