Shaggy twisted and tumbled through the dark elevator shaft. His arms flailed in every direction, looking for something to grab. But he was unsuccessful. Above him he heard the shouts and curses of the guards as they tried to jimmy the elevator door back open. Those voices quickly faded into nothing, and Shaggy focused on grabbing something. Anything.

He spun his body horizontally, trying to reach the wall of the elevator shaft. He made through two full spins before his left elbow hit something metal and snap loudly. Pain lanced through his left arm and Shaggy nearly spasmed from the suddenness of it. But he managed to swing his right arm around, fingers poised and ready to contact something.

He felt the stone wall as he flew down the elevator shaft. Then, after a few seconds, something sturdy and metal smashed into his fingers. Biting his lip against the pain, Shaggy locked his fingers around what he could. More pain went through his fingers and right arm as his sudden stop jarred his whole body. He was scared his arm was going to snap right out of its socket. But his bones stayed firm. At least long enough for him to hug the wall and fall to the next I-beam.

His feet jammed into the piece of metal and now Shaggy’s entire body was sore. But at least he had stopped falling. He took in his surroundings as best he could. But he did not know how far he had fallen. Or how far he had to go. He knew the laundry was in the prison's basement, but how far was he from it?

With a sigh, he carefully crouched low. The metal housing of the elevator shaft, designed to carry the car up and down, was uniform in its design. Which meant that below his current I-beam was a blank bit of space and then another I-beam. So all he had to do was drop down to the next one without killing himself.

His broken elbow chose that moment to make itself known with a sharp pulse of pain. Shaggy hissed and cradled his left arm close to his body.

“Alright, Shaggy. Just got to climb down an elevator shaft one-handed. Piece of cake.” He told himself as grabbed his I-beam with his right arm.

Taking his feet off his support, Shaggy dangled down, hoping that he was tall enough to reach the next I-beam simply by hanging. But he was, once again, stymied by his height. With another growl of frustration, he let go his hold and tried to plaster his body to the wall. He fell a short distance before his feet slammed into the next I-beam below. He teetered on the edge for a few seconds, catching his balance, before he caught himself.

Shaggy sighed. “Ahhhhh, that wasn’t too bad. Just a dozen to a hundred more of those to go through.”

Shaggy quickly built up a rhythm as he repeated his fall-and-catch maneuver down the elevator shaft. It was exhausting and a pain in the ass. But at least he wasn’t being shot at or threatened with clubs again. Although being transformed into a goblin again would help. But whatever had happened to Wally Wondrous meant that the wild technicolor dream was over. Shaggy wondered if the villain had left or been subdued.

He was trying to come up with ways to stop a reality bending opponent when an ominous sound above him made him look up. Shaggy felt his eyes bulge out of his head and his blood went cold. The elevator was sliding down the housing right toward him. But then it stopped, waited a few seconds and then dropped dangerously again. It came to a stop a few floors above Shaggy and then started up again.

“Fuck! They're checking each of the floor for me.” Shaggy whispered to himself.

He watched the elevator car carefully as it moved. He didn’t want to risk trying to outrun the thing. Every time the car moved, the entire housing shook dangerously, and the thing moved super-fast. So instead, Shaggy hugged the wall and hoped for the best. Either he’d survive or be cut in half as the thing flew by him.

The car stopped at the next floor and this time Shaggy could hear stomping boots as people exited. The swooshing sound of the doors closing came next, followed by the loud rumbling of the elevator shaft. Shaggy held his breath and sucked in his gut as the elevator car picked up speed. The noise became deafening and Shaggy clenched his eyes shut as the wind from the passing car nearly knocked him off his perch. Then the noise stopped and Shaggy clearly heard a male voice giving orders.

“Spread out and find the prisoners! We still have forty missing that did not make it out with Wally Wondrous! They are here and in the prison. Find them!”

Shaggy glanced down to see the car just below him. Without thinking, he quickly swung himself down to the lower I-beam and climbed on top of the car. Inside of it, he could hear stomping footsteps and grumbling guards leaving. He laid flat on top of the car and reached around for something to hold on to. He found something just as he heard the elevator doors shut, and then they were on their way down again.

