Masked and Anonymous Chain Gang Part 02

Author: rollins316
Title: Masked and Anonymous Chain Gang Part 02
Date: 09 April 2012

Masked and Anonymous Chain Gang Part 02
By Rollins
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By 5:50 AM, the twelve member chain gang had reported to the bus loading platform and were ready for their final set of restraints. These would be applied to the prisoners before they were allowed onto the bus. As with everything else, this had been done so many times before, that the process went smoothly like clockwork due to the cooperation of the prisoners.

All twelve faceless men stood at attention, their bodies clad in orange spandex suits with a number on their chest that served to identify them to the guards. They all knew the routine by heart, for what it was worth, and knew that they had to be restrained with steel in order to be allowed to work outside the prison.

The masked guards began with the collars. A small and slender steel collar was snapped into place around each prisoner's lycra cladded neck. Though thin and light, each collar carried within two important devices. One was a GPS tracking chip that ensured that the guards could follow each inmate's movements from their personal PDA device. The other was a circuit that would send a terrifying electric shock throughout the inmate's body if they attempted to remove the collar.

"Activate collars....", bellowed the guard who was going by the name of "Omega" this week.

In his hand, was a small remote control device with a single red button. Pressing it with his gloved fingers, the masked guard armed the collars. The collars would remained armed until that evening, when they would be deactivated. Until that time, every step the inmates took would be tracked and any attempt to remove the collar would be met with horrific agony. All twelve men had experienced the horrific pain that the circuit would inflict upon them, having been made to try and remove the collar and suffer the sadistic shock first-hand upon becoming part of the chain gang. This had been ordered by the warden in order to ensure the inmates know the pain they would feel if they tried to remove the collar and escape. As the electric shock had knocked each and every chain gang member unconscious with the pain it caused, it was the sort of experience none of the inmates ever wanted to endure again.

The second piece of restraint would be the leg cuffs that would create the "chain" part of the chain gang. One by one, the legs of each inmate were linked together by a leg cuff, connecting one inmate to another inmate's leg. The length of chain was short (twelve inches) and in the end, three inmates would be linked together to create a "unit". 1,2,3 would work together along with 4,5,6 and 7,8,9 and 10,11, 12. The cuffs tightly fit around the boot worn by each inmate and would limit movement by the inmates. The number of inmates chained together varied at different times depending on the nature of the job. Working in isolated, wide open spaces would mean multiple inmates chained together to limit their ability to maneuver while chained together. But in buildings and other places where they would be seen by lots of people, it was not uncommon for just two inmates being chained together.

The pairings however, would always be based upon numerical order of the inmates and their number names. This was largely due to ease of being able to group the inmates in the orders of their numbers, since it meant that they would know automatically that inmate #1 was with inmate #2 and #3 while inmates #10, #11, and #12 were always together.

Finally came the handcuffs, as each prisoner stood silently as their hands were cuffed behind their back with tight metal cuffs that had hinges rather than chains. Each inmate let out a muted grunt of pain, as the cuffs immobilized their hands to a severe degree that made them wince in pain while they were in place. The cuffs were a new addition to the restraints worn by the prisoners, one that was added with no explanation several months ago. These new cuffs offered none of the comfort that the older traditional cuffs allowed. But the chain gang could not complain about this, due to an unspoken fear of their involvement in the program being terminated. Besides, it was only for while they were on the bus as the inmates would have the dreaded hinge cuffs removed when they did their work.

Once the prisoners were fully geared up, they were allowed to enter the bus and sit down in their seats. Each bus seat could house three inmates and each inmate had their assigned seat. With their leg restraints limiting their movement, the march was a slow one but within minutes the various inmates had taken their seats and prepared for their long day's worth of work. They knew that today was a Friday, which meant that they would receive their promised two days off to rest and relax. The warden had agreed to give the inmates the weekend off from their work duties, though with several restrictions that would have to be followed. But after toiling away for five days straight, in ten hour shifts, the inmates were too broken and exhausted to care. And now, they had one more day to get through to get to their much needed weekend.

