Nick led Isaac and the guards from the elevator into a long hallway, where an old woman sat at a large rounded desk with a thick metal gate separating her from everyone else. Nick griped Isaac’s shoulder and positions him on a large yellow painted square in front of the woman.

It takes a minute before she notices the pair and peeks up from over the desk. She looked to be in her eighties with pale wrinkly skin, thin red-stained lips, and a cheap red wig that didn’t match her age.

“Got a new one, do we?” Her voice was old and craggy like something is stuck in her throat.

She adjusts her glasses, pulls out a small thin tablet from under the desk, and looks Isaac up and down with a disgusted look.

“Name?” She asked.

Isaac fixed his eyes on the woman and gave her a sharp predatory smile. “Isaac Kholer.”

At the sound of his last name, the old woman’s look of disgust immediately turned to shock... and then fear. She glanced over to Nick and points a boney finger at Isaac accusingly.

“Is he…is he Chaos’s son?”

Nick looks over at me then back at the woman and gives a small nod. The old woman eyes Isaac again, this time noting everything about the boy.

“What…what’s your power?”

Isaac glances over at Nick who was trying to hold back a laugh at the woman’s question.

“He doesn’t have one.”

…..

After leaving the old woman, Isaac was now holding a small compact plastic crate that supposedly held everything he would need to survive on level 47.

They moved through a side hallway before stopping at a huge heavy iron-platted gate.

“Welp, this is where we part ways kid.”

Nick reaches over to a small panel to the right of the gate and the huge hunk of metal begins to rise.

“A little advice.. the lowlifes on 47 aren’t as nice as me and Dr. Valentin. So, keep your head down, your knees bent, and you might survive the first week.”

Nick chuckles at his words as he leans down and removes the clear metal bands from Isaac’s wrists.

As the gate rose fully up, another herd of guards flooded out from the opening and surrounded Isaac.

They moved into potion but begged to part as a stout chubby man strides from the middle of the pack. He comes up close to Isaac’s face, cigarette lit between his lips, and just stares at him for a long moment. The man looked to be in his middle ages with light hazel skin creased with age, a thick black beard, and a slick bald head.

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Isaac just stared back at the man blankly, wondering if he was trying to intimidate him or not.

Something about Isaac’s cold stare bothered the man though, as his nostrils flare and he took a small step backward.

. “Another vaulter, huh?” The man takes the cigarette from his lips, blows smoke straight into Isaac’s face, and shacks the ash off onto his boots.

Isaac clenches his jaw and holds himself back from doing something stupid. This man seems important and making a bad impression on my first day would only cause me more problems down the line.

“Why do they feed me shit and tell me to smile. I swear if they keep handing me off the scumbags, we’ll have to do another ‘cleansing’ soon.” He pulled his gaze from Isaac to Nick, who stood off to the side behind him.

“What kind of freak is he?” The man asks, gesturing to Isaac.

Nick just hands him the thin tablet the old woman gave him, and everyone stands there silently while he read over the screen.

His eyes widen as he finishes and looked up at Isaac again, reassessing him.

“I’ll be damned, so your Chaos’s kid.” He flashes a shit-eating smile and looks around at the other guards.

“And he’s a dreg.” At his words, all his men let out a bellow of malicious laughter. The old man turns back to Isaac with a smug look on his face.

“Guess the apple fell way off the tree, huh?”

Isaac just stares at the man, a cold blank expression plastered on his face. But from the expression in his eyes, his rage was evident.

“I’m Sergeant Mayors. I’ll be your keeper for…well I guess the rest of your, short life.” He flicks the bud of the cigarette to the ground and pulls Isaac close by the collar of his shirt.

“We got two rules on this level.” He holds two thick fingers in his face.

“Don’t fuck with Mayors and earn your keep. We clear?” He narrows his eyes and waits for Isaac to respond.

After a short pause, Isaac’s blank expression slowly spreads into a savage grin.

“Understood.”

Mayors stare at him for another moment before he lets go of his shirt, straightens out his collar, and slaps him twice softly on the check. He then stands aside and gestures for Isaac to walk through the doorway.

“Well then…we won't have a problem.”

…..

Mayors and the guards escort Isaac down a long stone tunnel, guided only by two rows of small fluorescent lights lining each side of the wall. Their small groves itched into the walls for the guards to take cover and pick off anyone trying to come out.

“Keep up, dreg.” One of the guards hit Isaac in the back with the butt of his gun, making him topple over his chains and fall to the ground.

His attacker snorted “Look, dreg’s so scared he can't he walk.” A bout of laughter echoed through the barren tunnel as Isaac tried to get back on his feet. A boot kicked his arms out from in front of him and his face met the floor again.

“Did I say get up yet?” The boot came down on Isaac’s head and pinned him to the floor.

More laughter sounded as he was forced to stay in that position till Mayors spoke up.

“Alright, let’s get this little shit to his pod. Let the other degenerates get a chance to welcome him home.”

The guards let him up and they continued their trudge further down the tunnel.

……

After what felt like hours marching through the tunnel they finally reach another large huge heavy iron-platted gate, but this one had a large 47 plastered on it in dark red paint.

Mayors stepped out from the group and placed his hand on a small panel beside the gate.

“Open’er up.” He barked.

The gate sparked to life as it slowly rose from the ground, revealing a looming fortress wall with guards stationed all along the top and in tall towers that stretched up to the vast ceiling above.

Mayors walked us through the gate and turned to face Isaac. He what was probably supposed to be a comforting smile on his face but Isaac could practically see the bloodlust in the man’s eyes.

“Welcome to level 47.”