The Cage

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The Cage.
by Angharad

Copyright © 2013 Angharad
All Rights Reserved.
  
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The noise levels showed there was something going down. “Collins get down here, she’s done it again,” called Senior officer Martin, Brenda Martin, our shift leader. I started to run, my rubber soled boots squeaking on the tiled floors.

By the time I got to Wiggins’ cell they were cutting her down. She had a nasty bruise on her neck, it would match the other one. I was the duty first aider and I quickly checked for pulse and airway, her heart was still beating and she was breathing–just. Bloody trannies.

Ever since we’d been stuck with her, she’d been done for GBH and malicious wounding–she stuck a glass in some bloke’s face who called her a fairy–we’ve had problems. She’s post op, I believe–never checked–don’t want to, she’s been trying to kill herself. The shrinks don’t know what to do with her–and me–if she succeeds, I hope it’s on someone else’s shift, not mine.

This is the third time she’s managed to find some sort of string–normally we’re trying to prevent them getting their paws on sharp objects–we get quite a few stabbings and slashings and this is a women’s nick. Forget all you’ve heard about the fairer sex–this nature red in tooth and claw and it’s all female, including our now groaning inmate.

Ah, here comes the doctor–no, not The Doctor, as in Dr Who, but the duty physician, Dr Wearing–he’s a nice enough bloke, could quite fancy him, except he’s gay–or so they say. But then he’d never look at a screw, would he?

The paramedics weren’t called this time as she was still breathing–last time she nearly succeeded and has been on pretty well continuous observation ever since. Thank goodness I wasn’t on that duty today–it’s so boring, and once they know they’re being watched, they play you up–not much else to do, so why not, and time is something they’ve got lots of.

We’ve got four, no three trannies here now. One was released the other day. Another basket case; in here for fraud, pinching credit cards that sort of thing. She’d transitioned later than Wiggins, so wasn’t as convincing and she told me she couldn’t get work, hence the crime. I don’t know how much I believe that, there’s always work it’s just some people don’t want to do it–and they’re not all gender swappers. Mind you a criminal record won’t help for future reference except it might get her help from Nacro (National Association for the care and resettlement of offenders) or one of the other ex con charities.

Over the years I’ve seen probably a dozen or more–at least they get sent to women’s prison’s now, years ago they were sent to the men’s ones. If they were post op and into sex, they might have had a good time, though I doubt it. Drugs and violence abound despite our efforts to stop it–and the do gooders who just get in the bloody way but hamper us no end, interfering all the time.

Of course, everyone of the inmates–all five hundred odd, are innocent, convicted by a biased legal system. Sure they are, so how come we have so many here who even the prison officers are scared of? Big Bertha is one and she scares the poo out of me. A Glaswegian woman who weighs in at over twenty stone, tattoos in places I wouldn’t like to look, and a vicious temper only matched by her physical strength. Sometimes we have to get some male officers to restrain her she is so strong. She broke my arm a couple of years ago but I try not to show the fear. She’s a cokehead amongst other things and is here because she killed her supplier when he wanted to put the price up. She’s doing life.

Ah, Wiggins is sitting up and the doc is examining her, I stand out by the door. I was telling you about the other trannies: mostly they get done for fraud, theft, receiving stolen goods or prostitution. Seems they get themselves a fanny and decide to road test it–a case of if you got it flaunt it, I suppose. Dunno, never thought it about myself–mind you with the way pensions are going, I might have to reassess things. Nah, only joking–I couldn’t do that if you paid me–joke, pay me geddit?

I now have to escort Wiggins to the hospital wing, as if I didn’t have enough to do. She’s okay, I suppose–some might even consider pretty–well until she started her own form of cervical traction, that hasn’t helped her. I suspect she’s very depressed and like half of them in here, in need of psychotherapy–except resources are very limited. Yeah, half of them are mad rather than bad, some were unlucky and some are bloody evil–like Big Bertha. She gets a look in her eye and you know she’s giving you the same regard as she would a fly she was going to swat. Only last week, I got one of my boobs badly bruised after she flung another prisoner at me. She hit something soft–me–I hit the wall with a hundred and forty pounds of shoplifter on top of me.

“Why d’you keep doing this, Wiggins?” I asked as we walked across to the examination room.

“As if you care?” she said rubbing her neck gingerly.

“Course I care–think of all the paperwork if you succeed.”

“D’you know what it’s like being in here?” she said pointing to herself.

“What d’ya mean, in here?” I pointed to the building, HMP Fairside, “or in here?” I pointed to her body.

