Prisoner 836

[untilyousubmit]

The Spire pulsed. Not audibly, though he perceived it as something like sound. A humming that rose and fell, unchanging and unending. It was as familiar to him as his own heartbeat. It pulsed, and the shards embedded within him pulsed in time with its power.

Not today. Lucien's searing anger had knocked him out of time--no, revealed how imperfect he had been. The pulsing in his head was fitful now, still sparking with pain. He had begged for mercy, but they both knew how meaningless those words were. His contrition was total, as was expected of him. There could be no other way. He would do everything that was necessary to correct his mistake.

And he would not show how much he hurt, as he made his way to the cell. Prisoner #836 was kept isolated from the prison proper. In the other cells, there were many others, restrained for many reasons. Dangerous but valuable individuals, who posed a threat to the Spire but could not yet be killed. Disobedient guards, left to wonder when they would next be dragged to the torture chamber by the more compliant ones. For some, he did not know the reason why they languished there, only that Lucien wished it.

And then there was Prisoner #836. 836 should have been so simple--he had captured many others like him. He knew something, and retrieving the information should have been simple. All the others had broken without the collar ever activating once.

But 836 was stubborn. At first, it simply seemed like insolence. So many claimed to not remember. He had left the matter to the torturers. He had so much else to attend to.

That had been a mistake. A careless one. Whatever slow progress had been made in retrieving 836's memories had been obliterated in an instant, when the man had been found outside his cell. 836 had been dragged to a new, isolated ward, but the damage was done. A failure he now suffered for.

The ward guards straightened up as he approached. "The new prisoner. Where is he?" If they heard how raw his voice was beneath the deep distortion, they showed no sign of it.

"This way, sir." Guard 427 led him through the twisting passages in silence toward... an open cell door.

He grabbed the 427 by the collar, blank white eyes staring into terrified blue. "Sound the alarm. Find him. And when you have done so--lock yourselves in empty cells. I will deal with you later." He gave the collar one last yank as he let go, sending the man tumbling to his knees. He was already striding away, the sharp sting of his failure burning deeper into him. He had to find 836. In this moment, nothing else mattered.

Comments

[circuitcontrol]

Luca knew he wasn't supposed to leave his cell. He knew what the consequences would be. Pain, disorientation, his knowledge slipping away with every step he took in the wrong direction. Their warnings had been clear, and the voice in his head right now was even clearer, demanding his obedience. But that wasn't enough to make him care.

There was only one thing Luca cared about, and that's what drove him forward now, feeling weaker but more determined with every step. His cell contained nothing. There wasn't anything to do in there. And they wanted his secrets, his work, without giving him a chance to complete it himself. No. He refused. He'd build it, look upon it with his own eyes, one more time, even if it killed him. The details of his invention were vague in his head, but he was sure that if he could only find somewhere quiet to work, he'd be able to figure it out.

He had no idea where he was. He turned a corner, and there was a force-field in his way. But the wall had a control panel, and he pulled it open without hesitation, and a few minutes later the force-field was gone. He kept going.

He giggled to himself, wondering if they even knew he was gone yet. It didn't matter. He was smarter than they were, and they needed him. And he wasn't planning on being helpful at all.

[untilyousubmit]

Failure ontop of failure. How had 836 escaped again? Some weakness in the locking system, something he hadn't accounted for. He'd have to be more thoroughly restrained. Electronics could fail in so many ways, but chains were far more reliable.

No. Focus. One step at a time. The command center first, where he could monitor the situation. He ignored the guards there entirely--his orders were already relayed, and they were scrambling to carry them out.

He noticed a change in the monitors moments before they did. This section should be entirely locked down. Why had one of the security gates just opened? He found the feed--and there he was. 836.

No time to run. He knew these passageways, he had overseen their construction. The image of it was clear in his mind. Within reach. The humming of the shards grew louder as he focused, two floors up and fifty meters to the south. The lights nearby flickered fitfully as the power built, and his skin clamored with sensation, and the guards flinched away from him.

Then for the briefest instant, the world around him bent to show itself in twisted, impossible detail. Something within him understood it, though it was not conscious. His master’s work, no doubt, his mind was too limited to make sense of these higher things.

With a high, ringing hum and another flicker of light, he arrived. Through the ringing in his head, he could hear laughter.

He moved to pursue, heart pounding in his ears, almost louder than the shards. He would not fail again.

[circuitcontrol]

Luca turned left on a whim. He really needed a map, or a signpost, but of course there was nothing so convenient here. There was nothing convenient anywhere, which was the problem. It was impossible to do anything in this place.

Another barrier. Another panel to open. A little fiddling, a few wires crossed... He focused completely on the task, forgetting to keep track of his surroundings. He didn't hear those loud footsteps until they were already too close, and he startled, almost tripping right into the barrier when he finally saw the Commandant running towards him.

