"You've got to be kidding me!"
The outburst came with enough force to make the coffee in her mug slosh over the rim.
"Pffft—"
Evelyn slapped a hand over her mouth. It was a failure—
—The laugh escaped anyway.
"Not even half an hour!" she doubled over in her chair. "Not even half an hour and you're already captured!"
On the television, Numen was being dragged away by a collection of hive-scum armed with what looked like rust held together by poor decisions.
Evelyn wheezed, "you're amazing."
A tear rolled down her cheek. Whether from laughter or pride, even she wasn't sure. Her fingers danced across countless floating panels.
Statistics.
Probabilities.
Contingencies.
Rewards.
Most were dismissed with a flick.
"No, no, no..."
Another flick.
"Definitely no."
Another.
"Ah."
A smile spread across her face.
"That one."
The panels vanished. The room returned to silence. Only the seventy-inch television remained. On it, Numen's unconscious body was unceremoniously tossed into a makeshift cage held but hopes and dreams and a lot of guns guarding it.
Evelyn rested her chin on her palm. "That deserves a reward."
◃───────────▹
╒════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
Exploit acquired:
Fool's Gambit
You willingly surrendered control of your fate to unknown hostiles.
Most call this stupidity.
?????? calls it entertainment.
Reward: Hyper card draw: x1
╘════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛
◃───────────▹
I don't know how long I was knocked out for, but pain is one hell of an alarm clock. I don't know why, but I was expecting a 'finally awake' to be thrown at me. Definitely something from my past, best not dwell on it.
A groan escaped me as I pushed up on the floor. Hands felt cold on the concrete-like flooring. The icy touch mixed with the cool touch only felt through cold steel, at least it looks like steel. Faced with this new world, I can only compare them to common materials I'm still linked with.
I prompted myself up, sitting straight and leaning up against the wall of the cage. The cold on my back made me realized that I my red leathery warmth was gone. Only left with the black tank top, a slight anger proceeded a headache.
"I liked that jacket," I whispered between the pulses of pain, "could've been gentler."
As my hazy sight adjusted, the first thing I smelled was of metal. The rust that has accumulated over time. Along with it was this oil. It smelt dated, didn't mix well with the rust. Faintly still was the damp metal and stagnant water.
Along with the environment came the contents within.
The stink of unwashed bodies and dried sweat hung thick in the air. Beneath it lurked something worse. Human waste. Old enough to dry. Fresh enough to know there'd be more tomorrow. The metallic tang in the air wasn't coming from the cage. It was blood. Old blood. Enough of it that my nose recognized it before my eyes did.
As my vision stabilized, one hell of a shit show presented itself to me.
Bodies, tons and tons of bodies were littered in the room. Some in cages like my own. Most weren't whole. Chopped or ripped, the iron I smelt was the dried up red ooze from within them. Black dots I'd surmise as flies buzz about, circling like vultures. Further twisting around me, were cages like mine. Most were empty or had bodies within them. But those that had functioning bodies fell into two categories': those that gave up and those that are fighting.
Most were huddled. Hugging their knees like infants. Eyes were distant, body language disassociated— not from reality— but with life itself. Bones can be spectated on their skin; not a lot of meat to cover them up. Skin looking rough; if I had to use a one word descriptor: cursed. Easy to tell which one they fell on.
The others were fewer— and if I had to describe them— more feral. Some of them looked to have had partners in their cells. They still looked malnourished but not by much; and considering the bones in their cells, I knew what struggles they endured. Each and everyone of the cages that held these types of prisoners had their eyes on me—
— and they looked hungry.
'I'd be lying if I said I wasn't afraid,' I gave a thought, 'I understand why the other ones that contracted a deal with Evelyn weren't willing to be sent here in this world.'
"A reality forced to the extremes," I mumbled my last thought under my breath.
◃───────────▹
Wasn't long until I noticed a change. Sounds foreign to this room have started invading my ears. Not only that, the piercing gazes lessened. Those that lost interest gazed at a metallic door that acted more like a seal.
'A seal to keep those in here in, or out of whatever is in that room,' I commented in my head, 'those eyes will soon return to me.'
I glance over at the others. Not much reaction to those that gave up.
'As expected.'
