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Chapter3The ConcreteJungle
ne spring afternoon years ago, outin the far eastern plains
ofColorado, the air was weigheddown with discontent inside of
the
illuminated prison cell house whereeighteen- year old, J Dub had
beendelivered only days earlier.
On this same day, one of the OGsfrom J Dubshomies rival gang,
freshly
transferred from another state prison,swaggered into the same,
glass-enclosed unit to a warm heros welcomefrom the otherGs in his
gang. ThisOG was one of the founders of thegang and had represented
it for overtwenty years.
O
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The Concrete Jungle
Less than ten minutes after he madehis royal entrance, he
gathered twenty orso fellow members into a far corner at thebottom
of the stairs, and it was there thatthey would demonstrate and
confirm theirfalse sense of self-appointed control overthe unit.
Minutes later, the members of JDubshomies gang also congregatedin a
cell on the upper tier for a meeting oftheir own. Even though J Dub
wasnt anofficial member, he was invited to jointhem.
Trouble was inevitable, but for severaldays it remained silent
and hidden, undercover until Saturday night.
As I arrived back to the unit, fatiguedfrom working out at the
gym, I felt thebuzz of disorder. Everyones attention
seemed to be up on the second tier. Icontinued toward my cell,
and when Ihappened to look up, I noticed J Dubslipping inside the
cell of the OG thathad just entered the unit days earlier. Ipaused
for a moment, thenunintentionally broke a prison
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The Concrete Jungle
commandment, and walked towards abench to observe what was going
on.Thats because I knew J Dub since hewas born.
Abruptly, the slam of a heavy steel celldoor echoed throughout
the whole cellhouse and caused an uneasy moment ofsilence. At once,
the silence endedabruptly with echoing thumps and bangsrebounding
off the same cell door.
Breaking another prisoncommandment, I proceeded towards
thatcell. I scrambled towards the stairs whenthe cell door swung
open, and four younggangsters exploded out past me anddown the
stairs. I looked up and saw JDub on his hands and knees,
almostlifelessly crawling out of the cell, then
toppling over onto the cold cement floor.When I finally reached
him and gazedinto his swollen, closed, red eyes myheart jolted
because both sides of hisface were blown up to the size
ofcantaloupes. The dark blood gushingfrom the side of his mouth,
nose, and his
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