“Both. I’ve had it hard all my bloody life and then that bastid called me a fairy, I just lost it and whacked him in the face–I still had a glass in my hand.”

“So how did he know–you make quite a presentable female?”

“He’s known me all my life. Bloody pervert–I’m glad he lost an eye.”

“That’s not very nice, Wiggins, you want out you need to show some remorse.”

“What d’ya think this is?” she pointed to her neck.

“Well, if it isn’t attention seeking then I suspect it’s self pity. Look, do your time and keep your nose clean and you’ll be out on parole no time.”

“I can’t go back to teaching though, can I?”

What d’you say to that? “I dunno, Wiggins, that isn’t for me to decide.”

“Are you lezzie, Collins?” she suddenly fired at me.

“What gave you that impression?” I was genuinely concerned.

“Just something about you–you’re different to the rest of the screws.”

“Perhaps I care about the people in here–somebody has to.”

“Perhaps that’s it–but are you?”

“No, Wiggins, I’m not.” I opened the door to the examination room and pushed her inside. We’re not supposed to give away information to the prisoners–they like to play mind games, and women are better at it than men. But she was right. I am different–I’m one of only a handful of transsexual women prison officers in the country–I just hope she never finds out, or any of the others for that matter.

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Comments

I am wondering if any

are actually free of The Cage that holds them prisoner/

    Stanman
May Your Light Forever Shine

A Glimpse Of The Dark Side

You don't take the easy way out, do you? What a hell of a difficult subject to write about!

And you did it very well, raising issue after issue but offering no glib solutions. Because there aren't any. When it comes to the darker side of human nature, nothing is guaranteed to work.

Ban nothing. Question everything.

moving story

both sides of the cage can be lonely places.

Made me think, you did.

DogSig.png

Lonely places.

There's only one lonely place when inside Dot and that's inside your head. Believe me Dot, staying lonely inside one's head is the only route to survival; all else is threat, danger and fear. Nowhere is safe, nowhere can you be alone except inside your head and even then only for brief, life saving moments between demons and black despair.

Somebody is always out to get you, use you, exploit you and that's called paranoia by some, that so called paranoia is the only route to survival. It serves to keep you fractionally ahead most of the time.

Been there, there are no tee-shirts just memories

Bev.

Oh by the way Ang, I liked this story but there was one tiny wrinkle. Some of us really were innocent, innocent that is of having committed any crime, but guilty of being intergendered and therefore impossible to categorise; conveniently.

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I don't know who has it worse

The offender or the one that supervises. Being single and disabled is no fun but at least I don't have a criminal record (unless you count the one by The Beatles).

An unusual story touching on a little-known area of society.

Nice one as usual, Ang.

S.

I love this...

What can I say? Its a work of genius!

Thank you

Abby

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Mastering The Craft

Really sweet piece of writing. I don't mean that the story was sweet, just that the author has a really sweet grasp of the art of telling a story.

Not that Angharad was ever horrid at writing, she's been writing brill stuff from the beginning. It's clear though, with every day that passes, that her skill with story pacing, timing, and character exposition just continues to grow.

There aren't a lot of authors, unpublished or otherwise, who can write a short story this good.

Hmmm...

I've heard it... But, never understood it... Some trans folks talking about others and calling them (derragatorially) as trannies. Getting a job can be much harder than is implied. (Perhaps that's one reason why trans people tend to have higher education levels than others in the jobs they have... I've seen stats that support this.)

Living in stealth, as a prison guard. Talk about difficult. Oy.

Interesting situation. I didn't know what to expect about Ms. Collins, but that wasn't it.

Thanks,
Annette

Calling each other a 'tranny'.

Hi Annette.
I think that trans people calling each other 'trannies', is a bit like black people calling each other 'niggah', it's almost a term of endearment and quite probably a term to invite a sense of mutual identity and therefore some sort of mutual protection.

Amongst my transvestite friends we certainly use the term 'tranny' when talking to each other or talking about each other. Amongst my transsexual friends, (pre or post) I would certainly never use the term because I believe they are patently NOT transvestite.

So far I have knowingly never met any intergendered others so I can't comment on intergendered people addressing each other or describing each other as tranny. If any of my friends advise me that they don't like or don't want to be addressed as tranny then I try and remember to comply with their wishes. Occasionally I forget but then even intergendered people make mistakes.

Food for thought.
Bevs

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I've heard...

