"Lay down on the ground now!"
"Lay down on the ground!"
The prisoners have lost track of how many times the guards have repeated the same sentence to each of them; but for most of them, this was perhaps the first time they are hearing them sound so frantic. Their voices, holding some sort of tremble within them.
Even those in the top 50, if one of them happens to have a bad day and wreaks havoc, the guards usually remain calm and just add more and more super guards to try and restrain them– if that doesn't work, then warden Yakovich himself would show himself; that usually ends up in a shitshow with the altercator's unconscious body being displayed naked in shame.
But now, even through their helmets that were hiding their faces, the fear that was escaping from their mouth was seeping from the crevices of their helmet. The new prisoner just killed another prisoner– this usually leads to the prison showing their might and apprehending the assailant at any cost.
Could it be that warden Yakovich was not here? But Yakovich practically lives here; based on the rumors, he had not even stepped out of the prison ever since he took the position of warden. If he is indeed here, why isn't he intervening? Just…
…who exactly did they put in the prison now?-- were the thoughts of all the prisoners witnessing what was happening.
As for the guards' thoughts. Well… the fear they were feeling was real. Even if the prisoner in front of them were cleared of the allegations of being Darkday, there was still of course this doubt growing inside of them; especially now that they saw him killing someone without even batting an eye.
How is someone like this not Darkday? They all thought. They've also seen how easily Riley dissected the previous prison he was confined in– if they took a wrong step here, then they would probably also suffer the same fate.
They have been trying to signal warden Yakovich, but he has been ignoring their call for help since the start. Just what exactly did he want them to do right now… die? Even if all of them were supers and had their own respective powers, they were not stupid enough to think they would be a match for someone being compared to Darkday.
In fact, them pushing the situation might make it worse as it was written in the report that Riley went into a rampage since the previous prison threatened his family.
So what exactly should they do right now that their warden seemingly abandoned them?
"Is that you, Charlie Charles?"
And finally, as if to rescue them from their own thoughts, another voice whispered into their ear; or more specifically, straight onto one of the guards' left ear.
"!!!"
The guard quickly moved away and pointed the gun towards the prisoner that suddenly appeared right beside him; this prisoner, however, instantly disappeared, turning into a cloud of white dust before reappearing once again behind the guard.
"Adam! Go back to your designated area!" The guard once again swung his arm towards the prisoner called Adam; but once again, Adam turned into a cloud of dust; this time, reappearing behind Riley.
And finally, with him not disappearing as soon as he appeared, Riley was able to take a good look at the prisoner's face. He initially thought the prisoner would be younger, but the greys on his beard and hair would say otherwise.
"Charlie, my boy," Adam then tried to place his arm over Riley's shoulder but failed to do so as Riley moved to the side. Still, he didn't seem to let this faze him as he continued to address the guard called Charlie, "How long have you been here? There's no such thing as designated areas for people like me."
Adam then let out a long but very deep sigh as he continued to walk; circling at Riley as he too, looked at him from head to toe. His eyes then slowly trailed towards Prisoner 582, whose head had already melted down.
"...Do I know who this is?" Adam then blinked as he pointed at the dismembered corpse.
"I… don't think so," Charlie slightly pointed his rifle down as the situation seemed to be settling down bit by bit, "It's prisoner 582. He was Rank 42 if I remember."
"...No, don't know him," Adam then let out a small gasp of relief; chuckling awkwardly as he thumped his chest a couple of times,
"If I did, then I would be forced to kill you."
And just like that, the friendly tone that Adam had been breathing out since he arrived was no more, replaced by a cold and deep voice that was more fitting age, "And then after I kill you; I will find out more about you– it's easy for me to escape this place if I wanted to. And just like this…"
Adam then snapped his fingers, causing prisoner 582's body to disappear into a cloud of white. Soon, however, Riley could see a silhouette falling from the ceiling; letting out a light and squishy thud as it landed on the ground.
"...I will kill your friends, your lover, your fam– ily?"
Adam then blinked a couple of times as he saw his vision suddenly shift. He was just looking at Riley just less than a second ago, and now in front of him were the guards surrounding Riley. And soon, he saw them getting taller… or perhaps himself getting shorter?
He was starting to lose his thoughts… and soon, everything just faded to black.
"..."
"..."
"Can you please stop killing people!?"
Charlie once again raised his rifle and pointed it towards Riley. However, as soon as he saw the growing smile on Riley's face; the only thing he could really do was take a step back. They have had unpredictable prisoners before… but never like this.
"This place…" Riley then let out a long breath before stepping towards the area reserved for the top 50. The shards of the plastic glass, all moving to the side to make way for him to pass,
"...is a lot more fun than the Academy."
"You… you're not allowed to go in there!"
"We are in prison, Mr. Charlie Charles," Riley let out a small sigh as he continued to step towards the area allotted to the top 50 prisoners, "Those in prison are not known for following the rules. I am only following what the world wants me to be…
…as I have always done."
"Wait, you–"
And before Charlie could finish his words, the shattered glass that littered on the ground suddenly floated in the air; and soon, they once again made a wall– this time filled with a web of cracks that allowed not even an inch clarity to the other side.
"Did… did actually just shut the door on us?" Charlie then said as he looked at his other comrades, "Because that's what it felt like for me."
"..." The other guards he was with could only shrug their shoulders. A few seconds after, however, they all tilted their heads to the side as warden Yakovich's voice finally whispered into their ears.
[Return to your stations.]
"Warden… what's the plan?"
[There is no plan. I'll handle it from here on.]
"..." And with that, the guards could only nod– before the ground beneath them lowered, once again swallowing them back down as if nothing happened.
The prisoners who have witnessed what just happened, could not help but look at each other.
"This… what is happening?"
"Some random bullshit, that's what."
Almost all of them had their own opinions; there were 4, however, whose opinions stood above most– the 4 that first approached Riley in his cell.
"...We got lucky."
"Yup."
"I'm never going to approach anyone tied up again."
"...I don't know, it's kind of arousing."
"..."
"..."
"Why are you still with us?"
***
"..." Riley was now inside the area where only the top 50 prisoners were allowed to be in; his eyes, looking everywhere. He had seen it earlier, but the atmosphere here truly was different from those outside.
It felt more… luxurious; like a garden one could find in a medieval castle. Riley could even hear a faint whisper coming from all the air conditioners that were plastered everywhere.
"..." There were even birds and butterflies that stuck close to the flowers and fruits freely growing everywhere. He was not that impressed, however, as he had his own forest area in his Guesthouse.
His Guesthouse still had the better… accommodation. The only thing he didn't have were the Rankings. He really should implement that… and maybe let the one who comes out on top check out.
But first… they have to try and kill him.
"Pft," Riley let out a fettered chuckle at the thought of his guests trying to scramble to defeat him.
"Oh!" And then, almost like a child getting the greatest idea of his life, Riley let out a small but loud gasp. What if…
…he let his guests and the prisoners here fight? He was sure that his guests would be more than happy to break their routine once in a while. His latest guest also seemed to always be agitated; it might be good for her to let out some steam.
"..." Good, he should find a way to make that happen.
"You really did cause trouble on the first day."
"..." And as soon as Riley was done with his thoughts, a familiar rhythm of footsteps whispered in front of him.
"Warden Yakovich," Riley waved his hand to greet him.
Warden Yakovich, however, only let out a deep chuckle as he shook his head, "You really are Ms. Phoenix's son."
"Oh, you know my biological mother?"
"To a deep extent," warden Yakovich then lit up a cigarette that came out of nowhere, "She…
…was a prisoner here, after all."