S.O.S. is an international code signal of extreme distress. The letters stand for “Save Our Souls”. S.O.S. might also be an urgent plea for help in the face of subjective, objective and state violence. Below, “Franky”, a 21-year-old man who, as a member of California’s notorious Norteño gang, has been trapped in a cycle of violence and punishment since he was 12 years old, describes his experience as both a gang soldier and target of state and gang violence inside the maximum security prisons he has inhabited.