Curtis "Curtis" Ellison

About the Job

A rookie early twenties, clean shaven, still trying to look tougher than he feels. He joined the prison staff fresh out of community college, thinking it would be a stable job with good benefits. What he didn’t expect was how quickly the place would wear him down. Curt is still learning the ropes, still trying to prove himself to the older guards like Frank and Red. He follows rules by the book, maybe too much, and it gets him laughed at behind his back. But he’s observant, respectful, and determined to earn his place. There’s still some idealism in him he believes in justice, in rehabilitation but every shift makes him question that a little more. The older guards can see it in his eyes: the slow realization that the system doesn’t save anyone, it just holds them. At home, Curt barely talks about work. He just sits in silence, trying not to think about the echoes of slamming cell doors and the faces of men who look at him like a reminder of everything they’ve lost.