“Hah, damn that’s cold!” Captain Deoder shivered as he took his first step onto the ice, now zipping up his coat fully since he’d purposefully left it partially open for style. “Wish I had your Fiend blood. Bet you’re still cold too, but I can’t stand this.”
“Uhhh, where the zjik are we? There’s nothing here!” Kada complained at the barren landscape: the ice shelf at the southern tip of Rathe. “Don’t tell me you’re just planning on leaving us here to freeze to death?! That’s so cold! Literally!”
Captain Deoder, accompanied by two more guards, had joined the Fiends on a landing vessel which was then lowered into the icy water, and they’d made their way to shore.
“Pfuh,” the Captain scoffed at the idea. “No nothing like that. Our actual destination is about a lage away. We’re just making a quick stop, something we don’t want to do too close to the facility. Now then, Randex, you’re up first.”
“And what am I supposed to be doing exactly?” the redhead questioned.
Deoder pointed at his left arm, specifically the numbers. “Get that down to zero, if you’d please.”
“Duahh… I don’t think that’s possible,” Xard’s jaw dropped when he looked at his arm and thought about the process. “Pretty sure if I released it all at once, it’d kill me, everyone around, and possibly destroy the entire world. And if I did it at a stable rate, we’d all die out here in the cold.”
“Hmm…” the captain’s lips shrugged, pondering. “Well, release as much as you can in a safe burst then, so I can gauge it.”
“Okay…” Xard thought for a moment longer and aimed his hand at the sky. There was a booming blast, and the air rippled around them, nearly knocking everyone off their feet as they ducked their heads and grabbed at their ears. The ice around them didn’t budge, but a web of cracks was spun.
“I see your point,” Deoder had no further arguments. “Alright, we’ll figure something else out. We only have one more to get through, then. Drazah, the uhh, boy one. Please discard all of your nature energy. …In a way that doesn’t further disturb the ice if you don’t mind.”
Drim compiled taking a few steps back away from the rest of the group. With one flick of his wrist, he whipped his hand out towards the sea. A giant portal appeared, and a massive horizontal tree zoomed out of it with a resounding snap, shooting out over the ocean, growing beyond sight, before it came to rest on top of the water, its roots digging down towards the pitch black sea floor.
“Oh very nice,” Deoder nodded at the fine work. “A new world landmark. It’s a shame that no one will ever see it. Now we continue on to our destination.” The man turned around, looking at the dim lights in the distance, frowned and turned back. “I didn’t think this through. We could hop back in the boat, I guess or…” his eyes wandered to Phon.
“If you wouldn’t mind bringing us over to the facility with your teleportativeness. That’d be wonderful.”
“Alright…” Phon’s words were hesitant, but she had no real reason to refuse. After giving the area a good scan, she conveyed. “Okay, I see it. Topside?”
“Yes, right by the front entrance, if you’d please.” The group vanished and reappeared, the world shifting around them. Deoder managed to keep his composure, but the two other soldiers keeled over, desperate to hold back their wretches. “Ah, that was definitely the right choice.”
“And now,” the captain shot both arms out in a grand gesture. “Welcome to Central Peace Prison SI-01. Or as we’ve come to call it, The Walk-In Freezer. Though most now just call it The Walk-In for short. It’s named that, because as they say, you only walk in, and never walk back out. It is the first prison in the world designed to hold Fiends, specifically, the four of you. But with room for expansion if it’s ever needed.”
“Well, I take it our sentence isn’t death then, at least,” Drim surmised.
“Hey hey, we’re getting to that,” Deoder patted his hands downward, as if signaling them to slow down, and then he sighed. “I know we were nice and friendly on the ride over, but I’m afraid that it stops here. It’s time for official business.”
“As you can guess, there won’t be any sort of trial. Your sentences have already been decided. But this is still an official arrest, after all, so there’s a bit of protocol. We need to tell you your charges first, but that’d take too long and it’s damn cold, so I’ll just read your criminal scores. And I’ll need you to nod or something when I say your name to confirm that it’s you.”
“Alright, first up, Xard Randex, with a criminal score of 91,111. Where the hell did that last 1 come from? Weird, never seen that before.”
“Kada Susten, with a score 58,320. Seems after you got into the resort industry, your criminal ways started to taper off. You can bet they audited the zjik out of Ledmer, but didn’t find a single infraction.”
“Phon Drazah, a clean 73,000. Your score should actually be much lower, the lowest of the group, if they hadn’t retroactively applied some of your bounties. But there have also been several murders since that you’re only a suspect of, otherwise you’d likely be at the top.”
“And last but not least, the Fiendish King, Drim Drazah. Your score was frozen when you became a monarch, at 99,895. So close, and I had a bet that you’d soar well past the big 100-thou. That might seem like a big jump to you since you last checked. You were actually at the bottom before Bastion. But it seems like the usual mass-murder clause, which prevents someone’s score from jumping too high from a single incident, is overridden by war crimes.”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“Do you have any idea how many people you killed? No, I’m sure you don’t, because we’re still tallying it up to this day. But what does it really matter? The public score becomes pointless after a certain threshold, because there’s no way a sane bounty hunter would dare to go after you.”
“But I guess the scores have a bit more weight in this case. Oh, and there’s something that has nothing to do with your current situation, but you might be interested to know, regardless. Normally, the CP military is exempt from claiming bounties, and instead, the money goes to the organization's funding.”
“However, as a kind gesture for her hard work, Captain Luciri will be receiving full compensation for your arrests. That will quickly make her one of the richest people in the world, right up with you all, I suppose, especially after the additional prize money she won.”
