Faith was herded into the warden’s office by a very large male guard, whose name tag read “Rath.”

Rath pushed Faith towards a chair in front of a large, empty desk. Having her ankles and wrists shackled together by a connecting chain, Faith almost stumbled, but caught herself on the back of the chair. She sat down, making sure the dirty look she wanted to give Rath wasn’t on her face.

She looked down at the chains holding her. ‘Flimsy,” she thought absently. ‘I could snap ‘em in a heartbeat.’ But she didn’t.

All new inmates were interviewed by the warden upon their arrival. Quietly she sat waiting for the warden to arrive. While she waited, she looked around.

“Eyes front!” Rath ordered. Faith locked her stare on the desk ahead of her.

Faith sat for another fifteen minutes, quite aware of Rath standing behind her. She could hear his nasally breathing; he probably had some kind of sinus problem. And if she concentrated, she could hear his heart beat.

Finally from a side door, the warden entered the office. She was a tall, skinny, gray-haired woman. Faith let eyes flit to the woman and then back straight ahead of her. But she could have saved herself the attempted sneak peeks, she was completely ignored, as if she wasn’t even in the room.

For another ten minutes the woman shuffled papers on her desk, looked into a couple of drawers, drank from a large coffee mug, and then opened a sealed manila envelope and started reading its contents. She looked up at Faith once, then went back to reading.

Then the warden slapped the papers down on her desk and looked straight at Faith.

“My name is Jackson; Martha B. Jackson. But you will address me as Warden Jackson, or Ma’am, is that understood?”

“Sure,” Faith replied. “Whatever you want.”

Suddenly Faith was hit on the side her head with Rath’s two-foot long nightstick, knocking her off the chair onto the floor.

Slowly, using the chair for support, Faith was able to get half way up when Rath grabbed her by the hair and dragged her the rest of the way into the chair. And only because her head hurt so badly, and because of her desire not to cause any trouble did Faith control herself and not beat Rath to a bloody pulp.

Faith could feel blood running down her cheek but resisted the urge to wipe it away.

Warden Jackson repeated herself, “You will address me as Warden Jackson, or Ma’am.”

“Yes Ma’am,” Faith said despite her splitting headache. “Whatever you want - Ma’am.”

Warden Jackson gave Faith a small, humorless smile. “I see you have violent tendencies - murder, assaults on police officers, escapes and attempted escapes, and other very serious crimes against society.”

Warden Jackson looked at Faith as if she expected an denial but Faith kept quiet.

“That won’t cut here.” She told Faith. “I WILL NOT tolerate violence, disobedience, insubordination, rebellion, or anything else that upsets the peaceful administration of this facility. Is that clear?”

“Yes Ma’am.”

“So, before you are sent to your new home, is there anything you’d like to say?”

Faith thought for a few moments. “All I want to do is serve out my sentence with as little trouble as possible, Ma’am.”

“Good! If you maintain that attitude the we shouldn’t have any problems. But mark my words - you make trouble, or get yourself involved with the few troublemakers we do have here, and you’ll pay dearly for it. Keep your nose clean, stay away from troublemakers, and obey the rules. If you don’t - well, we have ways to make you wish you had.”

From behind her, Faith heard Rath slapping his nightstick into the palm of his hand.

Warden Jackson glanced up at Rath with a little nod and Faith felt the nightstick on her shoulder.

“Let’s go.” He said.

