I processed all the information I’d received in such a short period. It was a lot, but I knew I could do it. Honestly, I didn’t have much of a choice. With a forced smile and my nerves close to snapping, I nodded. “I can do this,” I said with false positivity.

He smiled and put his glasses back on. “That’s good to hear.”

THE FIRST WEEK at my new job consisted of intake screenings. I worked under three corrections officers as I looked over each naked inmate, administered a physical, and asked a multitude of questions to get a grasp on their mental state. I’d never seen so many penises in my life. Big. Small. Short. Long. I could see them when I closed my eyes.

On top of that, there was so much paperwork that my eyes would blur. By the time I was done, my wrist ached from writing so much and my eyes burned from reading. It was exhausting work.

When I wasn’t doing intake screenings, I was giving the diabetics their insulin and dispensing hydrochlorothiazide to the inmates with high blood pressure. It was a busy job, and when I went home at night, I fell into my bed and slept like the dead.

On my second week, I spent most of my time in the infirmary with Dr. Giles. He gave me tour after tour of the prison, thankfully when the inmates were at rec time or eating lunch. When I wasn’t doing that, I was making buy lists for the supply closet and disinfecting the clinical areas.

I was just returning to the infirmary from five intake screenings when a loud alarm began to ring out. Red lights flashed, illuminating the walls with quick bursts. Fear struck me deep. I’d seen prison movies. Alarms ringing and flashing lights were usually a bad thing.

Dr. Giles patted my arm. “You’ll get used to it. This happens a lot.”

I’d had yet to experience a lockdown, but there were two other nurses and a physician’s assistant who worked at Fulton. We took shifts—four on and four off—which meant poor Dr. Giles spent most of his life at the prison.

He moved across the room and began setting up a few beds. “It won’t be long now until a few of these beds are filled. The alarms usually mean a fight. These boys fight dirty, so be prepared for blood.”

Nodding, I swallowed. I’d already been there two weeks, but I wasn’t ready for this part of the job.

The alarm silenced, and the bars began to click and clank. The room filled with raucous noise as the COs pulled in three inmates. Like Dr. Giles said they would be, their khaki uniforms were covered in blood. One of them was out cold.

The room became busy, and I assisted Dr. Giles as he stitched and patched up the inmates. Apparently, getting shanked in prison was a real possibility.

“It doesn’t matter how many times the COs toss the cells; they always find ways to hide their weapons.”

Uneasily, I kept to my task without responding. I didn’t even want to think about where they hid their weapons. Diana, a friend of mine, swore they shoved things like that up their asses. Just thinking about it made me shiver.

The inmate Dr. Giles was currently working on pulled at his restraints and cursed in rage. I stood to the side as a needle was jabbed into his arm, making him relax and lie back.

Dr. Giles smiled up at me. “Scared you, huh?”

“A little.”

“Don’t worry. When they’re rowdy like this, the officers keep watch.”

My eyes moved around the room. When I saw three officers waiting by the door, I felt safer.

“Besides, this guy’s not one you have to worry about,” he said, pulling his suture tighter.

“Oh? And which inmates should I worry about?”

“Hmmm, good question. I guess the most dangerous inmate on the block is a guy named X. He’s been here ten years for two counts of murder. Slaughtered his girlfriend and her friend, and I do mean slaughtered. I saw the crime-scene photos.” He shook his head. “Anyway, he gets in a lot of trouble around here. He doesn’t talk much, but you’ll see him often. When you do, just patch him up and move him out as quickly as you can.”

“X? What kind of a name is that?”

“It’s a name given by other inmates. The lifers like to forget the life they used to have. You’ll find a lot of them go by nicknames. The boys named him X because his cell is lined with X marks. No one knows why he does it. He’s a strange one. Like I said, he’s a scary guy. Just keep an eye out.”

And as if he’d somehow summoned them, the alarms went off again. I covered my ears and clenched my eyes closed. This was really happening. It was like an extremely bad movie, and it was my life.

The room lit up with red. Soon, the noises stopped and the lights dimmed until they were out completely. The officers moved quickly, bringing in a fresh batch of inmates.