The block felt different now. Not quieter—never quiet—but charged, like air before a storm. Every laugh was sharper, every whisper carried weight. Jayden could feel it pressing against his skin when he walked the halls, when he ate his tray slop, when he lay awake at night listening to the hum of the lights.
Spider had lost ground in the yard. Rico had bled in front of everyone, and the whispers weren't all his anymore. Some kids were shifting, not loudly, not openly, but in the way their eyes flicked toward Jayden with something like respect.
That shift terrified Spider. And Jayden knew it meant something ugly was coming.
---
Dre's Omen
"You feel it?" Dre's voice came through the wall one night, low and gravel. "It's heavy out there. That's Spider setting the board."
Jayden tapped twice, the code for yes. His throat was too tight to speak.
"He ain't gonna play small anymore," Dre warned. "He tried contraband, he tried whispers, he tried the knife. None of it stuck. That means he'll come bigger. Dirtier. You ready for that?"
Jayden stared at his sketchbook, half-finished drawings of cages, flames, knives tangled across the page. His chest burned with a steady fire. He wanted to say yes. He wanted to mean it.
Instead, he whispered, "I don't know."
Dre's answer was sharp. "Then get ready. Because Spider don't wait for you to know."
---
The Shadow in the Cafeteria
It started again at breakfast. The same guard who'd planted the smokes leaned in close as he dropped Jayden's tray, smirking. "Careful, Carter. Eyes are on you. Don't slip."
Jayden's stomach turned. The eggs were rubber, the bread stale, but he ate anyway, jaw tight. Across the room, Spider leaned back in his chair, talking too loud, letting everyone see him laugh. Rico still limped from the yard fight, but his grin was sharp.
Jayden felt the block's eyes darting between them. Spider still controlled the stage. But the audience wasn't as sure as before.
---
The Lonely Walk
Later, in the rec yard, Jayden walked the track alone. Not even Dre was near him today; the guards had split them up. He could feel the weight of isolation pressing in. Every step echoed with the question: How long can I keep holding the fire? How long before they corner me again?
At the far end, Spider strolled into his path, hands empty, smile calm. No Rico this time, no circle forming. Just him.
"Relax, fire-boy," Spider said, voice smooth. "No games today."
Jayden narrowed his eyes. Spider never spoke without strings attached.
"You think you're building something," Spider continued. "Respect. Power. A name. But this block isn't yours. It's mine. Always has been. You're just a guest in my web."
Jayden didn't answer. He walked past, shoulders tight. Spider chuckled, the sound like glass breaking. "Tick-tock," he whispered as Jayden passed.
---
Nightfall
Back in his cell, Jayden couldn't sleep. He sketched Spider again, this time as a shadow looming above a chessboard. His own piece sat small in the corner, but the flame above it glowed steady.
Underneath he wrote: Let him come. I'm not moving first.
The fire inside pressed hard, begging to be unleashed. But he clung to Dre's words, to every second of restraint he'd carved out of chaos.
Because he knew the storm Spider was promising wasn't far away.
And when it came, the whole block would see who broke first.