Without another word, Warden Jackson returned to reading Faith’s file. Faith got up and hobbled out of the office with Rath following behind her.

```````````````````

As Faith walked past the line of cells she could hear the whistling and hoots and cat calls from every direction.

“Hey! Hey! Hey! New meat!”

“Sweet Cheeks, over here!”

“Honey bun delight!”

“Heeeere, Puss, puss, puss, puss!”

Faith ignored them as she hobbled behind Rath, still wearing the cuffs on her ankles and wrists. Behind her was another guard.

They stopped in front of a cell and Rath said into a small radio that had been clipped to his belt, “Open # 233.”

Slowly the door slid open and Rath stood aside to let Faith walk in.

“Turn around.” He said. When she was facing him, he unlocked the shackles then told her to step away from the door.

“Close # 233.” He said into the radio.

“I’ll see you later.” He said ominously to Faith, a leering smile on his face, then he walked away.

“He means that, too.” A voice from the top bunk of the small cell said.

Faith looked up at her cell mate.

“He likes to walk through the showers while were in there.”

“How can he do that? Isn’t there some kind of rule or something?”

“He can do just about anything he wants to. He’s the warden’s son, but we’re not supposed to know that.”

Faith put down the sheets and blanket she had been carrying onto the bottom bunk.

“I’m Faith.” She said. “Cozy,” she added as she looked around at the sparsely furnished room containing only a stainless steel toilet, a stainless sink with a cold water faucet, a small desk and chair, and the bunk beds.

“I’m Alice, but I prefer Al, doesn’t sound quite as sissy, you know?”

“I suppose.”

“So what are you in for?” Alice asked, hopping down from the bed. She wanted to get a closer look at her new roomy.

“Killed a guy.” Faith said.

Al nodded, then stretched up to look at the cut on Faith’s head. She then took a handful of toilet paper, wet it, and started to wipe the blood off Faith’s cheek. Faith was about to stop her, but decided to let her continue.

“You must be a bleeder.” Al told her.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, from all the blood I figured ol’ Rath must have really let you have it, but there’s not much of a cut here at all.”

“I heal up pretty fast.”

“So,” Faith continued, “This is it? We just sit in these cells all day long?”

“No. We’re just in for the night. Lights out is at ten, but they get us up at five for breakfast. Just so you’ll know, they don’t allow us to talk during breakfast or supper.”

“What about lunch?”

“No lunch, we only get two meals a day. Then after breakfast, the ones they’ve assigned jobs to go to work. The rest of us go out to the exercise yard until about four, then it’s back in for a shower, supper, and back to these lovely accommodations.”

“What kind of jobs?”

“All kinds - janitorial work, the laundry room, and the garden. We grow most of the vegetables we eat. But since rakes and hoes and shovels are used, only the most trusted inmates are allowed on garden detail. But they’re the most heavily guarded.”

“So what’s your job?”

“Well, since there are more women than jobs, most of us usually just hang out in the exercise yard, including me.”

“I’m getting a little hungry.” Faith said, “When’s supper?”

“It was a couple of hours ago. Looks like you’re going to have to wait for breakfast.”

```````````````````

Faith was more than ready when the door opened for them to file out for breakfast. She had been awake most of the night, thinking, speculating, and wondering what the next twenty-five years of her life were going to be like.