He pulled out another wire and the security gate was gone. He ran through. Too bad he couldn't close it behind him.

"So you noticed?"

He was slow, that was the problem. But he wasn't going to give up now just because of that.

[untilyousubmit]

There.

He wanted to command the prisoner to come to him and watch the writhing begin when it resisted, but just thinking the words made the shards hum louder in his brain, pain flaring again, the echo of his master's voice resounding in a reminder to obey.

He wanted to tear the little creature apart for such insolence, but the pain crescendoed, stealing the breath from his lungs, making him falter and slow. Do not fail again. He wouldn't. He wouldn't.

"Come here," he demanded, his voice quieter than he'd intended. Soft, but still full of hate. He started to advance again, slower now. "I am going to remove your collar."

[circuitcontrol]

He hated those words. He hated any words out of that man, but orders especially, because with each time he disobeyed he lost something else that mattered. He was losing bits and pieces of himself, and it was difficult to hold onto the rest. But he was stubborn. Remembering everything didn't matter if he couldn't work on his invention.

His step faltered for a second, but he kept going, bracing himself for the inevitable pain... Except it didn't come. Usually it was instant, but he counted seconds in his head, one, two, three, four, five... He felt fine. Or as fine as he ever did.

"Did the collar malfunction?" He asked. That would explain why the Commandant was taking it off him. "No wonder you need me! You can't make anything work!"

And he sped up. There was no way he was letting himself get caught now.

[untilyousubmit]

He saw the prisoner falter and realized his mistake with a quiet No under his breath--don't damage it further! His haste had almost made things worse.

But the moment was gone, and the prisoner was still retreating. Still mocking him. Still resisting. "You will be made obedient," he snarled, breaking into a run again. He was taller, more fit, pushed to move faster by his hatred. He would catch the prisoner. The collar was almost in reach.

He lunged.

[circuitcontrol]

Luca wasn't a runner at all. He wasn't in any great shape, and his legs were bad, always hurt after he'd been on them too long. They were hurting now.

He forced himself forward in spite of it, preparing to use the last trick up his sleeve. He had to get away, didn't want to risk his collar being replaced, not until he'd figured out what made it malfunction so he could replicate it. He'd been tampering with it earlier, of course, as much as he'd been able to with the collar sapping his focus, but...

The Commandant was catching up. And without warning, Luca let out a jolt of electricity, shocking the other man before he could grab him. Then he spun around, and ran the other way, past him again. If he could get back to that security gate, he could close it between them.

[untilyousubmit]

His vision flared with light and pain, and for the second time today he blindly felt himself fall to his knees, muscles spasming. No! There'd been no sign before that 836 was capable of this! How was this possible?

The prisoner ran past him, almost brushing the tips of his claws.

No. No. Either by some trick of mechanical skill or Will itself, the prisoner had managed to fight back. Was trying to lock him in.

That would fail utterly. The shocks were still clinging to his bones and he had to fight against them to move. But he didn't have to stumble after the prisoner. No matter how much he hurt, he could still see his target. That made this so much easier.

Space distorted around him, and the shards pulsed uneasily, out of phase with the Spire, but he was now directly behind the contemptible little thing, reaching out to grab it by the neck.

[circuitcontrol]

Luca could see his goal, eyes focused entirely on the control panel, fingers itching to get his hands on those wires and see how quickly he could close the gate. By the time he realized the Commandant was already behind him, he'd already been grabbed.

"Let me go!" He flailed his limbs as he stumbled back, tried to turn around with half a mind to hit him, or something. But he wasn't a fighter, not even a little bit, and this man definitely was. He changed his mind, tried to reach up to pry his hands off.

"I'm useless locked up! Let me go!"

[untilyousubmit]

He had already felt agony for his failure today. When his pleading had been sufficient to stop the pain for a few wretched moments, he had not sought to deflect blame. He was too loyal for that. 'I deserve this,' he had said. And he did.

But the prisoner deserved everything that would happen to him. "You will be made useful," he snarled, sweeping the prisoner's feet out from under him and pinning him to the floor, reaching for the lock on the collar. "Your mind will belong to him."

[circuitcontrol]

Luca winced as he crashed to the floor, pain shooting through him, burying into his head. It took him a moment to regain his focus, but as soon as he did, he started squirming. Uselessly. He kicked his legs, but it wasn't doing anything.

"I'll lose my mind before I let him have it!" he yelled. He felt the collar coming loose, and he tried to reattach it, because the idea of a new one scared him even more. "The invention is mine! It dies with me!"

[untilyousubmit]

He pushed down with his knee on the prisoner's back, feeling the feeble struggling beneath him as he tossed the collar aside. It would have been a deeply satisfying moment, if it hadn't been so ruined by his failure.