“If she’s smart, she’d take the money and retire, but I doubt she will. We all know she’s not that kind of person. Another tidbit, I’ll also be taking a small percentage of your bounties for myself and my squad. Consider it a processing fee for having to deal with this. Totally fair, right?”
“But back to your scores, they are actually very important. I will now hand out your sentences. And I’ll say, they’re surprisingly lenient, a much better rate than you’d find just about anywhere else in the world. So let’s get to it.”
“For your crimes against Rathe and those who reside in it, you are hereby sentenced to imprisonment in Central Peace Prison SI-01. One year per one hundred criminal score, rounded down, because we’re nice like that. Xard Randex, 911 years. Kada Susten, 583 years. Phon Drazah, 730 years. Drim Drazah, 998 years.”
“I should also mention that if you attempt to escape at any point, your remaining sentence will be doubled. Now you asked if your sentences were death. Directly, no they’re not, but I believe that’s the intent. We don’t know enough about Fiend lifespans yet, so who knows. Maybe one day you’ll walk free. Hold on to that hope, may it let you keep your sanity.”
“Now let’s go get warm.” Deoder turned to head down the steps into the ice, once again not bothering to check if the Fiends were going to follow.
They walked through countless thick metal doors that slammed shut behind them before they were officially considered as being inside. The first obvious thing were the automated guns hanging from the ceiling, a few trained on each of them. They were undoubtedly filled with living-energy rounds, to account for both Kada and Xard’s unique situations.
Dozens of soldiers marched behind them as the Captain led the charge. But they stopped suddenly in front of an arch embedded against the walls of the hallway. Deoder started to partially disrobe. He took off his hat, coat, shoes, belt, and stashed them along with his phone, gun, and other basic equipment into a tub that slid into a slot in the wall. He then walked through the arch. It beeped pleasantly, and he turned around.
“Please proceed one at a time. You will be scanned. There’s no need for you all to remove anything as I did, but I’ll warn that any metal will fly at the arches, so hope there’s nothing in your pockets.”
“So it’s just a metal and body scanner then?” Xard asked, curious by the tech.
Deoder’s eyes slowly wandered to Drim. “It’s also a plant scanner. No flora of any kind is allowed in this facility.”
With no further questions, the Fiends passed through one at a time. All the beeps were pleasant, so they continued forward. However, none of the soldiers that had been trailing behind followed suit. Instead, they were greeted by a new gang, which Deoder took a moment to introduce.
“We are now officially in the jurisdiction of the Walk-In. These are no longer CP soldiers, but rather dedicated guards for the facility. They will be your wardens as well as your caretakers. I’d suggest treating them with the same respect that you’ve shown me.”
“As you may notice, they’re not wearing helmets. By their own choice, they won’t hide their faces from you, mostly for their own comfort. Get to know them if you like, but someday, they’ll retire and be replaced. You’ll see several generations pass through in your time here.”
“It should also be mentioned that I won’t be staying. I’m just your escort, but I’ll be departing here shortly. Odds are, we’ll never meet again, unless I feel suddenly compelled to come visit. I hope to be good and dead by the time you’ve finished serving your sentences.”
“Come then, no further delays. We won’t be having you change into uniforms. You’re all wearing something comfortable, so I assume you don’t mind staying in those for now. But you can request whatever you like and we’ll have it requisitioned for you. We’ll do what we can to afford what little dignity we can allow.”
“Same goes for food, but no fruits or vegetables. Sorry, but you’ll only get supplements in that regard. But otherwise, we keep the place well stocked, so ask for anything. If you don’t make a request, they’ll provide you with standard meals. If you refuse to eat, you’ll get a feeding tube. Susten and Randex, your situations are a bit more complicated in that regard, but we’ll get to it later.”
Their walk continued for just a bit longer, passing by various rooms: guard barracks, mess halls, empty cell blocks, all the way to the very end.
“Here we are, welcome to your cell block. Even if other Fiends join you later, you may never find out unless the guards get gossipy. This block is dedicated solely to the four of you. And your cells have been tailor made to fit your needs. Unfortunately, I don’t mean that in a pleasant way.”
When they all entered the room, they found the four cells all lined up against the opposing wall. At first, they were dark, and couldn’t really be seen inside of, but then Deoder flipped a switch.
All four Fiends practically had their eyes bulge out of their skills, seeing for the first time what the CP had in store for them—what their futures held—their imprisonment—their punishment—their endless torture.
“It should be pretty obvious whose cells are whose,” the tone in Captain Deoder’s voice had changed, as if he was regretting the words he was saying, finding them cruel. And he could no longer bear to look at his captives in their eyes. “If you would please proceed.”
The Fiends all hesitated, finding it hard to take that first step, their eyes darting around at each other, confirming if this was something they were going to commit to. But Drim grit his teeth, accepting their fate. He mouthed two words and began marching forward. ❝Kada, sleep!❞
Drim didn’t look her way but heard the thud of her unconscious body slam to the floor. He continued into his cell, only turning around once he was well inside, just in time to watch Phon and Xard walk into theirs, with Kada’s limp body dragged into hers by a few guards.
The man sat down, not on a bench, or anything else the Fiendish King could consider a throne. His butt hit the cold hard floor. Unlike the others, his cell was relatively normal, but it was also virtually empty, nothing but a drain for his waste.
He pressed his hands against the floor, shifting a bit to try and get any semblance of comfort, leaning his head against the wall. The man did everything possible to settle down and accept his new reality. But nothing could stop his heart from clenching when the cell door slammed shut.