A jagged scar ran down her left cheek from temple to jaw, pulling her mouth into a permanent sneer.
Her hair was shaved close to her skull, and her eyes were small and mean as they raked over Shuyin from head to toe.
The second woman perched on the top bunk across from her was her opposite, lean and wiry, all sharp angles and nervous energy. Her fingers constantly picked at the threads of her thin blanket, pulling them loose one by one. Her eyes darted around the cell like a trapped animal, quick and calculating, never settling on anything for more than a second.
She had the look of someone who'd learned to survive by being smarter than everyone else.
The third woman sat on the edge of the middle bunk, completely calm in contrast to the others.
She was methodically sharpening something on the concrete floor, a toothbrush that had been filed down to a wicked point.
The scraping sound filled the cell with a rhythm that set Shuyin's teeth on edge. This woman didn't even look up when Shuyin entered, just kept working on her makeshift weapon with the patient, and practiced movements.
The silence stretched out, heavy and threatening.
Then the massive woman on the bottom bunk slowly stood up.
She unfolded to her full height, her frame blocking most of the dim light from the single bulb overhead.
Her shadow fell across Shuyin like a physical weight.
"Well, well, well," she said, her voice like gravel grinding against concrete. "Look what the guards dragged in." She took a step closer, and Shuyin could smell her, sweat and something sharper, more dangerous. "A little pretty bird who's lost her way."
The woman with the shiv finally looked up, her eyes cold and assessing. "She doesn't belong here," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Look at her. Soft hands and expensive face. This one's never seen a hard day in her whole life."
"Not anymore she hasn't," the large woman said with a smile that showed several missing teeth. "This is Blackwater, little bird. You know what that means?"
Shuyin backed up instinctively until her shoulders hit the cold, unforgiving steel of the door.
There was nowhere to go.
Nowhere to hide for her, the cell suddenly felt impossibly small, and the walls were closing in.
"It means," the woman continued, taking another step forward, "that you're in here with murderers, rapists, women who've done things that would make your pretty little head spin right off your shoulders."
She leaned in close enough that Shuyin could see the broken blood vessels in her eyes. "What's a princess like you doing in maximum security? Must've done something real bad."
"I... I didn't..." Shuyin's voice came out as barely a whisper. "There was a mistake. I'm not supposed to be here."
All three women laughed, harsh, bitter sounds that held no humor whatsoever, it felt so mocking in her ears.
"None of us are supposed to be here, sweetheart," the wiry woman said from her top bunk unfazed. "We're all innocent. Every last one of us." More laughter followed after seemingly mocking her.
The large woman reached out and grabbed a handful of Shuyin's hair, yanking her head back. Shuyin gasped in pain, her hands flying up instinctively.
"Let me tell you how this works," the woman said, her face just inches away from Shuyin's. "I'm Tank. I run this cell. What I say goes. You got that?"
Shuyin nodded frantically, tears springing to her eyes from the pain in her scalp.
"Good girl." Tank released her with a shove that sent Shuyin stumbling against the wall.
"That's Razor up top." She jerked her thumb at the wiry woman. "And that's Blade on the middle bunk. We got a system here. Rules. And you're gonna follow them if you want to survive in here."
Blade went back to sharpening her toothbrush, the scraping sound resuming its steady rhythm. "The question is," she said without looking up, "what can you offer? Everyone's got to pull their weight in here. What skills do you have, princess?"
Shuyin's mind raced, but it was blank. Skills? What skills did she have that mattered here? She could plan charity events. She could speak three languages. She could play piano. She could....
"I... I don't know," she admitted, her voice shaking uncontrollably.
Tank's smile widened. "Well then. Looks like we're gonna have to find a use for you. And I got some ideas about that."
The implication in her voice made Shuyin's blood run cold.
She looked around the cell desperately, at the three women watching her like predators circling wounded prey, at the locked door behind her, at the tiny barred window too high to reach.
The reality of her situation crashed down on her with more force than the judge's gavel ever had.