After an unsatisfactory dinner and a fitful night, Shaggy was awoken by a loud buzzing. The noise was so loud, Shaggy leapt from his bed and got into a fighting stance. Only then did he realize a small red light was on just above his large door. As he noticed it, the buzzing stopped and the loud whirring of his door started up.
“All this damn tech and you can’t make this shit quieter!” Shaggy shouted angrily.
No one answered him as the door shifted open and he was presented with the stunning view… of a brick wall. Poking his head out of his cell, Shaggy spotted the rest of his cell block, also wearily waking up. A yellow strip-lighting pulsed on the floor leading toward the entrance. Taking the unspoken orders seriously, Shaggy stepped out of his cell and followed the lights.
All around him, prisoners jostled for the door. A few even shoving each other. Most ignored him, but a few were casting curious glances his way. Clearly watching and waiting to see what he would do. A few of the braver inmates attempted to shove his smaller frame. But Shaggy planted his feet and let his dense bones do the rest. His weight surprised a few of the shovers as they all walked out of the block.
Once through the gates, they entered a flat square space with high walls and one other exit. But instead of marching out the next exit, the prisoners were lining up against the far wall. Ten people across and currently three rows deep, Shaggy immediately found a spot and stood. Only for someone to try to shove him again.
“Wrong spot, new fish. Try again!” A grouchy voice said behind him.
Shaggy snorted, equally grouchy. “No. I’m going to stay right the fuck here. And if you touch me again, I’m keeping the hand.”
The voice went quiet and Shaggy peered over his shoulder at his assaulter. It was a large purple and green alien. The guy’s heterochromatic eyes glared at Shaggy, but the bigger alien did nothing. Shaggy grunted and then turned back around. A few other aliens watched the byplay, but said nothing as they lined up next to and in front of Shaggy. When all fifty prisoners were lined up, another buzzer echoed in their small room. The noise made Shaggy, and several other inmates, wince.
The door opposite the one they came in from slid open and five guards in heavy armor marched out. Beside them was an aging human male with a soft smile on his face. The old man took in the assembled prisoners before coughing lightly to get everyone's attention. Although, it was unnecessary. Everyone was being eerily quiet.
“As I understand that we only have one new arrival here, I will make this short. You lot have a lot to do today and I have better things to do than stand here and address a bunch of scumbags.”
The old man’s voice was mostly clear and crisp, with only a small rasp in it from old age. But it echoed in the room and Shaggy glanced around. All the prisoners had dead-serious expressions on their faces as they watched the old man’s guards. Shaggy raised an eyebrow at that and took in the heavily armored soldiers. They seemed similarly equipped to most NPCs he had fought in-game. Bulky armor, heavy helmets, thigh and shin armor. For weapons, they had large truncheons on their waist and sleek-looking energy rifles. The rifles sparked a memory in Shaggy’s mind. But he didn’t have time to chase it down, as the warden was speaking again.
“Mr. Robertson, you are on kitchen duty until we find an actual spot for you. From tomorrow onward, you will report to the kitchens at 4 am and at noon. Do not attempt to tamper with the food or you will spend the rest of your stay with us in isolation.”
The warden was clearly addressing him, but the old man wasn’t even trying to find Shaggy with his eyes. Instead, the old man looked bored as he announced things slowly.
“Everything you need to navigate is clearly marked with lighting and holo-screens. Follow them and do not diverge from the paths. If you are found outside your designated area, you will be stuffed back in your box. Is that clear, Mr. Robertson?”
“Yeah…?” Shaggy answered into the silence questioningly.
The old man looked surprised at being answered. A guard vanished from his spot near the old man. The guard popped into existence next to Shaggy, knocking multiple prisoners away. The heavily armored prison guard gripped his truncheon and lashed out at a confused Shaggy. On instinct, Shaggy raised his arms and blocked the weapon. It hit him solidly in the forearms and Shaggy was sure he could hear his bones creak in resistance. Surprised, the guard glared at Shaggy and flipped a switch on his truncheon. Pure pain and fire pulsed through Shaggy’s arms and he lurched away from the guard. Glancing down, Shaggy was shocked to see that his arms were fine. No marks were on his prison uniform and he didn’t smell any burning. He glared at the guard again, who looked even more surprised now.
“That’s enough.” The old man’s voice said.
The guard sent one last glare at Shaggy before he popped away again. He appeared at the old man’s side and whispered something in his ear. Shaggy strained his own to listen, but he could hear nothing. Which was new for Shaggy. Taking a sniff of the air, he also discovered that there was a space around the old man. Like no sounds or smells could get near the man. Once his whispered conversation was over, the old man locked eyes with Shaggy and nodded.
