That day, silence hung in the cell. The old prisoner sat on his bunk, clutching his stomach with both hands. The guard’s punishment had been harsh: for a sharp word and disobedience, he had been deprived of food.
He had spent the entire day dreaming of just a piece of bread. He sat in the cold cell, staring at the gray walls, feeling the emptiness in his stomach driving him mad.
The young prisoner, his cellmate, noticed. At first, he pretended not to, but the old man’s heavy breathing would not let him rest. At dinner, he was given a meager portion: a piece of bread and an apple. The boy looked at the food, then at the old man, and sighed deeply.
— “Here, take it,” he said quietly, handing him half the bread and the apple.
The old man lifted his eyes. A flicker of surprise appeared in them, as though he had long since stopped expecting kindness. His fingers trembled as he accepted the offering.
— “Why did you do that?” he whispered.
— “Because I know what it’s like to be hungry,” the boy replied.
They sat on their bunks, eating their dinner in silence.
Only the crunch of the apple and the crackle of the bread crust broke the stillness of the cell. But suddenly, the old man set the food aside and looked at his cellmate with an entirely different gaze – serious, uneasy.
— “Tonight,” he said in an unexpectedly heavy tone, “try not to sleep. Stay alert.”
The young prisoner froze, holding the half-eaten piece of bread.
— “Why? What’s going on?”
Then the old prisoner revealed something terrible 
To be continued in the first comment 
The old man leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper:
— “You’ve proven yourself a good lad. And I want to help you.”
— “But what will happen tonight?” asked the boy.
The old prisoner sighed deeply and clenched his fists.
— “I overheard a conversation… Some men from another cell – former gang members. Today, you argued with them, and it seems they’ve taken offense. I heard them planning what they intend to do. They bribed a guard to open the door for them tonight. They want to come in while you’re asleep and beat you so badly that no one will have time to intervene.”
The young prisoner turned pale.
— “Are you sure?”
— “Absolutely,” the old man nodded. “I know these men. If they said it, they’ll do it.”
The boy gritted his teeth.
— “Thank you for telling me.”
That night, the young prisoner did not close his eyes. Every sound in the corridor echoed in his head. When the iron lock creaked and the cell door slowly opened, he was already ready.
And it was only thanks to the old man’s warning that he was able to react quickly, raise the alarm, push back the first attacker, and thus foil their plan.
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