Breakfast was uneventful, and barely edible. But since she doubted if it was going to get any better, she forced herself to finish the soupy, unsalted scrambled eggs, burned strips of fat that she assumed was supposed to be bacon, cold toast, and weak, black coffee.

````````````````````

As they filed out into the large enclosed compound, Faith noticed that the women clustered into various groups.

“Everyone pretty much sticks to her own kind while we’re out here.” Al told her. “We’re not supposed to think of them as gangs, but that’s what they are. The Hispanics have their own group, the Orientals do, as well as the blacks, and of course, us whites.”

“So who’s in charge?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

Just then two large women walked up to them.

“Big Mama wants to see you.” One of then said to Faith.

“Who?” She asked.

“Big Mama.” Al told her. “She pretty much runs things here. You probably ought to go see her.”

“Fine. Whatever.”

Faith started to leave with the two messengers.

“Here,” Al said. “Give here these.”

Al handed Faith five cigarettes.

“What for?” Faith asked.

“It’s like a welcome gift.”

“Shouldn’t she be giving me something?”

“It doesn’t work that way. Just give them to her, it’ll help.”

Faith put the cigarettes into her shirt pocket and started to leave again.

“You aren’t coming?” She asked Al.

“She doesn’t want me.”

Faith shrugged and left with her escorts, one leading and one following her.

Faith saw why she was called “Big Mama.” Sitting among a dozen tough-looking women, most with spiked hair, was a very large woman, at least two hundred pounds, but she couldn’t have been more than five feet tall.

She stopped a few feet from Big Mama, waiting.

The staring contest began. It was obvious that Big Mama was used to everyone feeling intimidated by her, and eventually they would look away from her intense stare; but not Faith.

After a few minutes, when it was evident that Faith wasn’t going cave, Big Mama said, “You have something for me?”

Faith furrowed her brow as if trying to remember something, then reached into her pocket and brought out the cigarettes. She looked at them for a few seconds, the tossed them to Big Mama. Three of them landed in the dirt and two of them bounced off her leg, and into the dirt.

Big Mama frowned, looking down at the cigarettes, then frowned up at Faith.

“They aren’t doing me any good down there.” Big Mama said. “Why don’t you pick ‘em up?”

“You want ‘em - you pick ‘em up.” Faith responded.

Faith saw Big Mama’s eyes shift momentarily to the women behind her, and she tensed, listening for any movement behind her, ready to fight.

But no one moved. Suddenly a small, mousy woman went down into the dirt, picking up the cigarettes, blowing dirt off each one, and carefully putting them into her shirt pocket.

“I hear you killed some guy with a stick, or a tent peg, or something like that.”

“Yeah.”

“You some kind of religious fanatic?”

“Why would you think that?”

“Your name, and killing the guy with a piece of wood.”

“My mother named me. And the stake was all I had at the time.”

Big Mama nodded.

“I also hear you killed him in Sunnydale.”

“So?”

“So, I’ve never been there, but I’ve sure heard some real horror stories about the place. Any of ‘em true?”

“All of ‘em.”

“Is that where you got this - attitude of yours?”

“I was born with it.”

“Well, Girlie, let me tell you something - I run this place. It don’t matter if you’re white, black, red, yellow, green, or blue, I’m The Boss, and what I say goes, period. And if you want to get along, you do what I say when I say it. Understood?”

“Warden Jackson might have something to say about that.”

Big Mama smiled. “That ignorant bitch may think she’s in charge, but I keep the peace, and she knows it. So if you think you’ll get any sympathy from her, you’re wrong. Do we understand each other?”

Faith gave Big Mama a tired smile. “You know, I’ve been hearing crap like that all my life, and it doesn’t impress me even a little bit. So I’LL tell YOU how it’s going to be. You leave me alone, and I’ll leave you alone. It’s as simple as that. I don’t want you. And I don’t need you. I go my own way, everybody minds their own business, and everyone’s happy. Period.”

“You’re making a big, big mistake.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve been hearing that all my life, too. Don’t give a rat’s ass, though.”

Faith turned around to leave but two of the women behind her blocked her way. She stood there, waiting for the attack. Then she heard a movement behind her and the two women parted, allowing her to leave.

````````````````

“My God, Faith! Have you lost your mind!” Al was beside herself. “Do you have any idea of what you’ve done?”

“I just told her how it was going to be, that’s all.”

“You DON’T tell Big Mama what to do, she tells you!”

Faith smiled. “You don’t get it, do you? You see, I don’t care. I don’t care about Big Mama, and I don’t care about this sad little empire she thinks she has going here. I go my own way, and I do my own thing, and that’s it.”

Al shook her head sadly. “You’ll learn. Violently and brutally, but you’ll see, sooner or later, everybody does what Big Mama wants.”

 The next day Faith kept to herself while they were in the exercise yard. Even Al stayed away from her, afraid they might think she was part of Faith’s rebellion.

That evening at supper, an announcement came over the P.A system that Faith was to report to the laundry room the next morning after breakfast for her first work assignment.

````````````````````

“What?” Faith asked Al after they got back their cells.

“I told you! Don’t you know what that means? They’re after you. The laundry room is where they get their revenge.”

“So I’ll be extra careful.”

Al shook her head in exasperation. “Any next of kin?” She asked.

“Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.”

“I hope so, Faith. I was really starting to like you. It’d be too bad if you got killed your first week here.”

“That’s been tried before and I’m still around. I told you, don’t worry, I’ll be fine.

They went to bed at lights out, but neither slept well.

```````````````````````

Right after breakfast, Faith was directed to go with the dozen women who worked down in the laundry room. As they walked along, Faith noticed they were watching her. She wondered which one, or ones, she would have to fight. ‘Maybe all of them.’ She speculated.

