Zack slowly stirred, then groaned.
He hissed, opening his eyes a fraction.
The memory of his last moments of consciousness slowly came back to him, shattering the blissful tranquility of the silence.
"Fresh meat's awake," a burly voice said.
Zack's eyes fully snapped open in alarm.
He quickly took in his surroundings.
Graffiti was scrawled all over the walls, and a single lavatory sat at one end of the room.
Aside from him, the chamber had two other occupants.
"Shit!"
Realizing where he was, Zack fought back the urge to curse out loud.
"Holding facility..."
He'd never been inside one, but he'd heard the stories in gossip and rumours.
And from what he was seeing now, there was an element of truth to the rumours.
Thick one-way glass at the end of the room ensured that their captors could see them while they couldn't.
The bulky man stood up, walking over to where he lay.
Zack eyed him warily, then slowly sat up.
"Name's Eddie," the man said, offering him his hand.
Zack stared at the man's outstretched hand, then at the man himself, silently.
"Zack."
The man's hand remained hovering in the air.
"Well?"
Zack silently stared at him, his obsidian eyes boring into his own.
After a while, the man scoffed.
" Suspicious much?"
Standing up, Zack winced, then slowly raised a hand to the back of his head.
His hand came away with dried blood.
The Enforcer had gotten him good. The strong scent of iron and burnt flesh lingered in his nostrils.
"Where are we?"
The man, Eddie, raised an eyebrow.
"Now you're asking questions?"
Zack silently stared at him, his gaze shifting between him and the other occupant in the room.
Eddie shook his head and sat back down.
" If I answer your question, you'll have to answer one of mine."
Staring at Eddie, Zack's instincts told him he was harmless.
They were both unarmed, and if he truly meant him harm, he could have killed him while he was unconscious. But Pete's betrayal was still vividly fresh in his mind.
But then, of course, what were the chances that he was a Dominion spy trying to get information out of him?
Or he was just being overly paranoid.
Worst-case scenario, if it came to it, he was confident in his chances of beating him in one-on-one combat.
It was one of the first things kids in the Outer Rim learned growing up.
Zack silently nodded.
" We're at the Enforcer's den, just outside the Outer Rim."
Zack's eyes widened slightly.
"Outside the Rim?!!"
The thought of it was quite sobering and that much more frightening. The creatures that lived in the areas outside the rim couldn't be considered human anymore.
They were literal monsters in human flesh. The chamber's other occupant chuckled.
"You don't have to look so startled, well technically, you do since we're all probably gonna die anyway."
The thin man smiled.
" I'm Ronald, by the way, but you can call me Ron."
Zack narrowed his eyes at that.
" Ron? What kind of name is that?"
Just then, the wall slid back.
Zack inwardly had a double-take, staring at the wall in disbelief.
" The wall, moved?"
The telltale sound of clicking heels echoed through the corridor outside the holding cell.
A subtle yet intricate scent of a rare perfume wafted through the air, reaching Zack.
His eyes turned to the cell's entrance in anticipation.
"Enforcers?"
A moment later, a tall woman entered the cell.
Zack suddenly felt more alive than he'd felt in a very long while.
He couldn't see it, but he could tell.
He could feel the blood rushing to his face. For a brief moment, he momentarily forgot the pain and grief of losing Grayson.
The woman was unnaturally beautiful. In fact, she was probably the most beautiful woman that he'd ever seen.
"Bloody hell!"
The most striking thing about the woman was her eyes.
Her emerald green eyes swept across the cell, going over each of the cell's occupants.
Zack carefully took her appearance in as well, memorizing it in detail.
"Interesting…"
The woman was dressed in a simple yet stylish, silky black loose-fitting shirt and black pants that did nothing to hide her graceful figure.
Her silver blonde hair was tied back in a neat bun.
The woman wore a long black coat that was gracefully draped over her shoulders.
But despite her appealing appearance, Zack's eyes were immediately drawn to the small insignia attached to her shirt, the visage of a snarling silver wolf.
His eyes narrowed.
" A recruiter…"
Recruiters worked for the Broadcast, the most popular " show" in the Dominion, if you could call it that.
Zack inwardly groaned.
"I'm fucked…"
For a recruiter to show up, it usually meant one of two things.
The first, and usually the most common case, was a chance at redemption.
To conveniently offer Talented individuals with exceptionally bad luck a way out of a potentially fatal tight spot.
And in the second place, to offer other Talented individuals a much better offer at life in the Dominion.
"Gentlemen, I believe you all know who I am, so let's cut to the chase. Each of you in this room has the unique opportunity to take part in the upcoming second round of uAditions for the Broadcast."
The recruiter smiled warmly.
" I trust you know how privileged you are to serve your country in this way. The highest honour."
Zack inwardly rolled his eyes.
"What a joke. Honour my ass…"
She was offering him an escape from one hell into another, one from which there was a chance he'd never return.
" Should you accept, we've already arranged for each of you to be transported to the audition venues. You'll be cleared of your crimes, and from there, you'll take part in the auditions for the Broadcast. Of course, should you survive, you'll receive several benefits, such as the rank of middle-class citizen. You'll be transferred from the outer rim to Asphodel."
Eddie offered her a tired smile.
" Sure, why not. I'll give it a try.'
Ron calmly shook his head.
" I think I'll pass. I don't think I'd last long anyway."
The recruiter sighed, shaking her head slightly.
" Very well then."
A moment later, Ron's head exploded in a gory display of blood and brains.
Zack flinched, taking a step back.
" What the hell?"
Ron's head, what was left of it, was now a mushy mess, sizzling from the aftermath of whatever contraption had blown his head to bits.
The sickeningly sweet smell of burnt flesh permeated the room.
The woman absentmindedly tapped her chin.
" Oh, I forgot to mention that in case you refuse this offer, then your sentences will be carried out immediately."
She smiled sweetly.
" Please choose wisely."
Zack stared down at his outfit.
Small splotches of blood stained the dark vestment he wore.
Eddie had fared worse.
His white vestment was completely soaked through with blood and small bits of brain.
Zack slowly throbbed back to the recruiter.
The woman casually smiled, her pearly white teeth glinting in the cell's light.
A transparent shield shimmered in front of her, blocking the gore, the floating brains and blood, making for an eerie sight.
" Well? What about you, Zack Fletcher? What will your choice be?"