I've heard that said in some "transvestite" groups - that they call each other trannies. But, I've never experienced it. Perhaps it's living a sheltered life. One of the difficulties we face is that the term is used by others to refer to all of us.

Even with your point - I still wouldn't be calling anyone a tranny... If you and your friends like it, okay. The only problem I see (and it may be me making mountains out of mole hills) is others hearing it and assuming it's a "fine" term to use for all transgender people... I've seen Caucasians or Asians try to "join" in and call others "niggah" when they call each others that... NOT a good idea... But, people do this.

Best wishes to you.
Annette

I've Been There

I worked as a nurse in a women's maximum security prison in, goddess help me, Texas. I didn't want to be in prison or the state so it was a miserable experience to begin with. Add to it the desperation of 1200 people caged like animals in dorms with no AC, some of them for life, and it's a psychic hell the likes of which you can't imagine.

PM

You have a private comment on this one.

A great short story

This was an Intriguing story, Ang.

As well as being well crafted and well written I was left with the thought that no matter how far we have travelled, we can still be bound by our own prejudices and foibles.

There are positive outcomes for both of the main protagonists, if they are willing to change. It is possibly another great trait you have, to leave the reader to fill out the future. Well done

Love to All

Anne G.

To screw or not to screw, Angharad?

Ouote "Dr Wearing—he’s a nice enough bloke, could quite fancy him, except he’s gay—or so they say. But then he’d never look at a screw, would he?"

Would that be a long or short screw, left or right handed, metric or whitworth, brass or steel, what kind of screw driver or spanner?

I guess if he is the screwer, that would depend on what type of tool he has!

If he's a screweee! I can't comment!

Aside from joking, your story was very realistic and very true.

I have a friend who is a prison warder, he said it's a 'Mind game', full on all the time.

What us lesser mortals tend to forget is that just because they are behind caged doors, doesn't diminish their intellectual capacity, yes some are slow, others are very smart in more ways than one!

Neat story, made me think a bit more about the warders and the effect on them.

Thank you Angharad.

Age is an issue of mind over matter.
If you don't mind, it doesn't matter!
(Mark Twain)

LoL
Rita

Prison Guard

I have never been a prison guard, nor do I at age 72 want to be one.

I was about 11 when the Boy Scout Troop I belonged in Hugo, Oklahoma went to the Prison at McAlester, Oklahoma. We were given the full tour for all practical purposes as it started in the Warden's Office, and the tour went from there. At that time, the prison made the license plates for the Okla automobiles, and we saw the stamping machines that made them. It required a real good deal of co-ordination for the operator ( an inmate) to remove the stamped plate and insert a blank plate before the stamp came down again. We were told that more than one prisoner had lost a hand at that location. There were several other necessary places such as the laundry we visited, but my main rememberance came in the afternoon.

We also had lunch with prisoners in the dining hall, and toured several cell blocks, including death row, and a look at the Electric Chair Oklahoma was using for the death penalty at that time. That chair is currently in the Prison Museum at McAlester, near the prison. The name of the Museum may not be accurate.
In all of the cell blocks we visited, we repeatedly heard from the prisoners, "You are in a good organization. Please obey the laws of the Boy Scouts." (we were all in Boy Scouts of America Uniforms) but the one that meant the most to me was the one prisoner on Death Row, who told us the same thing - "Follow the Boy Scout Laws and all they stand for, and you won't wind up here, like I have."

Even today, it would be necessary for Collins to maintain secrecy about her condition, and I thank all, even the transgendered who serve as prison guards. I think in many respects it is like serving in the Military (7 years, 4 months and 20 days, thank you!), except for how rapid things in a prison can change from good to disastrous.

Whether they know it or not, prison guards are just as much a hero, in my mind, as the military.

"Anchors Away, M'Lads, Anchors Away!"

Don't let someone else talk you out of your dreams. How can we have dreams come true, if we have no dreams?

Katrina Gayle "Stormy" Storm

The BSA

Wouldn't it be nice if the BSA followed it's own teachings... I never saw anything in them that would preclude Gay or trans members (other than they don't want weirdos like me). I managed to earn my Eagle way back then, too... Other girls could do it too... And, I don't see any reason why a gay couldn't either... Because they HAVE.

Annette

There are shrinks

Alice-s's picture

She will have access to shrinks. The hospital wing would actually be a go are Very on site. She will also spend time on close observation, being placed on act, a file will follow her. What this means is that even at night she will have 15 minute obs. Sounds like she is in a mains. However, she may end up in a vp set up. In short, suicide and self harm happen in prison and there are quite a few systems in place to help.