"If you die, it will be at his command," he hissed, taking the new collar from his belt. "And you will thank him for it."

[circuitcontrol]

"I'll thank him for being a failure!"

He squirmed harder, a note of desperation in his voice. They may have already fixed what made the previous collar malfunction, and he probably wouldn't be able to tamper with this new one. He didn't want it on, he didn't. He wanted to work. "That thing won't help you! I won't submit!"

[untilyousubmit]

He paused, taking his gloved hand and driving his thumb into a pressure point in the prisoner's back. "He is your master," he said, voice low and dangerous. "And you will be broken. That you resist now does not make you different from any other."

He put the collar around the 836's neck, snapping it shut.

[circuitcontrol]

Luca yelped as pain shot through the pressure point, and it was enough to make him stop struggling, at least for the moment. The collar closed around his neck, and he knew he'd lost this particular fight. He reached up cautiously to feel it.

"He's not." He waited for the pain of talking back, for the punishment the collar always gave him. He waited for the loss of focus, of memories. Three, four, five... It didn't come. "He's not."

[untilyousubmit]

"And there is nothing I will find more satisfying than to correct you." He reached for the leash he'd brought with him, a reinforced cord. It was thick enough to hold back a lunging beast, and it would be more than sufficient to drag the prisoner to a new cell. It locked onto the collar, and the sharp metallic sound sent a thrill through him, despite all that he had suffered today.

[circuitcontrol]

The sound of the leash snapping in place made him flinch. He wanted to rip it off, but he knew he wouldn't be able to, not without tools. So the old collar was gone, and the Commandant was trying something new instead. He was still in trouble. At least he'd keep what was left of his memories.

He pulled his hands away, exhaustion starting to wear at his will to fight. He had to be smart about it, anyway, wait for the right moment again.

"I'll never give you that satisfaction."

[untilyousubmit]

"You have no choice, now." He pressed down harder on the prisoner's back, giving him less room to breathe. "And you never will again."

[circuitcontrol]

Any reply he'd wanted to give was cut off. He pushed against the floor to give himself room to breathe, trying to fill his lungs, but his strength was no match for the Commandant at all. Now he was really starting to get scared. He could still breathe, this wouldn't kill him, but it was enough to leave him a little dizzy.

[untilyousubmit]

He took a moment to savor that quiet struggle, feeling the prisoner squirm beneath him. He wouldn't let 836 fall unconscious--too dangerous. He'd soon recover, and return to his insolence. But for just this moment, his pointless babbling was silenced. Perhaps he'd gag 836 later.

He didn't relent until the struggling lost its conscious intent, becoming more of a reflexive spasm that signaled the man was truly in distress. Only then did he release the pressure, standing up with the leash in hand.

[circuitcontrol]

Luca gasped for air. His adrenaline was high now, but his lungs were screaming, and he felt so dizzy it was nauseating. For a few moments he didn't even try to get up. He just curled in on himself, and tried to breathe. He was barely aware he was whimpering.

He had to get up. He had a feeling he'd be dragged if he didn't. He pushed onto his knees, pausing there for a second as another wave of dizziness passed through him. He got onto one knee. Two feet. He glared at the wall as he finally got up, but didn't say anything, and he didn't reach up to try to remove to leash, even though he wanted to.

[untilyousubmit]

He gave the leash a tug before he could feel safe and stable, pulling him along at a pace just fast enough to keep him off-balance. His own body protested as well, muscles still twitching and cramping from the shock, but he ignored it. Once he had the prisoner returned to a cell and fully secured, he could rest a moment.

[circuitcontrol]

Luca stumbled and nearly fell, hurrying forward to avoid being dragged along. It wasn't helping with that lightheaded feeling, even though his lungs were full of air now. He was breathing hard.

"Slow down! I'm coming." He hated this guy so much. He was glaring daggers at his back as he half-ran after him, trying to ignore how humiliating this was. He should plan his revenge instead. He'd get back at him, sooner or later. He was the smart one after all.

[untilyousubmit]

"You have not earned that comfort," he replied.

Through the twisting corridors he dragged the prisoner, to yet another cell, not far from the torture chambers. There was a rack here, heavy restraints hanging expectantly open. If the prisoner could slice the locks on the doors, then he would simply be kept from reaching them.

[circuitcontrol]

Luca did his best to keep up, but his own strides weren’t long enough, and he fell to his knees twice, having to scramble to get back on his feet before he was really dragged along. His legs hurt. He wanted to stop, to sit. He almost wanted back in his cell, just for a short break.

Except he quickly changed his mind about that when he saw the cell he was being brought to. He spotted the rack, and immediately tried to step backwards again. He grabbed onto the door of the cell with both hands. “Look, just bring me back to my other cell.”