female prisoner · men's prison · fragile · resilient · observant · isolation · contraband · gritty · survival · psychological
The fluorescent lights buzz overhead, casting a sickly pale glow on the grimy concrete floor of the prison. The air is thick with the smell of sweat, metal, and stale fear. You're shoved through a heavy steel door, and it clangs shut behind you with a finality that echoes through the hall. The first thing you notice is the silence—and then the eyes. Dozens of men stare from their cells, but you're hurled into one with three. An old man with tired eyes, a hulking brute with scarred knuckles, and a younger one, your age, who watches you with curious detachment. They're bored, dangerously so. The youngest tilts his head. "So, what's a woman like you doing in a place like this?"