Still, the ones that held their gaze at the door, they held this tinge of lively hood in their eyes. Still cloudy, but their limbs shook with excitement.
'Like a hungry dog waiting to be fed...'
The sound distinguished itself as it got closer. Varied footsteps made it hard to tell how many were coming. Some sounded like rubber— like your typical shoes— others sounded metallic or none at all and just plip-plops.
—BANG!
I felt my rear leave contact of the ground for a good second. I Felt myself go cold a little as well. I watched as my hands clinched and balled up; not something I wanted to do.
'Breath... simply breath.'
I took a moment—
'whatever it was sounded like pipe on pipe action. Maybe making casual racket like hitting a wall.'
I let my mind drift as I leaned my head backwards. The cool metal keeping me in reality.
'If I'm lucky, maybe a bit of infighting.'
But I knew my luck wasn't something to rely on. Even now, the group grew close enough to where I can here conversation.
'What use is it if I can't even understand them.'
Under the pressure of time and their racket, I looked to find anything in my cage. Not even a moment of mindless searching, the doors swung open—
—BANG!
—BANG!
Crazed banging rattled my head. My headache made worse as the pulses grew thicker and more rabid. I winced, but keeping my eyes as open as possible lead me through a scene that felt so long yet so quick.
First came armored silhouettes. Barged in like it was a routine inspection. Likely armed, but my focus was split into multiple different problems I could hardly see. More bodies came. They struggled to enter, not due to any difficulty walking, but their hands held blurred bodies. While most of those that entered wore some modicum of armor, the ones dragged in looked light. I even saw split seconds of clarity as gray battered rags fluttered in distress.
The sounds that occupied all this; inhuman wailings came from the cages. Extended limbs reach out of their cages. Bolts and screws grinded on their post, threatening to snap at any minute.
But the most prominent moment was when a familiar red jacket entered. The moment it did, the rattling cages settle. A reaction mixed with fear and discipline.
Limbs retreated back into their cages. The inhuman gargle waned and the cages held true.
Which made me eye the one that held the red jacket. As the noise settled down to an acceptable point, so did my headache and so did my vision.
As my head cleared, I knew then why the jacket looked familiar. I grabbed my tank top and pants as if to make sure I still had them.
The one that wore it held a commanding air. If not apparent already, than the simple gesture and pointers he made presented it clearly. Even I felt myself made smaller. Breathing hitched and uneven. Fear settling in as I felt my hand shake. My mind still held a bit of clouds, this time: preservation.
He, as well as they, held words between them. From what I can infer was either a shakedown or an example. The one in my red coat I noticed always made sure the ones in cages were in view of the one in rags; and if the whimpers they made were of any valued info, it was a helpless woman of unknown age.
It was effective to say the least. His words were steady whilst hers stuttered in shallow breathing. The ones in cages were more than prisoners. Even as they are now, the one in red made sure they held some sort of advantage.
A cunning one; made sense why those in the back that stood guard followed his every command. The scene wrapped up shortly with her shoved head first into an empty cage. A whimper with cries that held no semblance of tears.
She quieted down to a sniffle, opting to suffer in silence. I glanced at the other cages; and with my stabilized vision, I saw disappointment in their eyes.
I looked over at the others once again. Most of the guards held bored eyes—
— except one.
His dirty eyes held hard contact on the woman. I shivered at the implication.
But before I can wallow in what could happen, my eyes landed on the one in red—
— as did his.
— and as quickly as our eyes met, he was already out the door. The edges of my red coat the last thing I saw of him.
The rest followed, with the dirty eyed one taking another once over at the sobbing woman.
Then the doors closed like heaven rejecting a sinner.
I sat in silence. The noise the prisoners made were nothing now. Adding on another meant even less.
I looked over at her, something in my throat wanted to reach out. But my common sense mixed with fear of standing out held firm. Then the eyes returned, not as much as the numbers were used too. I'd say half on me and half on the new fresh meat.
Some drooled, a testament to their hunger.
But ultimately, this was a breather. My eyes didn't linger long on either her nor the other prisoners. Firstly, what can i see in this cage of mine.