As soon as they got there, Faith was assigned to separate the dirty uniforms, sheets, and blankets and put them in to wash, each with their own set of washers. After a while the hot water from the washing machines and the heat from the dryers turned the laundry room into a hot and oppressive steam room. Many of the women had taken off their shirts and rolled up their pants legs.

Throughout the day, Faith kept a watchful eye on everyone, but once they got to working, no one seemed to be paying any attention to her.

Even in the evening shower Faith was wary, and halfway expected Rath to show up, but the entire day was uneventful. Even supper seemed to taste better, but Faith decided it was because she was just a little bit hungrier after working all day.

`````````````````

“Don’t let your guard down for a second.” Al warned her when they were back in their cells. “They’re just waiting until you think there’s nothing to worry about, and that’s when they’ll strike! Believe me, I’ve seen it happen plenty of times before.”

“Sure. Whatever.” Al’s endless warnings were beginning to bore Faith. She knew something was going to happen, and she was ready for it.

```````````````````

It wasn’t until the third afternoon. Faith was taking a short break and was watching two of the spiked-haired women as they were mopping up water that was always on the floor. As they mopped, they worked themselves closer to Faith, until there was one on each side of her.

“Damn hot.” One said to Faith, turning her attention away from the other woman. Faith was about to reply when she heard the muted whistling of a mop handle. She easily sidestepped the attempted attack, and grabbed the wooden weapon as it passed by her. And with a quick jab to the woman’s midsection with one end of it, she snatched it out of her attacker’s hands just in time to use it to block the blow from the other one.

She then grabbed the second one away. And putting the two handles together, she easily snapped them in two. And then to reinforce her point, she put the four pieces together, and broke them again as if they were pretzel sticks.

Faith threw the broken pieces of the mop handles on the floor at their feet, turned and walked away, almost hoping they would try something else.

For the remaining two hours before their workday ended, Faith was well aware of the whispers, and of the not-so-subtle glances directed her way.

No one spoke to her as they showered, not that she cared. Faith never was one to make conversation, especially with the dozens of naked women standing around.

Faith lingered in the shower, enjoying the cool water after enduring the hours of sticky heat in the laundry room, so she didn’t notice when everyone suddenly hurried out, leaving her alone.

Faith turned the water off, and then became aware of someone’s nasally breathing behind her. She slowly turned around to find Rath standing in the entrance of the shower stalls, leering at her nakedness, and fondling his night stick suggestively.

Faith coolly returned his stare, unconcerned.

“I told you I’d be seeing you again.” He said.

“Well, I hope you’re enjoying the view.” Faith said as she started to walk past him. But he held out the night stick, barring her way.

“We’re not finished here, you and me.”

“Sure we are.” Faith replied as she pushed the club out of her way.

She knew it was coming, and she ducked down as Rath swung the wooden weapon at her head. And instead of connecting withteh back of Faith’s head, the nightstick crashed against the tile covered concrete entrance to the shower stalls.

The vibrations of the collision were so intense and painful, Rath couldn't hold onto the nightstick, and it flew out of his hand. He grabbed the one hand with his other one as he yelled out in pain.

“You really ought to be more careful with that thing.” Faith said sarcastically. “Someone could get hurt.”

Faith slowly dressed and got in line with the others to wait to go to supper. Someone from behind her whispered, “You go, Girl.”

Faith allowed herself a small smile as they were marched to the mess hall.

`````````````````````````

“Faith? Will you never learn?” Al complained as the cell door closed on them for the night.

“What was I supposed to do, let ‘em beat the Hell out of me?”

“Maybe you should have, then it might have been over. But now, you have Big Mama AND Rath pissed at you.”

Faith shrugged her shoulders and dropped down into her bunk. Tomorrow was another day.

`````````````````

“They’re lying. There’s no way she could be that strong. They just fucked up, that’s all, and they’re trying to lie their way out of it.”

Big Mama glanced momentarily up at Asia, a rather tall and unusually muscular woman, who was sitting beside her, then went back to staring across the compound.

“Let me have her. I’ll wring her scrawny, little neck.” Asia requested.

“No, let me.” Said Marty, the woman on the other side of Big Mama. She wasn’t as tall as Asia, nor as muscular, but she was heavier, and used her weight to good advantage. “I’ll squash her like a bug!”

