Every morning, a collection of Kilder's various noises can be heard throughout the city; ironically, the only section of the city free of the soundscape is the Hilden detention facility. 'Ironically,' because while being free from the sounds of Kilder, those who find themselves staying at the Hilden are quite possibly the least free in all of Yewlin. Many people throughout Yewlin rightly call Gurun a melting pot of social unrest. This statement is never truer than within the grey, brutalist concrete box they call a prison. Reserved for only the most hateful and deadly criminals, most abandoned hospitals are more put together than this crumbling oasis of crime and punishment.
In contrast to the conditions of the prison and the lives of those trapped within the walls, the Warden's office is more akin to the private quarters of a business mogul, with breathtaking oak floors and shelves lined with expensive books and the prisoners' files. Simply entering the room could trick someone into forgetting about the atrocities of the prison. On the far wall of the room, a window looks out onto the grey, puddle-filled field where convicts spend their break, getting into fights and breaking bones out of boredom.
Watching the fighting from his throne is Warden Kulibren, a name that even the president has learned to fear. In fact, the only people who haven't learned to fear the name 'Kulibren' are the lucky few who have never heard it spoken.
Down the halfway walk, two guards: a skinny, white male of average height and brown hair, and a beautiful, brown-skinned girl with long, smooth hair and brown eyes. Although the man is by no means short, his height is precisely the same as the woman's.
"He has no family, you know, not even parents or a wife, you know," the man says to the woman as they pass the locked door of the office.
"It's because no one is brave enough to love him," the girl whispers, to ensure no one hears them.
"And no one is stupid enough to make enemies with him. Anyways, my shift at the canteen is starting soon, so I should be heading there, see you later Gharnem." The man says, waving to his friend and making a sharp left turn down the stairs.
Gharnem waves back and stops walking, waiting for her meeting with Kulibren.
After a couple of minutes of waiting outside the door, Gharnem gets impatient and knocks twice on the metal door. Kulibren calls her inside, although through the thick steel door, Kulibren's
"Come on in" is heard as only mumbles.
Kulibren's kind, soft voice pleasantly surprises Gharnem, who opens the heavy steel door.
"What made you schedule this appointment?" Kulibren asks, his voice turning intimidating and cold, more so than what Gharnem was expecting.
"Oh, sorry, sir, I just had a question that no one else could answer," Gharnem responds.
Losing patience with Gharnem, Kulibren continues,
"Please continue, I'm sure I can answer," he says, with a strangely comforting yet still intimidating tone.
"I was told that my next shift will be watching floor zero, but everyone seems pretty confident that such a floor doesn't exist. I'm assuming this is some sort of typo, but I'm still confused about what exactly my next shift is." Gharnem says, trying to make sense of her next job.
"Floor zero, who told you to watch floor zero?" Kulibren responds
"Uhm, I don't know, you know, every morning, we get the details of our shifts, I don't know who writes them, just that they must exist," Gharnem says
Kulibren walks over to ensure that Gharnem is reading 'floor zero' right; she is. Kulibren hands the paper back to Gharnem, takes a deep breath, grabs a key from his pocket, and opens one of the metal shelves, grabbing two files. Gharnem notices that there are only two other files in the shelf. Kulibren begins to speak while reading through the file.
"When you got hired, what was the first thing you looked up about me?"
"I'm not sure I exactly remember. I've heard about you before I got this job, and honestly, with the pay here compared to other guard jobs, I didn't ask too many questions. Why?" Gharnem responds.
"Well, what did you know about me before?" Kulibren says, before placing the files down on his desk, and walking towards a different shelf.
"Now that you mention it, I heard that you were quite a scholar before you became a warden, you are a doctor, no?" Gharnem responds with a slight smirk.
"A doctor only in the sense that I had a doctorate, I never had an affinity with medicine," Kulibren says
"A doctorate in what exactly? Why are you bringing this up?" Gharnem asks as Kulibren opens a safe behind a bookshelf.
"I bring this up because you will need context for what you will see on floor zero," Gharnem says, taking a helmet and mask out of the safe.
"Wait, I'm confused, what is floor zero?" Gharnem asks, peeking over to notice that there is a gun next to the helmet and mask.
"You will see all that later, for now, your first question, my doctorate was in Thaumacriminology, do you know what that is?" Kulibren asks, standing in front of Gharnem, making even the tall woman look small.
"Thaumacriminology? I can't say I've heard about that." Gharnem admits.
"Of course you haven't heard of it, I'm the only one with such an honour. Thaumacriminology is a part of thaumaturgy, the study of miracles and the 4 covens." Kulibren says
"The study of magic? So Thaumacriminology must mean –" Gharnem says before getting interrupted by Kulibren.
"It's defined as 'the study of crime committed through or enabled by magical means', a definition I got to make. This degree, believe it or not, made me the leading expert on miracle containment in the world." Kulibren says, noticing the confusion on Gharnem's face.
"So floor zero must be –" Gharnem says, pausing, allowing Kulibren to finish her thought.
"Yes, this isn't just a prison, I'm sure you've put it all together; that's why I asked for you to be hired, but either way, I think you should hear it from me." Kulibren pauses to look at Gharnem's reaction. He continues,
"The reason I'm known all around the world, even though I am just a warden, is that this isn't just a prison. Please put these on and follow me." He says, handing Gharnem a new uniform along with the helmet and mask.
"Follow you were?" She asks
"To floor zero, of course," Kulibren says, handing her the gun.