Anything loose, any glinting object to hold on to. Maybe even something to conceal. The shifting of my cage held interest as more and more eyes were on me. But within them held no semblance of intelligence. Just hunger and the desire to wet their tongues.
The search within the cage held no come ups. So I broadened it towards arms reach outside my cage. Eyes didn't waste a moment, everything was against me. Didn't take me long to find something useful. Between me and another cage was a small bone no longer than my index finger. Easy enough to conceal. What made it valuable was its shape, enough to find a new home in someone's neck.
Without much thought, I reached out. Didn't find much difficulty reaching it. Neither was hiding it hard. But I couldn't bring a smile to my face. I looked up to the cage next to mine that the bone as in-between. It was a cage that held no spark last time I saw it's inhabitants.
But the fire grew within as the prisoner next door held my gaze. It was then I realized that I was the ember that sparked such a change. It looked at me with opportunity. It held it's eyes on me with a knowing glint.
It was then that I couldn't help but compare him to the others. The more active ones had lost their sanity. Only chasing the hunger of now instead of the freedom of tomorrow. But the one that held my gaze had a heavy wanting behind it. It looked at me as if I was hope.
But which one was the question. The hope that I may be able to break free and therefore set them free also. Or the hope that I was close enough to be a snack.
It was enough to hold onto hope towards myself and not onto others. Too many variables to place trust on those eyes.
╒════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
Exploit acquired:
Prison Logic
Step 1: Acquire sharp object.
Step 2: Figure out the rest later.
?????? approves.
Reward: Hyper Card Draw x1
╘════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛
'Now of all times,' I complained in my head unaware that I had one earlier.
I looked over at everyone else for a moment. Scrutinizing their eyes to see if the panel in front of me was visible to them. No surprises, no questions. No questions, no difficulty.
╒════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╕
Would you like to cash on your rewards?
Y/N
╘════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛
—Click
A familiar sound resonated in my ear. From the panel to the door I couldn't help but think to myself,
'no self restraint.'
I have no concept of time to hold onto, but hasn't even been an hour I'd wager.
The door swung and in came the dirty one. Stride held traces of impatient. Movement like that of an individual coming home from work and immediately dropping everything to boot up a game. He shifted his weight in a hurry, turning back, only to reach out and closed the door tight. Locking it even.
But in him doing so, I saw what I needed to see: he had keys with him. Meaning I had a chance. He didn't even give me a glance as he rushed with large strides towards the caged woman. I noticed he didn't have his large rifle with him, though he still had a handgun strapped on his lower back.
It's now that I had a proper look at him. Ragged clothes with uniformed coloring; might signify an organization. With the man's looks and mannerisms, most likely a gang or a criminal mafia.
The Prisoners noticed him when he entered. Wasn't until he grew closer to the woman's cage did they start to move. Not until they saw him rummage through his key chain did they start making noise.
The rattling came, so did profuse drooling ran down the cages walls and bars.
"Shut yer karkin' gob before I shut it fer ya," the man yelled, frustrated in more ways than one.
whatever he said he followed it up by kicking one of the prisoners' hands that was outside the cage. They whelped, and he returned and opened the cage. A glint of satisfaction as the rest followed the whelp in silence. A gruesome hope died within them.
With the cage now fully open, my heart slowly sank. His movement became playful. Slow, but had intent beyond malicious. He kneeled down at the quiet body— had been for a good while since she's been incased— the same stillness she held flinched at his touch.
I can imagine: to him, gentle and playful. To her, a nightmare turned reality.
As his hand disappeared in her hair, my vision heightened. From looking up slightly to looking directly ahead. I wasn't the one that noticed it too. My heart sank further as he had this mocking grin. His eyes on me now and how much I hated those eyes. They were sick, the kind of sickness that couldn't be fixed with medication. Within those eyes I remembered what I had on me. But then the thought of it was made like a wall added on to the hurdles presenting itself before me.
'A major risk and an action I can never turn back from.'
There was still time. Time to look away. To sit back down and... drown out the noise.
It didn't sit right— nothing did! This world is fucked, beyond comprehension. I don't want to see or hear it. But I don't want to sit back and wait for another opportunity. But if I do it now I might get killed. I don't know how spiteful or petty he is. A trigger happy maniac... but I might never get out.
—But...