“It seems your assignment to our new Gamma Cell was not unwarranted. But believe me, Mr. Robertson, you do not want to test your strength in here. Now, B-Block! You are all scheduled for breakfast this morning, go ahead and make sure your new cellmate feels welcome.”
The evil look the old man sent his way combined with the sudden tenseness in the air around Shaggy made it clear what he meant. Shaggy groaned internally and watched as the soldiers and the old man marched out of the room again. The prisoners broke out of their rows, a few scattering away from Shaggy in a hurry. But no one made to attack him yet. Shaggy spotted a few contemplative glances his way, though. A firm hand on his shoulder made Shaggy spin around to see his grouchy friend from before. The purple and green alien was smiling widely as he pushed his face closer to Shaggy.
“Looks like you’re fair game, new fis-AHHHHHH!”
Shaggy wasted no time in wrenching the alien’s hand off his shoulder. With a twist, he grabbed the alien’s wrist with his right hand and gripped the side of the hand with his left. With all his might, Shaggy wrenched the alien’s hand with his left hand, keeping his right-hand firm. There was a disgusting ripping sound and Shaggy felt the alien’s wrist bones break as he ripped the man’s hand off. The alien collapsed in a pile as everyone cleared a space around them. But the fight was over. The purple and green alien was screaming bloody-murder as Shaggy tossed the hand away and moved toward the exit.
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Shaggy half-expected there to be alarms and guards showing up. But nothing happened. He simply left the room and entered a hallway. The hallway was lined with more strip-lighting and he followed it, even as a few other prisoners glared at him. A medical team with an armed guard rushed past him as he followed the lights down the corridor and to a T-junction. The lights lead to the right and a holo-sign on the wall read ‘cafeteria.’ but Shaggy glanced down the other hall. That one was listed as ‘Yard.’
Not taking any chances, Shaggy made his way toward the cafeteria. A few prisoners joined him on the walk. But they gave him a wide berth. He ignored them and passed through a set of barred doors. An entrapment area was on the other side where a put-upon looking guard sat at desk behind a window. The guards little shack sat embedded in the wall between the two sets of barred doors. He barely glanced up at Shaggy before he pressed a button.
A grating noise drew Shaggy’s eyes to behind him. The first barred gate was closing. Inmates rushed to squeeze their way through. But the door quickly shut and then the second gate started to open. Shaggy searched the walls for the mechanism controlling the doors. But there was none that he could see. He sniffed the air, hoping to find something, but again, nothing came to him.
The second door finished opening and Shaggy marched through alongside a few other prisoners. On the other side was another large room, except this one had large windows high on the wall. Sunlight streamed into the cafeteria, showering the large tables in bright sunlight. Shaggy spotted a green alien standing naked in the sunlight. Leaf-like petals were over the alien’s eyes and vines seemed to make up the creature’s skin. Shaking off the odd sight, Shaggy followed the crowd to the chow line and lined up.
The prisoners he had come in with were still giving space. But the prisoners that were already in the room merely glared at him. Shaggy and the rest of B-Block wore pale blue prison uniforms. But the guys who were glaring at him were in beige. Even the plant guy was wearing a beige power-suppression collar. Shaggy wondered what the colors meant when a voice whispered.
“They’re from C-Block. Sometimes we the chow times cross into one another.”
Shaggy followed the voice to find a scaly red alien watching him. The alien was next to him in line and seemed to be watching Shaggy’s every move. He gave the alien a nod of thanks and kept his mouth shut. But his new friend apparently wanted to chat.
“We’re not technically allowed to talk with them. But I think with the warden’s declaration earlier, there will be a fault with C-Block’s door.”
“He’s that out to get me? Already?”
“You showed up one of his guards. It happens a lot with B-Block. Nothing K-tech gives the prison system is strong enough to take out guys like us. So when the warden’s tough-guy shit fails him, he resorts to rewarding prisoner-on-prisoner violence.”
“He could hire better guards.”
“Naw. It’s a thankless job with shit pay. The few Enhanced guards he gets are kept back until a breakout occurs. When one does, all they have to do is stop as many escapees as they can.”
Shaggy nodded as he took his plastic tray and waited for whatever slop the kitchen was passing out. His new friend kept up a steady stream of information as they moved. By the end of the line, Shaggy’s tray was full of a weird hodge-podge of foods. He couldn’t identify any of it, but he was assured it was food. He also learned that he probably would not get a chance to eat any of it. Because as soon as he hit the cafeteria floor, someone wanting to get in good with the warden would attack him.