Shaggy had to brace his feet against the electronics on top of the elevator to keep himself from flying off. But he managed it just as the elevator slowed down again. He held his breath and waited as the leader of the guards gave out orders again. He didn’t know how good their ears or equipment were, but if he could hear them, then maybe some of them could hear him. But he wasn’t going to risk it.

“Remember, keep your trackers locked and ready! Once Central comes back online, we’ll be able to track each prisoner by their collar. Now move!”

Shaggy winced to himself as he had forgotten about that little collar function. That meant he didn’t have much time to get back to his cell. So he was going to have to run through the damn laundry, then back up the stairs, past an army of guards, and then into his cell. Just perfect.

The car made three more stops before Shaggy heard another interesting conversation. It was as the team for the floor were exiting the car. It was also the first time another guard spoke up after their leader had issued his orders.

“Sir, are you sure you have enough members to search the basement? Do you want us to come down once we’ve cleared our floor?”

“No! The four of us are plenty to clear the basement and laundry. Stick to procedure! Clear the floor and move up! Check the previous team’s sweep of that floor and then go up again. We will follow right behind!”

“Yes, Sir!”

With that, more footsteps marched away and Shaggy blew out his breath as the elevator started up again. He had four soldiers between him and home. If he could take them out, then he wouldn’t have to worry about the team above. They’d simply move on and he’d be home free. Shaggy wanted to dance in delight, but another surge of pain reminded him of his broken arm. He was going to have to come up with an excuse for that.

The elevator quickly came to its last stop and Shaggy waited for the sounds of boots on the floor. Once the echo of the boots was gone, he quickly squeezed himself around the side of the elevator. He wished he had the code to the access hatch on top of the elevator. But he didn’t, so instead he decided to wait and see if the car returned to its starting position. If it didn’t, all his plans were fucked.

Shaggy waited against the wall as the elevator sat there, unmoving. He was about to start swearing up a storm when the elevator suddenly came to life and shot back up the shaft. Shaggy didn’t even look to see how high it was going. The second it was out of his way, Shaggy walked around the I-beams toward the elevator doors. Again, he had to pry them open, using his one good hand and his back to push against both doors. It was a pain in the ass and his body was screaming in pain, but he managed to open enough space for him to squeeze through.

He fell to the floor as the elevator doors clanged harshly behind him. The noise echoed in the dark room and Shaggy curse to himself. Quickly, he got into a crouch and looked around for something to hide behind. A large canvas cart was sitting next to the elevator and Shaggy immediately tossed himself in. He could already hear footsteps stomping his way.

Shaggy had expected towels or clothes to be inside the large canvas cart. But instead, he hit nothing but the floor as the cart was empty. He clenched his teeth and groaned against the pain, trying like hell to be quiet. Thankfully, the arrival of the stomping guards covered his faux pas.

Two flashes of light passed over Shaggy’s head as flashlights crisscrossed above him. The footsteps had slowed and he could hear them slowly moving around. He slowly maneuvered into a crouching position and was thinking about taking a peek when a guard spoke up.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Anything?”

“Nothing. All clear on my side, you?”

“Clear. Theories?”

“Ghost?”

“Be serious, Kevin!”

“I am, Kyle! Wally Fucking Wondrous just cratered his way into our prison and released a large bag of shit on top of us. That much magic in one place is bound to wake something up. Plenty of people have died here. A lot whom have grudges.”

“The magical warding cleans out any ghost before they become a problem, Kevin. You know that!”

“Wally. Wondrous.” Was Kevin’s only reply.

The pair of guards became quiet and Shaggy was again thinking about taking a look when a radio squawked to life. Both Kyle and Kevin shouted in alarm, making Shaggy miss the first half of the message, but he heard the end.

“... a loose prisoner.” The guard leader’s voice said.

Kyle and Kevin cheered, and then Kevin said. “You go back up the others and I’ll clear here.”

“Oh, come on, Kevin. There are no ghosts here.”

“If there are, they need to be documented. Now go, Kyle!”

