Wild West - Chapter 5 - Part 11 - 5 minute freewrite challenge

The taste of the soup and the hardness of the bread took both Tom's and James' appetite. They looked at one another and read each other’s minds once again. Reminiscing Ducköden’s words, they both shared the rest of their meals with the inmates that got the least bread and soup, and held only a single slice of bread for themselves. They wanted to send the message that they were indeed in charge, but they weren’t like the ones before them. They wanted to send the message that they were leaders, not rulers, and the prisoners bought right in. If they didn’t need to make any friends outside, they surely didn’t mind having people on their side now.

The prisoners kept whispering to each other during the entire meal – they ate slowly, trying to savor the food despite its horrid taste, not knowing when they would eat next – until at last one of them walked closer and confronted James.

“Thank you, but you shouldn’t have. The men feel insulted by your acts. Humiliated. They don’t want charity.” But before James could reply that it wasn’t their intention to make them feel bad, he continued. “In here is not like Texas you know,” he probably said the first state that sprung to mind, “the hierarchy here is respected. We all know our place. But thank you, still. We know you meant well, but maybe not everyone else will. We have agreed to stand by your side should you ever need us. I’m Ralph, by the way, a scientist.” He shook James’ hand first, then Tom’s, then went back to a group of other inmates.