Big Mama didn’t answer right away. Finally she said, as much to herself as to those around her, “No, I don’t think they were lying. Faith said she was from Sunnydale. If the stories I’ve heard about that place are even remotely accurate, then there just might be more to her than we realize.”

Big Mama was quiet for a few more minutes as she continued to stare off in the distance.

“No, I don’t think having a showdown with Faith right now is the way to go. She says she wants to go her own way. I wonder just how true that is. I think it’s time we found out.”

“How we gonna do that?”

Big Mama nodded her head toward the other side of the exercise yard, where Al was sitting against the far wall, alone.

“I wonder what would happen if somebody gave Al a severe talking to, this evening, in the showers?

The large muscular woman smiled. “Only one way to find out.”

```````````````````

Faith didn’t see Al at supper, but that wasn’t too unusual since they seldom entered the mess hall at the same time. But when everyone was back in their cells and the doors closed, Al wasn’t there.

“Hey!” Faith yelled out. “Anybody know where Al is?”

From one of the cells down the way someone yelled back, “They had to take her to the infirmary!”

“Yeah!” Someone else hollered out. “I hear she fell in the shower! Busted up her face pretty good!”

“Happens all the time!” Another voice added.

“Too many times, if you ask me.”

“Way too many times!”

“That shower is almost as dangerous as the laundry!”

“Sure is!”

“Somebody ought to do something about it!”

“Somebody just might do that.” Faith answered.

And from far away a tiny voice shouted out, “You go, Girl!”

This time, Faith didn’t smile.

``````````````````````

A half hour before lights out they brought Al back. They made a point of allowing as many of the inmates to see Al as possible. They were making a statement. Rath knew what happened, and he was happy for anything to make his job easier.

They finally stopped at #233. As the cell door slid open, Al was shoved inside. And only because Faith was there to catch her, she didn’t hit the floor.

Faith glared at Rath, who only sneered gleefully back at her. The door slid closed and Rath left.

“My God.” Faith said as she looked at Al’s face. Her lip was split in two places, her left eye was swollen and turning an ugly purple, and her nose was broken.

“Goddam them!” Faith was as angry as she had ever been. “She’s gonna pay for this, big time!”

“No!” Al pleaded through her swollen and painful mouth. “Leave them alone. I couldn’t take another beating! Faith, please don’t do anything. Please!”

Faith didn’t answer her, but she knew she wasn’t going to do nothing. It was time for Big Mama to find out what it was like to go up against a Slayer!

````````````````````````````

The next morning, Faith went to work in the laundry room as if nothing had happened. Al went back into the exercise yard, but no one dared to go near her.

Faith had been watching the dozen women she worked with, and she had a pretty good idea who worked for Big Mama. One by one, she lured five of them back into a secluded area of the laundry room, until she was ready.

“Hey, Angie!” Faith yelled out to the last one. “Margie’s twisted her ankle. How about a little help here?”

When the woman got there, her mouth dropped as Faith grabbed her by the arm. The first five were hanging by their necks with lengths of a sheet Faith had torn into strips. The strips were looped over a steam pipe and tied off to another pipe. The women’s hands were tied behind them and only standing on their tip toes kept them from strangling.

“You tell Big Mama to get her fat, waddling ass down here, pronto! And you tell her if I see Rath or any of his buddies, these bitches are dead meat. I’m in here for murder anyway, and I’ve got nothing to lose.”

``````````````````````````

Al knew something was happening when she saw Angie run up to Big Mama, whisper something to her. Then Big Mama, Asia, Marty, and a few others got up and headed back inside.