Kyle made an unrecognizable noise of aggravation before Shaggy heard footsteps running off. Now it was just him and the ghost-boy. Shaggy liked those odd much better. His arm was broken, his body was sore, and he was sure one of his fingers was dislocated. But he ignored all the pain as he slowly raised his head over the edge of the cart. Quickly scanning the area, he saw one heavily armed guard pacing around and looking up. The guard’s back was to him, so Shaggy eased himself out of his cart and crouched to the floor.

He was careful to stay quiet as he stalked closer to his target. Kevin was still preoccupied with the ceiling and air around him to notice Shaggy until it was too late. Shaggy crept closer until he had a good angle of attack. Once he did, Shaggy kicked out against the back of Kevin’s knee, sending him to the floor. Then Shaggy activated slide move and slid around the guard to his front. Shaggy then clenched his fist and activated Pounce.

He went sailing forward as he pulled his good hand forward in a flying uppercut. Kevin’s helmeted head snapped back harshly and his body went limp. Kevin’s legs gave out, and he collapsed toward Shaggy, who quickly got out of the way. He was sure his right ring finger was broken now. Another jolt of pain had hit him as he had hit Kevin. Hissing at his body's missing regeneration power, Shaggy quickly scanned Kevin’s weapons.

The guard was decked out in heavy duty black armor that looked like a mix between plastic and metal. He had a long rifle and an electric truncheon. Unfortunately, Shaggy could see a biometric reader on the gun’s handle, so that was out, but the stun baton was still usable.

“In fact…” Shaggy muttered to himself as he sized up Kevin.

They were roughly the same size and look. At least in the part of the face that was visible under the helmet. Shaggy quickly set about taking Kevin’s armor off. It was a pain in the ass and took longer than he wanted. But once he was done, he shoved Kevin into the laundry cart and started putting on his armor. He still couldn’t touch the rifle, but he swung it off his shoulder as he got his truncheon ready.

Once everything was in place, Shaggy tested his range of movement. With his left arm broken and his body wracked with pain, he wasn’t going to be moving fast. But he could probably still pass as a guard. And he knew just who to test his new outfit on first. He switched his stun baton on and started forward, deeper into the large laundry room.

The giant dark room was full of industrial-style washers and dryers. It also had a massive amount of shelves that went from floor to ceiling. Shaggy looked them over as he walked, but they were full of solvents and cleaners for washing clothes. There were also large laundry carts everywhere, all empty. Shaggy was examining a washing machine when he heard sounds of talking. He couldn’t make out words, but by the tone he could tell someone was begging.

He walked closer to the noise, careful to keep his baton up and ready. He came upon three guards surrounding a small furry figure. The fourth guard was on the floor, a pool of blood beneath his helmet. The guard leader had his rifle up and in the furry creature’s face as it tried to explain itself.

“Hey, look, he surprised me, okay? It was no one’s fault. This stuff just happens, right?” Said the Stoat from Shaggy’s bus ride to prison.

Shaggy could clearly see and smell blood on the small alien’s claws. And judging from the guard leader’s shaking weapon, Shaggy didn’t think he believed the Stoat either. Clearly seeing the shift in the air as Shaggy arrived, Stoat changed tactics.

“Look, okay, I fucked up. That’s on me. I accept that. But I can help you guys out, right? I know things. Things you guys would find very interesting. Things about someone in B-block!”

Shaggy gripped his stun baton tighter as he walked up next to Kyle. The guard was giving his leader cover with his own rifle and gave Shaggy a nod of recognition. The guard leader was still shaking in angry, but he hadn’t pulled the trigger yet. Stoat’s weaselly face grinned in triumph as he realized he had their interest.

“Yeah! Yeah, it’s a guy that you just brought in, right? He’s planning something. He wanted to get caught or something and put in prison, right?”

“WHO!” shouted the guard leader as he shook his rifle in the Stoat’s face.

Shaggy wasn’t going to take the chance as he moved closer to Kyle. The guard glanced up at Shaggy in time to see a stun baton hit him in the face. Kyle screeched in pain and dropped to the floor. Shaggy spun toward the leader and watched as the Stoat player whipped his back feet at the leader’s legs. The leader’s knees were knocked out from under him as he fired off a shot from his rifle. The red laser blast went wide and hit and laundry cart, setting it a blaze.