—But...
—BANG!
My cage rattled. It was like the clouds in my head parted; and what I saw was the face of the woman. She wasn't standing. Worst, she was forced to bend forward. The front of her head just barely creeping into my cage. The space between the bars too tight for her head to fit through.
I matched her gaze. Her messy hair couldn't hide the emotions in her eyes. She looked at mine as if to say 'get it over with.'
I looked up at the... monster. The prisoners around me. I understand that logic. The bones and the blood, I can see reason in that. His hands still moved, lifted the hem of the rag she wore. Eyes expecting something of me.
'Even he—'
I looked down at her again.
'She too—'
◃───────────▹
The feeling of blood dripped from my hands. I didn't look down but I knew it was blood. I stared blankly ahead. A new red hue on the bars of my cage. A freshly scented iron smell wafted in my noise like a sedative.
'Is this what they call shock?'
Initially I thought that rhetorical question. But my thoughts then lingered deeper into the past.
It was blurred. Not because of speed, but I felt my mind block something. Flashes of blood. Traces of screams and slurs, probably directed at me. But I didn't mind. My eyes slowly looked down. They registered two things. One was just there, didn't know what it was. But the other laid sprawled.
That one was as clear as day.
I knew who it was.
It was the guard—
— and his hand were desperately grabbing at his neck.
Like a puzzle, I pieced the two together. The warmth dripping from my hand. The red puddle growing ever larger where the scum laid resisting death.
Then it all came clashing into me.
I broke... and in response— I shanked him— right in the neck— I stabbed him.
— and I knew what made me do it. To risk it all in a blind act of self preservation. A preservation not for my life, but for my ego.
Both of them looked at me like I was scum. The woman wanted it to be over. She... thought I was going to use her like he was. Then he, the guard, looked at me as if I was like him. Looked at me with all the lust he could muster and dared me to match him.
The rushed feeling of memories was enough to make me close my eyes in content. Where others my find themselves remembering the embarrassment of their blackout drunken stupor.
I relished the finger of my left hand wrapped at the back of his noggin. Didn't even know he was in reaching distance— I didn't care as I pulled him in. He could've reacted. Could've swatted my hand away and pull his gun on me. I don't know if he was that clouded in judgment or if taken by surprise at my blatant attack. It didn't matter when his face met the metal bar. The sound must've awaked the girl from this defensive trance as she quickly escape his grasped. The moment she moved, I had the displeasure of seeing his member— rectified that right quickly by blocking the view with my right forearm. My fair skin tainted red from his ichor. A thought now disgusting me even further.
All of that lead to this ending. The— what looked like a shadow— no focused to be the woman. Her eyes going between me and the body. The guard's hands loosened their pressure. Didn't even have to look him in the eye to tell that he was gone.
A part of me was slightly displeased with it, 'if only you were a little durable.'
The dopamine of remembering it all slowly lessened, leaving me to slowly realize that I don't have much time.
I crouched down and reached for the man's boots. I pulled him close enough to reach the keys that were on his waist, making sure the give myself extra inches away from his exposed dong.
'Elgh— the smell,' my nose didn't fare too well alongside my sight.
With keys in hand, I scrambled to find mine. I felt the woman's gaze at my every action. Even the other prisoners, too. The right key finally slotted in, I turned and let myself out. The used bone dropped in my now opened cell. Ignoring the lady, I knelt down again. Hand underneath his body, I lifted him partially over. Eyes locked in on his gun, I coordinated my right hand to grabbed the pistol grip. I made sure the woman, the only other one free, was in my line of sight at all times as I check the gun once over.
Resembling a revolver, all six chambers were filled. The hammer was cocked, using my common sense, I filled in the gaps of operating this revolver. I can only hope I can use it safely and lethally.
A quick feel towards the bodies pockets, successfully found twenty more rounds.
'Into my pocket you go.'
I Glanced at the prisoners, I had a thought of shoving the body near the them. But I decided against it.
Then my eyes were laid on the woman. Fearful, yes— but a tinge of hope.
I paused, gathered my thoughts.
"Do what you want."
I Ultimately ignored her and strode to the door, making sure I hugged the wall. Don't even know if my English was understood properly.
'Doubt it.'