“Faith, why couldn’t you just have left well enough alone?” Al said to herself, shaking all over, unsuccessfully holding back the tears, knowing she was going to die, very painfully,  and probably very soon.

````````````````

When Big Mama and the others found Faith, she was still standing in front of the ones she’d hung.

“You said not to bring Rath,” Big Mama said. “You didn’t say anything about not bringing my friends.”

“I’m glad you did, I’m always up for a party.”

“You know this is it for you. I tried to tell you how things work here, but no, you just had to upset the apple cart, didn’t you?”

“Jeez, are you going to talk me to death, or are we going to party?”

“Asia.” Big Mama said simply.

The big woman went after Faith with surprising speed, but when she got within range, Faith jumped up and put the inside of her right foot against the left side of Asia’s face, spinning her completely around.

When they were face to face again, Faith punched Asia in the solar plexus, doubling her over, then she grabbed her hair with both hands and threw her away from her.

As Marty attacked, Faith jumped up and hit her in the chest with both feet in a drop kick and Marty landed hard on her ass. But when Faith turned back, Asia was up and grabbed her by the neck with one hand, picking her up off her feet.

Faith immediately clapped both hands over Asia’s ears, causing her to drop her and to bend over screaming out at the pain and covering her ears with her hands. Faith grabbed her by the hair and the waist of her pants and ran her headfirst into the nearest wall.

Marty was up and running at Faith. But Faith went a little low, grabbed her by the throat and belt, picked her up over her head, and threw the two hundred-fifty pound woman fifteen feet to land next to Big Mama.

“Anyone else?” Faith asked the other women, but no one moved.

Faith walked toward Big Mama, who was feeling fear for the first time in many years. She looked around, hoping someone would step up to help her, but no one did.

Faith looked at the women inching away from her. “Cut ‘em down.” She said, motioning with her head to the women hanging by their necks. Two ran over to obey.

Faith looked down at Big Mama. “I think it’s time I did the talking, and you did the listening.”

“S-sure. Anything you want.”

Faith put her arm around Big Mama’s shoulder, her hand tightly gripping the fatty top of her shoulder, causing the big woman to wince.

Faith guided her away from the others, talking low enough that no one else could hear.

“You know, I didn’t want this to happen, I really didn’t. But you just couldn’t leave me alone, could you? You just had to play the big shot. Well, look what it’s gotten you. Now I know you think that when you get away from here, you’ll go running right to Rath or the warden, and they’ll probably put me in some kind of solitary for a while, maybe beat the hell out of me, who knows? But, eventually, I’ll get out. And we both know when I do, you’ll still be here. And there is no place you can run to, and there’s no one who can protect you. And since I’ll probably be here for the rest of my life anyway, whatever I do to you won’t make much of a difference.”

By now, Big Mama didn’t feel quite so big. She tried to interrupt a couple of times, but every time she did, Faith just squeezed harder.

“So, here’s how it’s going to be - you ARE going to leave me alone. And if any of your goon-squad bitches try anything, you’re the one I’m going to hold responsible, and you’re the one who’s going to pay for it. You know?”

Big Mama nodded, still in pain.

“And, you’re going to leave Al alone. In fact, if anything AT ALL happens to her, I’m coming after you. I don’t care if she trips over her own clumsy feet, or stubs her toe, or slips down in the shower. Do we understand each other?”

Big Mama nodded again.

“Now -- you and your little posse can keep on keeping the peace, I’m cool with that. But when it comes to me, or Al, or, come to think of it, anyone else you think should take a dive in the showers or the laundry room, you’ll probably want to think long and hard about it before you do anything. Right?”

Big Mama nodded a third time.

“So, why don’t you and your ‘boys’ go on back outside, and let me get back to work?”

Big Mama didn’t waste time ordering everyone to leave, telling them to shut the Hell up when they tried questioning her about what was going on, and what were they going to do.

``````````````````

The remainder of the day was quiet. Faith half expected to see Rath at any time, but the workday ended without him coming around. There was no trouble in the showers. Although occasionally one of the women would give Faith a small smile, no one talked to her.

And at supper there was an announcement that Faith was no longer required to report to the laundry room.

When Faith got back to her cell after supper, Al was already there. And it looked like her wounds had been tended to, unlike the day before.

“What did you do?” Al whispered, afraid that the wrong person might hear her.

“Just had a little talk with B.M., that’s all. We, um, came to a mutual understanding.”

“You’re not going to tell me?”

“Nothing to tell, really. But I don’t think things will be quite as tense around here as they were. But, hey, enjoy it. I know I will.”

Not long after lights out, a small voice far away shouted out, “When you go, you really go, Girl!”

Faith allowed herself a small, satisfied smile in the darkness, then took a deep breath and fell into a peaceful sleep.

To Be Continued From Twenty-five To Life