The bus ride to the first assignment was a long one. The job was clean up a local camp site near the woods and took an hour to get there. The drive would be in complete silence, with the guards in the bus keeping a silent vigil upon the inmates. Guards Beta and Zeta had shotguns in hand, which would be used against the inmates in the event that they somehow turned against the guards. Alpha and Omega meanwhile silently went over data on their personal digital assistant devices that they carried with them. The devices would let them track the inmates by way of the tracking device in their collars, as well as keeping the guards informed of the work schedule for the day, and any additional instructions they might need to receive.

The camp ground was a condemned property that had recently been acquired by a local church organization, that sought to restore the place to it's former glory. Long abandoned, the location had gone to hell in a hand basket. College students and other locals using the cabins for parties and other debauchery over the years, not to mention the presence of the homeless, who set up shanty towns in the woods around the cabins. When the church acquired ownership of the property, they were shocked at the appalling state of the cabins and all of the garbage and graffiti and the general state of disrepair of the property.

The inmates were given the task of cleaning up the cabins, gutting them so that they can be refitted with new furniture and fixtures. They also were tasked with removing all graffiti and clearing out all of the trash on the property. Due to other commitments, the inmates could only work mornings on the job and had spent the last two weeks doing their best to get the place cleaned up during the allotted time the prison had scheduled them.

The church had offered the warden extra payment if he would cancel his other work contracts and allow the inmates to stay on the camp grounds, working non-stop until the job was done. But the warden had refused, citing security issues. Having the inmates spent several days outside the prison, with minimum security available to watch over them, was a recipe for disaster the warden felt. Too much temptation for one of the inmates to try and run.

As the bus pulled into the camp's parking lot, the guards Zeta and Omega quickly exited the bus and went to check in with the park rangers stationed in the area. The church had the ranger service working security, providing the grounds with a ranger to look after the property and keep out trespassers until the place was ready to be handed over to the church. Alpha and Beta stayed on the bus, as Alpha checked his PDA after the device informed him of an email that had been sent to the device.

"Looks like it's our lucky day", the soft spoken "Alpha" said to Beta.

The inmates sat quietly as Alpha showed Beta his PDA, which caused Beta to snicker out loud. The inmates made no effort to find out what was going on, as they silently sat in their seats. #9, the group "spokesperson" and the only inmate who was not gagged, tried to find the courage to speak up but fear of what Alpha might do to him for speaking without permission caused him to stay as silent as his gagged comrades.

Three by three, the inmates left the bus. They stood in line, their hands cuffed behind their backs and legs chained to each other as the guards gave them their orders for the morning. After the assignments were given out to each group of three, the process began where Alpha and Beta unlocked the inmates handcuffs to allow them to perform their assignments. This took several minutes and once it was done, the inmates broke off into groups, each with a guard with them as they began their work.

However, as the last group (#10, #11, #12) were about to go into the cabin they were to clean out that morning, Beta ordered the group to stand down. Next to Beta was the park ranger, who ominously stood in front of the trio. Holding a key to the leg chains, he unlocked #10's chain while Beta grabbed the inmate's hands as he forced them behind his back and re-cuffed them.

"#11! #12! You'll be working as a duo today in that cabin, scrubbing the floor! I trust you can do that without getting into trouble?" Beta barked at them.

Unable to reply back, the two faceless inmates simply shook their heads to indicate "yes" and went into the cabin. There were several buckets there, with water and several scrub brushes. The cabin itself was pretty much empty as everything had been removed from it. Both inmates silently got into their knees and grabbed the brushes and prepared to get to work. However, they were shocked to see the usually opened cabin door close and for there to be a sound, as if someone was locking the door.

"What's going on?", #10 thought to himself he stood silently outside.

“We got a reporter who's come to interview one of you chain gang members. So we volunteered you to answer his questions since we know you can't speak ill of the program and it's rules and regulations!” Beta chuckled ominously as the ranger grabbed #10 by the shoulders and marched him towards the cabin where the reporter waited by the window inside.