“Any guesses on who’s going to try first?” Shaggy asked as he stood beside the red alien, looking into the cafeteria.
It was a beige sea of bodies. A few were standing on their tables, while others were watching him as he passed through the line. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the red scaly alien shake his head.
“Nope. But it could be anyone.”
A pinch in Shaggy’s side made him turn. The red alien was standing with his tray held in one hand. In his other hand, he held a silver knife, which he had just tried to stab Shaggy with. The blade’s tip was bent, but Shaggy could see a bit of his blood on the weapon. Sighing, Shaggy tossed his own tray and grabbed for his attacker. He managed to get a hold of the hand holding the knife while the red alien stared in disbelief.
“You have your powers?!”
“Nope.” Shaggy answered as he tightened his grip. “Just really tough skin.”
Shaggy reared back his right hand and slammed a fist into the red alien’s face. The slim alien collapsed to the floor, and all hell broke loose. A rush of beige bodies charged Shaggy, and he lashed out at the closest ones. Inmates were shouting and cheering as Shaggy swung his heavy arms in large sweeps.
His attackers were uncoordinated and tripping over each other. But a few got into arm-swinging distance. Shaggy lashed out with his fist, sweeping his arms wide like he knew he wasn’t supposed to. Without his powers, Shaggy had to rely on his sheer weight to see him through. It wasn’t as good as his normally enhanced strength, but it was enough to knock a few lights outs. Until he hit a brick wall, almost literally.
A monster made out of red bricks arose from the sea of beige. Shaggy was too busy flinging hammerfists into people’s temples to see. But when the big red beast charged him, Shaggy lashed out on instinct. His hand smacked into the thing’s brick body, cracking it slightly. But Shaggy was hit back and sent flying. Somewhere in the fighting, Shaggy had dashed around to the end of the cafeteria. So when he was hit, his body slammed into the wall. Cornered, Shaggy put his guard up and watched.
The brick monster roared and sent a front kick at Shaggy. He dodged out of the way and punched the thing’s brick leg. Bit’s of brick chipped away and Shaggy could see a beige pant-leg underneath. But the brick quickly reformed and a red fist the size of his torso hit him. Shaggy was slammed into the wall again, even as he became indignant.
“Those rotten cheaters!” Shaggy thought to himself. “They deactivated his collar!”
A follow-up brick fist buried itself into Shaggy’s face and he felt his body sink into the wall. It was followed by another punch. Then another. Shaggy was hit over and over again, sinking deeper into the wall with each hit. He felt blood pour down his face and his blue jumpsuit was torn in places. His only reprieve came when the brick monster took a step back to roar in triumph.
Shaggy used that moment to wriggle free from the wall. Sounds of shock and surprise made the brick-beast cut off its cry and glare at Shaggy. Not wasting anytime Shaggy launched himself, unsteadily, at his attacker. A brick haymaker swung wide over his head as Shaggy crouched low and swiped his own arm against the beast’s leg. The brick monster fell to one knee and tried to get back to its feet. But Shaggy pushed his advantage and pivoted, dragging his arm with him. The wide swing caught the brick monster in its temple and shattered several bricks there. A green eye peeked from beneath the bricks and Shaggy grinned. The eye went wide in fear as the bricks swallowed it up again.
Shaggy avoided another wild haymaker and went to work battering the poor beast’s head with his arms. His hands were bloodied and a few fingers were broken. But by the time he was done, the brick prisoner’s powers were giving out. A pale man with dark-hair and green eyes was partially visible beneath the shifting bricks. Sounds of shouting and something else buzzed in Shaggy’s ears, but he ignored it as he sent punch after punch into his fellow prisoner.
Soon Shaggy was beating an unconscious man, and he had to forcefully pull himself away. Somewhere, it sounded like a wolf was howling in Shaggy’s ears. He realized it was his wolf howling inside him and Shaggy instinctively answered with one of his own. Blood dripped from his hands and face, his jumpsuit was torn, and Shaggy never felt so alive. He glared around at the other prisoners, seeing that a few guards had joined the party. They all took a collective step away from him as he grinned at them all. Then a sharp hiss echoed in the air and Shaggy felt a pinch in his leg. Looking down, he spotted a syringe.
He went to pull the syringe out when another one joined it. His body became warm and his limbs were suddenly rubber. The guards were pushing closer and Shaggy tried to stay on his feet. But another hiss and pinch made everything turn dark. Shaggy sank deep down into nothingness as the sounds of prisoners cheering and shouting filled his ears. It was a hell of a way to start the day.