The Stoat pressed his advantage and leapt onto the guard leader’s face. His claws and teeth savaged the leader’s lower chin, causing the man to throw down his weapon and try to wrestle the stoat off. Shaggy watched the two tussle for a bit before he moved in with his truncheon. The guard leader got to Stoat off his face just in time for Shaggy to hit him with the full force of the stun baton. The guard stayed standing, his lower face bleeding beneath his helmet. He reached a fist out toward Shaggy as his body was wracked with spasm.

A brown, furry missile hit the leader in the face again and the Stoat and guard went to the floor. Shaggy could hear the Stoat as he viciously clawed the guard’s face up. Soon, the guard went still and the Stoat player stopped attacking. He spat a wad of blood on the floor and turned a savage grin on Shaggy.

“Fuck, fella. I don’t know who you are, but I owe you one.”

Shaggy scowled as he took off his helmet. “You can start with a fucking explanation, Stoat. What the Fuck?! One brief brush with the guards and you try to give me up? Fuck you very much.”

Stoat’s bloody face changed to shock and then to angry. “Hey! Fuck you, buddy! I don’t know shit about you! Why the fuck should I keep quiet if it’ll save my neck? Besides, it all worked out.”

“Only cause I was here, you fucking weasel.”

“Why are you here? I thought you weren’t going to escape or something? Wait! Do you know Wally Wondrous? Is this your escape plan?”

Shaggy shook his head and sighed. The movement made him wince, and he saw the Stoat’s eyes catch the movement. “No. I got to get back to my cell. This fucking Wally ported me across the damn prison.”

“And you want to go back to your cell?” Stoat asked.

“Yeah.”

Shaggy brushed a hand down his face. He was sweating from both the fight and his body fighting off the pain of his injuries. As he covered his eyes, he felt a solid mass hit him in the upper chest. A warm, fuzzy tube wrapped around his neck and as he got his eye cleared, he spotted the Stoat grinning evilly at him.

“Well, allow me to assist you.”

The Stoat’s body grew in length as he wrapped around Shaggy’s neck and squeezed. The Stoat watched in undisguised glee as Shaggy tried to get free using his one good arm. But it was difficult. The Stoat player’s body felt like solid muscle. He scratched and punched as the Stoat smiled at him, cleaning his bloody fur with his tongue. Eventually, Shaggy stopped struggling and fell to his knees. He gasped as the Stoat squeezed tighter and air couldn’t get to his lungs.

“I was so surprised it was you on the bus. It was like a sign. Did you know Tolliver and the RiffRaff have an in-game bounty out on you? Fifty-thousand credits for a video of your death. To be honest, I didn’t think it would be such easy money. But I guess you’re all hype, aren’t ya, Shags?”

Shaggy angrily sputtered as he raised his right index finger to point at the Stoat. The player cackled as he watched the movement.

“What? You gonna swear revenge? Maybe promise to make my game life a living hell? Good luck with that. You’re going to die in prison, outside your cell. That means you’re going into isolation once you respawn. I don’t know what your plan is, but can it wait two in-game weeks while you putter around in a closed cell? Can it, fucker!?”

Shaggy ignored the Stoat as he tapped his finger against the other player’s forehead. The stoat looked confused as he crossed his eyes. Shaggy closed his own eyes as his lungs screamed for air. Focusing on that deep, dark space within, Shaggy tried to shift his finger. Pain erupted in his neck and his vision went dark. But he managed to get a look at the Stoat’s surprised face as Shaggy’s finger grew into a long claw. One that easily penetrated the Stoat’s forehead and brain.

Immediately, the player went slack and air rushed down Shaggy’s throat as he gasped. The Stoat player’s body shrunk back down its normal size as it broke apart into cubes. The Stoat’s eyes glared at Shaggy as he coughed. Slowly, he managed to get to his feet, still staring down at his would-be assassin. He was pretty sure the player was already looking at a death screen, but Shaggy flipped him the bird, anyway.

“Fuck you, Weasel.” Shaggy choked as he got to his feet.